Hey, Frog!
I messed up. It was for a good reason, though, so maybe the bad and the good cancel each other out. Remember how I accidentally took Blake’s journal a while back? Today I did it on purpose. I blame it all on my pencil.
The tip broke in the middle of Reflection Time. Blake sits next to the sharpener, and his drawings were practically right in front of me when I sharpened—I couldn’t help seeing them. I didn’t expect something so sad, though.
It made me worry for him. He’s kind of a loner, you know? Most teachers don’t like him much, because he causes problems. So I thought if I could figure out what was going on, then maybe I could help. That’s why I took his journal home tonight.
I’m a nice guy. I can’t see how this will hurt—Harry Potter broke all kinds of rules to save the world. That kind of thing works out okay in books.
Hey, Frog!
I’m pretty sure Blake’s group is going to steal our egg strategy, but I can’t tell anyone, because then it’ll be obvious that I snagged his journal. Of course, stealing our strategy is wrong…but so is me taking his journal. Plus I saw way more important things in his journal than some stupid egg drop.
I went to talk to Blake today, but I couldn’t figure out how to start. I packed a double lunch on purpose, and I tried to give some to him. I don’t know how bad things are for him at home, but I figured extra food would help.
Only Blake already had a hot lunch. Maybe he gets it for free. Although they’d have to pay me to eat the cafeteria food. Meatloaf Surprise looks like something that should be flushed down a toilet, not set on a plate.
I decided the best thing to do is to send a letter to Ms. Graham. That way I can do it anonymously. I won’t get in trouble…Blake will get help…it’s the best solution I can figure out.
Ms. Graham,
Blake Benson needs help. I think he has problems at home. Someone should talk to him. A grown-up someone, not a kid someone.
—Anonymous
Date: September 26
Ever since Kayley told Emily about La Ventana, Emily barely even looks at me. It’s like I turned invisible. And now Kayley’s stealing her team’s egg drop idea, and I’m doing nothing to stop it. I wish I could fix things with Emily and maybe go back to walking to school together, but I can’t ask her now.
I’m scared of seeing Tattoo Man again. I asked Ima if she would drive me to school for a while, but she said, “Exercise is good for you!” I wanted to say, “Yeah, but getting kidnapped is not!” I didn’t, though. I want to tell her what happened, but I know how overprotective she and Aba are. If they think there’s a bad guy in our neighborhood, they’ll probably move us to Nebraska or never let me go outside. Instead, I’ve been riding my bike.
Only, yesterday after school I realized I’d forgotten my science book when I was already out unlocking my bike. I wheeled it back to the classroom with me and propped it against the wall. When I stepped inside, I saw Ms. Graham talking to Blake Benson. And he was crying. Not a sad crying but a mad crying. “Are you looking at my journal? I thought they were supposed to be private!”
And then he stormed past Kermit’s tank and out the door. What was that about?
Dear Ms. Graham,
I don’t get the best grades, but I know I’m smart. My mother even had me tested for the gifted program. It’s because I’m smart that I figure things out.
This is what I know: Kai took Blake’s journal.
This is what I don’t know: Why?
Here’s how I know: I saw Kai trying to sneak a journal into the lockbox, and it was bugging me. I mean, we’re allowed to take the journals home, so why the creeping around? I went over a couple of minutes later and pretended to be looking for my own journal. Really I was looking to see which journals were on top of the pile. Clever, huh? Blake’s was right on top, but I had to dig deep to find Kai’s.
And what makes this situation even weirder is that Blake is going around telling everyone that YOU read his journal. Not that this surprises me. Did I call that…or what? He must’ve written something really juicy if you talked to him about it. It drives me bananas not to know what it is.
Why does everyone care so much about what Blake is writing? He’s not that interesting, believe me. I sit across from the guy every day and he hardly says a word. And half the time he’s drawing frogs or other equally disgusting creatures.
Give me a day or two, Ms. Graham. I’ll figure this out.
PS Can’t WAIT for the Egg Drop!!!! We’re gonna rock it!
Dear Ms. Graham,
You have a Thief in your class.
Someone IS reading the journals (besides you, that is).
I’m not going to rat him out. I just want to make sure you know.
—Anonymous
Classroom lecture, Graham-style.
Normally Ms. Graham’s eyes
Smile all the time,
But today her eyes are not
Crinkling in the corners,
And her mouth is flat.
She sits on her stool to tell us that
Journals are private
Trust is sacred
Rumors are flying
And SHE would never-ever-never-ever-never-ever violate privacy.
And she hopes WE would never-ever-never-ever-never-ever violate privacy either.
It is up to US, as a class, to mend this.
Hey, Frog!
It’s kind of hard not to feel guilty, even though I think I did the right thing. I didn’t mean for Blake to accuse Ms. Graham of reading his journal. My face got blazing hot when Ms. Graham explained that she’d gotten an anonymous note to talk to a student. I stared hard at my fingernails.
We’re going to vote on how to store the journals. That’s kind of a relief—I sort of regret snagging it in the first place, because now I’m worried about Blake, but I don’t know what to do about it.
I tried to talk my egg group into changing our strategy. I don’t want our group and Blake’s group to do the exact same thing. What if Ms. Graham thinks our group is the one that stole the idea? But no one else wants to change. They all think the nylon will work, and I can’t tell them why I want to swap it out.
SCENE: Students preparing to vote. Handsome, brilliant, and athletic Henry is passing around slips of paper for voting. He’s ripped like Mr. Olympia, so his muscles bulge every time he moves his arms.
MS. GRAHAM: Henry is passing around your voting slips. I realize some students feel like their journals are not entirely private, so we’ll vote on how best to store them.
HENRY: (whispers) Kermit for president! Vote for the frog.
KAYLEY: (whispers) Shut up.
MS. GRAHAM: I will remind you of your options. Option number one—keep the journals locked up and I hold the key. Option number two—keep them locked and nominate a student to hold the key.
HENRY: (whispers) Ooh, that one. Vote for Henry as the key holder. (taps Aviva on the shoulder) Look at this face. Doesn’t it scream Trustworthy?
MS. GRAHAM: Henry—I don’t believe the task of passing out slips of paper requires talking.
HENRY: (freezes in place with winning smile) Sorry, Ms. Graham.
MS. GRAHAM: Option number three—keep your journals in your desks or backpacks. Option number four—you each choose individually either to keep it in your desk or backpack or to keep it in the lockbox, whatever makes you most comfortable.
HENRY: (sits down quietly like the good, responsible student he is)
MS. GRAHAM: Please vote on your slips of paper, and then fold them in half before they are collected.
HENRY: (holds back what he really wants to say, which is “Option number five—order takeout for the whole class. Curly fries and chocolate shakes for everyone!”)
Five minutes pass. Camera zooms in on tally written on chalkboard. Option number four wins.