It’s Thursday morning.

“She’s giving us something she already has,” Calvin tells me on our way to school.

“What?”

“It was too late last night for Beatrice to go out and buy rewards, so she’s giving us something she had in her house.”

I hadn’t thought of that.

“She once took a whole bunch of baseball cards from Douglas because he was looking at them in class,” Calvin says. “Maybe that’s what she’s giving us.”

I say, “If she gives us those cards, we’ll return them to Douglas.”

“Maybe she’ll give us all the hard candies and cans of soda she’s taken from her students.”

Calvin must have thought about this a lot.

“Not just the baseball cards, candies, and sodas from this year, but from all her years of teaching.”

I tell Calvin, “If you keep soda too long it loses its bubbles. Don’t drink from any can that’s rusted or dusty.”

We meet Douglas and Annie in the school playground. We tell them how we found Lollipop.

“Maybe she baked cookies for you,” Annie says. “I bet she’s really good at measuring ingredients and following recipes.”

I don’t need Mrs. Cakel’s cookies. I like the cookies and donuts Mrs. Waffle gives me.

The bell rings. We line up and go in the building.

Mrs. Cakel is standing by the door to our room. She has her usual strict look, the same “just-start-something-and-see-what-happens” look she’s had all year.

Calvin and I walk past and she smiles.

“I have something for each of you,” she whispers. “I’ll give it to you at lunchtime.”

I look on her desk. Nothing. I wonder what she has for me.

I sit in my seat and try to pay attention but today it’s not easy.

The morning lessons go on and on.

George Washington did this. Samuel Adams did this. One-half is more than one-third. Heart. Lungs. Circulatory system. Red blood cells. White blood cells. Platelets. Plasma.

Did you know the heart is a pump? Only you can’t use it to fill your bicycle tires with air. Your heart pumps blood all over your body.

The bell!

Lunchtime.

Douglas, Annie, and all the other kids in my class grab their lunches and rush out of the room. Calvin and I don’t rush. We’re the last ones by the door.

“Here,” Mrs. Cakel says and gives me a wrapped package. “This is your reward.”

The package is heavy. I tear off the wrapping. She gave me five books. But not just any books—baseball books.

“Danny, I know that you love baseball, so I thought these books would be a good reward.”

“Yes, I love baseball. This is a great reward.”

“And Calvin,” she says. “You love to chew gum, to slouch, and to give strange answers in class. I hope you like this reward.”

She gives Calvin an envelope.

“Money?” Calvin asks in a whisper.

He carefully opens the envelope and takes out several white cards. Each has a fancy printed border. Inside each border in large bold print are the words “Get Out of Trouble Free.” Each card is signed B. Cakel.

“There are lots of rules in my classroom,” Mrs. Cakel tells Calvin, “and you have trouble following rules. There are seven cards, so seven times during the rest of the school year, if I catch you chewing gum or mumbling, or even without your homework, and you’re about to get in trouble, just give me one of those cards. You’ll get out of trouble free.”

Mrs. Cakel smiles.

“This is great!” Calvin says.

“Thank you for finding my Lollipop,” Mrs. Cakel tells us. “Now go eat your lunches.”

“This has been a real great week,” Calvin tells me on our way to the cafeteria. “It was fun hunting for that Candy-On–A-Stick dog. I got to eat lots of donuts. These Get Out of Trouble Free cards might get me through fourth grade. And best of all, I found out I’m your best friend.”

“And the week is not over,” I tell my best friend. “It’s only Thursday.”