Spelling Bee

by Ann M. Martin

  “Keep your voice down, Bobby,” Ricky said in a loud whisper. “Ms. Colman will hear you.”

  Bobby lowered his voice. “Since you won, we boys got to split all the money. We got three dollars each.”

  “Is that where you got the money for the candy and everything?” asked Hank.

  The boys nodded.

  “Wasn’t it nice of us to share it with you?” said Ricky.

  Hank ignored him. “Is everyone betting on the next spelling bee?”

  “Yup,” said Bobby. “Everyone in two-A and two-B. Except you and Debbie. Debbie does not know about the bets.”

  Hank could feel his face growing hot. “So you just wanted to make money off of me,” he said. “You are not really my friends.”

  “Um, yes we are,” said Ricky, whispering. He glanced toward Mr. Berger’s room. “I mean we did share our stuff with you.”

  “And you were not really being nice to me. You were not really proud of me when I won. You were just glad you won the money. Well, you know what I think of you guys? I think you are traitors. All of you. Everyone in this class is a traitor!” Hank grabbed his scarf out of his cubby. Then he stomped out of room 2A.

  LOSER

  Hank was mad at everyone in his class. Even Ian. Ian had bet on him too, and he had not told Hank about the bet. He had just taken his three dollars. Hank wondered what Ian had bought with his money. Still, Hank was not as mad at Ian or the girls in his class as he was at Ricky, Bobby, Omar, and Chris. They were the ones who had told the kids to bet on Hank and Karen. The others had just gone along with their idea. (Hank realized that Karen probably did not know about the bet either.) They were the ones who had encouraged Hank to win — so they could win money. Worst of all, they were the ones who had pretended to be Hank’s new friends.

  Hank was so mad that he did not eat his supper that night. He was so mad that he was mean to his sisters and rude to his father. He was so mad that he could not sleep.

  When Hank walked into 2A the next day, he would not speak to any of his classmates. He sat at his desk and read a book and ignored them. He even ignored Ricky when Ricky leaned in front of him and said, “Hi, Hank.”

  Later that morning Ms. Colman said, “Well, class, it is time for the big event. We are going to go to Mr. Berger’s room for the spelling bee.”

  Hank’s classmates sat on the floor in Mr. Berger’s room. Hank and Debbie stood in front of the chalkboard. Ms. Colman gave Debbie the first word. She spelled it correctly. Then Hank took his turn, then Debbie took her second turn.

  “Okay, Hank, your turn again,” said Ms. Colman. “Please spell ‘mountain.’ ”

  Mountain. That was an easy one. “Mountain,” Hank repeated. “M-O-U-N-T-A-I-N.” Hank paused. Then he said, “E. Mountain.”

  “I am sorry. That is incorrect,” said Ms. Colman.

  Hank looked at the kids in the room. He looked directly at Bobby, Omar, Chris, and Ricky, who were sitting together. He smiled a small smile.

  “Debbie, can you spell ‘mountain’?” asked Ms. Colman.

  “Of course,” replied Debbie. “Mountain. M-O-U-N-T-A-I-N. Mountain.”

  “Excellent!” said Ms. Colman. “Debbie is our second-grade winner.”

  “Congratulations, Debbie,” added Mr. Berger. He handed her a golden trophy.

  Debbie grinned. And the girls in the room cheered and clapped and cried, “Girls rule!”

  All the girls are going to win a little money now, thought Hank. Bobby will probably pay them at recess. Well, good. It is better than the boys winning money.

  Hank tried to feel good about what he had done, but somehow he could not. He thought about it during the rest of the morning, and during lunch. And during recess, which he spent alone. The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. He was not sure why, but he knew it had been wrong to lose on purpose. Besides, he had wanted to win. He just did not like the betting.

  Recess was not quite over, but Hank went inside anyway. He hurried to 2A. Ms. Colman was sitting at her desk. She was alone in the room.

  “Ms. Colman?” said Hank from the doorway. “Can I talk to you?”

  “Of course,” replied Ms. Colman.

  Hank sat down at Karen Brewer’s desk. “Well, um, see … I lost the spelling bee today on purpose. I know how to spell ‘mountain.’ I know there is no E at the end.”

  Ms. Colman looked thoughtful. “That did seem like an odd mistake,” she replied. “Why did you want to lose the spelling bee?”

  Hank thought about Omar and Bobby and the other boys. He thought about the bets. He opened his mouth. And all he said was, “I was — I guess I was tired of getting so much attention. But I wanted you to know what I did. Debbie can keep the prize, though.” Hank glanced up then. He saw Omar in the doorway. He had a feeling that Omar had just overheard everything he had said.

  OMAR TELLS THE TRUTH

  Omar was staring at Hank. He looked surprised. And a little impressed.

  Ms. Colman glanced up then, and she saw Omar too. “Omar?” she said. “Is recess over already?”

  Omar nodded. He stepped into the room. The other kids trickled in behind him. Hank looked at Ms. Colman. Ms. Colman looked at Hank, then at Omar. “Omar?” she said again. “Is there something you would like to say?”

  Omar drew in a deep breath. He let it out. Then he said, “Hank did not tell you the whole truth, Ms. Colman. I mean, he did not lie. He just did not tell you everything.”

  “What did he leave out?” asked Ms. Colman.

  “He left out the part about the betting.”

  “The betting? What betting?”

  “Well,” began Omar, “the boys kept saying Hank would win the spelling bee, and the girls said Debbie would win. So Chris and Bobby and Ricky and I told all the kids to bet on the winner. All the boys bet on Hank and all the girls bet on Debbie.” Omar paused. “We told the kids in our class to bet on Hank or Karen in the first spelling bee. Everyone knew about it except Hank and Karen. When Hank won, the boys each got three dollars. We would have gotten more if he had beaten Debbie. But yesterday Hank found out about the bets, and he got really mad, so —”

  “So he lost on purpose,” Ms. Colman finished for him.

  “Yes,” said Omar. He was staring down at his feet.

  Ms. Colman said nothing more for a moment. Hank thought she looked angry. Even though Ms. Colman almost never looked angry. At last she said, “I believe I need to speak with Mr. Berger now.” Ms. Colman stood up. She walked through the door to Mr. Berger’s room.

  Hank looked at Omar. “Wow,” he said. “You told the truth.”

  “And you did not. You tried to protect Chris and Bobby and Ricky and me. Thanks. We did not really deserve it.”

  Omar looked around the room. He found the other boys and told them what Hank had done.

  “Really?” said Bobby. “You tried to protect us, Hank?” Hank nodded. “Well, thanks. Thanks a lot, Hank. You are okay.”

  NO RECESS

  Ms. Colman returned from Mr. Berger’s room a few minutes later. She shut the door behind her. It was time for math, but Ms. Colman said, “Omar, Bobby, Chris, and Ricky, please see me at the back of the room. The rest of you may read your library books at your desks.”

  Hank watched the boys gather in the reading corner with Ms. Colman. They were right behind him. He could hear almost everything Ms. Colman said. He could not see her face, but her voice sounded serious.

  “Boys,” Ms. Colman began, “betting is gambling, and gambling is illegal in many places. Did you know that? That means it is against the law. Against the law.” Ms. Colman let that sink in. “It is definitely not a good idea,” she went on. “Some people lose lots of money when they gamble or place bets. Lots of money. Now I know you did not know any of this when you decided to take bets on the spelling bee. However, you must have known that you were using Hank and Karen. And then Hank and Debbie. You did not tell them what you were doing, and you planned to make money off of them. If one of
them studied hard and won, some of you would make money. Does that seem fair?”

  “No,” Hank heard the boys mumble.

  “Okay,” said Ms. Colman.

  “Are you going to punish us?” Bobby asked Ms. Colman.

  Ms. Colman sighed. “Before I figure out how to handle this matter, I must speak with Mrs. Titus.”

  “The principal?” squeaked Omar.

  “Yes. Mr. Berger is going to speak to her too. But first I am going to talk to our entire class, while Mr. Berger speaks to his class. Before that, though, I would like you to apologize to Hank.”

  Hank felt a hand on his shoulder then. It was Ms. Colman. “Hank, could you turn around for a minute, please?” she said.

  Hank turned around in his chair. He found himself facing the boys.

  “Boys?” said Ms. Colman.

  The boys were hanging their heads. “Sorry,” they mumbled.

  “Excuse me?” said Ms. Colman.

  “We’re sorry, Hank,” said Chris. “Really.”

  “Yeah, we are really sorry,” said Ricky.

  “Betting on you was not nice,” added Bobby.

  “Neither was lying to you,” said Omar. “Sorry, Hank.”

  “Thank you,” Ms. Colman said to the boys. “Now you may return to your seats.”

  The boys sat down at their desks. Ms. Colman stood at the front of the room. Next door, Mr. Berger was standing at the front of his room.

  Ms. Colman explained to the class that betting was not a good idea and that in many places it is against the law, and that what the kids had done to Hank and Karen and Debbie was not fair and not nice. “Mr. Berger and I will talk to Mrs. Titus today and see what she has to say about this. Then we will talk to you again,” added Ms. Colman.

  At the end of the day, just before the final bell rang, Ms. Colman said to her class, “Mrs. Titus has thought about the betting, and she is not pleased. She has decided that our class may not have recess for a week. Neither may Mr. Berger’s.” (Hank waited for his classmates to groan, but they were silent.) “Also, each of you is to give back any money you made on bets. If you have already spent it, you must earn it. Give the money to me and I will return it to the kids who first placed the bets. Mr. Berger is doing the same thing in his class. Furthermore, Mrs. Titus is going to announce on Monday that betting is strictly forbidden at Stoneybrook Academy. All right, kids. Class is dismissed. We will have a fresh start Monday morning.”

  SPELLING CHAMP

  On Monday morning, when Hank entered room 2A, he put a smile on his face. He was ready for a fresh start.

  “Good morning, Hank,” said Ms. Colman.

  “Good morning,” Hank replied cheerfully.

  “May I speak with you for a moment, please?”

  Uh-oh. Hank’s smile faded. Now what?

  “Hank,” said Ms. Colman when he was standing by her desk. “Mr. Berger and I had a talk after school on Friday. We decided that we should have another spelling bee for you and Debbie, since you lost the last one on purpose. Maybe Debbie would have won it anyway, or maybe you would have won. We decided another bee is only fair to you and Debbie. We are going to hold it first thing this morning. Now, do not be nervous. You will do fine.”

  And that was how, just twenty minutes later, Hank found himself in Mr. Berger’s room. He was standing next to Debbie, and his classmates were sitting on the floor, looking at him. Once again Ms. Colman gave the spelling words to Hank and Debbie.

  For a very long time, neither Hank nor Debbie missed a word. Back and forth they went. The other kids in the room were quiet, listening. Finally, on the eighth word, which was purchase, Debbie made a mistake. But Hank could not spell the word correctly either, so the bee continued. They spelled the next six words. Then Ms. Colman said, “All right, Debbie. Deliver.”

  “Deliver,” Debbie repeated. “D-I-L-I-V-E-R. Deliver.”

  “I am sorry. That is incorrect.” (Hank saw the girls slump and the boys sit up straighter.) “Hank? Can you spell ‘deliver’?”

  “Deliver,” said Hank. “D-E-L-I-V-E-R. Deliver.”

  Ms. Colman and Mr. Berger looked at each other. Then they smiled. Mr. Berger said, “Well, we have a winner at last. Congratulations, Hank. You are one terrific speller. You are the champ.”

  “Congratulations to Debbie too,” added Ms. Colman. “She may have come in second, but she is also a terrific speller.”

  The kids in 2A and 2B began to clap their hands. And then the boys began to chant, “Boys rule, boys rule!”

  Mr. Berger handed Hank a golden trophy.

  “Thank you,” said Hank. Then he turned to Debbie. He had to shout to be heard. “Is this the trophy you got on Friday?” he asked.

  “No. Mr. Berger let me keep it,” Debbie replied. “But I did not really want it. You know what? On Friday morning, right before our first bee, I found out about the betting too. I was really mad. And then when I won, I did not know whether to feel happy or sad. I just felt kind of funny. I was really glad you told Ms. Colman the truth, Hank.”

  “Thank you,” said Hank, even though he had told her only part of the truth.

  Hank looked at his classmates then. Bobby and Ricky and Omar and Chris were chanting “Boys rule” along with the other boys. They were smiling. Hank was pretty sure they were really and truly proud of him. That was nice. He did not think they would ever be his best friends, though. But then, they never had been his best friends. And Hank had been fine anyway.

  “Hank?” said a voice, and Hank realized he had been daydreaming. He looked down. Ian was sitting in front of him.

  “Yes?” said Hank.

  “I am sorry I did not tell you about the betting,” said Ian. “I guess I should have. But everyone would have been mad at me. They were going to get mad at me just for not betting. That is why I bet on you. But I did not want to. And I hid the money I earned. I was not going to spend it. I already gave it back to Ms. Colman.”

  Hank grinned. He felt a lot better. “Hey,” he said. “We learned the weirdest thing in the Star Club last week. I could show it to you at lunch today.”

  “Cool,” said Ian.

  Hank gave Ian a high five. Then he and Ian walked back to 2A together.

  About the Author

  ANN M. MARTIN is the acclaimed and bestselling author of a number of novels and series, including Belle Teal, A Corner of the Universe (a Newbery Honor book), A Dog’s Life, Here Today, P.S. Longer Letter Later (written with Paula Danziger), the Family Tree series, the Doll People series (written with Laura Godwin), the Main Street series, and the generation-defining series The Baby-sitters Club. She lives in New York.

  Copyright © 1998 by Ann M. Martin

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  First edition, 1998

  e-ISBN 978-1-338-09271-4

 

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