Bee in Your Ear

by Frieda Wishinsky

  A BEE IN YOUR EAR

  Frieda Wishinsky

  with illustrations by

  Louise-Andrée Laliberté

  Text copyright © 2004 Frieda Wishinsky

  Interior illustrations copyright © 2004 Louise-Andrée Laliberté

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data

  Wishinsky, Frieda

  A bee in your ear / Frieda Wishinsky;

  with illustrations by Louise-Andrée Laliberté. (Orca echoes)

  ISBN 1-55143-324-9

  I. Laliberté, Louise-Andrée II. Title. III. Series.

  PS8595.I834B42 2004 jC813’.54 C2004-903778-1

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2004108717

  Summary: A spelling bee threatens Kate and Jake’s friendship.

  Orca Book Publishers gratefully acknowledges the support for its publishing programs provided by the following agencies: the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP), the Canada Council for the Arts, and the British Columbia Arts Council.

  Design by Lynn O’Rourke

  Orca Book Publishers Orca Book Publishers

  1016 Balmoral Road PO BOX 468

  Victoria, BC Canada Custer, WA USA

  V8T IA8 98240-0468

  Printed and bound in Canada

  on Old Growth Forest Free, 100% Recycled paper.

  07 06 05 04 • 4 3 2 1

  For my friend,

  Lonnie Cacchione.

  CHAPTER ONE

  I Want to Win

  Kate had never won anything.

  She’d never won the jelly bean contest.

  She’d never won the running race on Sports Day.

  She’d never even won at bingo.

  So when her teacher, Mr. Bolin, announced a spelling contest in their spelling club, Kate was determined to win. Kate was good at spelling. It was her second-best subject, right after reading.

  And spelling club was fun. It was one of the five clubs you could join at lunch.

  “The contest will take place in one week,” said Mr. Bolin. “The winner will get a ribbon and a special prize.”

  “What do you think the prize is?” asked Lila at recess.

  “I hope it’s not a book about a dog,” said Violet. “Mr. Bolin loves dogs. Remember that story he read us about a lost dog last week? Remember how he cried at the end? It was disgusting!”

  “I liked that story,” said Kate.

  “You would,” said Violet, and she rolled her eyes so high they almost touched her blond bangs.

  “I hope it’s a gift certificate,” said Lila.

  “Yes,” said Violet. “I love gift certificates. Then you can buy anything you want.”

  “I don’t care what it is,” said Kate. “I just want to win.”

  “You won’t win. You don’t get a hundred on every test like I do,” said Violet.

  “Neither do you, Violet,” said Kate’s best friend, Jake.

  “Well, I usually do,” said Violet. “I was just sick once and couldn’t remember two little words. Kate only got ninety-three and ninety-five on the last two tests.”

  “How do you know?” asked Kate.

  “I saw your paper.”

  “Who said you could?” said Kate.

  “If you don’t want people to see your stupid spelling, you should cover your paper up. Anyway, I’m never embarrassed to show my paper. Come on, Lila. Let’s start to review that spelling. Those two don’t have a chance.”

  Violet and Lila skipped off.

  “It’s not going to be easy to win,” Kate told Jake.

  “We’re good at spelling too,” said Jake. “We just need to practice.”

  “I wish I wasn’t up against you, Jake. I’d love to beat Lila and Violet, but not you.”

  “Come on, Kate,” said Jake, patting Kate on the back. “It’s just a contest.”

  “But you want to win, Jake. I know you do. You like to win everything. Even coin tosses.”

  It was true. Every time they had a coin toss and it didn’t come out the way Jake guessed, he’d say, “Let’s do it again. How about two out of three?” And if two out of three didn’t work, he’d beg for three out of five.

  “Well, Kate M’Mate, if I don’t win, I want you to win. And if there’s a second prize, I hope you get it.” Jake smiled his friendly crooked smile.

  Kate smiled back. It was hard not to smile when Jake called her Kate M’Mate, like they were pirates.

  But she still wished she didn’t have to try to beat him at spelling. He wasn’t going to like losing. But then again, neither was she.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Homonym Headaches

  Kate bounded into the kitchen. Her mom was slicing onions. Tears were rolling down her cheeks.

  “O-n-i-o-n-s,” spelled Kate, handing her mom a tissue.

  “Thanks,” said her mom.

  “You’re w-e-l-c-o-m-e,” spelled Kate.

  “What’s all the spelling for?” asked her mom, wiping her eyes.

  “We’re having a spelling contest in spelling club and I’m practicing,” said Kate.

  “Anyone who can spell onions and welcome is already ten points ahead,” said her mom, sliding the onions into a sizzling pan.

  “Those words are easy, but homonyms are not,” said Kate. “Homonyms give me a headache. Why are there so many words that sound alike but are spelled differently? And why do we have to have so many on our spelling list?”

  “Homonyms are hard,” her mom agreed.

  “They’re impossible,” said Kate, plopping down on a kitchen chair. “The person who invented them should be sent to jail.”

  “Imagine how hard it would be if you came from another country and were trying to learn English,” said her mom.

  “English is hard to spell even if you are born here,” groaned Kate.

  “How many kids are there in your spelling club?” asked her mom.

  “Ten, and they’re all great spellers, especially Violet and Jake. So I have to spell, spell, spell, spell till I know every word!” said Kate.

  The next day, as Kate and Jake raced to the swings at recess, Jake said, “Let’s study spelling together after school.”

  “Great,” said Kate. “Let’s spell a lot of homonyms. They’re the hardest for me.”

  “Like h-i-g-h,” said Jake as he pumped his swing up.

  “Yes,” said Kate, pumping up too. “Like h-i-g-h.”

  “I hate the words with silent letters like k or p,” said Jake. “Who needs silent letters? It’s like wearing a tie. My mother made me wear a tie to my cousin’s wedding, but a tie is good for nothing, like silent letters.”

  Kate laughed.

  “Come at seven,” she said. “We’ll have chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate always helps me remember spelling words.”

  “Potato chips help me,” said Jake.

  “We have a bag of those too,” said Kate.

  “Good. I’ll be there!” said Jake, hopping off his swing.

  “Don’t be late, Jake,” said Kate, hopping off too.

  “Me, late? Never,” said Jake.

  “You, late—always!” said Kate, laughing.

  Jake was famous for being late. He always had a crazy excuse like he lost his socks or had itchy feet.

  And, sure enough, that evening Jake was late again.

  CHAPTER THREE

  You Think You’re So Smart

  By
7:20, Kate was staring at her clock. She tried to picture her spelling words in her mind like Mr. Bolin suggested, but her eyes kept darting to the clock.

  7:25.

  No Jake.

  7:30.

  No Jake.

  7:40.

  No Jake.

  Was he coming at all? He was always late but never this late. Kate picked up the phone to call him, but before she finished dialing, the doorbell rang.

  “Sorry, Kate M’ Mate,” said Jake, waving goodbye to his mom. “My mom made me dry all the dishes before we could leave.”

  “Doesn’t your mom put the dishes in the dishwasher?” asked Kate.

  “Not her favorite blue soup bowls, and we had soup for supper.”

  “That’s four bowls, Jake. That shouldn’t take you so long,” said Kate.

  “I like to dry them just right,” said Jake. “Come on. Let’s test each other on list one.”

  Kate knew Jake was changing the subject, but it was getting late.

  “Okay,” said Kate. “You test me first.”

  Jake read the fifty words on the first list to Kate. There were three lists of fifty words each for the contest. That made 150 words in all.

  “Slow down,” she begged when he reached the homonyms stair and stare. “I need to think. Which one means steps and which one means to look?”

  But no matter how hard she tried to remember, she couldn’t.

  “Nuts,” she mumbled. “I have to guess.”

  It was the wrong guess. Kate made many wrong guesses. She only got thirty-eight out of fifty words right.

  It was Jake’s turn.

  Jake scored forty-three out of fifty.

  “I’ll never do well on the contest,” moaned Kate.

  “Just study harder,” said Jake.

  “I have been studying hard. I’ve been studying so hard I have spelling dreams. Last night I dreamed a genie trapped me in a giant spelling list, and I couldn’t get out no matter how many magic words I said.”

  “Well, winning isn’t everything,” said Jake, patting Kate on the back.

  “Don’t tell me that!” said Kate. “And don’t pat me on the back like I’m a dog! You think you’re so smart, but you’re not.”

  “Hey. Calm down,” said Jake.

  “Don’t tell me to calm down,” shouted Kate. “Don’t tell me anything. Ever!” And with that Kate stormed out of the room and up the stairs.

  She slammed her bedroom door and threw herself on her bed.

  “I’m sorry, Jake,” Kate heard her mom say. “I don’t know what’s got into Kate tonight.”

  “Stupid spelling has got into me!” said Kate to herself.

  Kate stared at the picture of an ice skater above her bed. The skater looked like she’d just won first prize at a competition. She was smiling as if it had been so easy. But it wasn’t easy to win. No matter how hard you tried, sometimes you couldn’t win.

  Kate listened for voices from downstairs, but it was quiet. Where was Jake? Kate hopped off her bed and ran downstairs.

  “Where’s Jake?” she asked her mom.

  “He went home, Kate. He said you were mad at him. He called his mom and they left,” her mom said.

  “Well, I was mad at him,” said Kate. “He kept patting me on the back like I’m a dog. He kept telling me to calm down like I’m a baby. He wants to win that contest just as much as I do.”

  “Jake’s your best friend, Kate,” said her mom.

  “Then why doesn’t he understand how I feel? I can’t remember those dumb homonyms no matter how hard I try.”

  Kate’s mom sighed.

  “I’m going back to my room to study, but I don’t know if it will do any good!” said Kate.

  And with that Kate raced up the stairs and slammed her door shut again.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Hiding

  “Kate, are you still in bed?” said her mom the next morning.

  “I’m not going to school,” said Kate, turning over in bed.

  “Are you sick?” asked her mom.

  “No,” Kate mumbled, sliding under her quilt.

  “If you’re not sick, you have to go to school,” said her mother.

  “I can’t,” said Kate.

  “Why not?” asked her mom.

  “Because Jake hates me after yesterday.”

  “Jake doesn’t hate you, although you did act strangely. Maybe you shouldn’t take part in the contest if it’s going to upset you so much,” said Kate’s mom.

  Kate popped out from under her quilt and sat up.

  “Mom! How can you say that? I have to be in the contest.”

  “Well...” her mom began, but before she could finish her sentence, Kate had jumped out of bed and was pulling on her blue pants and red shirt.

  “I’ll see you downstairs,” said her mom.

  Kate pulled her brown hair into two pigtails. Little bits of hair stuck out on each side of her head. She ran down to the kitchen.

  Kate’s mom handed her a piece of bread spread with peanut butter and jam.

  “I’m not hungry,” said Kate.

  “You’ll have no energy for spelling if you don’t eat.”

  “I’ll eat at recess,” said Kate.

  “Oh, Kate,” said her mother. “What am I going to do with you?”

  “Walk me to school,” said Kate. “If we don’t hurry, I’ll be late.”

  The bell rang as Kate slipped into her seat. She glanced to her right. Jake’s seat was empty.

  “Good morning, class,” said Mr. Bolin. “Let’s begin...” Before he could finish his sentence, Jake slid into his seat beside Kate. His red hair looked more tangled than usual, as if he hadn’t combed it in days.

  “You’re late again, Jake,” said Mr. Bolin.

  “I was studying spelling so hard that I didn’t realize it was time to go to school,” said Jake.

  “I see,” said Mr. Bolin. “You know, if you continue to be late, Jake, I’ll have to disqualify you from the contest. Chronic lateness shows a lack of responsibility, and only responsible people can take part in the contest.”

  “I won’t be late again unless it’s a super-duper emergency,” promised Jake.

  “Losing your socks is not a super-duper emergency, right?” said Mr. Bolin.

  That was Jake’s excuse yesterday.

  “Right,” said Jake.

  “Your baby sister spitting up on your shirt is not a super-duper emergency, right?” said Mr. Bolin.

  Jake had used that excuse two times already.

  “Right,” said Jake.

  “Your dog swallowing your eraser is not a super, duper emergency, right?” said Mr. Bolin.

  Jake had used that excuse two weeks ago.

  “Right,” said Jake. “But it was almost an emergency. Luckily the eraser came out in the...”

  The class roared with laughter.

  “Spare me the details,” said Mr. Bolin.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Homonym Help

  “Jake!” called Kate when the recess bell rang.

  But Jake raced out the door without answering.

  Kate grabbed her jacket and her spelling list and ran to the playground. She passed a few girls tossing a ball. She passed a few boys on the slide.

  She passed the swings. Jake and Donald were high in the air, laughing.

  “Did you hear the joke about the elephant and the gym teacher?” asked Donald.

  “No,” said Jake.

  They were up so high that Kate couldn’t hear the rest of the joke. All she could hear was Jake and Donald laughing.

  Kate walked past the see-saw and past the sandbox to a bench at the back of the playground.

  She sat on the bench and looked at her spelling list. She said the first homonyms out loud. “B-e. B-e-e.” Then she pulled out her peanut butter snack from her pocket. The bread was smushed and the peanut butter had turned into a gooey paste.

  Kate stared at the mashed mess. There was no way she could put any of tha
t into her mouth.

  As she stuffed the food back into her pocket, she heard Violet behind her.

  “Where’s your friend Jake?” asked Violet.

  “I thought you two were such good friends,” said Lila, “but we saw Jake playing with Donald.”

  Kate didn’t answer. She stood up and began to walk.

  Violet and Lila followed her.

  “Lila and I are helping each other get ready for the spelling contest. Who’s helping you?” asked Violet.

  Kate didn’t answer.

  “Poor Kate,” said Lila. “No one wants to help you.”

  “That’s ‘cause no one likes you,” said Violet.

  Kate wanted to stuff the smushed bread into Violet’s mouth, but she just kept walking.

  “You’re going to lose by so many points everyone will laugh,” said Violet.

  “They will laugh and laugh and laugh,” said Lila.

  “They will laugh so hard they will roll on the floor, and tears will run down their faces and wet their pants,” said Violet.

  Kate spun around. “Look out! There’s a b-e-e on your ear, Violet, and one on your nose, Lila, and you are both about to b-e stung!”

  Lila and Violet screamed and jumped into the air. “Go away! Go away!” they screeched, flailing their arms.

  As they leaped around, Kate dashed back to the school building.

  She usually didn’t make up stories, but she had to do something to get those two away from her.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Busy

  “What’s the matter, Kate?” asked her mom after school.

  “Jake hates me. He wouldn’t speak to me all day at school.”

  “Why don’t you call him and explain?” her mom said.

  “He’ll hang up on me,” said Kate.

  “It’s worth a try,” said her mom.

  “I guess so,” said Kate.

  Kate dialed Jake’s number.

  “Hello,” said Jake.

  Kate hung up the phone.

  “What happened?” asked her mom.

  “Jake answered and I hung up,” said Kate.