“Woo-hoo!” yells Wyatt. “I got you with that last one, didn’t I?”
“Yup, you did,” yells Harry. “But I’ll get you next time!”
Wyatt laughs. He’s on the other side of the street now.
“Bye, Wyatt,” calls Harry. “See you next year!”
DAY 72. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 2
Harry didn’t think he’d want to go back to school after vacation, but he feels fizzy as he steps into the classroom.
He saw Diamond and Mason for playdates over the break, and he went to Mason’s birthday party, but now, here is Ms. Peek-Schnitzel in her gray old-lady cardigan, looking cozy and lipsticky like always. And here is Kimani, wearing a new sweater with a sequined cat on it. And here is Wyatt, with a purple Fluff Monster key chain dangling from his backpack.
“You like Fluff Monsters now?” Harry asks as they hang up their coats.
“Yup. I used to think they were baby stuff, but then I got the game for Christmas,” Wyatt says. “They’re pretty boss. Hey, listen, what does a sick dog say?”
Harry thinks. “Help me, I have a tummy ache?”
“No, doof. It’s a joke,” says Wyatt.
“Oh. Does it say…” Harry pauses. He can’t think of anything.
“It says arf, arf,” says Wyatt.
“What?” Harry doesn’t get the joke.
“Arf, arf is not the answer,” says Kimani, coming over to hang up her coat. “It’s barf, barf. That’s what a sick dog says. Get it?”
Barf, barf! “That’s so funny!” says Harry.
“Oh, stupid,” says Wyatt. “I forgot the thing it says. I can’t believe I did that.”
“I got a giant squid for Christmas,” says Abigail, coming to the cubby area. “I was worried it would eat my six dogs, but it turns out squids don’t eat dogs. Squiddy eats watermelon.”
Harry isn’t sure whether to believe her, so he just tells her about the set of toy horses he got from his dad.
DAY 73. THURSDAY, JANUARY 3
During lunch, Wyatt has another joke. “What did one booger say to the other?”
“I know that one,” says Kimani. “My brothers do gross jokes all the time.”
“Don’t tell!” cries Wyatt.
“Did it say, ‘You’re so yucky’?” asks Mason.
“Nope.”
“Did it say, ‘Let’s live in this nose together’?” asks Harry.
“No way.”
“Okay,” says Harry. “What did the booger say?”
“It said, you think you’re funny,” says Wyatt.
Huh? Harry doesn’t get it.
“The right answer is ‘You think you’re funny, but you’re SNOT,’ ” says Kimani.
“Snot!” Snot always makes Harry laugh. It is so disgusting!
Mason laughs, too.
Wyatt looks down at his hands. “Snot,” he repeats to himself, like he’s practicing. “But you’re SNOT. I have to remember but you’re SNOT.”
DAY 74. FRIDAY, JANUARY 4
Ms. Peek-Schnitzel teaches them the song “Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?” Kids get to call out different community workers.
“Nurse,” says Harry, because that’s what Mommy is.
“Mechanic,” says Wyatt.
“Fire chief,” says Kimani.
“Subway driver,” says Diamond.
“Dog walker,” says Mason.
“Teacher,” says Isabella.
“Squid,” says Abigail.
The teacher stops for a moment. “Did you say squid?”
“Uh-huh. Squid,” says Abigail.
“Well, we’re getting silly now, but sure,” says Ms. Peek-Schnitzel. They all sing, “A squid is a person in your neighborhood!”
Harry wonders about Abigail’s giant squid. Does it live in a fish tank? Can it do any tricks? What does it eat besides watermelon, and how giant is giant?
DAY 75. MONDAY, JANUARY 7
Today people get new classroom jobs. Harry is Book Bin Monitor.
It is an un-special job.
Also, Harry’s dad was supposed to be in town over the weekend, but he didn’t come because of a problem at work. That was another un-special thing.
All day, nothing feels right. Harry struggles during reading. Ms. Peek-Schnitzel has moved him to a higher level of book, and that’s good because he was tired of the stories in the old book bin, but it’s also bad because the new books are hard. There are CH sounds and SH sounds and even more silent Es than before.
The books aren’t making any sense, and the pictures aren’t helping. Harry wants to smush his face onto the table and close his eyes.
At lunch, he feels like kicking chairs when Kimani gives Mason, and only Mason, a cookie from her lunch box. And during writing, he wants to slam his hands on the table when Diamond hogs the green pencil again.
Harry doesn’t smush. Or kick. Or slam. But the bad feelings sit inside him all day.
“How come you’re so grumpy?” asks Charlotte as they wait for Evaline in the yard. Evaline has come to pick them up, but she is making them wait while she rummages in her purse.
“It’s nothing,” says Harry.
“I think it’s something,” says Charlotte.
But still, Harry doesn’t have words. He stomps his foot. Then he stomps his other foot. Then he stomps both his feet really fast, to let some of the grump out.
Charlotte bends over. “What’s wrong, H?”
He stomps some more. “I miss Daddy,” he says at last.
Charlotte takes his hand. They follow Evaline out of the yard. “I was super mad when he didn’t come after school on Friday,” says Charlotte. “I hate it when he does stuff like that.”
“I love Daddy,” says Harry loyally. Now that Charlotte is criticizing, he doesn’t want to hear it.
“I love him, too,” says Charlotte, “but he’s not like, a dad you can count on for stuff. Perdita’s dad lives far away, but you know what? He calls her every single Wednesday night. And he comes to visit every other weekend.”
Harry nods. It would be nice to know when Daddy was going to call and visit. “D and M,” he says to Charlotte.
“Yeah, D and M,” she says.
Charlotte asks Evaline if she can go the bodega, which is the shop on the corner that sells snacks, groceries, and deli sandwiches. She runs inside while Harry and Evaline wait. When she comes out, she gives Harry a package of small chocolate cupcakes with fluffy frosting inside.
“You’re special to me,” Charlotte tells him.
DAY 76. TUESDAY, JANUARY 8
“Our class is learning about community by having grown-ups who are community workers come to school,” says Ms. Peek-Schnitzel. “And today, we have four family members visiting.”
Harry’s mom is here. She sits in a chair during morning meeting and talks about her job as an intensive care nurse. “When people are really, really sick, or if they have had a bad accident,” she says, “they stay in the intensive care part of the hospital. I see the very sickest people and help take care of them.”
She wears her scrubs so the children can see her work uniform.
Diamond puts her hand up. “Do you do stitches?”
“No. But I keep the patients’ wounds clean.”
“How did you learn how?” asks Diamond.
“I went to nursing school.”
“I didn’t know there was school for stuff like that,” says Diamond. “I thought it was just reading, math, and writing.”
“There’s school for nurses, artists, news reporters, electricians, all kinds of things,” says Harry’s mom.
When she is done, she sits next to Harry on the rug, just like a kid.
Wyatt’s grandma is next. She runs the office for a garage where auto mechanics work. Sh
e explains how the garage fixes cars. It also has a car wash.
Kimani’s dad is a fire chief. He brings a toy fire truck and explains all the parts and what they do.
Last is Abigail’s mom. She runs an animal rescue center. They take care of dogs and cats who are lost or homeless. She shows the kids pictures on the SMART Board.
Elijah puts a hand up. “Do you have ferrets?”
“Sometimes. And sometimes birds and hamsters—but mostly cats and dogs,” says Abigail’s mom.
“Do you really have six dogs at home?” asks Harry.
“Yes. They are dogs who couldn’t get adopted. It’s a good thing we have a backyard.”
“What about a giant squid?” asks Harry. “Abigail said you have a giant squid.”
“The giant squid is a stuffed animal,” says Abigail’s mom. “But we treat it like family.”
DAY 77. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9
“Your dad is so boss,” says Harry to Kimani during lunch.
“Yup,” says Kimani.
“My dad is just a manager,” says Mason.
“My dad is just a veterinarian,” says Abigail.
“Your dad is a veterinarian?” shrieks Harry. “That’s even better than your mom being an animal rescue lady!”
Everyone wants to hear about being a vet. They all agree that when they grow up, they want to be vets, too.
Or maybe fire chiefs, like Kimani’s dad.
Fire chief vets!
Wyatt doesn’t say anything. He isn’t eating, even though he has two Oreos in his lunch.
Mason, Kimani, and Abigail are all talking happily about the awesome dads.
Harry taps Wyatt on the shoulder. “Hey, my dad doesn’t live with me,” he says. “Did you know that? I wish he lived with me, but my parents got divorced.”
“I don’t have a dad at all,” adds Diamond, “and both my moms have boring jobs.”
“I only have a mom,” says Wyatt.
“It’s all good,” says Diamond.
“How come you live with your grandma?” asks Harry.
“My mom is far away.”
“Do you get to see her?” asks Harry.
“Sometimes.” says Wyatt. “She’s sick.”
Harry doesn’t know what to say. No one else seems to, either. Finally he says, “Your grandma is super cool. Do you get to visit the garage?”
Wyatt nods.
“Do you get to look at engines?”
“Yup, sometimes.” Wyatt tells them about riding through the car wash, and looking in the toolboxes, and how the cars get jacked up so the repair people can go underneath them. “I’m the only kid mechanic they have there,” he says proudly.
DAY 78. THURSDAY, JANUARY 10
Ms. Yoo has felt. Tons and tons of felt. “We’re making shark heads,” she announces. “I know you’re studying sharks with Mr. Daryl.”
She gives everyone scissors and shows them how to cut out the head shape. “Choose any color you want.”
Harry makes a green shark.
Next, Ms. Yoo shows how to do the teeth and eyes.
Harry adds extra teeth.
At the end, they glue their shark heads to blue paper that’s supposed to be water. If they want, they can draw some little fish swimming around.
Harry adds fish. Abigail adds a giant squid. “You should come meet Squiddy and my dogs,” says Abigail shyly. “I’ve been to your house already.”
“Okay,” says Harry.
“You could even come today if you want,” says Abigail. “I think you can, I mean.”
And Harry does. Evaline promises to pick him up at five, and he leaves the schoolyard with Abigail’s mom.
Abigail’s family lives in a town house, a narrow three-story building with a backyard and the kitchen on the second floor. Abigail introduces Harry to the six dogs and then to Squiddy and the other stuffed animals who live on her bed. Her room is painted dark pink. They go to the kitchen for graham bunnies and milk, and after that, they play dress-up and build a fort. Harry wears Abigail’s chef costume and Abigail wears her doctor costume. All the stuffed animals are sick in the fort hospital, and Harry brings them good things to eat.
Squiddy eats toy watermelon.
Harry doesn’t want to leave when Evaline comes to get him.
DAY 79. FRIDAY, JANUARY 11
During reading, something clicks. Silent E makes glob into globe. It turns twin into twine. Suddenly, it just makes sense.
Harry no longer has to stop at every word, check to see whether it has an E at the end, and then figure out what the sound in the middle might be. He just knows!
He raises his hand. Ms. Peek-Schnitzel comes over.
“Can I read some of my book to you?” asks Harry.
“Sure.” She squats down to hear him and see the pictures.
It is a story about a mule who waves while she bakes a cake. Then she waves while she plays a game and waves while she rides a plane. Harry can read it without pausing.
After school, Daddy is waiting in the yard. He has come for the weekend. He will stay at his friend Declan’s place, the way he always does. Surprise!
Harry feels the grump he’s been holding all week fade away. He loves Daddy and Daddy loves him. He knows it is true. He gives his dad the felt shark he made, which was dry enough to take home. Daddy promises to put it up on the wall of his apartment.
“How you been, H?” he asks, swinging Harry around while they wait for Charlotte to come out.
“I have lots of friends,” says Harry. “There’s Mason, Abigail, Diamond, and Kimani. And even Wyatt. Plus I can make a shark and a pom-pom. I can read words with silent E and I can count to one hundred.”
“You can?” says Daddy.
“I can,” says Harry.
With Charlotte, they take a train to Manhattan and go to Daddy’s favorite pizza restaurant, the one with the giant melty wax candles. Afterward, they go to a nighttime superhero movie and take the subway back to Brooklyn.
Harry falls asleep on Daddy’s shoulder as the train shuttles through the night.
DAY 80. MONDAY, JANUARY 14
Evaline has bags of cheese puffs for Harry and Charlotte when she picks them up. “We have to do some errands for your mother,” she says cheerfully, “so I thought these might make the chores go faster.”
It is icy cold on the street, but Harry and Charlotte take off their mittens and count the cheese puffs as they eat and walk. There are twenty-eight puffs in each bag.
In the steamy heat of the drugstore, they can look around while Evaline collects the things on her list. Harry wants to go to the toy aisle, to see if Evaline will get him anything. “Come on,” he says, pulling Charlotte’s hand. “Let’s see if they have those bags of tiny plastic dinosaurs.”
They are heading over when suddenly, Charlotte ducks into the boring shampoo aisle.
“Why are you stopping?”
“Perdita is over there,” whispers Charlotte. “I don’t want to see her.”
“Your friend Perdita?”
“Yeah. But I’m D and M at her.”
“How come?”
“She’s not letting me play with her at recess.”
“Why?” Harry wants to go to the toy aisle.
“She started up some game where she’s a queen and Hannah’s a court jester and some other people are royal pets, but they say I can only play if I’m the scullery maid,” says Charlotte. “I don’t want to be the scullery maid.”
“What’s a scullery maid?”
“I don’t really know, but it’s like scrubbing and taking out garbage and stuff, basically.”
“Yuck. Royal pet is way better than scullery maid.”
“Exactly.”
Harry takes Charlotte’s hand. He doesn’t pul
l her to the toy aisle. They hold hands as they wait for Evaline to pay for things. They keep holding while Evaline picks up a bag of laundry at the Laundromat. They hold hands all the way home.
DAY 81. TUESDAY, JANUARY 15
Map time! All the kids have to draw maps of their bedrooms. “If you were up high, looking down at your bedroom from the ceiling, what would it look like?” asks Ms. Peek-Schnitzel. She shows them some examples.
Harry shares a room with Charlotte. They have twin beds. His bed has dinosaurs on the comforter. Her bed has lemons. It takes him a long time to draw the map because their room is messy. It’s hard to show all the things that are piled up around, like stacks of books that aren’t in the bookshelf and the stuffed animals that live in a laundry basket.
When he’s done, Harry asks Ms. Peek-Schnitzel if he can take his map home.
“I was planning to hang them on the wall of our classroom,” she says.
“I want to give it to my sister because she has a mean friend,” says Harry.
The teacher says yes. Harry writes For Charlotte in big letters at the top of his map.
When he gives it to her after school, Charlotte tapes it to the door of their bedroom, where anyone walking down the hall can see it.
DAY 82. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16
In science, Mr. Daryl has started teaching about weather, and in art, Ms. Yoo has them all make winter scenes. She shows them examples of how different artists have painted wind and snow. She says artists don’t have to use white for snow. They might use yellow, purple, blue, or green, any color.
Harry wants to use white anyway. He takes blue paper and makes a small white snowman. Then he gets a big brush and makes a swirling, whirling snowstorm. It covers the snowman completely. Ms. Yoo hands out glitter. Silver glitter, gold glitter, blue and purple glitter, and glitter that’s see-though and rainbow.
By the end of art, Harry has glitter all over him. In his ears, between his fingers, on his neck, on his clothes. So do the other kids at Goat Table.
“We look silly,” says Wyatt sadly.
Harry Versus the First 100 Days of School Page 8