Chapter 6
Goody, Goody Gumdrops

For Halloween, our class was allowed to put on our costumes during recess. I was a rock star. Mom had bought me the most beautiful sequined dress from the thrift store. Dad let me borrow a microphone from the garage, and Rose gave me some sparkly makeup.

When I got all dressed up and fluffed out my hair, I looked awesome. But no one told me how great my costume was and no one wanted to watch me put on a concert . . . except for Stanley, but he doesn’t count because I didn’t even want him to.

When you don’t have a best friend, there is no one to stand in line with and no one to sit with at lunch and no one to talk to and no one to trade your carrots or milk with. And worst of all, no one to play with at recess, so I just plopped down on the bench and watched everyone run around in their costumes.

Some days, though, I would go to the principal’s office at recess. Not because I was in trouble or anything, but because I liked to spend time with Ms. Gloria, the secretary.

Ms. Gloria sits at a big oak desk and answers the phones while she files her long pink-painted nails. She’s really pretty and she wears red lipstick.

“Hey, Ms. Gloria,” I said as I poked my head into the office.

“Hi there, honey.” Ms. Gloria greeted me with a warm smile and the usual question. “Are things any better with Carla?”

I always tell Ms. Gloria what’s going on. “She totally hates me.”

“Oh, Bean, I’m sure she doesn’t.”

“Need any help today?” I asked, changing the subject.

I crossed my fingers behind my back because I hoped she had an errand for me to run. My favorite is when she lets me go in the teachers’ lounge to copy papers for her. No kids are allowed in the teachers’ lounge, except me when I’m on official office business.

“I’ve got some mail to deliver to Room Four,” she said.

“I’ll make it a speedy delivery.”

I took the envelope and spun around to head into the hall. Standing in the doorway was goody-two-shoes Gabrielle.

Gabrielle is the most polite person I have ever met and she never gets in trouble. Also, she is always dressed like she’s going to a party. She wears dresses with matching hair bows. I don’t think it feels very comfortable, but she sure does look nice all the time. I only have one fancy dress like that, but it’s for church. I usually just wear jeans and a T-shirt.

“Hello, Ms. Gloria,” she said in her sweet-as-sugar voice. “I just wanted to stop by to see how you are doing today and see if maybe you might need help with anything.”

No way! This girl was trying to take my job!

“Oh, you girls are so nice,” Ms. Gloria said with a smile. “Bean is going to deliver some mail for me. Why don’t you go with her and make sure it gets to Room Four safe and sound?”

“Goody, goody gumdrops!” she sang.

“I can handle it,” I said quickly. “You don’t need to come with me.”

“No worries at all,” said Gabrielle. “I would love to accompany you.”

I held the envelope tight in my hand as I rushed into the hall, with Gabrielle tailing close behind.

“I love to help Ms. Gloria,” Gabrielle said as she clip-clopped like a horse to catch up to me. “Don’t you?”

I didn’t say anything. I just kept walking because I was on a mission. I opened the door to Room Four and handed the envelope to Ms. Charles, the other third-grade teacher.

“Thank you, girls.”

“No problem,” I said.

“Our pleasure,” Gabrielle chimed in. “And don’t you look nice today. I really like your dress.”

“Thank you, dear,” Ms. Charles said. “Aren’t you sweet?”

Gabrielle isn’t sweet at all. She’s a suck-up. I picked up my pace and rushed back to the office to see if Ms. Gloria needed any more help.

“No running in the halls!” Gabrielle yelled behind me.

“Whatever,” I said as I slid into the office like I was going into home plate.

“Got anything else for me, Ms. Gloria?” I panted, trying to catch my breath.

“Nothing else today, girls.”

Girls? Gabrielle was still following me like my shadow.

“Gabrielle, your mom called. She’s running a little bit late, but she’ll be here soon,” said Ms. Gloria.

“Thank you,” Gabrielle said. She sat down, crossed her legs, and waited.

I’m not sure what her mom was coming for, but I didn’t want to leave her here alone, because maybe she would talk Ms. Gloria into liking her better than me. I plopped right down in the seat next to her and waited too.

“I think you would look pretty with a bow in your hair,” said Gabrielle.

“Really?” I never wear anything in my hair, except a rubber band to hold it in a ponytail.

“I can tie it for you,” she said.

“Okay,” I agreed, trying to play it cool even though I was really, really excited.

Gabrielle got up on her knees and tied her bow around my ponytail. I shook it back and forth, and posed like I was a model in the fashion magazines that Rose reads.

“Looking good, Bean,” said Ms. Gloria.

Like a burst of wind, the door swung open and in came the fanciest lady I have ever seen. She was wearing superhigh heels, a dress that looked like something a queen would wear, and so much makeup, she almost looked like a clown.

“Darling, I am so sorry I was tardy,” she said as she spun around the office.

“No worries, Mother,” Gabrielle said. She stood up and straightened her dress. “I have had some company while I waited.”

I just sat there, slouched in my seat, with my mouth wide open. I’d never seen a lady like this before.

“Well, look at you,” Gabrielle’s mom stared at me with a wrinkled brow. “Aren’t you a little darling for keeping my baby company?”

“Mother, this is Bean. She is in my class.”

“I see,” her mom said, looking me up and down like I was some sort of slob. I sat up as straight as my back would go, flattened out my T-shirt, and crossed my legs so she would stop staring at me.

“Well, then,” she said, peeling her eyes off me and turning back to Gabrielle. She tugged on her dress and fluffed her hair. Then she reached into her purse, and her perfectly manicured fingers pulled out an asthma inhaler. People use that when they can’t breathe very well, so maybe that’s why Gabrielle always sits on the bench during P.E. and recess. Gabrielle took it and sucked in three big, deep breaths.

“Are you feeling better?” her mom asked as she reached again into her purse. “Do you need a Motrin? A cough drop? Hand cream?”

“No, thank you, Mother.”

“Sunscreen? Chapstick?”

“Mother, I am just fine.”

“Well, then I’ll head out. I shall see you this afternoon.”

“Um, Mother? Do you think we might be able to meet outside on the playground today?” Gabrielle asked tentatively.

“No,” her mother said as she shook her head in disgust. “We will meet here in the office as we always do. I cannot have you waiting out in that sun. It is very bad for the skin. Very bad for the skin, indeed. The playground is dirty . . . and all those children.” She shook her head again.

“Please, Mother,” pleaded Gabrielle.

“Absolutely not. See you this afternoon. A pleasure to meet you, child,” she said to me, and shook my arm, which flopped around like a noodle. Then, just as quickly as she had come in, she spun around and left.

Gabrielle’s shoulders, which are usually stiff and straight, were slumped over. I felt bad for her. I mean the poor thing wasn’t even allowed to play on the playground.

“Want to go see if any of the teachers need help cleaning the chalkboards?” I asked, only because I didn’t have anything else to do and I did feel a little bad for Gabrielle.

We went back to our classroom, where Ms. Sullivan was sitting at her desk grading papers.

“Would you like us to clean your chalkboards and erasers, Ms. Sullivan?” I asked.

“That would be wonderful. I never get around to cleaning them.”

“Goody, goody gumdrops!” Gabrielle sang.

“Leave it to us,” I said.

“Thank you. I’m going to go to the teachers’ lounge.” Ms. Sullivan left, and we got to work. Gabrielle wiped the boards down with a wet cloth. She was very serious about her work. I, on the other hand, was having fun slamming the erasers together and making a big cloud of dust. I danced in a circle, banging the erasers all over the place and then right in front of Gabrielle’s nose.

“Stop that, Bean,” Gabrielle gasped. She swatted the air and coughed.

I remembered her asthma. “Oops, sorry!” I said. I stopped right away and waved my arms so that the chalk cloud would disappear. Gabrielle kept on coughing.

I finished cleaning the erasers without making any more of a mess just as Ms. Sullivan returned.

“Thank you, girls. I think this is the cleanest my boards have ever been.”

“You are very welcome,” said Gabrielle, smiling, and I couldn’t help but smile too.

It felt good to have Ms. Sullivan happy with me for once. And even though Gabrielle was such a goody-two-shoes, it was cool to have someone to hang out with.

“Wanna go out to the playground?” I asked hopefully.

“First stop, the bathroom,” she said. “We have to wash our hands and clean up.”

My hands were a little chalky. Usually, I would’ve just wiped them on my jeans, but if I had been wearing a dress like Gabrielle’s, I wouldn’t have wanted to get it dusty either.

We washed up, and since the bell hadn’t rung yet, we headed out to the playground.

“Wanna climb the jungle gym?” I asked.

“No, thank you,” she responded quickly, without even thinking it over.

“What about hopscotch?”

“No, Bean, I do not want to dirty my shoes,” she said.

I looked at her patent leather slippers. They were pretty, but they were definitely not for running at the playground. I slumped down on the bench next to her.

“Maybe do you wanna come play at my house after school?” I asked hopefully.

“I’m not allowed to have play dates,” Gabrielle told me.

She wasn’t allowed to play on the playground, go to other people’s houses, or even talk on the phone. What kind of a friend was that?