by Abby Klein
“Well, I need to see a lot less talking and a lot more working,” Mrs. Wushy said. “You both need to finish that page of math problems before recess.”
As soon as Mrs. Wushy walked away, Max smiled and whispered, “We’ll finish this conversation at recess, wimp.”
Oh great. Just great. I was going to get beat up by the meanest kid in the class. No … correction … the biggest bully in the whole first grade.
My stomach started doing flips. I was sure I was going to throw up.
“Uh … Mrs. Wushy … may I go to the bathroom?”
“Are you feeling okay, Freddy? You look a little pale.”
“I’m, uh, fine. I just need to go.”
“Well, go ahead then.”
I ran to the bathroom, went into one of the stalls, locked the door, and sat down on the toilet to think.
Why did I talk back to Max Sellars, the biggest bully in the whole first grade? He was going to squish me like a bug.
I hit my forehead with the palm of my hand. Think, think, think …
I’m going to get beat up by the bully.
He’s gonna smush me!
He’s gonna crush me!
He’s gonna rip me to pieces like a great white shark snacking on a tuna fish!
He’s gonna turn my face into oatmeal!
I hit my head harder. Think, think, think …
Wait a minute…. I’m going to get beat up by the bully! This is my lucky day!
He’s gonna smush me!
He’s gonna crush me!
He’s gonna rip me to pieces!
He’s gonna turn my face into oatmeal!
He’s gonna knock my tooth right out!
And I’m finally gonna get my name on the Big Tooth!
CHAPTER 5
Get Ready … Get Set …
I walked back to class and sat down in my chair to finish the math worksheet. I could feel Max’s eyes staring at me, so I turned and winked at him.
After what seemed like forever, Mrs. Wushy rang her bell and said, “OK, boys and girls, it’s time for recess. Please hand me your papers, and then you may go out.”
I jumped up, handed Mrs. Wushy my paper, and bolted toward the door.
Robbie grabbed my arm and yanked me back before I reached the door. “Hey! Where are you going?” he asked.
“Let go of me!” I said, trying to shake my arm loose. “I’m going to fight Max.”
“Are you crazy?” Robbie knocked on my head. “Hello. Anybody in there? The biggest bully in the whole first grade is about to kick your butt, and you’re going out there?”
“Yeah.”
“What?”
“Yeah. And he’s gonna punch me right in the mouth and knock my tooth out! Then I’ll get to sign the Big Tooth, just like you!”
“That’s so stupid.”
“No it’s not.”
“Yes it is! I think I’d better go tell Mrs. Wushy.”
“Oh no you don’t,” I said, making a fist. “Or I’ll knock your teeth out!”
Robbie shook his head. “Stupid, stupid, stupid.”
“No! This is my lucky day! Now, are you coming or not?” I ran out the door with Robbie at my heels.
“Wait, wait!” he yelled.
“What now?”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks!”
“You’re gonna need it!”
Just then, Max came running across the yard. “Well, lookie here. The Big Chicken finally came out of hiding.”
“I wasn’t hiding. I was just getting ready.”
“Bock, bock, bock,” Max clucked as he strutted around the yard, flapping his arms like a chicken.
“I’M NOT A CHICKEN!” I yelled.
Jessie poked Robbie. “What’s Freddy doing?”
“He’s gonna fight Max.”
“Really?” said Jessie. “How brave.”
“Did you hear that?” I turned to Robbie. “She thinks I’m brave.”
“Not brave, just really dumb,” Robbie muttered under his breath.
“Hey, everybody come over here!” yelled Jessie. “Freddy’s gonna fight Max.”
The whole class gathered around us in a big circle, pushing and shoving to get a good view of what was about to happen. I squeezed my lucky shark tooth, hoping for some extra power.
“Hey, Freddy’s gonna fight Max! Freddy’s gonna fight Max!” they all whispered.
Max rolled up his sleeves and started cracking his knuckles in preparation.
All the kids started chanting, “Fred-dy, Fred-dy, Fred-dy.”
“Come on, Tiburón! You can do it!” yelled Jessie as she hopped back and forth and punched the air like a boxer.
“Hey, watch my hair, Jessie,” said Chloe, fluffing her bouncy red boing-boings. “My mom spent an hour curling it this morning.”
“Well, excuuuuse me, you little fancy-pants. It’s just hair!”
“Well, you’re just jealous,” said Chloe as she walked away with her nose in the air.
“Whatever.”
“This is crazy!” Robbie mumbled.
“I know. Isn’t it great?” Jessie said to Robbie. Then she turned and screamed,“LET’S GO, FREDDY! SHOW HIM WHAT YOU’VE GOT!”
I gulped hard. “Just think of the tooth. Just think of the tooth,” I whispered to myself.
CHAPTER 6
The Fight
The chants of “Fred-dy, Fred-dy, Fred-dy” were ringing in my ears.
“It’s now or never,” I thought.
“Hey, Dog Breath!” I yelled, pointing at Max.
“What’d ‘ya call me, Baby Teeth?”
“You heard me, Dog Breath,” I said, putting up my fists and jumping around. “Come on! Come on!”
Max made a fist, raised his arm high above his head, and started to swing.
I squeezed my eyes shut, took a deep breath, and stuck out my jaw.
I could already see myself signing the Big Tooth.
Then, WOOMPH! Right … in … the … stomach.
CHAPTER 7
Hard, Crunchy Things
Max was sent to the principal’s office.
I was sent to the nurse.
And worst of all, I still had all my teeth.
Bummer. I guess that wasn’t such a great plan after all.
After school, I was going to play at Robbie’s house, so we rode the bus together.
“I still can’t believe you got in a fight with Max Sellars. That was really stupid!”
“No it wasn’t.”
“Yes it was!”
“Well, I really want to lose a tooth.”
“Too bad you’re not a shark in real life, Freddy. You know, sharks lose their teeth all the time.”
“Thanks for the lesson, Einstein, but I already know all about shark teeth. As soon as they lose one, another tooth grows in. Some sharks go through sixty thousand teeth in their lifetime. Isn’t that amazing?”
“Well, there are other ways to lose a tooth,” said Robbie.
“I can’t think of any other ways.”
“Well, I ate a lot of hard, crunchy things like carrots and apples. Then one day my tooth got wiggly, and I wiggled it and wiggled it every day.”
“Did it work?”
“I lost my tooth, didn’t I?” Robbie said, pointing to the hole in his mouth.
We had reached Robbie’s house, so we ran inside, dropped our backpacks, and went straight to the kitchen to get a snack.
“Mom, we’re home!” Robbie called.
Mrs. Jackson came into the kitchen. “Hello, boys. What’s up?”
We both looked at each other with that “If you don’t tell, I won’t tell” kind of stare that best friends have and answered together, “Nothin’.”
“Did anything exciting happen today?”
“Nah. Same old stuff.”
“Well, you must be starving. What do you want for a snack?”
“Do you have any carrots, Mrs. Jackson?”
“Carrots? Freddy, are y
ou on a diet?” she said, chuckling. “Sorry, I’m all out. That’s on my grocery list for this week. What else can I get you?”
“How about an apple?”
“Nope. I put the last one in Kimberly’s lunch today. I know,” said Mrs. Jackson. “How about some Berry Blast Jell-O?”
Jell-O! Rats! I wouldn’t lose any teeth eating Jell-O. That’s what they give to babies and old people who don’t have any teeth!
“No, thanks,” I said. “I’m not that hungry.”
“Suit yourself,” said Robbie. “I’ll have some Jell-O, Mom.”
I watched Robbie eat his purple Jell-O and stared at the hole in his mouth as he took each bite.
“It’s just not fair,” I thought. “I’m three months older than he is.”
When Robbie finished, we went to his room to play.
“What should we play? Wanna do some experiments with my new chemistry set?”
“Naw, I’m not in the mood.”
“Wanna go outside and catch roly-polies and look at them under my microscope?”
“Naw.”
“I know. Let’s play with Rosie and Violet.”
I shook my head. Rosie and Violet were Robbie’s pets, a ball python and a leopard gecko.
“Well, what do you want to play?” Robbie sighed, exasperated.
“I don’t know.” I shrugged.
“You’re no fun today.”
“You know what? I’m just gonna go home. I’m tired.”
“Whatever, party pooper.”
“See ya. I’ll call you later.”
“I may not be around, because we’re going out to a special dinner to celebrate me losing my first tooth.”
Tooth, tooth, tooth. If I heard that word one more time, I was going to scream!
CHAPTER 8
I Give Up
I walked around the corner to my house, opened the door quietly, and started up the stairs to my room. I really didn’t feel like talking to anybody.
“Well, look who’s here. Mighty Mouse.”
I looked up to see my sister staring down at me.
“How’s your stomach feel, big boy?” she asked, laughing. “Oh, I just wish I could have been there to see it. That must have been hilarious! I bet he barely touched you, and you just crumbled like a cookie.”
“How do you know about the fight?” I asked nervously.
“Oh, good news travels fast. It was all over school.”
“Please don’t tell Mom and Dad,” I begged. “I’ll do your chores for a week.”
“Too late. Mom already knows.”
“Thanks a lot!”
“It’s nothing.”
Just then, my mom appeared at the top of the stairs. “Freddy? I didn’t hear you come home.”
“You’re going to get it now,” my sister whispered into my ear.
“Freddy, we need to talk,” said my mom.
My stomach started doing flip-flops.
“Right now? I’m … uh … really … uh … tired. I just want to go to my room.”
“Yes, now. Come on.” She grabbed my hand. I tried to wriggle free, but she was holding my fingers so tight I thought she was going to crush my pinkie. There was no getting out of this. She led me down the hall to my bedroom. My sister followed us in there.
“Suzie, you need to go finish your homework.”
“Oh, that’s OK. I can finish it later.”
“No, you can finish it now,” my mom said, giving Suzie another one of her Death Stares. “Good-bye.”
“Yeah, toodles,” I said, waving.
She slammed the door and stomped down the hall.
“Freddy, Suzie told me you got in a fight at school today. Is that true?”
I stared down at my toes.
“Freddy, I am asking you a question, and I expect an answer.”
“Ymmm,” I mumbled.
“What was that? I couldn’t hear you.”
“Yes!” I shouted, as the tears started welling up in my eyes.
“Why?”
I began sniffling. “I’m the only one…. Max called me a baby…. He was teasing me…. I really wanted to lose a tooth…. I wanted him to knock my tooth out. Please don’t be mad.”
“Oh, Freddy,” my mom said, laughing. “I’m not mad.”
“You’re not?”
She wiped a tear off of my face. “No, I understand.”
“You do?”
“Yes. Sometimes when we want something really badly, we do silly things. But I hope you learned your lesson. And please promise me that will be your last fight.”
“I promise.”
“And I promise you will lose a tooth. How about if we go out for ice cream when your dad comes home? I bet a little Chocolate Banana Rama would cheer you up.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
CHAPTER 9
Is That a Nut?
We got into the car and started driving to my favorite ice-cream place in the whole world, Chilly Willy’s.
“How come Freddy is getting ice cream?” said my sister. “He got in a fight. Shouldn’t he be getting punished?”
“Be quiet! You’re not my mom,” I said.
“Well, it’s not fair.”
“Everything in life isn’t always fair,” said my mother.
“You always say that,” my sister whined.
“Enough, Suzie,” said my dad.
“Fine, let the wimp have his ice cream,” Suzie said as she stuck her tongue out at me. “You could never have beaten Max, you big chicken!” she whispered as she clucked softly in my ear. “You think that those shark shirts make you look tough, but you really couldn’t hurt a guppy.”
“Mom, Dad, Suzie stuck her tongue out at me!”
“Suzie, you stop that this instant, or there will be no ice cream for you!”
Suzie turned and gave me her most evil stare, but I just smiled back and gave her my “Oh, I’m so cute” grin.
As we pulled into the parking lot, I saw the dancing ice-cream cone out in front of the store. It’s really a guy dressed in an ice-cream suit who hands out free samples.
“Ooooh, I wonder what yummy flavor he has today?”
“Your favorite,” Suzie said. “Mushed-up gopher guts with a cherry on top.”
“Hello,” said the cone. “Would you like to try Nutty Buddy today?”
“No, thanks. I don’t like nuts, especially in my ice cream.”
“Well, we’ve got lots more flavors for you inside.”
We went inside, and I looked in the cases. “Hmmm, what do I want today—Blueberry Blast, or Chocolate Candy Bits, or Tutti-Frutti?”
“Make a decision, Shark Breath,” said my sister. “We don’t have all day.”
“One more nasty word out of you, young lady,” said my dad, “and you’re going to wait in the car.”
“I’ll have a scoop of Strawberry Swirl in a cone, please,” I said.
I got my ice cream and sat down in a booth. The ice cream tasted good, and I started to forget about my bad day.
“Feeling a little better?” my mom asked.
“Yeah, I guess, but I still wish I wasn’t the only one.”
I sat in silence for a while, slowly licking my ice cream.
All of a sudden I felt something hard in my mouth. “EEEWWW! There’s a big nut in my ice cream, and I hate nuts!” I did a huge gulp and swallowed it quickly so I wouldn’t have to taste it.
“No, you’re nuts,” said my sister. “There’s no nuts in Strawberry Swirl ice cream.”
“Well then, what did I just swallow, Miss Know-It-All?” I said as I opened my mouth and pointed down my throat.
“Your tooth,” she said.
“Ha-ha, very funny,” I said.
“No, I’m serious. You just swallowed your tooth!”
“Oh my gosh! It is your tooth,” my mom said excitedly as she leaned over and gave me a big hug.
“Yep. I can see the little hole in your mouth where it used to be,” said my dad.
I looked at them like they were all crazy. “What are you guys talking about? How can I swallow my tooth if I don’t have a loose tooth?”
“Not anymore, you don’t. You just swallowed it,” said my dad.
I shoved my finger in my mouth and started feeling around. Sure enough, there was a little hole right in the front.
“Congratulations, honey,” said my mom. “I know you’ve been waiting a long time for this.”
I jumped out of the booth and started screaming at my family. “WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE SO HAPPY ABOUT? I JUST SWALLOWED MY TOOTH! MY FIRST TOOTH! NOW THE TOOTH FAIRY WON’T COME, BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE A TOOTH TO PUT UNDER MY PILLOW!”
“Calm down, Freddy,” said my dad. “And please lower your voice. People are starting to stare at you.”
“Calm down! Calm down! This is the worst day of my life.” I fell back into the booth, put my head in my hands, and started to sob.
“Hey, Crybaby,” Suzie said, poking me. “You could always leave her a note.”
“Huh?” I looked up.
“Leave her a note. Just tell the Tooth Fairy that you’re really sorry you don’t have a tooth to leave for her, but you swallowed it.”
“Do you think that’ll work?” I asked, wiping my eyes and nose on my shirt.
“I don’t know, but it’s worth a try. My friend Sandra said she did that once when her tooth fell out of her pocket at school, and the Tooth Fairy took her note and left some money.”
I threw my arms around her and gave her a big hug. “You’re the best sister in the whole world.”
“I know,” Suzie said.
CHAPTER 10
Dear Tooth Fairy …
As soon as we got home from Chilly Willy’s, I ran upstairs and started digging through the piles of junk in my room for a piece of paper. I finally found a piece under my bed and licked a smudge of chocolate off one corner.
“There, good as new. Now I just need to find a pencil.”