President of the Whole Fifth Grade

by Sherri Winston

  I tried again. “Dr. Beelie, you don’t know this because you’re a grown-up and probably don’t know as much about what goes on around here as you think, but a bunch of the kids in the election are in it for the wrong reason. They’re running because they’re popular or because they think that’s what everyone around them expects.”

  “And you, Miss Justice? Do you fall into that category?”

  “Sort of. The point is, I’ve been so caught up in trying to win, trying to make sure certain other people don’t win, that I stopped being a good friend to the kids I care about. And I stopped acting like the kind of Me that I’d always been proud to be. That’s why I’m here today. I’m hoping it’s not too late to try and win the right way and for the right reason…”

  Then I told him how a lot of kids were fed up with the cafeteria food and wanted better choices. I told him that I wanted the chance to really listen to the students and hear what they thought would make our school better. I told him:

  “Dr. Beelie, I may have made some mistakes in the past, but I want you to know, from now on, I just want to make Orchard Park Elementary the best school ever. As president, I would try to do what was best not only for a small group, but for the whole school.”

  A bright light blazed behind Annie Darling and the desk where we sat. She turned to me.

  “Wow! That was amazing, Bree,” she said.

  Not to brag or anything, but, dang, it was kinda good. I bit the inside corner of my lip. “Thanks, Annie.”

  “Your video was so different from everyone else’s. You had a famous TV person and former Orchard Park class president. Then you interviewed our very own Dr. Beelie.”

  She slid closer, then asked, “So, what you’re saying is you’d rather have your friends than be president?”

  I blew out a sigh. “Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”

  Annie Darling’s eyes sparkled as if she’d gotten the news scoop of the century. She said, “So, Brianna, it had been rumored that if you won, you were planning to throw a winter beach party—complete with sand shipped in and inflatable beach balls—to make good on a promise made to your new friends. Are you saying now that your plans have changed?”

  Good grief! Annie Darling was leaning so far forward I thought for sure she’d fall off her chair.

  “Uh, if I win, I won’t be having any beach parties.” This was it. My chest felt tight and my lips were a little numb. Five days until the voters went to circle the name of the person they wanted as president, and I was about to move away from what Weasel and I had planned and speak from the heart.

  “A little while back, a bunch of us got into trouble because we went racing into the Forbidden Woods. Only I sort of knew they weren’t haunted because I overheard Mr. Tan talking on the phone about how the police had arrested a homeless person who’d been camped out back there.

  “What I didn’t find out until later, though, was that it wasn’t just a homeless person. It was a family. A mom, a dad, and three kids. The dad lost his job, the mom got sick, then I guess they couldn’t afford a place to live. I found out that stuff when Dr. Beelie got all red-faced, yelling at us for running around in the woods in the first place. After my interview with Dr. Beelie, if I’m elected president, I’d like to talk with the other class officials. Maybe get the school some much-needed gym equipment, then donate the rest to the family from the Forbidden Woods.

  “Maybe some students around here wouldn’t want a president who would choose to help homeless kids more than having a beach party. But, anyway, that’s what I’d like to do.”

  For about a microsecond I was on top of the world, proud of myself. But I didn’t even make it back to Mrs. Nutmeg’s classroom before—DRAMA!

  Brianna’s Cookbook

  Itsy-Bitsy Wild Banana Bites

  Miniature cupcake pan

  Cupcake liners

  Ingredients:

  1 box yellow cake mix

  2 small bananas

  2 tablespoons sour cream

  Frosting:

  1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese

  3 cups confectioners’ sugar

  5 or 6 tablespoons milk

  ½ cup creamed bananas

  Dash of vanilla flavoring

  Prepare your pan: The easiest way to do it is make sure your pan is clean, then put the cupcake liners—you know, those little paper cup thingies—into the cupcake pan. Trust me, it helps with the cleanup and it’s just neater.

  Prepare the cake mix based on the instructions on the box. Take the two bananas and sour cream and mash up in the food processor. Add the mixture to the cake batter. Place batter in the cupcake pan, then bake according to directions on cake mix box.

  For the frosting, combine the cream cheese, milk, confectioners’ sugar, and a dash of vanilla flavoring in a food processor. Then gently fold in creamed bananas.

  Allow cupcakes time to cool, then frost.

  If you like bananas (like Becks does), then you’ll love the Itsy-Bitsy Wild Banana Bites!

  33

  “President Obama Can Leap Tall Buildings…”

  (“… in a single bound?”)

  Did you know that the president, Barack Obama, was a huge fan of Superman comics? Grandpa once told me that “… to be the first African American man elected as president of these United States, that young man has to be part superhero himself!”

  I tried to picture President Obama in a cape, flying around the country, around the world, making wrongs right. Yeah, I don’t think so. President Obama didn’t have superpowers, and goodness knows I didn’t, either.

  Still, me and the forty-fourth president of the United States had something in common—we wanted to fix things that needed fixing. Offering to help people in need, well, that was the start of me trying to fix some stuff that was broken—turning a wrong into a right. Too bad not everybody saw it that way.

  “You’re not really going to give the money to some homeless family, are you?” Zinnia was almost nose to nose with me.

  Pansy rolled her eyes and said, “We were counting on you to win! What about Zinnia’s beach party idea?”

  They’d stopped me in the hallway on the stairs. I was struggling to hold on to a covered cake pan stacked with my Itsy-Bitsy Wild Banana Bites. I’d brought enough for our class.

  Weasel weaseled his way through them and came to stand beside me. “Very touching, m’lady. But as you can see, several of us have an interest in seeing you win.”

  Pansy gave my shoulder a nudge and I almost dropped the cake pan. “Yeah! He’s got an idea to save your sorry behind, so you’d better listen.”

  “Hey, get away from her!”

  Lauren. Sara.

  And Becks!

  They were at the top of the stairs. Sara yelled, “Back off! She did the right thing!”

  Then Pansy and Zinnia turned to look at me one last time, glared, and stalked off.

  Weasel slithered even closer. As usual, he was looking left and right as though convinced spies were gonna jump around the corner. He pushed aside a stray, greasy strand of hair. “M’lady, fear not. Despite your lapse in judgment, I have the perfect thing to help you beat your biggest competitor. Miss Jasmine Moon does indeed have a secret worth hiding.”

  Lauren, Sara, and Becks had pushed past the others and were heading toward me. Weasel leaned closer, his whisper a hot steamy trail on the side of my face. Ugh!

  “Saturday, at the Halloween carnival, I will reveal Jasmine Moon’s deepest, darkest secret. No one will vote for her after that!”

  “No, Weasel! That’s not what I want.”

  “Get away from her, Weasel!” Lauren’s voice boomed, but Weasel was already bowing and retreating.

  “Ladies,” he said, before vanishing around the corner and out of sight.

  “What was that all about?” they asked.

  “That was Weasel still trying to control me and convince me to do anything just to win.”

  Becks bit the corner of her lip and shifted from one foot
to the other. She took a puff on her inhaler. “What are you going to do?” she asked.

  “Becks…,” I began. The words caught in my throat. I felt rotten about ignoring her for the past few weeks. And I felt rottener about treating her like SHE was the creep instead of me. I took a deep breath and then blew it out.

  “I’m so sorry. About how I’ve been acting, I mean. I should have given you a chance to explain what happened with Jasmine Moon getting her stinking hands on my… that note.”

  Becks said, “First, just for the record, I never meant to tell Jasmine Moon your secret about getting Todd in trouble. She found my memory book and saw the letter and the note you’d written under it. She said we should play a trick, but just between us. You, me, the rest of us. She said it would be a funny way for the two of you to get to know each other better.”

  Lauren snorted. “Oh, yeah, and you fell for that.”

  “She told me it was supposed to be a joke, Brianna. Honest. I’d never try to embarrass you like that.” She took another puff of her inhaler and gave me a sideways grin. “Besides, you have proof of my deepest, darkest secret, too.”

  “You know I’d never tell. Not ever!”

  Lauren said, “And because we’re such good friends, we won’t even ask what the secret is!”… Five… four… three… Wait for it… two… one… “Okay, I want to know. Please. It’s killing me!”

  See, that’s Lauren. She couldn’t help herself. We all burst out laughing. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed that sound. I shook my head. Becks’s asthma made her get crazy congestion sometimes. You know, congestion, like when you have a cold and get all yucky with your nose stopped up and that nasty cough? Anyway, in first grade, Becks had one of those stuffy-nosed days while we were on a field trip to the museum. I was taking a picture of her with my camera. She was standing in front of her favorite statue when she started coughing. Right when I took the picture, she sneezed really hard. All over the statue. We were concentrating so hard on using tissues to clean off the statue before anyone could see, that I never checked my digital camera until later. That’s when I saw the photo.

  Becks was the one who told me to keep it, but NEVER, EVER show it to anyone.

  I looked at my friends. My girls. And for the first time in weeks, I felt like my old self. Like a grade-school superhero.

  “Sorry, Lauren. That secret stays with me.” Becks shot me a big grin.

  “Okay, so what’s the plan?” Lauren asked.

  “I’m going to put a stop to Weasel and his weaselly ways, once and for all.”

  Sara did a mini-clap and said, “Yay! Group hug!”

  And we group-hugged.

  And it felt good!

  34

  John Quincy Adams Kept Silkworms as Pets.

  (But I bet even he wouldn’t put up with a weasel!)

  It was not even 5:30 in the morning.

  Bad enough I was already in the bakery and still not fully awake. I didn’t need Weasel popping out of nowhere with his foolishness.

  “Weasel, how many times do I have to tell you, I don’t want to win if it means acting like this?”

  “Ah, yes, m’lady. But as I’ve told you, there are others who wish to see you win. Others known as the It kids. And they are willing to accept me if I can help you snatch victory from the greedy jaws of defeat.”

  “Weasel…” But he kept going, staring off into nowhere like he was watching some sort of movie with him starring as the evil dweeb.

  “Tomorrow, at the Halloween carnival, Mr. Tan has me helping with the spooky DVD that’s supposed to play in the background. Well, after a lot of digging, I finally found what we needed. Dirt on Jasmine Moon. Silly little girl used her own mother’s cell phone to record her and a friend doing their dirty prank. When the truth came out at her old school—well, let’s just say, it’s why she had to leave. Once her secret is out, no one will vote for her. None of the other candidates are popular enough to beat you. We’ll win!”

  He was holding my arm so tight that it started losing feeling.

  Once her secret is out, no one will vote for her.

  What about my secret? Was there still time for her to find out what it was and blab it?

  Or did she already know it? Was she waiting for just the right time to humiliate me one more time?

  Pans clanged. We both turned.

  “What’s going on?” Mrs. W. asked, rounding the corner with cookware.

  Weasel immediately threw his arm over my shoulder and pasted on a fake smile.

  “Good morning again, dear Mama. I was merely discussing our final strategy for success in the upcoming election.” He gave my shoulder a squeeze. He was getting on my last nerve.

  “Raymond, you’re not supposed to be in here bothering Brianna. She has plenty to keep her busy,” she said, sweeping past him and coming right up to me. “However, dear, I did want to talk with you. It seems our appearance on the cable station and at school made quite an impact. I’ve gotten all sorts of calls and e-mails from people wanting to purchase your cupcakes.”

  She grinned so wide that I was filled with an awesome, warm, I’m-going-to-be-rich-before-high-school feeling.

  “That’s the good news. The scary news is that I’ve received orders for over five hundred cupcakes for Saturday evening Halloween parties. Even with the help of some of my staff here tomorrow morning, that’s a mighty tall order. What do you say you and I sit and discuss how to work out the business side of this order and figure out how doable it is?”

  My mind filled with recipes and dollar signs. Still, way, way, way in the back, a little voice wondered, “What will Weasel do next?”

  FOUR DAYS!

  The election was in FOUR DAYS. Saturday, Sunday, Monday… then Tuesday, the Big Day!

  Even though it was way too cold, Mrs. Nutmeg decided our class needed to go out and run off some excess energy. It was the first time since the girls and I were back talking that we’d gone outside.

  Of course, we couldn’t help talking about how everybody at the It Squad table had been throwing me the stank-eye. Hmph!

  If that wasn’t enough drama, as we were heading back inside from recess, Weasel appeared again to brighten my day.

  “Remember what we talked about this morning, m’lady. Finally, the cool kids are listening to me. Don’t you see? Once you’re president, we’ll own this school!”

  I yanked my arm away from Weasel. “No more dirty tricks. If I win, I’ll win fair and square.”

  His thin, wormy lips wriggled into a snarl. “If you don’t do what I say, I’ll make sure my mom kicks you out of the bakery. You’ll never earn another dime for your tasty goodies. And we wouldn’t want that now, would we?”

  Then he was gone and I suddenly felt very cold inside my insulated coat. I didn’t want to lose my chance to make cupcakes at Wetzel’s Bakery, but I knew one thing for sure:

  Weasel had to be stopped—for good!

  35

  The Minutemen

  (Like the British soldiers who were ready in a minute, my girls jumped into action!)

  “Brianna, you’ve got company.”

  I sat up with a start. My heart thudded in my chest. The family room was all dark and cozy. The curtains were closed and light from the next room cast shadows on everything—including the four people in front of me.

  My mouth felt dry and for a moment I wondered if I’d dreamt that whole ugly scene with Weasel.

  “Bree, sorry to wake you,” Becks said. Becks was with Sara and Lauren. My mom was just behind them.

  I looked past the girls to my mom. “I didn’t know you’d gotten home already,” I said. My voice was scratchy and sleepy-sounding. I sat up and tried to push the fog out of my brain.

  “Well, Mrs. Wetzel called and told us about all the orders you got for your cupcakes. Your father and I decided we’d work with you, if you’d like, and help you get a head start on tomorrow’s orders tonight. We’re just so proud of our little businesswoman. Anything w
e can do to help, sweetie?”

  Even though it was the uncoolest of uncool things one fifth grader could do in front of another, especially three others, I slid off the sofa and went and gave my mom a hug. She felt warm and comfy in her oversized Michigan State shirt and sweats, and I didn’t want to let go.

  She finally pulled away and said, “Go talk with your friends. We’ll go over to the bakery and get started on the cupcakes after dinner.”

  Lauren twisted the knob to turn on the lamp by the sofa. Sara and Becks came and put an arm around me. Lauren said, “Ever since you told us at school what Weasel said, we’ve been trying to figure out a way to help.”

  I plopped back onto the sofa.

  “I’m really glad my parents want to help with the cupcakes, but now, in a way, that makes it even worse. How can I tell them that Weasel is threatening to have me kicked out of his mom’s bakery unless I let him destroy Jasmine Moon?” And how can I tell them that I’ve been cheating and scheming and being all notorious and that I have a dirty, rotten secret of my own that could shake the very foundation of our family!

  “Well,” said Sara, “we’re here to help.” She and Becks exchanged glances.

  “What?” I said.

  “Bree, you look, um, dazed,” said Sara.

  I felt dazed. “I was having this awful nightmare.” I looked at Becks. “I was dreaming that Jasmine Moon knew MY other big secret.”

  “Really, it was so long ago, probably everybody has forgotten about it anyway. I don’t think it would matter so much,” Sara said.

  “Are you kidding?” I asked. “I pooped in the sandbox. POOPED. IN. THE. SANDBOX! They called in the health department and we couldn’t use the sandbox for, like, ever, after that. I almost shut down the school. No kid wants that kind of information to get out. Not EVER!”

  Becks’s eyes widened. “There isn’t any proof of the, um, sandbox incident, Bree. And believe me, I will never tell.”