Wonder R. J. Palacio

Mr. Browne's October Precept
Mr. Browne's precept for October was:
YOUR DEEDS ARE YOUR MONUMENTS.
He told us that this was written on the tombstone of some Egyptian guy that died 
thousands of years ago. Since we were just about to start studying ancient 
Egypt in history, Mr. Browne thought this was a good choice for a precept.
Our homework assignment was to write a paragraph about what we thought the 
precept meant or how we felt about it.
This is what I wrote:
This precept means that we should be remembered for the things we do. 
The things we do are the most important things of all. They are more 
important than what we say or what we look like. The things we do
outlast our mortality. The things we do are like monuments that people 
build to honor heroes after they've died. They're like the pyramids that the
Egyptians built to honor the pharaohs. Only instead of being made out of 
stone, they're made out of the memories people have of you. That's why 
your deeds are like your monuments. Built with memories instead of with 
stone
.
Apples
 
My birthday is October 10. I like my birthday: 10/10. It would've been great if I'd 
been born at exactly 10:10 in the morning or at night, but I wasn't. I was born just 
after midnight. But I still think my birthday is cool. I usually have a little party at 
home, but this year I asked Mom if I could have a big bowling party. Mom was 
surprised but happy. She asked me who I wanted to ask from my class, and I 
said everyone in my homeroom plus Summer.

---

"That's a lot of kids, Auggie," said Mom.
"I have to invite everyone because I don't want anyone to get their feelings hurt if 
they find out other people are invited and they aren't, okay?"
"Okay," Mom agreed. "You even want to invite the 'what's the deal' kid?"
"Yeah, you can invite Julian," I answered. "Geez, Mom, you should forget about 
that already."
"I know, you're right."
A couple of weeks later, I asked Mom who was coming to my party, and she 
said: "Jack Will, Summer. Reid Kingsley. Both Maxes. And a couple of other kids 
said they were going to try to be there."
"Like who?"
"Charlotte's mom said Charlotte had a dance recital earlier in the day, but she 
was going to try to come to your party if time allowed. And Tristan's mom said he 
might come after his soccer game."
"So that's it ?" I said.
"That's like . . . five people."
"That's more than five people, Auggie. I think a lot of people just had plans 
already," Mom answered. We were in the kitchen. She was cutting one of the 
apples we had just gotten at the farmers' market into teensy-weensy bites so I 
could eat it.
"What kind of plans?" I asked.
"I don't know, Auggie. We sent out the evites kind of late."
"Like what did they tell you, though? What reasons did they give?" "Everyone 
gave different reasons, Auggie." She sounded a bit impatient. "Really, sweetie, it 
shouldn't matter what their reasons were. People had plans, that's all."
"What did Julian give as his reason?" I asked.
"You know," said Mom, "his mom was the only person who didn't RSVP at all." 
She looked at me. "I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."
I laughed because I thought she was making a joke, but then I realized she 
wasn't.

---

"What does that mean?" I asked.
"Never mind. Now go wash your hands so you can eat."
My birthday party turned out to be much smaller than I thought it would be, but it 
was still great. Jack, Summer, Reid, Tristan, and both Maxes came from school, 
and Christopher came, too
—all the way from Bridgeport with his parents. And 
Uncle Ben came. And Aunt Kate and Uncle Po drove in from Boston, though 
Tata and Poppa were in Florida for the winter. It was fun because all the grown-
ups ended up bowling in the lane next to ours, so it really felt like there were a 
lot of people there to celebrate my birthday.