Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key

Despite his apprehension regarding the new special ed program, Joey’s bus pick-up goes very well. He finds the handicapped accessible bus puzzling, as it leans to one side “[…] like an elephant kneeling down on one knee” (89). Joey tries to fulfill his promise to his mother to avoid having three consecutive negative thoughts, but this is very difficult to avoid when the bus driver asks, “Are you the new foster kid?” (90). Joey’s thoughts run wild; he is afraid that the new school is taking his mother away from him.

The four classmates who share Joey’s bus are not frightening: Charlie, who has deformed, small arms, introduces himself and makes an effort to shake hands; the boy behind Joey wears a motorcycle helmet and rocks back and forth into the back of Joey’s seat; and two very nice sisters, “May and June,” who have dyslexia and write everything backwards. Nonetheless, Joey suffers from a sense of panic and fights the impulse to dive out the door of the bus and run when the driver stops at the railroad tracks. The bus picks up a final passenger, a boy who answers “Yeah” when the bus driver asks if he is the foster kid.