“My sunflower is going to be the first one to pop out of the dirt,” George boasted as class 4A headed into their classroom the next morning. “Sunflowers only take a few days to sprout.”
“The kids at the hospital will love your sunflowers, George,” Katie told him.
“The kids where will love my what?” George asked, surprised.
“At Cherrydale Children’s Hospital,” Mr. G. told him. “We’re going to donate our plants to the children there. It’s all Katie’s idea.”
“Why would you want to give our plants away?” George demanded of Katie.
“Because we see trees and flowers every day,” Katie explained. “And the sick kids are stuck inside all the time. We have to be considerate of other people’s feelings.”
Mr. G. nodded. “That’s very important. Mr. Kane thought Katie’s idea was very nice.”
“It showed him what nice kids we are,” Katie told her friends.
“Which was important, since I heard you guys weren’t so considerate of Mr. Goodstein’s feelings yesterday,” Mr. G. added with a sigh. “Okay, everyone sit down now.”
Katie grinned as she plopped down in her beanbag chair. No desks for 4A! Her great idea had saved the day! Now things could stay the way they were.
Well, sort of…
“I still think you dudes need to brush up on your manners,” Mr. G. continued. “This morning, you are each going to write two letters of apology. One to Mr. Goodstein and one to Mr. Kane. And that’s just the beginning.”
Katie gulped. Uh-oh! Had Mr. G. decided to change things in the class anyway?
“Next week, we’re going to have a garden party in our classroom,” Mr. G. continued. “We’ll drink dandelion tea and have flower-shaped cookies.”
“Oh, yeah!” George exclaimed. “Parties rule!”
Mr. G. smiled. “Yes. At our garden party, you will all show perfect manners. That means saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and ‘excuse me.’ There will be no fighting or joke-offs. No one will eat before everyone is served. And no making mushed-up food soup, George.”
“That doesn’t sound like much of a party,” George groaned. “Usually we run around and act silly at parties.”
“Oh, I think you did enough of that yesterday,” Mr. G. reminded him.
George didn’t say another word.
Katie breathed a sigh of relief. Throwing a party to teach manners. How Mr. G. was that?
That night, Katie had a little party of her own. It was a sleepover party for Suzanne and herself. The girls made popcorn, watched movies, and painted each other’s fingernails. No surprises. Just a typical sleepover. Until just before Katie’s mom came to turn off the lights…
“What’s that?” Katie asked as Suzanne pulled a pink pouch out of her knapsack.
Suzanne blushed. “N-nothing,” she said quickly. “I…um…I thought your mom was about to turn off the lights.”
“Come on. What’s in there?” Katie insisted.
Suzanne frowned. “If I show you, you have to promise you won’t tell anyone.”
“I promise,” Katie agreed.
Suzanne held up her little finger. “Pinky swear,” she insisted.
Katie crooked her finger through Suzanne’s. “Pinky swear.”
Suzanne sighed and pulled a thick metal wire out of the bag. It was attached to a cloth band.
“What’s that?” Katie asked her.
“My night brace,” Suzanne mumbled.
“Your what?” Katie asked, not sure she had heard right.
“My night brace,” Suzanne repeated. “I have to wear it on my teeth every night. To make sure they grow in straight.”
Katie couldn’t believe it! “You’ve been making fun of Miriam’s braces all week,” she said. “But you wear them, too?”
“Only at night,” Suzanne insisted. “And I hate it. I would never wear anything this ugly if I didn’t have to.”
“Just like Miriam wouldn’t wear braces if she didn’t have to,” Katie reminded Suzanne.
“At least she gets colored wires,” Suzanne said. “I have this plain silver wire with a tan strap. Imagine me wearing something bland tan!”
Katie nodded. Now she understood—at least a little—why Suzanne was mean to Miriam. She was jealous that Miriam’s braces were prettier than her night brace.
Katie thought for a minute. “Maybe it doesn’t have to be so bland,” she said finally.
“What are you talking about?” Suzanne asked.
Katie opened her desk drawer and pulled out a package of glitter stickers. “We can decorate the cloth strap with these.”
“Hey, that’s not a bad idea,” Suzanne agreed. “They’re glittery. And I’m known for my glitter.”
“Exactly,” Katie agreed.
“I’ll have the funkiest night brace in history,” Suzanne said. “It’ll be so much cooler than Miriam’s red and pink wires.”
“Oh, definitely,” Katie agreed. She grinned. Suzanne would never change.
But that was okay. In fact, Katie liked that some things stayed the same. She had enough changes in her life. After all, for Katie Kazoo, things changed as often as the wind blew. One, two, switcheroo!
