Reading Level 27: Character and theme

The Last Seat

Zoe had been waiting all week for the class trip to the science museum. On the bus, she raced to the back and claimed the best seat, the one beside the big window. She spread out her backpack, her jacket and her lunch bag so nobody else could sit down. One by one, her classmates found partners. Some kids shared snacks, and others pressed their faces against the windows to look for the museum. Soon only one student was left standing in the aisle. It was Gus, the new boy who had joined the class on Monday. He held his lunch bag tightly and looked at the floor. The bus driver called out, "Everyone needs to be seated before we can go." Zoe looked at her jacket, then at Gus. She thought about her own first day at this school last year. Nobody had saved her a seat, and she had eaten lunch alone for a whole week. She remembered how her stomach had felt tight and heavy. Zoe pulled her things onto her lap. "You can sit here," she said. "You get the window." Gus looked up, surprised, and slowly sat down. For the first few minutes, neither of them spoke. Then Gus pointed at a hawk circling over a field. Zoe pointed at a cloud that looked like a whale. By the time the bus reached the museum, they were laughing about a cloud shaped like a sneaker. At the dinosaur exhibit, Gus told Zoe everything he knew about fossils. He explained how scientists brush away the dirt one tiny bit at a time, and how a single bone can take weeks to dig out. Zoe had never known a fossil could be so interesting. Zoe realized that giving up the window seat had given her something better. On the ride home, Gus saved her a seat.