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Posted By : GrayAlien - 6/30/2006 11:52 PM

I remember reading a YA short story in the 9th grade during the eighties that was about a boy in the near-future who refuses to go to school with his gas mask. He doesn't think any of the other kids will be wearing theirs but, when he gets to school, he finds that all the other kids are wearing their masks. Anyway, after school he walks home and the air gets really bad. He can't breathe and upon arriving home he finds no one is there. While suffocating, he looks through the window and sees the gas mask sitting on the kitchen table.

What is the name of this story, and who wrote it?

Posted By : R David Skinner - 7/26/2006 5:51 PM

What year would that have been?
I recall the story, but have no idea who wrote it or what the title.
Was it in a text book, or in a magazine? Boys' Life magazine comes to mind for some reason, but I would have been a few years beyond that by the '80s.
We can be certain it was not on the internet.

R David Skinner

Independent Scholar, Philosopher, Reviewer

Posted By : GrayAlien - 7/27/2006 2:14 PM

Yes, I believe it was printed in a number of YA magazines such as Jack and Jill, and it was featured in my 9th grade English textbook as well. I'm 90% sure the story is from the seventies. It's a remarkable piece of YA science fiction, and I hope someone can help me find it.

Thanks,

Gray

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