To Kamryn & Jaloni Crayton—
Living, breathing Ruby Bookers to the core
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter 1: Rise, Shimmy, and Shine
Chapter 2: Breakfast Booker-style
Chapter 3: Hope Road Reception
Chapter 4: Landing on Pluto-3
Chapter 5: Ro Rowdy
Chapter 6: Big-Time
Chapter 7: Ty Noodles
Chapter 8: Waiting on a Good Turn
Chapter 9: My Mic Sounds Nice
Chapter 10: Hanging with the Boys
Sneak Peek at Trivia Queen, Third Grade Supreme
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
I woke up at 7:15 in the morning.
The first day of school was really real when my clock radio went off at 7:30. Ma had fixed it the night before to play my favorite song, “Cotton Candy Clouds,” a let’s-get-going-and-have-a-good-first-day-of-school song.
The coolest group in the world, the Crazy Cutie Crew, sings that song. They only have three members. But I like to pretend I’m the fourth.
As soon as the first note hit my ears, I stood up on my bed like it was a stage (even though Ma doesn’t like me to). I sang every single word, really loud, as if the Crazy Cutie Crew wrote the song for me:
“When the sun hits the clouds
And rainbows kiss the sky,
A sweet wind blows,
And then I know
That today is mine, all mine.”
This is pretty much how I begin each morning. I sing so loud, the rest of my family uses me as an alarm clock.
I leaped onto the floor and hit a perfect landing on my super-soft rug. It looks like big piano keys. But instead of the keys being boring black and white, they are purple and orange.
“Cotton Candy Clouds” was bouncing off every wall in my room when I slid over to my window. I pulled back my curtains and got the biggest hug from the sun. Those morning rays covered my face with a color that’s hard to find in a crayon box. If happy was a color I guess that’s what I would call it.
Before I knew it I heard someone coming down the hall outside my bedroom door.
It was Ma and my three big brothers, Ro, Ty, and Marcellus. When they got to my room, they were all rubbing their eyes and yawning. From the smell of sausages and eggs floating into my room, I could tell that Daddy was downstairs making breakfast.
“We hear you, Ruby. Loud and clear, baby. Loud and clear,” Ma said with her big, pretty smile. She picked me up and squeezed me real warm and tight, just like she does every morning.
“Girl, do you know how early it is? Are you part girl, part rooster?” Ro asked angrily. “You sure do crow loudly.”
“Yeah, ladybug,” my biggest brother, Marcellus, added. He calls me ladybug. I like it. That name fits me, because I’m cute and I like to think that I bring good luck wherever I go. “We all love your singing, Ruby, and we’re used to it, but this is extra, extra early.”
“What else do you all expect? That’s Rube. It’s what she does,” my third brother, Ty, said with a grin. He took his glasses out of the pocket of his pajama top, popped them on his button nose, and then said, “Good morning, Rube. Sounds like you’re ready for school.” He always says nice things to me. I love me some Ty.
“Okay, boys, leave your sister alone. Let’s get ready and head downstairs for breakfast,” Ma said, pointing down the hallway toward the boys’ rooms. “And you, Miss Superstar Third-grader, you said you wanted to pick out your own outfit this morning. So get to it, sister!” Ma poked my belly. She loves tickling me.
As far as my clothes go, orange and purple rule. Before I went to bed, I hung my first-day-of-school outfit over the chair at my desk. It was a brand-new orange-and-purple shirt, a brand-new jean jumper, long orange-and-purple-striped socks, and to top things off, my favorite shoe combination. One orange sneaker and one purple. I couldn’t wait to put everything on to show Ma.
After washing up, brushing my teeth, and putting on my purple-and-orange perfection, I grabbed two bracelets. Purple and orange, of course. And I put on my favorite pretend pearl earrings. Then I pressed REPEAT on my radio alarm clock and sang “Cotton Candy Clouds” even louder. I heard Ro screaming from down the hallway, “GIVE US A BREAK, RUBY!”
I love to get on his nerves.
As I looked in the mirror for the last time, I whispered to myself, “Ruby Marigold Booker, you sure are fabu-lous!” And that’s the truth.
To add a final touch to my fabulousness, I reached for the new book bag Ma made me. Ma can work wonders on her sewing machine, and this time she outdid herself. She sewed me a schoolbag in the shape of a guitar. I want to be a rock star when I grow up, so this new book bag was very special to me.
But there was only one problem. I couldn’t grab it and go downstairs for breakfast. Lady Love was sitting on my bag and chomping on the straps. I forgot to mention that I have a pet, and not just any pet. Lady Love is my two-year-old, extra-super-spoiled iguana.
There she sat, looking super girlie, wearing her fake diamond leash and hot pink nail polish on her claws. Lady Love is a real diva. I sure love her. That’s how she got her name. Lady Love.
I tickled Lady Love’s belly and offered her some iguana snack food. That was all it took. She moved off my book bag. I picked it up quickly, took a deep breath, and ran out the door of my bedroom.
When I turned the corner to head toward the stairs, I bumped into Ma.
“Great look, girl. Nobody can make mismatched shoes look as fabulous as you, Ruby.” Ma gave me her pretty smile again.
“Do I look okay, Ma? Do I? I’m so ready for school. Third grade, here I come!” I was excited about my first day at a new school, but I don’t think I was really ready. Deep down inside, my tummy was turning.
Ma said, “Looks like you wore your head scarf to bed. Your hair still looks nice. Good. Your shoes are tied. Pretty bracelets. Your book bag looks full, and it has all of your supplies in it, right?” Ma gave me one last look.
“Yes, Ma. Yes. I gotta get down for breakfast. Don’t want to start my first day at Hope Road Academy on an empty tummy.”
I hopped on the handrail and was about to slide down the stairs like my brothers always do. But of course Ma stopped me.
“Girl, are you forgetting you have a skirt on?” she said with that look on her face. Everybody knows the look. It says, “You should know better.”
I hopped off the banister and yelled out to Daddy and my brothers, “HERE COMES RUBY!”
“Is Hope Road Academy going to be ready for the Booker sister?” I asked my brothers.
Roosevelt, who I call Ro, and Marcellus were sitting in their usual seats at the breakfast table. Tyner, who we all call Ty, was kneeling up out of his seat. I waved at everyone like only a princess can.
“Ro, turn up the radio and come put these sausages on the table,” Daddy said as he stood at the stove with his apron on. The apron is his favorite. On the front it says:
I BRING HOME THE BACON AND COOK IT
We listen to all kinds of music in our house, but when it’s breakfast time, it’s Daddy time. We all groove to his music and enjoy the breakfasts he makes.
Tyner looked up from a piece of paper he was reading and said, “Ruby, I saved a plate with the strawberry topping that I know you like on your waffles.”
“Thanks, Ty. Why can’t Ro be as nice to me as you are?” I said, looking in Ro’s direction. Ro didn’t pay me any attention.
He asked Marcellus, “Hey, man, do you want any sausages or not? I’m not your waitress!” But Marcellus didn’t hear a word Ro was s
aying. He was too busy looking at himself on the side of the toaster, like that toaster was his very own mirror. Marcellus is so into Marcellus. That’s because of the girls at Hope Road Academy who think he’s Mr. Cute. Whatever. He’s just Marcellus to me. While Marcellus was checking out his hair in the toaster, I saw Ro dump all of Marcellus’s sausages onto his own plate. Then he snatched two of Marcellus’s waffles. Ro is something else. He looked at me and said, “What, Ruby? I’ll take your waffles, too.”
I stood up from my seat and told him, “I wish you would try.” Then I crossed my arms and waited for him to come over.
As soon as he stepped a foot in my direction, Daddy said, “Ro, sit down and eat! And give your brother back his sausages.” Ro did what Daddy said and then sat down and continued to wolf down his own food. Just when he was about to eat the two waffles he’d taken from Marcellus, Daddy added, “And the waffles, Ro. Give them back to your brother.” Nobody knows Ro like Daddy.
Marcellus finally finished grooming at the table, looked up, and saw me.
“Hey, ladybug. Are you finally ready for school, or what?”
“I guess so … no … I know so,” I said, trying to be calm and cool just like him. I didn’t know how to tell Marcellus the truth. I was so scared of going somewhere new. I was hoping it didn’t show.
“That’s what I like to hear, ladybug,” Marcellus said before he took a sip of Daddy’s famous mango-orange breakfast juice.
Ro said, “She better be ready. This is not a little kiddie school. This is a real school. For big kids. The long hallways and big crowds will eat you up and spit you out if you’re not on your toes.” Ro stuffed his big mouth with waffles and eggs. His jaws were so full he looked like a hippo face. I was working hard not to listen to Ro. He’s always trying to scare me out of something or make me worried.
Usually, it doesn’t work, but this morning it kinda did.
Tyner finished reading what looked like a list of classes he would be taking this school year. Did I mention that he is always on top of things when it comes to school? Did I also mention that he is something like a genius? We all do well in school, but Tyner is crazy with it. He even skipped a grade. He’s almost ten, but he’s in the sixth grade with Ro, who is almost eleven!
“Everybody will love you, Rube. Trust me. Just be your colorful, creative, nice self,” Ty told me before he finished his waffles and took his empty plate to the sink. That’s how Ty is. Ma never has to tell him to pick that up, clean this up, or wipe that off. Sometimes he makes the rest of us look bad.
Daddy put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. He came over to me and gave me a big hug and kiss. He doesn’t have a mustache, but the hairs on his chin are really tickly. I laugh every time he hugs me.
“Ruby, I love your hair, baby. Purple and orange really look good against your pretty skin. You look so ready for the third grade,” Daddy said to me. “You’ll have new friends in no time.” That’s when I started to think about my old friends, especially Teresa Petticoat, my BFF from Lunar-Bigsby School.
“So, Daddy, did Teresa Petticoat call me this morning?” I asked him with a big triangle piece of waffle hanging from my mouth. This year she would be going to Hope Road for the first time, just like me. The one thing that might take away these jitters in my tummy was if I knew whether Teresa and I would be in the same classroom. But I wouldn’t find that out until I got to school. I sure was hoping on my girl T.
“Not this morning, sweetie. She’s probably finishing up her first-day-of-school breakfast, just like you. I’m sure you girls will see each other later,” Daddy said. I hoped Daddy was right.
Everyone finished eating at the same time. Those strawberry waffles sure hit the spot. Just then, Ma came down the stairs, and we all looked up toward her like she was a queen. She was carrying two bags so she took her time. Ro, Marcellus, and Ty got up from the table and ran over to help her. I don’t know which one is more of a mama’s boy. Ro says Ty is, Marcellus says Ro is, and Daddy says they all are. I agree with Daddy. I guess that’s a good thing.
We all grabbed our book bags and headed out the door. Ma gave all of us a good-bye kiss. Daddy gave me a good-bye kiss, too, but gave the boys the handshake they like to call “a pound of Booker.”
Ma left at the same time we did. Last year, when I went to Lunar-Bigsby School, Ma and I walked together. The boys walked to Hope Road Academy, in the other direction. This year was different. Ma walked to work down Chill Brook Avenue, toward Forty-seventh Street. My brothers and I went up Chill Brook Avenue toward Fifty-fifth Street. It made me sad to see Ma going off by herself. I was already missing our morning walks together.
When my old school closed down, Ma decided not to teach at any other school in the area. Instead, she opened up a dance studio on Forty-seventh Street and Evers Avenue. She’s a super-good dance teacher. And I’m not just saying that because she’s my ma. It’s the truth.
Daddy owns his own business. It’s a store right down on the corner called The Booker Box. It’s one of the most popular stores in the neighborhood for CDs, DVDs, and all kinds of video games. He usually doesn’t open the store until 9:30 A.M. Today, by the time Daddy opened his store, I’d be in my new classroom with my new classmates, and hopefully with a lot of new friends.
We were a block away from the school. I could see everybody standing outside on the blacktop. It looked like a parade of kids. Not a little parade, but the big Thanksgiving Day parade they have in New York City. My old school only went up to the fifth grade. Hope Road Academy started at kindergarten and went all the way to the eighth grade. That means a lot more kids. I looked all over for my friend Teresa, but I didn’t see her anywhere.
I started to get really extra-crazy nervous then. I didn’t know anyone except for my brothers. Marcellus must have seen the scared look on my face. He put his arm around my shoulders.
“Don’t worry, ladybug. Up here at Hope Road, the Booker boys are like superstars. You feel me? I’m not only the king of the seventh grade, I’m king of the whole Hope Road kingdom.”
“Man … whatever,” Ro said with a jealous look on his face.
Marcellus explained how their popularity would help me ease into such a big crowd of kids. “As soon as everybody sees you walking with us and you tell everybody what your last name is, you’re in, baby!”
“Yeah, Rube, being a Booker at this school is definitely a good thing,” Tyner added.
Ro jumped in, “What Noodles is trying to say is, everybody who is somebody knows who we are. I’ll tell you right now — I’m the man up here, Ruby.”
He called Ty by his nickname — Noodles. All my brothers have nicknames. Ty is “Ty Noodles,” or “Noodles” for short, because he uses his brain a lot. All the kids on our block call Roosevelt “Ro” or “Ro Rowdy,” because he’s a prankster and a troublemaker. And Marcellus, we just call him “Big-Time.” He thinks the sun shines on him all day long. He’s good at playing a lot of instruments and sports, and he gets good grades. Big-Time can get a big head. That’s because all the stuff he’s good at really goes to his head.
Even with my brothers there to back me up, the excitement that I had at home about my new school was gone. When we got to the school grounds, it was like a siren had gone off. Right away, a bunch of kids started running up to my brothers. Kids were surrounding us from all sides.
I didn’t see the microphones or cameras, but it felt like my brothers were being interviewed for TV. The questions came faster than baseball pitches.
“Ty Noodles, will you sit next to me in class?”
“Ro Rowdy, what kind of pranks do you have planned this school year?”
“Marcellus? Marcellus? Do you have a girlfriend?”
The questions kept coming, and the circle of kids around my brothers kept getting bigger. Before I knew it, I had been pushed back, away from my brothers. I couldn’t even see Noodles, Ro, and Marcellus anymore. I really felt alone then.
Everybody was bigger than me, and I didn
’t know anyone. There were a couple of kids from our block who I recognized, but they were all older. I wanted to turn around and run home, grab Ma’s hand, and go back to my old school. But I couldn’t. Tears rushed to my eyes, but I held them all in. One tear got free and rolled down my face, but I wiped it away quickly. As lonely as I was, I still didn’t give up hope that my first day could turn out to be good.
Ty had found a way to sneak out of the crowd of Booker fans, and he spotted me.
“Are you okay, Rube? Sorry we lost you,” he said.
“I guess I’m okay,” I said with my head down.
Suddenly, a loud bell went off for everybody to go inside. As kids passed us, Ro and Marcellus followed their friends. Ty stood by my side.
“Hey, I’ll walk you to your classroom. How’s that?” Ty asked.
“That sounds nice, Ty.” I smiled.
There were lists posted on the wall next to the office telling kids what classrooms they would be in and who our teachers would be. I looked for two names. Mine and Teresa’s. Ty saw my name right away. “You’re in Pluto-3, and your teacher’s name is Miss Fuqua,” he said.
“Do you see Teresa Petticoat’s name on my class list?” I asked.
Ty shook his head. “Nope.”
I bit my bottom lip.
“But don’t worry, Rube, Miss Fuqua is really fun. Even though your friend won’t be in your class, you have a cool teacher,” Ty said. Hearing him say that made the funny feeling in my tummy settle down. I was really missing Teresa, but it was good to know I would have a nice teacher. One thing was for certain. Even though Ty said she was cool, my teacher had a funny name.
“Fuqua? Is it like few-kway? That’s her real name?” I asked Ty.
“Sure is. Some people call her Miss Fruitcake.”
“Fruitcake?” I joked. I just liked saying fruitcake.
“Yep, fruitcake.” Ty laughed. “Stop being silly, Rube. Let’s get you to class.”
Brand New School, Brave New Ruby Page 1