Okay. There was Jannie. But where was Sleepytime Susie? Hmm. Jannie must have forgotten her.
And now there was Sara. But where was her Barbie?
Natalie saw Terri and Tammy, but no Tootsie or Taffy. She saw Karen, but no Goosie. And she saw Omar, but no old giraffe.
Soon all of Natalie’s classmates had arrived. And their desks were empty except for Buzzy Bear. Natalie could not stand it. She turned around and whispered to Tammy, “Where is Taffy?”
“I, um, decided not to bring her,” replied Tammy.
“You mean, you chickened out,” said Hank.
“Well, you were going to bring in your firefighter doll,” said Tammy. “And I do not see that anywhere.”
“I forgot it!” cried Hank.
“Liar,” said Ian. “You chickened out, too. So did Omar.”
“So did everyone,” muttered Natalie.
Natalie looked at Buzzy. He was sitting on her desk wearing his knitted hat and coat. Natalie thought about stuffing him inside the desk, but he was too big for that. Besides, all the kids had seen him.
Later that morning, Ms. Colman stood before her class. “Where are your dolls and stuffed animals?” she asked.
The kids pointed silently to Buzzy Bear.
“That’s it?” said Ms. Colman. “No one brought in anything else?”
The kids shook their heads.
“Well, then. Hmm.” Ms. Colman smiled at Natalie. “I guess we do not even need to take a vote. Buzzy Bear it is. I hope you are ready for a big adventure, Buzzy.”
Natalie tried to smile back at Ms. Colman.
Just then, Bobby Gianelli, of all people, tapped Natalie’s arm. “You are really brave,” he said to her.
“Really brave,” added Audrey from behind her.
Natalie gulped. She nodded. She could not back out. Not now when the kids finally thought she was grown-up, and even brave.
Ms. Colman picked Buzzy up. “Well, let’s see,” she said. “I like your blue and yellow coat very much. It is the perfect thing to pin your traveling note to. Class, we are going to write Buzzy’s note together. I will write it on the blackboard for now. When it is finished, we can copy it onto a tag for Buzzy. Okay. How should we begin our letter?”
Omar waved his hand in the air. “I know! It should start: To whom it may concern.”
On the blackboard, Ms. Colman printed:
GOOD-BYE, BUZZY BEAR
To Whom It May Concern:
Hello! My name is Buzzy Bear. I belong to Class 2A at Stoneybrook Academy in Stoneybrook, Connecticut. I would like to have some adventures. The kids in 2A would like to learn about other cities and countries. Please take me with you for a day or two. Then send a postcard or a letter or a photo to the address on the back of this tag so the kids in 2A will know what I have been up to. When our adventure is over, leave me in a place where someone else can find me. Eventually, Class 2A would like to have me back so I can go home with Natalie Springer, who is my owner. Please return me by December 1st. Thank you!
That was the message Ms. Colman had written on a big cardboard tag. On the back of the tag, she had printed the address of Stoneybrook Academy. Then she had fastened the tag to Buzzy Bear’s coat with a large safety pin.
“There,” said Ms. Colman when she had finished.
Now Buzzy Bear was sitting on the edge of her desk. It was a very important day. Today Buzzy would leave on his adventure. When the kids in Ms. Colman’s class entered their room that morning, Buzzy was the first thing they saw.
“Hi, Buzzy Bear,” said Natalie as she sat at her desk. “Are you ready to go on your trip? You will be leaving soon.”
“Are you ready to let Buzzy go on his trip?” Ms. Colman asked Natalie.
Natalie nodded. “Yup.” She was not going to let her classmates down.
Shortly before lunchtime, Natalie heard a knock at the door. She looked up from her reading book. Ms. Colman was opening the door.
“Hello, Susan,” she said.
“Hello.” A smiling woman entered the room. She was carrying a briefcase. She looked at Ms. Colman’s desk. “Is that Buzzy Bear?”
“It certainly is,” replied Ms. Colman. Ms. Colman faced her class. “Girls and boys,” she said, “this is my friend Susan Ying. She is going on a business trip today. She has agreed to take Buzzy Bear with her to the airport. She will leave him for the first person to find.”
“Are you ready for your trip, Buzzy?” asked Susan Ying.
Buzzy just sat on Ms. Colman’s desk. The tag was so big that it hid part of his face. Natalie could see only one of his eyes.
Natalie raised her hand. “Um, Ms. Ying?” she said. “I am Natalie Springer. Buzzy is my bear. And I think he is ready for the trip. Do you know where you will leave him when you get to the airport?”
“I think I will leave him in a waiting area — at a gate where a lot of people are waiting for a flight. Either that or I will leave him in a restaurant at the airport.”
Natalie nodded. “Okay.”
Ms. Colman handed Buzzy to Susan Ying. “Thank you so much for doing this,” she said. “We really appreciate it.”
“I am happy to do it,” replied Ms. Ying. “I will call you later.”
“Good-bye! Good-bye, Buzzy!” called the kids as Ms. Ying carried him out the door. “Have a good trip!”
“Good-bye, Buzzy!” Natalie called along with her friends. Then she whispered, “I love you.”
Just before the bell rang at the end of the day, the office secretary came to the door of 2A. He handed a slip of paper to Ms. Colman. Ms. Colman read it. Then she turned to her students. “Class,” she said, “this message is from Susan Ying. She called to say that she left Buzzy in a crowd of people waiting for a plane to Chicago.”
Chicago, thought Natalie. That sounded awfully far away.
HELLO FROM CHICAGO
When the kids in Ms. Colman’s class entered their room the next day, they saw something new. Ms. Colman had taken down the leaf pictures that had been tacked to the bulletin board. In their place was an enormous map. It was a map of every country in the world.
“That,” said Ms. Colman, “is to help us keep track of Buzzy’s trip. Each time we get a postcard from Buzzy, we will see where the card is from. We will circle that place on the map. And we will draw a line from there to the next place Buzzy visits. While we wait to hear from Buzzy, we can learn about the places he visits.”
Natalie felt very impatient that morning. She had trouble sitting still. She wiggled and squirmed.
Finally she raised her hand. “Ms. Colman? When does the mail come to our school?”
“You mean what time of day? Lunchtime, I think,” said Ms. Colman.
After recess that day, Natalie hurried to her seat. “Ms. Colman, Ms. Colman! Is the mail here yet? Did we get a postcard from Buzzy?”
“Oh, Natalie. It is too soon to hear from Buzzy,” said Ms. Colman. “I am sorry. I do not think we will hear from him for several more days.”
“Several more days? Boo.” Natalie slumped in her seat. How could she wait for several more days?
She did wait, of course. And on Tuesday afternoon when the kids in Ms. Colman’s class returned to their seats after recess, their teacher was smiling. “I have great news,” she said. She was holding a postcard.
“You heard from Buzzy!” shrieked Natalie. “What does the card say?”
Ms. Colman held it up so her students could see the picture. “It is a photo of the city of Chicago,” said Ms. Colman. “And this is what Buzzy wrote: ‘Dear Class Two-A, hello from the great city of Chicago! Right now I am traveling with Mr. Frank Saunders. He found me at the airport and took me on a plane with him. So far I have been to the Sears Tower, eaten lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, and gone to a very boring business meeting. Yours truly, Buzzy.’ ”
Natalie heaved a deep sigh. Buzzy was safe. And he was having fun (except for the boring meeting). She raised her hand. “What is the Sears Tower?” she asked. “
I am ready to learn about Chicago!”
BUZZY IN LONDON
During the next few days, the kids in Ms. Colman’s class were very busy. Ms. Colman helped them find Chicago, Illinois, on the big map. Omar circled it with a red marker.
“I wonder where Buzzy will go next,” said Audrey.
While they waited to find out, they learned about Chicago and about Illinois. They learned that the state bird of Illinois is the cardinal, and the state flower is the violet.
“Let’s find out the bird and the flower for every state,” said Karen. So they started a list.
They learned that Chicago is the largest city in Illinois, but that it is not the capital. The capital is Springfield. They learned that Illinois is sometimes called the Prairie State. Then they looked up some information about the Sears Tower. They found out that it is a skyscraper 110 stories high.
On Friday, another postcard arrived. This one said:
Dear Class 2A,
Hi, it is me, your friend Buzzy Bear! I am in Dallas, Texas, now. A girl found me in the airport in Chicago. (She is writing this for me.) Her name is Nora, and she is eleven. Nora took me to a Dallas Cowboys football game with her dad. The Cowboys won! It was exciting!!
Love,
Buzzy
Four days later, a letter arrived. It was from Wyoming. A man and a woman and their new baby had found Buzzy in a restaurant in Dallas. They took Buzzy with them on their vacation.
Chris Lamar had opened the letter. He was reading it to the class. “Hey! Here is a photo of Buzzy! He is riding a horse near … near … Grand Teton National Park.” Chris held up the photo of Buzzy on horseback.
The kids in Ms. Colman’s class circled two more cities on the map. They learned about Texas and Wyoming.
One day a card arrived with a different looking stamp.
“The card is from Canada!” exclaimed Bobby. “Buzzy is in another country. He is a foreign traveler.”
A woman named Gina Seldon had found Buzzy in a department store. She had flown him to Calgary, Alberta.
“Brrrr! It is cold here,” Buzzy wrote.
After the card from Alberta arrived, the kids did not hear from Buzzy for one whole long week. Finally, one Wednesday afternoon, Ms. Colman was holding up a letter when her class returned from recess. She was smiling again. In fact, she was grinning. “You will never guess where this letter is from,” she said.
“Is it from Alaska?” suggested Jannie.
“No. That is a good guess, though,” said Ms. Colman. “Hank, why don’t you read the letter to us.”
Hank walked to the front of the room. He unfolded the thin sheet of blue paper. “ ‘Dear Class Two-A,’ ” he read. “ ‘Cheerio! It is me, Buzzy Bear. I am in London, England. Emily and Kathryn Shulman and their mom have taken me to the Tower of London and two museums … ’ ”
The letter went on and on.
London, England, thought Natalie. What an adventure Buzzy is having. He is so lucky.
Buzzy’s next card was from Paris, France. The next was from Milan, Italy, and the next was from Warsaw in Poland.
“He is a world traveler,” Natalie announced proudly to her classmates. And they agreed, wide-eyed. “I wonder where he will go next,” added Natalie.
She waited to hear. Her classmates waited to hear. Ms. Colman waited to hear. But two entire weeks crawled by with no word at all.
WHERE IS BUZZY?
At the end of two weeks, Natalie was worried. Buzzy was so far away. He had taken such a long trip. Until now, this had seemed wonderful. The classroom map was full of red circles. It was crisscrossed with red lines. The list of state birds and flowers was growing. And the kids had decided to make another list: state nicknames. Their state, Connecticut, was known as the Nutmeg State, which they thought was funny.
But now Natalie could not help worrying about Buzzy. Two weeks was a very long time. Where could he be? What could have happened?
“Well,” said Ms. Colman, “remember that Buzzy is in Europe now. Lots and lots of different languages are spoken there. Maybe Buzzy has been found by someone who does not speak English. He would not be able to read Buzzy’s tag. And he could not write a card or a letter for Buzzy.”
Natalie tried to feel hopeful. But it was hard. Even Ms. Colman did not look very hopeful. She frowned each time the mail came, and there was no word from Buzzy.
After two more weeks went by, Natalie began to feel frightened. Now Buzzy had not been heard from in a month. She had known all along that it was possible — just possible — that Buzzy might be left somewhere and not found. Or that someone might find him who would not care about the class project. Someone could give Buzzy away, or put him somewhere and forget about him.
But maybe, Natalie said to herself, Ms. Colman is right. Someone, or several someones, have found Buzzy, but cannot read his tag. I will just have to keep waiting and hoping.
One evening, Natalie sat at the dinner table with her parents. She was trying to eat, but she was not very hungry.
“Is anything wrong?” asked Mr. Springer.
“We have not heard from Buzzy in a month,” replied Natalie.
“That is a long time,” said her mother.
“Yes.” Natalie swallowed hard.
“We know you miss him,” said her father.
“Yes,” said Natalie again.
“And maybe you will hear from him soon,” added Mrs. Springer. “A letter could come any day. Perhaps tomorrow.”
Natalie nodded. Her parents wanted her to feel better. But when Natalie went to bed that night, she began to cry. She lay on her back and let her tears run down the sides of her face and into her ears.
She sniffled loudly. “Where are you, Buzzy Bear?” she asked. “I miss you.” Natalie pulled aside her curtain. She stared outside at the full round moon. “Do you know, man-in-the-moon?”
The man-in-the-moon did not answer. After a long time, Natalie fell asleep.
That night, she did not sleep very well. She dreamed about Buzzy Bear. She dreamed that he was lost in a grocery store. He ran up and down the aisles, looking for Natalie. He tried to ask for help, but it turned out to be a French grocery store, and Buzzy did not speak French.
The next day, Natalie felt grumpy. She ate her breakfast silently. She rode to school with her father silently.
“Good-bye, Natalie! Have a good day at school!” called Mr. Springer.
“ ’Bye,” was all Natalie replied.
That morning, Ms. Colman collected homework and took attendance. Then she stood in front of her class. She looked very serious.
Uh-oh, thought Natalie.
“Boys and girls, I would like to talk to you about something,” Ms. Colman began. “It is about Buzzy. We have not heard about him in over a month now, which is a long time. I am afraid I must tell you that I think there is a good chance Buzzy will not be coming back.”
A SURPRISE FOR NATALIE
Natalie stared at Ms. Colman.
“I am sorry, Natalie,” said her teacher.
Natalie nodded. Her stomach hurt, as if someone had just kicked it. Natalie thought, I knew all along that Buzzy might not come back. But … I never believed it would happen.
Now that Natalie had heard Ms. Colman say so, though, it suddenly seemed very, very real.
“Natalie?” asked Ms. Colman.
Natalie could not speak. Before she knew what was happening, she began to cry. Tears slid down her cheeks. She wiped them away, but she could not stop crying. All the other kids were looking at her.
And then Bobby began to snicker. So did Leslie. So did Jannie and Ian and Audrey. Hee, hee, hee. Their hands covered their mouths, but Natalie could hear them anyway. She could hear them just fine.
Natalie wiped away a few more tears in time to stare at the laughers. She gave them a Very Stern Look. With a Very Big Frown. She looked quite cross.
The gigglers stopped giggling.
“All right,” said Ms. Colman. “That is enough. Quiet dow
n, please. It is time for our science work, anyway. But first, let me see. I believe Mr. Posner left some papers in the office for me. Natalie, would you please go get them?”
Natalie stood up. She stalked out of the room.
As soon as she was gone, Ms. Colman said to her class, “Can you tell me why you laughed at Natalie just now?” She looked at Bobby, Jannie, Leslie, Ian, and Audrey.
No one said a word.
“I am serious,” Ms. Colman went on. “I would really like to know why you laughed at her.”
Bobby, Jannie, Leslie, Ian, and Audrey were staring down at their desks. Finally, Ian looked up. He raised his hand. “Um, because she was crying,” he mumbled.
“And you thought that was funny?” Ms. Colman said.
“Well, it is just that sometimes Natalie is such a baby.”
“Why do you think she was crying?” asked Ms. Colman. “Jannie?”
“Because she feels sad.”
In the back of the room, Karen Brewer was wiggling around in her seat. She was waving her hand. “Ms. Colman! Ms. Colman!”
“Yes, Karen?”
“Ms. Colman, Natalie was crying because she feels bad that Buzzy Bear is not coming back. Buzzy is Natalie’s only bear. She loves him very much. But still, she brought him to school and she let him go on the trip. That was very brave of her.” Karen paused. “Nobody else let any of their stuffed animals go,” she said sternly.
“Thank you, Karen,” said Ms. Colman.
Bobby raised his hand. “Maybe,” he said slowly, “maybe we should do something nice for Natalie. Something to make her feel better.”
“That would be a lot better than laughing at her,” said Karen huffily.
“Okay, Karen. That is enough,” said Ms. Colman.
Audrey brightened then. “I know! We could get another bear for Natalie. We could even get her another Buzzy Bear, exactly like the one she lost. I have seen them in Bellair’s, the department store.”
“Now that is a great idea,” said Ms. Colman.