by Sally Warner
Alfie hoisted her backpack onto her shoulders so she could hold the big costume bag in front of her like the treasure that it was.
“Alfie,” a husky voice called from the top of the stairs.
Bella. “Hi-eee,” Alfie said, her heart thudding.
“Hi. What’s in that bag?” Bella asked, frowning a little. “I already put our costumes in the cubby room.”
“This?” Alfie asked, glancing down at the bag she was holding. “It’s—it’s just snacks and decorations for later on. For the party. My mom asked me to bring them to school early.”
The fib flew right out of her mouth!
She was getting to be just a little too good at this, Alfie told herself. Was lying something that got easier each time you did it—like cartwheels?
“I hope there’s no ice cream in there,” Bella joked.
Bella totally believed her. Alfie didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and there wasn’t time to find out.
“No ice cream,” she said.
“Well, let’s put your bag in the cubby room so we can go out back and play,” Bella said. “I can’t believe we have to wait until after lunch to start having the real fun.”
The two girls stowed Alfie’s bag and hurried out to the playground. There was still time to enjoy some before-school excitement on this special day. Bella would be okay this afternoon, Alfie thought again—hanging out by herself.
She was that strong.
And if Alfie’s costume made Bella a little sad, she’d get over it.
Maybe she will, and maybe she won’t, Alfie told herself silently—but she was full of doubt.
In her class’s Opinion Writing unit yesterday, Alfie reminded herself, they had talked about the difference between opinions and facts. And it was Alfie’s opinion that she wanted to be a princess.
But it was a fact that Bella’s feelings would be hurt because of it, Alfie admitted now. And that was no lie.
Okay, Alfie thought, still feeling stubborn. So maybe Bella wouldn’t get over the costume switch—and Alfie’s near-fibbing—so fast after all. But Bella would get over being the only bunny more quickly than Alfie would get over missing out on being a princess for Halloween.
And she should put herself first, Alfie told herself in the early morning light.
Right?
17
One Last Battle
Alfie tried to avoid Bella the rest of the morning.
Even though Bella sat at the table behind her in class, Alfie didn’t turn around once. And when Bella was chosen to pass out the “Know Your Capital Letters!” worksheets to the class during Writing Workshop, Alfie took hers in a way-too-interested manner, not looking at her friend.
At morning recess, Alfie didn’t get her snack from the cubby room with the other kids, including Bella. Instead, she scampered down to the lower playground as fast as she could. And when Arletty came skipping down the path, Alfie said they should have a race around the playground, even though she knew Arletty would win.
Around and around they went, like two hamsters on a wheel, until Alfie could barely see or think straight.
“Something About Me,” she whispered to herself, feeling dizzy as she remembered last weekend’s homework assignment. “I am a girl who is about to hurt my friend’s feelings! Exclamation mark.”
By the time the back-to-class buzzer was about to sound, Alfie saw that Bella was deep in conversation with Phoebe and Estella. Bella looked up and smiled at Alfie. She put one hand behind her head, raising two fingers above some wayward tufts of shining, dark-gold hair.
Bunny ears.
Alfie tried to smile back.
* * *
At lunch, the All-Star girls were quiet for a change, though few of them could eat. It was as if they were too busy picturing themselves in the parade.
“How are we supposed to eat lunch when we’re so excited?” Lulu asked as the All-Star girls hovered around the picnic tables like restless bees.
“I don’t know,” Alfie said, trying to wash down a bite of her pita bread sandwich with a gulp of cold milk. She could barely swallow.
At a nearby table, the boys seemed to be managing to eat just fine.
Nothing ever bothered the boys, it seemed to Alfie.
On the playground, some office grown-ups and a few parent volunteers were setting up loudspeakers for the parade music. It had been an ordinary playground just this morning, Alfie thought, amazed. But it would be a magical place this afternoon—a place where anything might happen.
Noisy, crackling bursts of “Thriller” seemed to split the air every few seconds as Principal James fiddled with a small control panel. A bossy-looking father hovered at his side.
* * *
“Come on. Hurry,” Bella urged Alfie, Phoebe, and long-haired Estella after the buzzer sounded, and the playground kids were heading for their classrooms. It was time to change for the Halloween parade!
“The boys are gonna get dressed in our classroom,” Bella reminded them, “and we don’t want to have to watch.”
“Ew, no, we don’t,” Phoebe said, blushing at the idea.
“They’ll probably all be Spider-Man for Halloween,” Estella predicted as quietly as possible, given the noise in the room. “Or some Star Wars guys from that movie a couple of years ago. Because boys are just lazier about Halloween than us girls are, that’s all.”
Alfie wasn’t so sure. Scooter, Bryan, and even shy Alan had been whooping it up more than usual all during lunch, hadn’t they? Alfie thought Halloween was probably a big deal for them, too. It sure was for EllRay, and he was old.
“I don’t care,” Phoebe said, still pink. “I still believe in privacy.”
“So let’s hurry, you guys,” Bella said, elbowing her way into the crowded cubby room. “I’ll get our two bags, Alfie,” she yelled over her shoulder.
And then I’ll get my one bag, Alfie said to herself.
Surprise, Bella!
* * *
The girls’ restroom was churning with excitement as—with the help of Miss Myrna—the second-grade All-Star girls struggled out of their school clothes and into their Halloween costumes. Oohs and aahs floated like bubbles in the soap-scented air as the girls saw each others’ gowns for the first time.
For once, everyone was being really nice at the same time, Alfie noticed. Even Suzette, who had first called dibs on being the class princess. Their voices mingled as they echoed in the tiled bathroom.
“So pretty!”
“Are those real diamonds?”
“What’s that?” Bella asked, seeing Alfie holding her big shiny costume bag. Halfway into her fleecy pink bunny suit, Bella looked much more flustered than usual, Alfie noticed.
It was kind of warm in there. Or was Bella having second thoughts about being a bunny?
“Oops,” Alfie said, pretending to be surprised as she looked down at her tissue-topped bag. “I guess I brought the snacks bag by mistake, I got so excited.”
Okay, she scolded herself—now, she was flat-out lying to Bella.
She had been lying all along, really.
“Well, this one’s for you,” Bella said, scooting the second bag toward Alfie with her foot as she tried to hold her costume against her chest. “You better hurry up, Alfie, or we’ll miss seeing the little kids start the parade.”
“I’m gonna change in one of the stalls,” Alfie told her as if she’d just gotten the idea.
“Where the potties are?” Bella asked, aghast. “But you’ll get your costume all wet and yucky!”
“I’m not changing in the potty,” Alfie assured her, faking a laugh. “Just next to it. Don’t worry. I’ll be careful,” she added, dragging both bags with her into the toilet stall.
Thank goodness it was clean, as promised, Alfie thought, looking around. And the floor was dry.
&nbs
p; Perfect for her silky pink gown.
It was Princess Alfie time!
“Hurry up, ladies,” Miss Myrna sang from somewhere near the bathroom sinks. “Call out if you need any help. Zippers or buttons, anyone?”
Help, Alfie wanted to yell. Help, help, help! Someone tell me what to do!
She could almost hear imaginary swords clanking as Nice Alfie and Selfish Alfie battled it out inside her head—just like in a Saturday morning cartoon.
And she knew that both Alfies were her.
“Go ahead and be a princess,” she imagined Selfish Alfie saying. “You know you want to. And Mom worked so hard on your dress. You’ll hurt her feelings if you come out dressed like a rabbit.”
“No. Be a bunny,” Nice Alfie might say. “You kind of promised Bella, really. And Mrs. Babcock worked so hard. And Mom will understand, once you tell her the whole story. You can be a princess on the real Halloween.”
“No!” Selfish Alfie would probably cry, stomping an invisible foot.
Selfish Alfie was like that.
“Last call, ladies,” Miss Myrna called out in her best that’s-that, no-nonsense tone of voice. “Hurry and line up, please.” And Alfie reached deep into one of the bags.
18
What You Do
“Ta-da!” Alfie said, hopping out of the toilet stall in her lavender bunny costume. Her front paws were in the air, but her pointy tiara was clamped firmly to her head, just in front of her ears.
She held the other tiara in her fleecy paw.
“Ooh,” the girls squealed, laughing, and a couple of them clapped. Alfie was relieved, hearing the applause. “Bella and I are the Princess Bunnies,” she announced, handing the second tiara to a beaming Bella. “Thanks, Alfie,” Bella whispered, perching the tiara in front of her floppy pink ears.
“You guys should for sure hop in front of the rest of us in the parade,” Hanni said, excited. “Like, you’re magic, and you’re leading the way.”
“It’ll be good luck for everyone,” Suzette announced with a very un-princess-y fist pump.
“Okay. If you insist,” Alfie said, sneaking Bella a smile.
“Don’t forget your bags of clothes, ladies,” Miss Myrna said, counting the lined-up girls before heading off down the hall to Mr. Havens’s classroom.
“Listen up,” their teacher was saying as the girls traipsed through the door. They blushed and giggled as the boys stared at their costumes.
“Hi-eee,” Hanni said, flouncing her skirts.
“Wha-a-at?” Scooter exclaimed, his eyes wide as he gaped at the girls’ fancy costumes.
“Oh,” Mr. Havens said, staggering to his chair and pretending to gasp at the sight of them. “All this beauty in one small room? This wonderful posse of princesses? And a Dragon Girl, and two princess rabbits, as well? I don’t think I can stand it! But you lovely ladies had better—”
“Stow our gear,” the girls chorused, quoting one of their teacher’s familiar sayings.
Alfie felt relieved at having an ordinary chore to do. But they did look pretty good, she thought, straightening her bunny ears and fluffing her tail. Even the boys had looked impressed as they watched the girls hop or glide by, their long ears at a perky angle and their skirts swaying like silken bells.
On every princess head, and on two bunny heads, tiaras glittered.
And Dragon Girl? Arletty was usually a pretty quiet kid, in Alfie’s opinion. But today, she was striking powerful poses left and right.
Even the boys were looking good today, Alfie had to admit. Scooter was a blood-dripping zombie, and Bryan was a knight in plastic armor, which should make her history-loving mom happy, Alfie thought. And shy Alan was an amazing, giant slice of pizza. He could barely sit down without a slice of pepperoni falling off.
So Estella had been wrong about the boys not caring about Halloween!
“Hup, hup,” Mr. Havens said as he herded his class together. He fiddled with his collar for a second—and his tie lit up. An electric tie!
How cool was that? All the kids laughed and cheered.
“Off we go, All-Stars,” Mr. Havens announced, organizing them all with a single wave of his hand. “And stick together!”
* * *
Outside, in the perfect October afternoon, “Monster Mash” was already booming across the playground where all seven grades were gathered, grouped by class.
Principal James—dressed as a pirate king—was leading the festivities. “Let the grand parade begin!” he shouted into a squealing microphone.
And, to the sound of “Purple People Eater,” the littlest kids started walking around the playground in a wobbly line. They were shy at first, as if awed by the occasion. But they smiled once they heard the cheers.
The first-grade kids came after that, of course. And that’s when Mr. Havens’s All-Stars started to get nervous.
They were next.
The princesses started adjusting each other’s tiaras and fluffing their own skirts.
Alfie and Bella bumped paws.
And—it was the All-Stars’ turn!
“Rabbits first, then the princesses, then Dragon Girl, and then all you awesome boys,” Mr. Havens called out as “Ghostbusters” started to play.
“Who ya gonna call?”
“Ghostbusters!” all the second-graders yelled, as if they’d rehearsed it.
Alfie looked for her mom in the audience.
Mrs. Jakes was standing next to Suzette’s mom, Mrs. Monahan, Alfie saw—one hand shielding her eyes from the sun’s glare as she tried to spot Alfie. And it looked like Mrs. Monahan was going to have a baby. Soon!
Excited, Suzette tapped Alfie on her fleecy shoulder. “If I have good luck all year, it will be a girl,” she yelled over the music.
“That’s great, Suzette,” Alfie shouted back, smiling. “But brothers aren’t so bad. Mom! Over here,” she cried, waving her lavender bunny arm in the air to get her mother’s attention. “I’ll explain later,” she tried to yell, once she’d caught her mother’s eye.
But her mom just made a gigantic shrugging gesture and laughed, shaking her head. “Oh, for heaven’s sake!” Alfie could almost hear her say.
The All-Stars felt let down after they had completed their part in the parade. But then here came the sixth-graders, swagger-walking to the old Addams Family song. They couldn’t have known what would be playing during their part of the parade. But they got into the spirit of the song at once, all snapping their fingers at the exact right time.
Snap, snap!
The girls, most of whom looked bigger and older than the boys, were really cute, in Alfie’s opinion. But it was the boys, led by EllRay Jakes, who were creating the biggest stir—because most of them had dressed up as Coach Havens, their recess hero!
Each boy carried a basketball and wore some version of Mr. Havens’s trademark skinny tie, shirt with rolled-up sleeves, and sunglasses, like the ones Mr. Havens usually wore on the playground. They had somehow also managed to capture his walk—kind of loose and cool, but athletic.
They bounced their basketballs in unison. It was awesome.
Behind her, Alfie could hear her teacher’s deep roar of laughter, followed by laughs from the audience as they got the joke. They rose to their feet and applauded during this last part of the parade.
Alfie felt so proud. Way to go, EllRay!
* * *
The All-Star kids were relaxed but excited as they walked back to class—and to the Halloween party that volunteers had thrown together during the parade.
Bella had been walking behind Alfie, talking with quinceañera-girl Estella again. But she skipped through the crowd to catch up with her bunny-twin before they reached the open school door. “That was so much fun, Alfie,” she said, a little out of breath. “Thanks for being a bunny with me. I know you didn’t really want to, e
xcept at first.”
Alfie’s breath caught in her throat. “You knew?” she asked, her face turning hot.
“Kind of,” Bella said. “But you did it anyway, and that was cool. My mom always says that it’s what you do that counts,” she added, giving Alfie a friendly nudge.
She had done the right thing, Alfie told herself—by being loyal to her friend.
This time.
But Alfie had the sudden feeling that the war to figure out the right thing to do was something you had to keep fighting time after time.
Battle after battle.
That sounded hard, she thought silently.
“Like you said, it was fun,” Alfie told Bella. “Absolutely.”
“And the party’s gonna be fun, too,” Bella said with a grin. “Race you to the door?”
“Why not?” Alfie said, laughing. “I’m feeling lucky!”
And off they went—ready for the best time ever.
About the Author
Sally Warner is the author of many books for young readers, including the EllRay Jakes series. She lives in California with her husband and a dachsund named Jimmy Shivers. Please visit her at sallywarnerbooks.com.
Shearry Malone answered an ad on Craigslist looking for an intern in an artist's studio, and her illustration career was born! A native of Athens, Georgia, she now lives, draws, and spends time with her kittycat, Princess, in Nashville, Tennessee.
For more about Shearry's "accidental" illustration career, see the interview: Introducing Illustrator Shearry Malone (A Somewhat Accidental Kidlit Career): https://taralazar.com/2017/04/18/shearry-malone/
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