ROBINSON'S HOOD - Chapter One - The start of ninth grade

Oct 13, 2026

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A teenage boy named Robin Paige arrives at Ironwood Central High School for the start of ninth grade, exhausted by violence during “Welcome Day.” After a night filled with fights and gunshots on his toughest street, he joins Old Mr. Smith and heads to the rec room. There he meets fellow community regulars and friends, including Kaykay and Sly, as a magic show prepares to begin.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryStory & Novel

FormatPDF

Pages132

Reading Time3 h 23 min

AccessFree to download

Chapter One

Welcome Day and the gunshots

Mr. Smith and the rec room

Kaykay, Sly, and the magic show

Jef Gottesfeld Jeff Gottesfeld ROBINSON'S HOOD THE BANK OF BADNESS CHOPPED Copyright O2013 by Saddleback Educational Publishing All ights reserved.No part of this book may be reproduced in any formor by any means,electronic or mechanical,including photocopying,recording,scanning,or by any information storage and retrievalsystem,without the written permission of the publisher.SADDLEBACKEDUCATIONALPUBLISHINGand anyassociated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Saddleback Educational Publishing. ISBN-13:978-1-62250-000-0 ISBN-10:1-62250-000-8 eBook:978-1-61247-684-1 Printed in Guangzhou,ChinaNOR/0413/CA21300735 171615141323456 # Chapter One Robinson “Robin”Paige leaned his skinnyself against the wall near the Barbara JordanCommunity Center restrooms and rubbedhis tired eyes.He was worn out,and not justfrom "Welcome Day"at Ironwood CentralHigh School where he'd start ninth grade forreal on Monday. He was more than ready for school.He'dalready done his summer reading,an amaz-ing novel called Bud,Not Buddy about anorphan boy searching for family,and writtena great five-paragraph essay too.Robin waswhipped because he'd barely slept.There'd been a fist fight under his window at mid-night that woke him the first time.An hourand a half later,there'd been another fight.This time it wasn't just gang dudes throwingpunches. This time,there'd been gunfire. Three gunshots at one thirty in themorning can mess up your shut-eye,Robinthought. Robin was no stranger to gunfire.Heand his grandmother lived on the tougheststreet in the toughest hood in the toughcity of Ironwood.Miz Paige—that's whateveryone,except for Robin,called hisgrandmother—would have gotten them outof the Second Ward ages ago if she couldafford it.She couldn't.She ran a jointon Ninth Street called the Shrimp Shackthat was barely making it.Unless they hitthe Powerball,they were stuck with theNinth Street Rangers gang,the blast of deuce-deuces at one thirty in the morning,the sirens.. The men's room door opened.Old MrSmith teetered out.The Center had two kindsof members.You had to be younger than six-teen or older than sixty-five to hang out there.Robin was fourteen,though some folks stilltook him for twelve.Barely five feet tall,hehad coal-colored skin and a buzz cut. Mr.Smith was way older than sixty-five.He'd lost part of one foot in the VietnamWar,wore a special shoe on that foot,andsometimes used a cane.He had thick roundglasses and smelled of Old Spice.Robinloved him.He used to be a locksmith andcould open any lock with just a hairpin.Hewas great at games.He had taught Robinand his friends pinochle,hearts,spades,rummy...Robin had never beaten Mr.Smith at cards.Not once.And checkers?Maybe twice. “Robin Paige,you waitin'to walk meback to the rec room?” Mr.Smith had on a baggy dress shirttucked into pants,with his belt way toohigh.As for Robin,he wore the ICHS schooluniform:dark blue pants and a matchingshort sleeve shirt.His new school had astrict dress code,mostly because so manykids got bussed there from different parts ofthe city.When the school first started,kidsfrom the same hoods started dressing alike,and there were a lot of fights.That's whenthe school board said all Ironwood kids hadto wear blue and blue,even the girls.Eventhe teachers. Not that it stopped the fighting,Robinthought.Kids know who's from their hoodYou don't need a shirt to represent "You got it,Mr.Smith."Then Robinnoticed something.He winced."Um...XYZ,Mr.Smith.” “XY.'Scuse me,what?” “XYZ,Mr.Smith.X-Y-Z.” Mr.Smith stared blankly.“Huh?Whatchu talkin''bout,Robin?” Robin grinned and pointed.“X-Y-Zmeans examine your zipper.” Mr.Smith laughed.“Oh!Sorry.Don’twant to be showin'the colors in the rec hall.Too many old ladies askin'me to marrythem already."He zipped his fly.“Easy tofo’git when you my age.” Easy to forget,Robin corrected men-tally.His gramma was always on his caseabout speaking properly,even if she useda lot of street sla

FAQs

Why is Robin Paige so tired on Welcome Day?

Robin barely slept because fights broke out under his window and later included gunfire. The sound of three gunshots at 1:30 a.m. left him exhausted.

Who is Old Mr. Smith and what role does he play in the scene?

Old Mr. Smith is a longtime Center member with a special shoe from Vietnam injuries and he enjoys playing games like cards. He walks Robin back to the rec room.

What event is scheduled at the rec room?

A magic show called Sly’s show is about to start in five minutes. Robin and the others gather as the crowd waits near the stage.

Oct 13, 2026

Upload by Oliver