Kerry has been a teacher and an administrator for more than twenty years. She has a Master of Education degree.
Time with Kevin is never boring, and today is no different, but there is something unique about today's quest. Max can tell that the place Kevin takes him today is significant to Kevin, but he is not really sure why. In chapter nine of Freak the Mighty, by Rodman Philbrick, we will learn Kevin's secret.
Like a knight riding a horse, Kevin steering Max while riding on his shoulders has become routine. As they walk through the town, Kevin, or Freak as he is affectionately called, creates adventures and missions that are so vivid, Max loses all sense of reality. Today, Kevin leads Max to a part of the hospital that is labeled 'Medical Research.' In exchange for a blood promise (spit on his hand placed over his heart), Freak reveals his secret to Max.
Freak divulges his top secret plan to become the first bionically improved human. Very soon, Kevin will be admitted to 'The Experimental Bionics Unit' of the research hospital to undergo a full body transplant. '' Bionics is the science of designing replacement parts for the human body,'' explained Kevin. It uses mechanical systems to function like living organisms. A whole new robotic body is being created for Kevin at this very moment.
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Max does not believe him and just wants to go home to rest his feet, but Kevin is so insistent that Max soon realizes, he is not playing. Kevin really believes he is going to be the first recipient of a full-body transplant! Details about a series of tests he has undergone in preparation of his transplant emerge. Even though Max does not understand all of the things Kevin is telling him, he does understand that the research facility is an important place to Kevin. Max expresses concern over the Kevin's safety. ''Sure it will hurt. But so what? Pain is just a state of mind. You can think your way out of anything, even pain,'' responds Kevin. The boys head home.
Kevin takes Max on a unique adventure to a 'Medical Research' facility. After taking an oath to keep his secret, Max learns that Kevin will be the first recipient of a full body transplant in the 'Experimental Bionics' division of the hospital. Essentially, Kevin will become robotic. Max is worried about Kevin, but Kevin tells him that ''you can think your way out of anything, even pain.''
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