by Abby Klein
Then I heard a familiar voice. “What are you babies doing?”
It was Max.
“I thought you were playing tag,” said Josh.
“I was, but I got bored, so I came over here to see what you wimps were doing.”
“We’re looking for worms,” said Josh.
“Did you find any?” asked Max.
“Yeah. I found one and Robbie found one,” said Jessie.
“Can I see them?” said Max.
Robbie and Jessie held out their worms for Max to see. He grabbed the worms out of their hands.
“Hey, give those back! Those are ours,” Jessie said.
“Not anymore,” Max said, grinning. “Now they’re mine.” And he ran off with the worms.
“I can’t believe he just did that,” I said.
“He’s such a bully,” said Josh.
“I really wanted to bring my worm inside and show it to Miss Clark,” said Jessie. “I think she would have thought it was cool.”
“Hey,” said Robbie. “Did Miss Clark tell your class about the Second Grade Spelling Bee?”
“Yeah, she told us about it this morning,” I said.
“Isn’t that so cool?” said Robbie excitedly. “I’ve always wanted to be in a Spelling Bee.”
“I know,” said Jessie. “Me too! I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
“It is going to be a lot of work,” said Robbie. “Did you see how many words are on the list they gave us to study?”
“How many?” I asked.
“One hundred,” said Jessie.
“One hundred?” said Josh. “No way!”
Jessie nodded her head. “Yep. One hundred words.”
“That’s a lot of words,” said Josh. “I don’t think I can learn that many.”
“Of course you can,” said Robbie. “You just need to work hard and study the words every night. Right, Freddy?”
“Well, I won’t have to study too much,” I said.
“Why not?” asked Jessie. “Do you have some kind of superpowers?”
“No, I don’t have superpowers,” I said, laughing. “But I do have my lucky shark’s tooth.”
“You can’t just depend on that,” said Robbie.
“Yes, I can,” I said. “It always brings me good luck.”
“What happens if you lose it?” Josh asked. “You know I have a lucky shark’s tooth, too, and one time I lost mine. I couldn’t find it for a week!”
“I don’t have to worry about that. I never lose mine,” I said, patting my pocket. “It’s always right here.”
When I got home from school, I went straight to the kitchen to get a snack.
“What happened to you?” my mom asked.
“What do you mean?” I said.
“Just look at you! You’re covered in mud.”
“Yeah,” said Suzie. “You look like you went swimming in a mud puddle.”
“Oh, that,” I said, laughing. “My friends and I were looking for worms at recess today.”
“Did you have to do that in the mud?” said my mom.
“That’s the best place to find worms,” I said, “especially after it rains.”
“You guys must have been in that big puddle near the slide,” said Suzie. “I stayed far away from it.”
“That seems like a better idea,” said my mom.
“I’m starving,” I said. “Can I please have a snack?”
“Not until you change your clothes and wash your hands really well,” said my mom. “Right now you look like a mud monster.”
“Okeydokey!” I shouted as I ran out of the kitchen and dashed up the stairs. “I’ll be right back!”
“And make sure you put those muddy clothes in the hamper, not on the floor,” my mom called after me.
My mom was such a neat freak. Our toys always had to be put away. We weren’t allowed to have food in our bedrooms, we had to make our beds every morning, and absolutely no pets allowed in the house!
I quickly changed my clothes and tossed the muddy ones into the dirty clothes hamper in the bathroom. Then I scrubbed my hands with soap. As the dirt washed off, it made a muddy river in the sink.
I dried my hands, and in my rush to get back to the kitchen, I slid down the banister instead of taking the stairs.
The only problem was I almost slid right into Suzie, who was just starting to walk up the stairs. I froze.
“Ooooooo, you are in so much trouble,” said Suzie. “You know you’re never supposed to slide down the banister.”
“No one will know unless you tell them,” I whispered. “And you wouldn’t tell Mom and Dad, right?”
“What’s it worth to you?” Suzie asked as she held up her pinkie for a pinkie swear.
“Really?” I said. “You won’t keep this a secret?”
“I will if we make a deal,” Suzie answered with a big grin on her face.
“Fine, fine,” I said. “I’ll make your bed tomorrow morning.”
“Just tomorrow morning?” said Suzie. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
“Well, how many mornings do you want me to make it?”
“Three,” said Suzie, shoving three fingers in my face.
“I can count,” I said. “I don’t need your fingers in my face.”
“So do we have a deal?” Suzie asked, holding up her pinkie one more time.
“Yes! We have a deal,” I shouted, and we locked pinkies.
Just as we finished, my mom appeared. “Kids, what’s going on in here? Is everything all right?”
I glared at Suzie. She made a deal. She’d better not tell my mom about what I just did, or the deal would be off.
“Yes, Mom, everything is okay,” Suzie said.
“I heard Freddy shouting, so I thought I’d better come see if the two of you were okay.”
“We’re fine,” I said. “Can I have my snack now please?”
“Sure, honey, come with me.”
“I’ll be right back down,” Suzie said. “I just have to get something from my room.”
My mom and I walked back into the kitchen. “Let me inspect those hands,” said my mom. “I want to make sure you really did wash them.”
I held out my hands for my mom to look at. First I held them palms up, and then I held them palms down. “See?” I said, smiling. “I washed the backs and the fronts.”
“Nice job,” said my mom. “Now what do you want to eat?”
“How about a cheese stick and some grapes?” I said.
“That sounds healthy,” said my mom. “Good choice.”
Suzie walked back into the kitchen. “Mom, did I just hear you say ‘that sounds healthy’?”
“Yes, honey, you did.”
“Since when does Freddy suggest a healthy snack?” said Suzie. “He has the biggest sweet tooth of anybody I’ve ever met!”
I crossed my arms and shouted, “I do not!”
“Yes you do!”
“Do not!”
“Do, too!”
“All right. Enough you two,” said my mom. “There’s no need to argue. Suzie, what would you like to eat?”
“I guess I’ll have apple slices and peanut butter,” she said.
“Another good choice,” said my mom.
Suzie and I went to sit at the table while we waited for my mom to get our food.
“Here you go,” said my mom, placing the snacks down in front of us.
I started to shove the cheese stick into my mouth.
“Whoa, slow down there, Freddy,” said my mom. “You can’t eat that whole thing at once.”
“I’m just really hungry,” I said with my mouth full.
“I can see that,” said my mom, “But I don’t want you to choke, and I don’t want you to talk with your mouth full.”
I picked up a grape, tipped my head back, opened my mouth, and tossed the grape in the air. Instead of landing in my mouth, the grape hit Suzie in the face.
“Hey, watch it!” Suzie growled. “Don’t throw
grapes at me.”
“I wasn’t throwing grapes at you,” I said. “I was trying to catch one in my mouth, but I missed.”
“You missed by like a mile,” said Suzie.
“Josh was trying to teach me how to catch grapes in my mouth during lunch today. He’s really good at it.”
“Well, you’re not,” said Suzie.
“Yes I am!” I shouted. “Watch!” I picked up another grape and tossed it in the air.
“Nice toss,” Suzie teased.
This time the grape hit me in the eye.
“Bravo! Bravo!” Suzie yelled and clapped her hands. “That was amazing? Can you hit yourself in the eye again?”
“Be quiet!” I snapped. “You messed up my concentration when you yelled out ‘nice toss’! I’m going to do it one more time, but you can’t make any noise. I have to concentrate.”
“I won’t say a thing. My lips are sealed,” said Suzie as she pretended to zip her lips closed.
This time before I threw the grape up into the air, I stuck my hand in my pocket and rubbed my lucky shark’s tooth.
Then I tipped my head back, tossed the grape into the air, and it landed right in my mouth.
“Lucky throw,” said Suzie. “That was just a lucky throw.”
I just stared at her and smiled.
The next morning, my alarm clock once again startled me out of a deep sleep. RINNNGGG! RINNNGGG!
And once again, I hit the snooze button. Why does school have to start so early? I thought to myself.
Just as I lay my head back down on my pillow, Suzie burst into the room and turned on the light.
“Hey! Turn that off!” I yelled. “I’m trying to sleep!”
“You need to get up right now!” Suzie barked.
“No I don’t! I still have five more minutes,” I said.
“Not this morning,” Suzie said, grinning. “Remember, you have to make two beds this morning … mine and yours.”
“UGH!” I groaned. “I forgot!”
“Well, I didn’t forget,” said Suzie. “A deal’s a deal, so you’d better get your butt out of that bed.”
“Okay, fine,” I mumbled. “I’ll get up in a minute. You can leave now.”
But Suzie didn’t leave. She kept standing there staring at me. I picked up a pair of jeans next to my bed and threw them at her. “Get out!” I shouted. “Now!”
Suzie started to back up toward the door. “If you don’t make my bed this morning, then I’m going to tell Mom and Dad what you did yesterday.”
“I’ll make your bed. Now leave me alone!”
Suzie turned and left the room. I slowly crawled out of bed and picked up the jeans I had thrown at her. I slid them on. I made sure I put my pants on first because I didn’t want a repeat of what happened yesterday morning. That was embarrassing!
I finished getting dressed and tiptoed to the top of the stairs. I listened carefully for a minute. I could hear my mom, dad, and Suzie all down in the kitchen. The coast was clear. I slid down the banister and jogged into the kitchen. “Morning!” I said.
As soon as I came in, Suzie started pointing and laughing, “HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!”
What is she laughing at? I thought. I have pants on this morning. I know. I checked. “What’s so funny?” I asked.
“Your … your … your … ,” Suzie stammered.
“My what?”
“Your hair!”
I reached up to touch my hair. “What’s wrong with my hair?”
“That’s probably the worst bed head I’ve ever seen,” Suzie said, laughing uncontrollably.
I looked over at my mom. “Did you forget to comb it this morning, honey?” she asked, trying not to laugh.
“Well … I … uh …”
“I think you’d better go back and comb your hair,” said my mom.
“You might want to wet it with some water first,” my dad suggested.
I dashed back up the stairs two at a time, ran into the bathroom, and looked in the mirror. My hair was sticking out all over the place. My head looked like a porcupine!
I wet my comb and dragged it through my hair, trying to tame the wild pieces. After a few minutes, I finally got most of it back in place.
I patted my head with my hands. “There. Much better.”
I slid down the banister and ran back into the kitchen.
“You look like a whole new person,” my mom said, smiling.
“While you were up there, did you take care of everything?” asked Suzie, raising her eyebrow.
Oh no, I thought to myself. I forgot to make her bed!
“Actually, there is one thing I forgot to do.”
“Really, honey? What is it?” asked my mom.
“I … uh … I … uh … forgot to brush my teeth.”
“Well, you’d better run back up and do that quickly,” said my dad. “Or else you won’t have time for breakfast.”
Once again, I leaped up the stairs two at a time and dashed into Suzie’s room. I grabbed her flowered sheets and yanked them up. Then I pulled up the pink blanket. Finally, I set the pillow in place.
I turned to leave, and Suzie was standing in the doorway.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I wanted to make sure you were making my bed the right way.”
“What are you talking about?” I said. “There isn’t a right way and a wrong way. It’s just making a bed.”
“Actually, you did do it wrong,” said Suzie.
“Are you kidding me? What did I do wrong?”
“You didn’t fluff the pillow.”
“I didn’t … what?”
“You didn’t fluff the pillow,” said Suzie. “You have to fluff up the pillow before you put it back on the bed.”
I picked up the pillow, punched it a few times, and placed it back on the bed. “There. How’s that, your highness?”
“Better,” said Suzie. “Just don’t forget to do that tomorrow.”
I raced back downstairs. I couldn’t slide down this time because Suzie was watching me.
“You might have to start getting up earlier, Freddy. You don’t have much time left to eat,” said my mom. “What do you want that’s quick?”
“I’ll just have a bagel and cream cheese this morning,” I said. “I can always take that on the bus if I don’t have time to finish it at home.”
I had only taken two bites of my bagel when Suzie yelled, “The bus is here!”
“I guess you’ll have to take your breakfast with you,” said my mom.
I started to run out the door. “Freddy, come back!” she yelled. “You forgot your backpack!”
I grabbed my backpack off the counter. “Thanks, Mom! I’ll see you after school,” I called over my shoulder as I ran out the door and onto the bus.
I sat down next to Robbie and Josh. “Hey, guys, how’s it going?”
Josh stretched his arms up and yawned. Robbie’s eyelids looked droopy. “We’re tired,” they said.
“Why?” I asked.
“I did a lot of studying for the Spelling Bee last night,” said Robbie. “My mom was testing me on the words.”
“Me, too,” said Josh. “My mom told me that I had to study the list of words every night if I wanted to do well.”
“Freddy, what did your mom say?” asked Robbie.
“Nothing,” I said.
“Nothing?” said Josh.
“I don’t believe that,” said Robbie. “I know your mom would help you study.”
“Oh, she would if I asked,” I said. “But I didn’t ask. She doesn’t even know about the Spelling Bee.”
“Doesn’t know about it?” said Robbie. “Why not?”
“Because I didn’t tell her.”
“But why not?” asked Josh.
“Because I don’t need her help,” I said.
“What do you mean you don’t need her help?” said Robbie.
“I told you guys yesterday. I don’t need to study. I have my lucky shark’
s tooth,” I said, reaching into my pocket to give it a rub.
All of a sudden, I froze. My heart skipped a beat. “Oh no!” I shouted.
“What’s wrong?” asked Josh and Robbie.
“My lucky shark’s tooth … it’s gone!”
“Maybe it’s in your other pocket,” Josh suggested. “I make that mistake sometimes.”
“It’s not in my other pocket. I know that for sure. I never switch pockets,” I said anxiously.
“Why don’t you just check?” said Robbie.
“It’s not in there!” I shouted.
“Okay, okay,” said Robbie. “You don’t need to get angry. It was just a suggestion.”
“Sorry, Robbie. I didn’t mean to yell at you. I’m just freaking out right now,” I said, feeling my panic rising.
“Why don’t you stick your hand deep into both pockets,” said Josh. “Just to be sure it’s really not there.”
I shoved my hand down into one pocket, and then the other. Nothing!
I shook my head. “This is terrible. No, it’s worse than terrible. It’s horrible!”
“You’re like Alexander,” said Robbie.
“Who?”
“Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.”
“I love that book,” said Josh.
“Me, too!” said Robbie. “My mom used to read it to me all the time before bed. It’s one of my favorites.”
“I love the part when he wakes up with gum in his hair,” said Josh.
“How about when his mom forgets to pack dessert in his lunch box?” said Robbie. “You know that’s happened to me before …”
“Hey! Hey!” I shouted. “Can you guys stop talking about that book? I’m having a crisis here!”
“Oh yeah, sorry, Freddy,” said Robbie. “Why don’t you check under our seat here?”
“Good idea!” I said. “Maybe when I pulled the napkin out of my pocket to wipe the cream cheese off my nose, the shark’s tooth accidentally fell out, too.”
I bent down and looked under my bus seat.
“Do you see it?” asked Josh.
“I see a bubble gum wrapper, a broken pencil, and this cotton candy lip gloss,” I said, holding up the gloss.
“What do you got there?” Max asked, pointing to the lip gloss.