The next morning Marvin ate his breakfast with gusto. I tossed the very last Cheerio up in the air and gulped it down.
I’d buy more on the way home from school. To remind myself, I grabbed my purple pen and started a list. Was it spelled “Cheerios” or “Cheerioes”? I wasn’t sure, so I just wrote “Cheerio” on a scrap of paper and stuffed it into my pocket.
Because I’d driven Boris and Steggo home from school yesterday, today I had to drive them back. We were late, but for once Mr. Dayberry didn’t seem to care. He had decided the class should have a pet, and today was the pet’s first day.
A few of us at a time were invited to come up and see. Mr. Dayberry asked everyone to speak softly to the little rat.
When it was finally my turn, I went up and whispered, “Hi, little rat. I’m so happy to meet you.”
I looked the little rat in the eye and told him my name. “What’s your name?” I asked. He didn’t say. He just stared back at me with his sparkly eyes.
After we all met the rat, Mr. Dayberry passed out slips of paper. He asked us to think of a name for him. Later he would collect the names and choose one.
At recess I played on the swings and thought about the little rat. He was warm. He had eyes that twinkled. He had a long tail without any fur on it. He had whiskers and two tiny buckteeth. The teeth were so cute!
I jumped off the swing and wrote “Bucky” down on my slip of paper.
Mr. Dayberry collected the names and put them in his bike helmet. Then he mixed them all up and pulled one out. He looked puzzled for a second. Then he read the little rat’s name: “Cheerio.”
I had put the wrong scrap of paper in the helmet! But the little rat seemed to like his new name.
Mr. Dayberry recognized the purple ink. “Since you named him, Mimi, would you like to be Cheerio’s special caretaker next week?”
“YES!” I was super excited. Even though Boris made me drive his stupid dinosaur home again. He wanted to add silver claws to Steggo over the long weekend.