“My idea is this,” Emily said. “Maybe we could bring a cake for Ms. Vincent. A wedding cake.”
“Good idea,” said Jill. She picked up a stick.
She began to help Beast dig.
Linda Lorca frowned. “I had that idea first.”
“Snaggle doodles,” Emily said under her breath.
“I even asked my mother.”
“I'm asking my mother too,” Emily said. “She bakes great cakes.”
“My mother told Ms. Rooney,” Linda Lorca said.
Emily picked up a stick too.
“Ms. Rooney said my mother can bring the cake,” Linda said.
Emily scratched at the dirt.
She wished she could hit Linda with the stick. “I'm getting Ms. Vincent a present,” Emily said.
“Me too,” said Linda. “A beautiful wedding present. My mother says it's the greatest.”
“Snaggle doodles on your mother,” Emily said.
“I'm telling Ms. Rooney,” Linda said.
Just then the bell rang.
Recess was over.
Beast stood up.
He dusted off his hands.
Matthew jumped off the monkey bars.
“I think I'm going to get Ms. Vincent a wedding present too,” said Jill.
“Me too,” said Beast. “I hope I can find one for a dollar.”
“Is that all you've got?” Linda asked.
Beast shook his head. “No. I have almost two dollars. I'm trying to save for an Atari.”
Emily looked up.
Beast and Matthew ran to line up. Ms. Rooney was clapping her hands.
“Don't tell Ms. Rooney on Emily,” Jill told Linda. “She didn't mean it.”
Linda Lorca looked at Emily.
Emily made believe she was looking at Beast's hole to China.
“All right,” said Linda after a moment.
They began to run toward the line.
Ms. Rooney started for the steps.
They ran a little faster.
Emily was last.
She looked at Linda Lorca.
Linda's hair was bouncing up and down.
Her jacket was flapping.
Ms. Vincent would probably love Linda's cake, Emily thought.
She'd say Linda's present was the greatest.
She might even ask Linda to be flower girl.
Emily could see Linda marching down the aisle.
She'd be twirling her hair around her finger.
Emily wished she could think of a wedding present. Better than Linda's.
Something wonderful.
Everyone would say it was the greatest.
Even Linda Lorca's mother.
“Time for inventing groups,” Ms. Rooney said on Tuesday.
Emily had two more spelling words to do.
She had to write them three times each.
That would be six words, she thought.
She bent over her paper.
She wrote them down as fast as she could.
Then she looked over her paper. She had spelled please without the last e.
She erased three times. She stuck in three e's.
At last she was finished.
She raced to her seat at the science table.
She was the last one there.
Linda Lorca was frowning.
“From now on,” she said, “I hope people are on time.”
Emily didn't look at Linda.
She kept her eyes on the fish tank.
She watched Drake and Harry swimming around.
“Ms. Rooney said to think first …” Linda began.
Emily picked up the cereal box.
It had a big red circle in the middle.
It said POW on top.
“Maybe we could make …” Emily began.
She stopped.
She couldn't think of one thing to invent.
“I forgot to think this week,” Matthew said.
“I forgot too,” said Alex.
“Well,” said Linda, “you don't have to think. I've already thought.”
Matthew slid down in his seat.
He was yawning.
Emily tapped the fish tank.
Harry swam over to her.
“We're going to make a tree,” Linda said. “Just like a Christmas tree.”
“This is April,” Matthew said. “Time for baseball.”
“I know,” Linda said. “We're going to call it an April tree. Cut up the box. Hang the balloons on it. The socks…” She looked around, smiling.
Emily kept looking at Harry and Drake. She was shaking her head at the same time.
“I think Jason's group is making a tree,” Matthew said.
They looked toward the front of the room.
Jason's group had a brown stick. They were hanging paper towels all over it.
“How do you know that's a tree?” Linda asked.
Matthew raised his shoulders in the air. “It looks like a toilet paper tree,” he said.
He and Alex poked each other. They started to laugh.
Alex picked up a sock. ‘Two holes in this,” he said.
He poked his fingers through the holes. He wiggled them at Matthew.
“We could make a sock worm,” Matthew said.
They started to laugh again.
“I don't think an April tree is any good,” Emily said.
“Stop fooling around,” Linda told Matthew and Alex. She was frowning.
Alex wiggled his fingers at her.
“Then we'll make a …” Linda began and stopped. “What's Wayne's group making?”
Emily looked toward the side of the room.
Dawn was covering something up.
A bunch of yellow and purple plates stuck together.
“What's that?” Matthew asked.
“Who knows?” Linda said. “But everyone else has started something.”
“We may never think of anything,” Emily said.
“We're the worst,” said Matthew.
“Right,” Emily said. “The worst group in the class.”
“That's because we have the worst people,” Linda said. “Nobody listens.”
“That's because we have the worst leader,” Emily said.
She began to put the invention things in a row. She picked up an iron tool. “I don't even know what this is.”
“You don't know what anything is,” Linda said.
“It's a lock,” said Matthew.
“No,” said Alex. “I think it's food for a sock worm.”
He grabbed the tool. He started to make growling noises.
Just then Ms. Vincent walked by. “Having a little trouble getting started?” she asked.
“We can't think of anything,” said Matthew.
“Inventing is hard,” said Ms. Vincent. She patted Linda's shoulder.
Then she went to the front of the room again.
Emily swallowed.
Too bad Ms. Vincent didn't know that Linda was a bad leader.
Too bad Ms. Vincent didn't know the boys were fooling around.
Emily put her hand in the air. She wouldn't be a tattletale. She'd just ask to go to another group.
Just then Sherri Dent's hand shot up.
Ms. Rooney nodded at her.
“I want to get out of Wayne's group,” Sherri said.
Ms. Rooney frowned. “You're supposed to work together.”
Quickly Emily put her hand down.
“Look how nicely Jason's group is working,” Ms. Rooney said.
Emily looked at Jason's group. They were throwing more paper on the brown stick.
“Snaggle doodles on Jason,” she said under her breath.
Ms. Rooney clapped her hands. “Time for art. We have to stop work for this week.”
Emily went back to her seat.
She looked over at Linda Lorca.
Linda's mouth was wiggling a little.
Emily wondered if she was going to cry.
Maybe it was
because no one liked her invention.
Her silly invention.
Or maybe it was because she wasn't a good leader.
Emily pulled out her art smock. Suddenly she felt a little sorry for Linda. It might not be as much fun being a leader after all.
Ms. Rooney's class marched down the hall to the art room.
Emily walked in back of Dawn Bosco. “What's your group making?” she asked.
Dawn shook her head. “I can't tell. It's a secret.”
Emily bit her lip.
“What's your group making?” Dawn asked.
“It's a secret too, I guess,” Emily said.
They went into the art room.
Mrs. Kara was waiting.
“We have a neat project today,” she said. “We're going to make place mats.”
“What's that?” Beast asked.
“You don't know what a place mat is?” Sherri Dent asked.
Beast shook his head.
“It's for under your plate,” said Mrs. Kara. “At dinnertime.”
“Oh,” Beast said.
Emily looked at him. She smiled.
She could tell Beast wasn't crazy about place mats.
Mrs. Kara had material in her hand.
Yellow squares. Pink squares. Ugly orange squares.
Emily tapped Dawn on the shoulder. “What color—”
Mrs. Kara frowned. “If you don't want to make a place mat, Emily—”
“I do,” Emily said quickly.
She sat up straight.
Mrs. Kara began to walk around the room.
She gave a pink square to Wayne. Then a yellow square to Jason.
Emily hoped Mrs. Kara wouldn't run out of pink before she had a chance to pick.
“Can I have two?” Dawn asked Mrs. Kara. “One for my mother? One for my father?”
Emily frowned. She hoped Dawn wasn't picking pink.
Dawn picked one yellow and one pink.
Emily could see there was only one pink one left.
Emily tapped Beast on the shoulder. “What color are you picking?” she asked.
Beast made a face. “Pink, I guess.”
“If you don't care …” Emily began.
“What color, Richard?” Mrs. Kara asked.
“I don't care,” Beast said.
Mrs. Kara gave Beast a yellow one.
Emily breathed a sigh of relief. “I'll take a pink one,” she told Mrs. Kara. “Please.”
“Last pink,” Mrs. Kara said. “Everyone else will have to take yellow or orange.”
A few minutes later Mrs. Kara walked around again.
She gave eyeryone colored yarn and a fat needle.
“Picture your place mat,” she said. “Think of it on the table.”
Emily closed her eyes. She thought of her pink place mat. It was on the kitchen table.
“Now,” said Mrs. Kara. “How will you make your place mat pretty?”
“I'm going to make a flower,” said Linda.
“I'm going to write my name,” Beast said.
Emily thought about writing her name too.
Then she had a wonderful idea.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
She could picture Ms. Vincent's kitchen table.
Ms. Vincent was having supper.
Ms. Vincent was still wearing her wedding veil.
Snaggle doodles, Emily thought. This idea was going to be the gieatest. She grinned.
Ms. Vincent had a pink place mat under her plate.
Her name was written on it.
Emily frowned a little.
What was Ms. Vincent's first name?
She poked Beast.
Beast turned around.
He was trying to get his wool into the needle.
“What's Ms. Vincent's first name?” Emily asked.
Beast looked up at the ceiling. “Sally, I think.”
“Sally?”
“Right.”
“I used to know how to spell that,” Emily said. “But now I can't remember.”
“Spell what?” Matthew asked. “I'm a great speller.”
“Sally,” Emily said.
“Easy,” said Matthew. “S-a-1 …” He stopped to think. “It has to have an e on the end.”
Emily sucked on her blue wool.
She made it into & nice point.
Then she stuck the wool through the needle.
She squinted her eyes.
She stared at the pink square.
She'd put S-A-L-E across the middle.
Then maybe she'd put a flower on it too.
Emily stabbed her needle into the square.
It was going to be a wonderful wedding present.
It was getting close to the wedding.
Ms. Vincent was absent today.
She was buying wedding shoes.
Emily was glad.
She could work on her S-A-L-E place mat.
She wouldn't have to hide it.
She took it out of her desk.
The S was finished.
So were the A and the L.
They looked a little wiggly.
One of the A legs was longer than the other.
But it was pretty good;
She looked at it for another minute.
It was more than pretty good. It was excellent.
Snaggle doodles excellent.
She was ready to start on the E.
“Inventing time,” Ms. Rooney said.
Emily went back to the science table.
She took her place mat with her.
“Did anyone think of anything?” Linda asked.
“I forgot to think again,” Matthew said.
“Me too,” said Alex.
Emily made a long stick line for the £s back. “I thought you were thinking,” she said. “I thought we didn't have to think.” She made a fresh face at Linda.
Linda shook her head. “I'm not thinking by myself anymore.” She made a fresh face back at Emily.
Matthew picked up the flashlight.
He turned it on and off.
“That's good,” he told Linda. “You were getting too bossy.”
“Bossy as a sock worm,” Alex said.
He and Matthew began to laugh.
“I told Ms. Vincent” Linda said.
Emily put down her place mat. “You mean you're a tattletale?”
“We've got some leader,” Alex said.
Linda shook her head again. Her hair went flying around. “Not that way,” she said. “I told her I didn't know how to be a leader. I told her we couldn't get started.”
“Whew,” said Matthew. “I'm glad you didn't say it was my fault.”
Emily swallowed. “It was your fault a little bit. You and Alex keep fooling around.”
Alex knelt up on his chair. “I'm not fooling around anymore,”
“Listen, Emily,” said Matthew. “You didn't do anything either. All you keep saying is snaggle doodles.”
“That's right,” said Linda.
“That's right,” said Alex.
Emily put her place mat down. She wanted to yell snaggle doodles at all of them. She wanted to go back to her seat.
She sighed. “I guess you're right,” she said.
Linda twirled her hair around. “Ms. Vincent said it's hard to work together,” Linda said. “She said the leader shouldn't be bossy.”
“That's true,” Emily said.
Linda looked at her. “She said we have to work together.”
“Linda's right,” Alex said.
“That's what I'm thinking,” Emily said.
For a moment nobody said anything.
They looked at the things on the table.
“A cereal box,” Linda said.
“With POW on the front,” said Emily. “What could we do with it?”
“Too bad there isn't any cereal in it,” Matthew said.
“No fooling around,” Alex said.
“What else have we got?” Emily asked.
&nb
sp; “The flashlight,” said Matthew.
“This tool thing,” Emily said.
“That's a wrench,” said Matthew. “I asked my father.”
He held it up.
“See,” he said. He picked up a white plastic cup. “I can stick this cup in the wrench. Tighten the screw.”
Emily looked.
The wrench was holding the cup tightly.
“Loosen the screw,” said Matthew, “the cup drops out.”
“Looks like a robot,” Linda said.
“We've got robot socks,” said Alex.
“And a red belt for him to wear,” said Emily.
“And a cereal box for his stomach,” Matthew said.
They looked at each other.
“Terrific,” said Linda. “A robot. He'll have a wrench for a hand. He'll be able to hold things…”
“Like a flashlight,” said Matthew, “and a dog's mask.”
“And a pink balloon head,” said Emily. “Snaggle doodles wonderful.”
“What's thiá for?” Alex held up the S-A-L-E place mat.
“That's not for the robot,” Emily said. “That's for a present. It has Ms. Vincent's name on it.”
“Pam?” asked Linda.
“No. Can't you see?” Emily took the place mat. She held it up.
“That says S-A-L …” Linda frowned. “I can't …”
“Zs goes on the end,” Emily said. “Sa-le.”
Linda shook her head. “Two l's and a y for Sally. Besides, Ms. Vincent's name is Pam.”
“But Beast said …” Emily began.
“Beast made a mistake,” Linda said. “Sally is Mrs. Miller's name.”
Emily swallowed, Mrs. Miller. The worst substitute teacher in the school.
Alex and Matthew started to laugh.
“Emily's making a place mat for Miller the Killer,” Matthew said.
Emily rolled the place mat up. She put it in the drawer of the science table.
She made believe she was laughing too.
She began to put the belt around the robot's stomach.
She didn't say another word.
She didn't want everyone to know she was ready to cry.
Everyone was running around the classroom.
Matthew had chocolate all over his face.
Beast was drinking Kool-Aid out of a paper cup.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, was Ms. Vincent's wedding day.
Emily took a bite of cake.
Linda Lorca's mother had made it.
It was wonderful.
Ms. Vincent would probably ask Linda to go to the wedding.
And Linda Lorca's mother too.
Emily sighed. She looked over at the reading table.