4 Not So Funny

At our next two practices, Mrs. Ross has more pages for us. I make my voice like Kermit the Frog from Sesame Street. It is so funny. Aldeen still stands there and talks really slowly, so I ribbit while she talks. She gets all red in the face.

Charlie still isn’t very kingly either, so I keep hopping and going, “Yeah, yeah, yeah” to help. I don’t get why he keeps messing up his words. He needs to practise.

Hopping makes me tired, so I switch to pretending to catch flies with my tongue. Then I smile and burp. Then it’s less boring when Chantal and Tracey say their parts.

My being funny makes everything way better. Not everybody laughs, but I think that is because they are busy now. I can tell Chantal and Tracey like it, because they keep looking at me as if they are asking for help. When we stop for recess, Mrs. Ross wants to speak to me. I bet she is going to thank me for making the play so good.

Sure enough, she says, “I really like the way you are working so hard. That is an interesting voice you made up. It’s a bit hard to understand, though.”

“It’s Kermit,” I say, “from Sesame Street.” Hasn’t she ever watched it?

“Ah,” says Mrs. Ross. “Ri-i-ight. You know, Morgan, maybe you’re doing a bit too much. We have to give the others a chance too.”

“But they don’t do anything,” I say. Well, they don’t.

“Maybe you’re not giving them time to. How about not hopping and ribbitting so much when other people are talking? Acting is teamwork, you know. Sometimes that means waiting your turn.”

“Okay,” I say. It doesn’t matter. I can still make faces and catch flies, and I can pretend to give warts to people. Hey, I wonder if I can do my magic trick! Do frogs have thumbs?

Outside, everyone starts giggling when they see me coming. Probably they are remembering the funny stuff I did.

Charlie says, “How come your voice gets weird like that?”

“It’s Kermit,” I say.

“It doesn’t sound like Kermit.”

Yes, it does.

Then Chantal says, “Hey, Morgan, practised the ending yet?”

“You know how it ends, don’t you?” asks Stephanie.

Kids laugh.

I don’t get it. “Yeah,” I say, “it ends with me getting a standing O.”

“That’s what you think,” says Tracey.

Now they all laugh, but it doesn’t sound like before.