Look at Lucy! (4 page)

Just get up and talk?
Bobby thought. Just jumping out of an airplane might be easier for him.

Some kids raised their hands. Mrs. Lee called on Dexter.

“Can we read our reports?” he asked.

“Maybe later in the year. Then the reports will be longer. They’ll have more facts in them,” Mrs. Lee answered. “I don’t think you’ll need any notes for this one. It will be easy. You don’t need to write down the names of your brothers and sisters, do you?”

Bobby was glad he didn’t have any brothers or sisters. Their names would be one more thing to remember.

Candy was waving her hand.

“Yes, Candy,” Mrs. Lee said.

“Will you give a report about yourself, Mrs. Lee? Since we’re all finding out about each other, I want to learn some things about you. Like are you married? Well, I guess you are ‘cause your name is Mrs. Lee….”

The class giggled.

Mrs. Lee, however, nodded and said, “All right. I guess that’s fair. I’ll give an oral report about myself, too, Candy. In fact, I’ll go first. Let’s start on Friday afternoon. That will give you a few days to think about what you want to say.”

After school, Bobby and Shawn walked home together. They didn’t talk much.

Finally Shawn suggested, “Maybe we should practice.”

“Practice what?” Bobby asked.

“Our reports. We could try them out on each other,” Shawn said.

Bobby thought about that. “Okay, that’s a good idea.”

Giving his report to Shawn wouldn’t be the same as getting up in front of the class. It would be much, much easier. Shawn was right, though. Practice couldn’t hurt.

“Is Lucy ready for the Pet-O-Rama contest?” Shawn asked, changing the subject. “It’s this Saturday.”

“I know.” Bobby didn’t want to admit it, but Lucy wasn’t quite ready. He had to have a photograph of the pet along with the entry form. His father had tried to take a picture of Lucy, but she wouldn’t sit still. So far, the only picture they had was of Lucy’s backside as she ran away. Bobby hoped Lucy wasn’t getting too wild to be the Pet-O-Rama spokespet.

The boys came to Shawn’s front door. “Twitch is all ready to go,” Shawn told Bobby. “I’ve got the cutest picture of him to bring. He’s standing up in his cage. He looks like he’s smiling.”

Bobby sighed. It probably wasn’t too hard to take a picture of a little mouse who had nowhere to run.

“How was school today?” Mrs. Quinn asked when Bobby walked into the house.

“Okay,” Bobby said.

As soon as Lucy heard Bobby’s voice, she came bounding out of the television room.

Bobby leaned down to give her a pat. “Hi, girl,” he said. He took her leash off its hook.

“Bobby, you don’t sound like things at school are okay,” his mother said.

How did his mother always know when
something was wrong? Bobby wondered.

“Can I walk with you and Lucy?” Mrs. Quinn asked.

“Sure.” Bobby shrugged. They were hardly out the front gate when Bobby spoke up. “I have to give a report on Friday. I have to talk about myself.”

His mother put her arm around Bobby’s shoulders. “I know that seems hard for you, Bobby. But you’re not as shy as you used to be.”

It was true. He talked to Shawn and Candy. He even talked to some of the kids in his class now. That didn’t mean he could stand up and talk in front of twenty-five students and one teacher, though.

His dad was wrong. This wasn’t going to be such a great year after all.

The Dreaded Oral Report

“L
ucy, look over here.” Bobby had his dad’s camera. He was trying to take Lucy’s picture for the contest on Saturday.

Lucy was curled up on the couch. Mrs. Quinn didn’t like Lucy sitting on it. Bobby knew he should shoo her off, but this was the best chance he’d had for a photo all afternoon. When he saw Lucy sitting still for once, Bobby had run upstairs to get the
camera. It was a new one, a Father’s Day gift from Bobby and his mother. Mr. Quinn had shown Bobby how to use it once or twice.

Lucy tilted her head, watching Bobby. Meanwhile, Bobby fumbled with the camera.

Lucy looked at Bobby for a few seconds longer. Just as he found the right button to push, Lucy jumped off the couch. Bobby checked the screen. He had taken a picture of the pillow Lucy had been lying against.

“Oh, Lucy,” Bobby groaned.

Bobby grabbed his notebook and went out to his patio. Lucy was right behind him. Shawn was coming over. They were going to practice their oral reports. Bobby had just sat down when his mother stuck her head out the door. “Visitors, Bobby,” she said.

Instead of Shawn and Twitch, out came Candy and Butch.

“Hey, Bobby,” Candy said. “Butch and I were taking a walk, and we decided to come see you and Lucy.”

Candy bounced across the patio. Butch walked as he usually did—slowly.

Candy saw the camera on the patio table. “Are you taking pictures?” she asked.

“I’m trying to get one of Lucy to bring to the contest on Saturday,” Bobby told her. “She keeps running away, though.”

“I took a couple of pictures of Butch,” Candy said. “I had a different problem. He was asleep in every one of them.” Candy sighed. “So, are you and Shawn doing something special this afternoon?”

“We’re going to practice our oral reports,” Bobby mumbled. He didn’t want to talk about it.

Candy was surprised. “How come? I
mean, they’re not even real reports. You just have to say a couple of things about yourself. I probably won’t even have enough time to say all the things I want to say.”

I bet you won’t
, Bobby thought. “Well, uh, Shawn and me, we just don’t like getting up to talk.”

Candy nodded. “Yeah, my dad had to give a big speech at a company dinner one time. He told me he was scared to death.”

“I get that,” Bobby replied. If only he had something interesting to say. That might help.

“Hi, guys.” Shawn came out to the patio. He was carrying Twitch in his cage. “Hey, it’s a regular pet contest out here.”

“This might be the only contest Lucy goes to,” Bobby said gloomily. “She just won’t sit still for her picture.”

“And Butch won’t stay awake long enough for me to get a good shot of him,” Candy added.

Shawn put Twitch down on the patio ledge. He looked at Candy a little nervously. “Are we still going to practice, Bobby?” he asked.

“I guess so.” Bobby didn’t really want to practice in front of Candy. But if he couldn’t give a simple speech in front of her, how could he get up in front of the class? “You can start,” he told Shawn politely.

“No, that’s all right. You go ahead,” said Shawn.

Just then, Candy noticed something. “Look. Look at the dogs and Twitch.”

Shawn and Bobby turned and saw what Candy was seeing. Both Lucy and Butch were staring at Twitch in his cage. They
seemed spellbound by the mouse running on his little wheel.

“I’ve never seen Butch so interested in anything,” Candy said.

“Lucy hardly ever stays still for so long anymore,” Bobby said.

“Hey…,” Candy began.

Bobby picked up on her thought. “I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “I’ve got the camera right here.”

“Can I go first?” Candy asked.

“Yeah. Lucy’s been jumpy lately, I don’t want to scare her away,” Bobby replied.

“Butch barely moves,” Candy said. “But at least he’s awake now.”

Butch certainly was awake. He couldn’t keep his eyes off Twitch.

Candy whispered, “Here, Butch. Look at me.” And he did turn his head long enough
for Candy to take his picture. She handed the camera to Bobby. “Your turn.”

Bobby knew that Lucy would be trickier. She might run away when she saw the camera. Then he had an idea. “Shawn, pick up Twitch’s cage. Slowly,” he said.

Shawn did what Bobby asked. Lucy got an intense look on her face. It was as if she were saying,
Hey, where’s that thing going?
Bobby got the picture.

“Let’s download the pictures on the computer. We can see what they look like,” Candy suggested.

The kids downloaded the pictures and printed them out. Then it was time for Shawn and Candy to go home.

“Thanks, Bobby. This is a great picture,” Candy said as she snapped on Butch’s leash.

It
was
a nice picture. Butch looked wide-awake. The photo of Lucy was even better. She had a cute, curious expression. It would be a good picture to bring to the contest.

After Candy left, Shawn said to Bobby, “That was fun. Still, we didn’t get to practice our oral reports.”

“I know. We’ll just have to wing it,” Bobby told him. That’s what Bobby heard his father say sometimes. Usually it was when Mr. Quinn was worried about not being ready for a business meeting.

Winging it
had a nice sound, like you’d be flying in the air with no worries or cares. That was not how Bobby felt the next day, however. He felt like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Bobby could hardly keep his mind on anything except the report. He didn’t hear
Mrs. Lee call him to the chalkboard during math. During silent reading, he stared out the window. He kept wondering what it would be like to stand at the front of the room, all alone.

Right after lunch, Mrs. Lee leaned against her desk. “I’m so excited about our oral reports today,” she said. “I’m eager to learn more about every one of you. And Candy, I’m so glad you had the idea for me to give a report, too. I’ll go first, so you can all see about how long I want you to speak.”

Mrs. Lee’s report on herself held Bobby’s attention. He learned that her husband’s name was Keir and that she had a teenage son. Her hobbies were scuba diving and knitting—though not at the same time.

Then it was Dexter’s turn. Next came Shannon, and after her Candy was up.

Candy’s report went on so long that Mrs. Lee had to say, “Fascinating, Candy. But we have to make sure we have time for all the reports.”

Then came the moment Bobby had been dreading. Mrs. Lee called his name.

Mrs. Lee had said they didn’t need notes, but Bobby wished he had a piece of paper in his hand. It would give him something to hold on to.

Stepping in front of Mrs. Lee’s desk, he heard his heart pounding. He wondered if the other kids could hear it, too.
Thump! Thump!
For a few seconds—seconds that seemed like hours—he didn’t say a word.

“Bobby, you can start now,” Mrs. Lee prompted.

Bobby looked at his classmates. He felt his face getting red. He put his hands behind
his back because they were shaking. “Uh, my name is Bobby Quinn….”

“Speak up, Bobby,” Mrs. Lee said.

“My name is Bobby Quinn—”

Before Bobby could say another word, an alarm bell started blaring.

Fire drill!

“All right, children,” Mrs. Lee said, “this is our first fire drill. Line up quickly and quietly and follow me outside. We’ll get back to the reports next week.”

Bobby fell into line behind Shawn. He leaned over to whisper to him, “Saved by the bell!”

Contest Day