Wonder Lesson Plan

What do you think Auggie means when he refers to Mrs. G's "shiny" smile? Why doesn't he like it?

Auggie is extremely nervous when he goes to visit Beecher Prep for the first time. One of the first people he meets is Mrs. Garcia, Mr. Tushman's assistant, who gives him a "shiny" smile. It is not immediately clear what Auggie means by "shiny" but it is clear that he does not like it. He explains: "When I looked up at her, Mrs. Garcia's eyes dropped for a second. It was so fast no one else would have noticed since the rest of her face stayed exactly the same. She was smiling a really shiny smile...I didn't want to look at her face, so I kept staring at her glasses" (17). On...