The next day, during math, Miss Mabel called our group to her desk to review our project idea and schedule.
Miss Mabel has all sorts of cool stuff on her desk. She has a timer that’s in the shape of an owl, so you don’t lose track of time. She also has a basket full of fidgets, which are toys you can fiddle with if you are getting antsy. She also has lots of framed photos.
My favorite is the picture from when Miss Mabel was in second grade, just like me. In the photo, she is at a fancy party with her mom, and she’s wearing the most beautiful outfit I have ever seen. It is purple and silky, with gold around the edges, and it comes in two pieces—a long skirt that reaches to the floor and a matching top that wraps around her body and hangs over her shoulder like a scarf. Her mom is wearing the same kind of outfit, only in orange.
Once I asked her where she got the outfit, and she said, “It’s from India. It’s a sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” I asked.
She laughed. “S-a-r-i. It’s a traditional kind of clothing in India.”
“Well, I am sorry I don’t have a sari,” I said. “Do they come in turquoise?”
On that Tuesday, while Cora explained our project idea to Miss Mabel, I was looking at that picture and daydreaming about how, if I had a sari, I would wear it to accept my trophy at the 100 Days celebration. Maybe Miss Mabel could wear one, too, and we could be twins.
When Cora was done talking, Miss Mabel said, “I love it! It’s fresh and new and very collaborative.”
We all beamed, even Matt.
“Today, you can decide what you’re going to write on your petition. It should be something all of you can agree on.”
“If there is such a thing,” I muttered. I didn’t think Matt and I would ever agree on anything!
And I was right. We spent most of math time arguing about what the petition should say. While we were in the middle of brainstorming, Matt bent over to look at something on the floor.
“Matt!” I exclaimed. “You’re not even paying attention!”
He said “Shhhhhhhh!” without even looking at me.
That got me curious, so I bent over to see what he was looking at.
It was a water bug. They are basically the same as cockroaches, just with a nicer name. Sometimes one will appear in our house, because it’s a very old house that was built in the Pilgrim times, or around then. Whenever my grandmother sees a bug, she shrieks at the top of her lungs and stands on a chair. But I’m not scared of bugs, so I just run over and smash it with my shoe for her. Nana is always very grateful and gives me a cookie.
As soon as I saw that water bug, I jumped up and stomped on it.
“HEY!” Matt shouted. He looked at me with a horrified expression that said, How could you do such a terrible thing, you heartless monster?
“What did he ever do to you?” Matt asked very bitterly.
“I was trying to help!” I exclaimed. “And if you were paying attention and working on our petition, instead of looking at bugs, this wouldn’t have happened!”
“That’s not the point!” he cried. “You murdered an innocent creature!”
“He was a gross cockroach!”
“He may have been a cockroach, but he was not gross,” Matt said in a huff. His eyes were flashing with fury. “You’re the gross one.”
I was so angry at Matthew Sawyer that I thought I might sock him. So I stood up to get a drink of water and cool off, like my mom always tells me to do.
On my way back to the group, I passed Miss Mabel, who was putting new batteries in her speaker. She pressed the power button, but nothing happened.
“Can’t get the speaker to work?” I asked.
“Nope,” she said, tossing it in the trash. “It’s too bad. Our doo-wops have been a bit lackluster lately.”
“Why don’t you just ask Principal Powell for a new one?”
“I did,” Miss Mabel said. “But speakers cost money, so—”
“Eureka!” I shrieked. Miss Mabel looked at me like I was growing wings out of my ears.
“Sorry, Miss Mabel, it’s just … I had a great idea! Gotta tell the group.”
I raced over to the rug, where Matt was trying to persuade everyone to make a petition that said, “Ban the murder of water bugs! Water bugs are people, too.”
“First of all, water bugs are not people,” I said. “They’re bugs.”
Matt opened his mouth to say something, but I stopped him.
“But it doesn’t matter, anyway, because I’ve got the perfect idea!” I exclaimed. “The petition should ask for a new speaker for Miss Mabel! So she can doo-wop again!”
Everyone agreed it was perfect. Minnie wrote the petition in her best handwriting:
“Miss Mabel is the best teacher ever! Please give her a new speaker. She needs it to teach us!”
Finally, we could move on to the fun step: getting signatures. We decided we’d each get to take the petition home for one day.
Petition Schedule
Cora: Wednesday to Thursday
Minnie: Thursday to Friday
Veronica: Friday to Monday
Matt: Monday to Tuesday
I made sure I got the longest turn because I knew I could get a billion signatures if I just had enough time.
I also made sure Matthew Sawyer got the last turn.
Told you I was the clever piggy.