copyright 2001
Wanda's Secrets, A Story About a Girl with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Chapter 1: Wanda Washes Up
Wanda Simpson wiggled in her seat. Will recess never come? I can't wait. I have to go now! Wanda inched her hand up.
"May I go to the bathroom?" Wanda asked Mrs. Chester.
Her teacher raised her eyebrows, "Okay, but hurry back. You just went to the bathroom ten minutes ago."
"I know, but I have to wash my hands. I got glue on them."
Wanda hurried to the bathroom. Her blond pony tail bounced behind her. Forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty. Fifty steps to the bathroom door. She always counted them and knew exactly how many it would be.
In the bathroom, Wanda turned on the hot water. She spread her fingers out and rinsed them. Then she pumped soap into her left hand. She scrubbed each finger twenty times. Then she washed the back of her hands and her wrists. Now they would be clean.
Wanda jumped when the door opened. "You scared me!"
"I didn't mean to startle you," Mrs. Chester said. "Are you about done? You've been in here a long time. I was worried about you."
"I'm okay . . . really. I just had to wash the glue off my hands. I'll be done in a second."
As Mrs. Chester left the bathroom, Wanda got a paper towel and used it to turn off the water. Make sure you don't touch the faucet with your hands, she told herself. Then she would have to wash all over again. Wanda looked at her hands. They were red and chapped. But no glue, no stickiness.
Why do we have to use glue anyway? Fourth graders are too old to be gluing and coloring, Wanda thought. If it were up to her, she would never touch the stuff, but sometimes she had no choice. After drying her hands, one finger at a time, she pulled down a fresh paper towel. Wanda opened the bathroom door with it and walked quickly to her classroom.
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