CHAPTER 33

Have you ever seen a pack of dogs let loose inside a steakhouse?

Neither have I. But I think it would be similar to my classmates’ reactions to the Field Day shirts.

Mr. Vamos, the gym teacher, lined up all the students and handed out the folded shirts one by one. When the first few kids unfolded them, they responded with excitement. They loved them.

And then Mr. Vamos dropped one.

Instinctively, two kids dove for the shirt. They didn’t even know what was on it. One of the kids already had a shirt—he wanted another one. While Mr. Vamos sorted that out, other kids bolted for the carton of shirts that I had drawn. And it became a free-for-all.

In other words, you could say the shirts were a success.

When Mr. Vamos had restored order, he announced that Carlos and I had designed them. There were loud cheers. Everybody on the field was looking at me in awe.

I felt like some people were seeing me for the first time, and not just as that kid they heard being called down to the principal’s office. Not just as That Kid from Field Day last year.

Amanda and Andrea pulled out the special letter-A shirts I had made especially for them.

I had created a special shirt for Carlos, too, which he proudly revealed.

He also showed the back, which nobody understood except for us. And maybe Principal Weeks.

Field Day could have ended right then and it would have been perfect, as far as I was concerned. But we all knew that there was drama to come.