The next morning was Saint Patrick’s Day. Song Lee tied green ribbons and shamrocks in her hair. Ida wore a green necklace. Sid had a plastic green Derby hat. I wore green socks.
I couldn’t wait for Harry and Mary to arrive. What was their surprise? I stood at the bottom of the ramp, watching the parents drop kids off for school.
Song Lee, Ida, and Sidney were nearby, waiting in the tetherball line while ZuZu and Dexter took their turn.
Finally Grandma Spooger’s red truck pulled up in front of the school.
Harry and Mary got out of the cab.
I had to look twice.
Harry’s hair was spiked green!
“Have fun today!” Harry’s grandma called out. Harry and Mary waved back at her, then ran down the ramp.
“Hi, everyone!” Harry shouted. Lots of kids stared at him.
“HARRY HAS GREEN HAIR!” Sid screamed.
Dexter and ZuZu stopped playing tetherball.
We all gathered around Harry. His entire outfit was green. He even smelled green.
“How do you like my ’do?” Harry asked everyone.
“It’s Hair by Mare,” Mary bragged. “Harry asked me for a green hairdo for Saint Patrick’s Day.”
“I love it!” Ida cheered.
“It’s wild and fun!” Song Lee exclaimed.
I stared at Harry. “You’re green from head to toe!” I said.
“I used green markers on my tennis shoes. Grandma got me the washable kind.”
“Will that green wash out of your hair?” ZuZu asked.
Harry shrugged.
“Of course,” Mary answered. “This is my Saint Pat’s holiday special. I mixed green Kool-Aid with hair gel.”
So that’s why he smelled green. It was the lime smell from the Kool-Aid!
“Call me Green Man!” Harry proclaimed.
ZuZu and Dexter slapped Harry five.
“You’re a real Boston Celtics fan,” ZuZu said, admiring his extra-large green jacket.
“Of course I’m a fan,” Harry replied. “And so is my Grampa Spooger. This is his jacket. He let me borrow it for Saint Patrick’s Day.”
“Those camouflage pants remind me of my uncle,” Sid said. “He’s an army sergeant.”
Harry lifted his jacket so we could see that his T-shirt underneath had green spots.
“That’s mold. The shirt got left in the damp basement, but I knew I’d have a use for it sometime. I was right. You’re looking at natural green!”
“Ewyee!” we squealed.
As soon as the school bell rang, we got our book bags and walked into the building. Everyone in the halls stared at Harry. He was a green celebrity!
When the principal saw us in the hallway, he hollered, “Bravissimo, Harry!”
Miss Mackle greeted Harry at the classroom door. She had big green earrings on.
“I’m Green Man,” Harry said.
The teacher smiled. “You sure are!” she replied.
As we headed over to the coat rack to hang up our coats, Mary had a word with Harry.
“Thanks for forgiving me, Harry,” she whispered. “But I also want to thank you for something else. As it turns out, I didn’t need to go on TV to launch my hair business. Two of my neighbors who go to South School saw my poster in the girls’ bathroom. They asked me to come over to their house and do their hair! And you…well, you are a walking advertisement for me, Harry! I just got five new bookings in the hallway. I even had to tell a dozen kids I just do green hair on Saint Patrick’s Day, and then only if their parents say yes.”
“All right, Mare,” Harry said. “I love my Saint Patrick’s Day hairdo.” Then he looked at me. “It’s a beauty, don’t you think, Doug?”
Not to me, I thought. Harry’s head looked like a green stegosaurus with all those hairy spikes. But I wasn’t going to tell him that. I just slapped Harry five.
Mary beamed. “I think it’s beautiful,” she said. “It’s my favorite hair creation so far!”
Did Mary and Harry’s eyeballs just agree on something?
Yes! Harry’s spiked green hair!
Whoa…that will probably not happen again for a long time. Maybe not until next Saint Patrick’s Day.
And then, just like every morning, Harry walked over to the window and checked the scene outside. Suddenly, he was jumping up and down. “I SEE THE GRASS!” he yelled.
Song Lee dashed over to the window. “I SEE IT, TOO!” she squealed.
Now that, to my eyes, was beautiful!
