“Look,” says Sammy. “You’re twins.”
Mae and I are both wearing blue shirts and brown pants, but the rest of us is not twins. Mae is taller than me and she has black curly hair.
Mae thinks she’s just going to watch me and Sammy, but I tell her the surprise. She’s going to spin.
“REALLY?” She jumps up and down, and then runs to the wheel and gives it a giant pull.
“WOODPECKERS!” says Sammy. “A million of them!”
We watch and watch and watch, until it stops. A million woodpeckers takes forever.
“DANCE/SPIN AGAIN!” shouts Mae. “It’s the winner!”
I get the note and read it aloud.
DANCE/SPIN AGAIN
It’s always fun to DANCE. Put on some music and do three minutes of silly dancing. When you’re done, spin the wheel again. Have fun!
Sammy and I know exactly what kind of dancing to do—On-the-Ground Disco Dancing! Mae is good at learning moves. By the end of the song, we can all point in different directions at the same time.
After the dancing, we spin again. This time Mae and I do it together. We’re all hoping for the same thing—more dancing—but we get Poem.
“Yay! POEM!” We shout and cheer anyway.
I read the note.
FEEL-GOOD POEM
Make up a silly feel-good poem for a friend. Try to make them smile. You must use at least three of these words in your poem: pumpkin, zebra, friend, brave, famous, cactus, fantastic, surprise.
Have fun!
“What about me?” asks Mae. “Do I do it too?”
I hold up my hand. “As an official spinner, you have to.”
“JUNE! SCHOOL! FAST!”
Mom is yelling at us from downstairs. I look at the clock. Mom’s right. We’re late. Mae grabs her coat and we race out of the room.
We make it to class just in time. It’s hard to be calm and my heart’s still racing, even after I sit down.
When the lunch bell rings, Mae walks straight over to April and hands her a note. April reads it and then smiles.
Mae holds up a pencil.
April nods. “You can keep it.”
“Are you sure?”
April nods again. “It’s not that super special. I have three more just the same.”
Ava walks over to see what’s going on, but April shoves the note in her pocket, and then she and Ava walk out, arm in arm again.
“What did you give her? Is it a secret? Why was she happy?” I have lots of questions for Mae.
On the way to the lunchroom she tells me everything. “When April came to my house, she thought Rocket’s band was super cool. So I told her what he did. He changed his band name to Cat Scratch Shrieker, because of her. I made it into a poem.”
At first I’m jealous about the band name, but that feeling goes away when Mae tell me more.
“Rocket changes his band name a lot. It’ll probably be something different next week.”
At recess, I sit on the grass while Mae plays tag with Leni and Jules. I’m writing my poem. I thought it would be a poem for Mae, but when I start, it turns into something else.
Being Rabbitastic
Is fantastic
You do not want a cat
We all know that
For a dog you might cry
But why not try
A bunny like a dog
Hops like a frog
No zebra or bat
Will be all that
He can fetch, jump, and bite
A friend day and night
I’m excited about it until I get to class, and then I get worried. What if Steven thinks it’s weird? But I have no choice. I have to give it to him. It’s too late to make up a new one. I hand it to Jennifer and she passes it over.
Steven reads it and then smiles. “Guess what? We’re getting a rabbit on Saturday.”
Jennifer claps her hands. “REALLY!” She can hardly believe it. And then she and Steven talk nonstop about rabbits.
Mae can’t come over after school. She’s going shopping with her mom, but we still walk home together. We talk about the Wonder Wheel. Mae is sad it’s over.
I shake my head. “But it’s not! On Monday we get to set up a whole new wheel, with new stuff to do all week. And then there’s four more after that.”
Mae and I try to guess what’ll be on the new wheel, but it’s impossible. All I can say is “If Grandma Penny made it, it’ll be good.”
When we get to Mae’s house, her mom’s already in the car, so I talk fast. “Come over tomorrow morning. There’s a surprise.”
Mae looks excited. “What kind of surprise?”
I shake my head. “I can’t tell you, but bring a shovel.”
Mae nods. “I have my own shovel!”
I smile. I already know that.
We wave back and forth until they turn the corner and I can’t see them anymore.
I get to the house just as Isabella’s leaving for her audition. She’s carrying her little suitcase and her nails are painted bright orange.
“Good luck!” I lift my hand up for a high-five, but she ignores it and mumbles something I can’t understand. Maybe she’s too nervous for high-fives.
“YOU’RE HOME!” Sammy jumps on me the second I open the door. It’s nice to feel welcome.
After playing and snacks, we go up to my room. I find my blue collection and dump everything out onto the floor.
Sammy sniffs them. “Are we looking for more blue things?”
I hold up the owl. “No, we’re burying treasure.”
“DIGGING!” shouts Sammy, and a second later he’s racing down the stairs.
Sammy loves digging almost as much as he loves chasing squirrels. I grab a yellow marker and the plastic bag and run after him. He’s at the back door, waiting to go out. Before I open it, I color the owl’s eyes with the marker and wrap it up in the bag.
We bury it in the backyard. Sammy digs the hole, I drop in the bag, and then he covers it up. It’s teamwork, and when we’re done, we high-five. Hand to paw.
Sammy and I wake up early. The house smells terrific!
Mom’s cooking, but she’s not making breakfast—she’s making lemon cake. She lets me clean the spoon. Mae rings the doorbell right at my last lick.
She holds up her shovel, then sniffs. “What smells so good?”
“Lemon cake!” I show her the little window on the oven and point to the one for her family.
She licks her lips. “I wish I could eat it now.”
I know exactly how she feels.
“CAN WE DO IT? CAN WE?” Sammy doesn’t care about lemon cake. He wants to go outside. I open the door and we follow him to the digging spot. The hole isn’t deep. Mae finds the plastic bag after only a few scoops. She opens it and gasps. “It’s your owl, but with yellow eyes! Like my lucky bird! Really? You made it for me?”
“Thank you!” She holds it tight and then gives me a hug. Sammy’s too busy for hugs. He’s filling up the hole.
Isabella pokes her head out the upstairs window and yells at us. “Mom says to stop digging holes in the yard.”
“What hole?” I point to the ground. Sammy’s a professional. The hole’s gone.
Mae waves hi at Isabella. “Rocket said you’re in the band and that you’re good!”
Isabella doesn’t say anything, but I can guess why. She’s probably rolling her eyes. She waves back and shuts the window.
Mae stares at the window for an extra second, then looks at me. “Guess what?”
“Dinosaur bones!” says Sammy.
I shrug. “Unicorns?”
Mae claps. “No better.”
“Better than unicorns?” I shake my head. That’s impossible.
“It’s a secret,” says Mae. We lean in to hear.
She points up at Isabella’s window. “If we got your sister to marry my brother, you and I would be sisters.”
It’s a great idea, but there’s a problem. “Isabella’s not al
lowed to have a boyfriend yet.”
Mae smiles. “That’s okay, we can make it happen later. Like in ten years.”
Now I’m smiling too. A friend for ten years just might be better than unicorns.
MiddleGradeMania.com
About the Author
CHARISE MERICLE HARPER is the author of lots of books for children, including the Just Grace series. Charise lives in Oregon with her family.
Visit her website at www.chariseharper.com
About the Illustrator
ASHLEY SPIRES is a creator of many picture books and graphic novels, including The Most Magnificent Thing and Binky the Space Cat. She lives in British Columbia.
Visit her website at www.ashleyspires.com
Mae and June and the Wonder Wheel Page 4