I Remember

I remember the bell ringing 

Starting to walk away 

Excited to finish a book 

Then she calls me 

“Come back here” 

In a shrill condescending voice 

I turn around 

My heart dropping out of my chest 

“That book is too advanced for you” 

No please don’t do this 

I silently beg 

“Hand it over” 

I give it up

Back into her cold bony hand 

But I remember 

Downloading an app to change my life 

Wattpad 

Oh fanfiction galore 

Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, original stories 

I can read what I want when I want 

No one can tell me otherwise 

I remember a life of online learning 

Being forced inside the house 

Nothing but a book to keep me company 

Getting lost in the worlds 

60 books in one year 

Living in between the words 

I have proved that teacher wrong 

No book is too advanced for me now 

Because I am publishing the books 

Their future lives in my hands 

I read and I edit 

Thousands of books a year 

And I remember 

No one believing in my reading skills 

But I have finally proved them wrong