Bernadette told anyone who would listen that it wasn’t her idea; she had just made up the strategy for one single lunch, and Mrs. Hawthorn decided to copy it for the class for a whole month. But nobody believed her.
“The Lunch Bunch is famous for making up weird meals, Bernadette,” explained Jackie Renfrew, the boy who sat next to her. “And people know you started the Lunch Bunch. So they think that you gave the idea of the Healthy Food Challenge to Mrs. Hawthorn.”
“Well, she said we had to study nutrition this year anyway! So all she borrowed from the Lunch Bunch was the idea of having a strategy,” Bernadette protested.
“I don’t mind, Bernadette,” Jackie said. “I’m having fun.”
“I’m not. I hate being blamed for something I didn’t do!” She felt like crying.
“Don’t worry about the complainers. They’re just sulky,” said Jackie.
“What do you mean?” asked Bernadette.
“That’s what my grandpa says when my sister starts whining about stuff. He says she’s just sulky and needs a distraction. Usually he plays cards with her and that cheers her up.”
“We can’t play cards in class, Jackie,” said Bernadette.
“I know. But maybe you could find a different kind of distraction.”
After talking with Jackie, Bernadette felt a little better. She started scribbling in secret code in her green notebook, trying to come up with a good distraction. But since all she could think of were science experiments and what people were sulky about was a kind of science experiment, none of her ideas seemed distracting enough.
Luckily for her, something exciting was announced that made a very good distraction indeed: The Junior Gymnastics Competition. Not only were three students from Garden Road Elementary School—including Annie Wang—competing in the event, but it would be taking place at the school itself, the first week of February.
“Is it going to be like the Olympics, Annie?” asked Bernadette. “With judges holding up your score? And contestants bursting into tears? And loud music, and people throwing flowers, and everybody’s parents going crazy?”
“Yes, it’ll be exactly like that!” Annie replied.
“Does your team wear a uniform?” asked Megan. “Like my Brownie troop does?”
“Well, our jackets are kind of like a uniform, because they have our team name on them,” Annie replied. “But we get brand new costumes for every competition.”
“Does your costume have sparkles?” asked Keisha, who was very fond of sparkles. She had pierced ears and often wore sparkly little earrings. She had a blue pair, and a pink pair, and one pair that looked like real diamonds.
“This year it does. You would love my new leotard, Keisha! It’s dark green with silver swoops across the front.”
“It sounds beautiful!” said Keisha. “I wish I had a leotard like that.”
“It sounds like a superhero costume, Annie. All you need is a cape,” said Bernadette.
“Annie needs a superhero name to go with her superhero costume,” said Megan. “Maybe we should call her ‘Gymnastics Girl.’”
“How about ‘Elastic Annie’? Because she’s so flexible,” Keisha suggested.
“You’re so smart, Keisha! That’s a perfect name for her,” said Bernadette. She was trying really hard to say nice things to Keisha these days so that her friend wouldn’t be mad at her anymore.
“Yeah, my mom doesn’t think you have any bones in your body, Annie. She says that you’re made out of rubber,” said Keisha.
“I wish I really were made out of rubber,” said Annie. “Then I wouldn’t be covered in bumps and bruises all the time. But I like the idea of being a superhero. So if you want to call me Elastic Annie, you have my permission.”
Once the posters for the competition went up around the school, a lot of kids wanted to learn gymnastics. So one day, Mr. McGregor, the gym teacher, asked Annie to give the class a demonstration of some of the tricks she knew how to do.
First she did a cartwheel.
“I can do that too!” said a girl named Margaret, who was kind of a show-off. “It’s no big deal.”
Then Annie did a series of perfect cartwheels all around the gym without even stopping.
“Wow!” said Jackie Renfrew.
Next, she did a different kind of cartwheel landing on both feet. That was called a round-off. Then she did a really scary kind of cartwheel where she didn’t even put her hands on the ground. And that was called an aerial.
A few of the kids gasped when she landed. Mr. McGregor reminded everyone immediately that Annie had years of practice and that they shouldn’t try tricks like that on their own.
“Well, can you teach us how to do some tricks that aren’t dangerous, Mr. McGregor?” asked Keisha. “I want to become elastic, just like Annie!”
“What about tumbling? Everyone likes that, and it’s pretty safe,” said Annie.
Mr. McGregor said, “Sure, Annie, that’s a great idea.”
He disappeared into the equipment room and came out with a big blue mat. Then he went back and got another one. He unrolled both mats so that they made a soft surface on the gym floor, and then he asked Annie to demonstrate the proper form for front rolls and back rolls. All the children in the class took turns rolling around and laughing like crazy.
“It’s a lot harder than it looks, Annie!” puffed Megan.
“You’re taller than me. That means you have longer arms and legs to get tangled up in,” Annie explained.
“Gee, maybe I should switch to gymnastics from science,” said Bernadette. “I didn’t realize that being short could be an advantage in anything.”
“Everything is an advantage in something, and a disadvantage in something else,” said Mr. McGregor. “For example, I have such big feet that I’m a terrible dancer. I step on my poor wife’s toes all the time. But I’m a fantastic swimmer, because my feet are practically flippers.”
“I don’t think you can blame your bad dancing on your feet, Mr. McGregor!” laughed Keisha. “My father has huge feet and he’s a great dancer.”
“Well, it’s the best excuse I’ve ever come up with, so I’m sticking to it,” said Mr. McGregor. “Also, I believe that everything in life has a good and a bad side. It all depends on how you look at things.”
Gymnastics had a good side and a bad side, as far as Bernadette was concerned. The good side was that it was fun, and a big distraction—for a couple of weeks anyhow. The kids in her class stopped complaining about the Healthy Food Challenge and started worrying about whether they would be able to do a handstand, or walk along the balance beam without falling off. The bad side was that she wasn’t very good at gymnastics herself, even though she was almost as short as Annie.
“Rats!” she exclaimed when she could not push herself up from the floor into a bridge. “I look like a sick spider.”
Annie burst out laughing. “I thought you knew all about insects, Bernadette! Spiders have eight legs, not four.”
“Number one: I know spiders have eight legs; I was just trying to be funny. And number two, I do know all about insects, which is why I know that spiders aren’t insects.”
“They’re not?”
“No. Insects have six legs, and antennas.” Bernadette wiggled two fingers in front of her forehead.
“Lobsters have antennas. Are they insects?” asked Jackie Renfrew.
“Not exactly, but they are related,” said Bernadette.
“TVs have antennas. Are they insects?” asked Keisha, who seemed to have finally forgiven Bernadette for being rude to her over the Christmas holidays.
“Ha ha,” said Bernadette. “Good one!” She gave Keisha a high five, and they smiled at each other.
“You know so much about science, Bernadette. You shouldn’t worry about whether or
not you can do gymnastics,” Annie said.
“My friend Jasmine is good at science and sports,” said Bernadette, “so I know it’s possible to be good at both.”
“Well, we all know that Jasmine’s good at everything,” said Keisha, suddenly angry at Bernadette all over again. “In fact, she’s perfect.”
“I didn’t say that, Keisha!”
“Whatever,” said Keisha, walking over to where Megan was practicing backwards rolls.
Bernadette watched her walk away. She felt so stupid. Why did she bring up Jasmine’s name just when Keisha seemed ready to be friends again? Life was just too complicated! She had already apologized for not calling Keisha back. She had stopped calling Jasmine her “best” friend. Now it seemed like Keisha didn’t want her to ever mention Jasmine at all—but that wasn’t fair, was it? Keisha talked about her camp friends sometimes, and nobody got mad at her.
If Bernadette thought she was in the doghouse before, things were even worse now. Although the Lunch Bunch had stopped planning their Friday strategies to concentrate on the Healthy Food Challenge, they still sat together at lunchtime. But as soon as the meal was over, Annie ran off to the gym to practice with the other two kids who were going to be in the Junior Gymnastics Competition. And sometimes Keisha and Megan wandered off to recess by themselves, holding hands, instead of waiting for Bernadette. Bernadette knew that Keisha and Megan had been friends for years. They’d been doing things together long before the Lunch Bunch existed, so there was no rule that said they had to include the others in everything they did. But it still hurt her feelings when they left her out.
The worst time was when Keisha and Megan talked during lunch about how much fun they had at a sleepover that weekend. Annie wasn’t allowed to go to Saturday night sleepovers because she had gymnastics practice early Sunday morning, so it didn’t bother her. But Bernadette was very upset that she hadn’t been invited to join them. She swallowed hard, and then broke into the conversation.
“Hey guys,” she said. “After Annie’s finished her competition, we should all have a sleepover at my house. We can make a fort in the basement and sleep in it like we did at my pirate party.”
“I can’t wait!” said Annie. “I’m so sick of not being able to do anything on the weekends.”
“What a great idea!” said Megan, with a happy smile. “Won’t that be fun, Keisha? The Lunch Bunch all together again?”
“Maybe,” said Keisha. She didn’t sound very enthusiastic, but Bernadette reminded herself that “maybe” was more than halfway to “yes.”
The day of the Junior Gymnastics Competition, Bernadette, Keisha, and Megan all showed up to cheer for Annie. So did Jackie Renfrew, who asked shyly if he could sit with them. Keisha said of course he could, and immediately slid along the bench so that Jackie could fit in the space between her and Bernadette. Bernadette didn’t say anything, but secretly, she was kind of happy to have Jackie at her side because she knew he would talk to her and she wasn’t sure whether Keisha would. Of course, once the competition began, everyone started yelling and clapping like crazy and it was impossible to have a conversation anyway.
It was especially exciting when it was Annie’s turn to compete. Bernadette was so proud of her! No matter how hard Annie’s tricks were she never stopped smiling. She walked along the balance beam as gracefully as a bird, and then did a back flip, landing on the narrow beam without even a wobble. She did a handstand that turned into a forward roll. And when she finished her routine, she turned and waved at her friends before running off to sit with her team at the side of the gymnasium.
“Oooh, I hope Annie wins!” said Bernadette.
“Me too,” said Jackie Renfrew.
“I love her costume,” said Keisha. “She really does look like a superhero. A tiny superhero without a cape.”
“A tiny superhero made completely out of elastic!” said Megan, laughing.
Elastic Annie’s team came in third all around and Annie herself came second in the exercises on the beam. Her grandmother couldn’t stop crying, and her father gave her a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Then Bernadette, Megan, and Keisha ran over and gave her so many hugs she disappeared underneath them.
“Valentine’s Day isn’t until next week!” Annie squeaked. “Save some of the love for then!”
“My mom always says the more love you give away, the more you have left,” said Megan.
“That’s so beautiful, Megan,” said Bernadette. “I wonder if it’s true.”
“It may be true of love,” said Keisha. “But I wish it were true of chocolate! Because I’m giving all my friends chocolate for Valentine’s Day.”
And everyone laughed at that, except Bernadette. She wasn’t sure if she was still one of Keisha’s friends.
6
A New Strategy
At Garden Road Elementary School, Valentine’s Day was a lot of fun. Every class made a mailbox so that students could send greetings and candy to their friends. Some people, like Megan, made their own cards with construction paper, and doilies, and ribbons, and glitter, and glue. Some people, like Bernadette, preferred to buy cards with pictures of cute puppies on them. Some people, like Annie, went for cards with funny jokes, riddles, and puzzles. And others people, like Keisha, gave their friends chocolate hearts wrapped in shiny pink paper because chocolate tastes a lot better than cards do.
But this Valentine’s Day was going to be different, because it was also the day the class would find out the winner of the Healthy Food Challenge. A few kids were excited because they thought they might win. Other kids were just sick of studying nutrition and were looking forward to a new science unit about weather, or electricity, or endangered animals. So everyone paid attention when Mrs. Hawthorn greeted the class that morning.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Grade Three!” she said. “I’m just going to sort out all your cards and distribute them. Then, after you’ve had a chance to read your valentines, I’ll announce the winner of the Healthy Food Challenge.”
“I hope it’s me,” said Bernadette. “Otherwise I ate a lot of broccoli for nothing.”
“You keep saying that you hate broccoli, Bernadette, but you never look unhappy when you’re eating it,” Megan said.
“It’s not really that bad . . . but please don’t tell my mother! She still thinks she has to reward me for eating my vegetables. I’ve got a good deal going,” said Bernadette.
“This is so weird,” said Annie, who was looking through her valentines.
“What is?” said Megan.
“I got a card with a poem on it, and it’s signed ‘a secret admirer’!”
“Wow, a mystery,” said Bernadette. “I totally love mysteries. Let me see it, Annie! I’ll bet I can figure out who it’s from.”
Annie handed over a neatly typed piece of paper. It read:
Annie Wang is fantastic,
Her body’s made out of elastic.
A secret admirer
“Hmm. Whoever this is knows how to rhyme well,” said Bernadette. “So that’s our first clue.”
“Ha!” said Megan. “It actually sounds a lot like this valentine my brother Connor gave me this morning.”
“What did his valentine say?” asked Annie.
Megan held it up. It read:
Roses are red
Pickles are green
My face is funny
But yours is a scream.
“I hate to disappoint you, Megan, but Connor doesn’t sound like a secret admirer,” said Keisha. “Anyhow, who do you think sent this card to Annie?”
“I know exactly who it is,” said Bernadette. “It’s Jackie Renfrew.” She walked over to where he was sitting and poked him in the arm.
“How did you know it was me?” said Jackie. He was blushing so much that his freckles blended together into a red streak
across his nose and cheeks.
“It was easy, Jackie! You were so busy listening to what we were saying that you didn’t even look at your own valentines. Meanwhile, everybody else in the class has opened all of theirs.”
“I didn’t know you were a great detective as well as a great scientist, Bernadette!” Jackie laughed.
“Well, they’re kind of the same thing, aren’t they? Both detectives and scientists try to solve mysteries by studying clues.”
“I never thought of that before,” said Jackie.
“Anyhow, I didn’t know that you were a great poet as well as a great musician, Jackie,” said Bernadette. (Jackie Renfrew played violin better than anyone else in the school, even the big kids.)
“Well, they’re kind of the same thing too, aren’t they? Because poetry is like music, except with words,” said Jackie.
“If there was a poetry competition like my gymnastics competition, Jackie, you would definitely be a winner,” said Annie, giving him a hug.
“Jackie’s already a winner,” said Mrs. Hawthorn, who was walking around the classroom with a basket to collect the envelopes for recycling. “I’m pleased to announce that Jackie Renfrew has won this class’s Healthy Food Challenge.”
“I did?” Jackie was amazed.
“Come up to the front of the class and collect your prize.”
Jackie went up to the front of the class where Mrs. Hawthorn gave him a box wrapped in red paper. He ripped the paper open carefully. Inside the box were four little chocolate cupcakes with white frosting and pink sprinkles on top.
“I’m going to take these treats home to share with my little sister, OK?” said Jackie.
“Good idea,” said Mrs. Hawthorn. “Now close that box before anyone else gets too interested!”
“I’m glad it was you, Jackie,” said Annie, when he came and sat down again. “Because I’ve never had a secret admirer before!”
Bernadette in the Doghouse Page 4