Snaggle Doodles (2 page)

Emily raised her hand.

She was going to say that maybe bathing suits were invented in April. Or jump ropes.

“We're going to make our own inventions,” said Ms. Rooney.

Emily put her hand down.

She didn't know one thing about making inventions.

Ms. Rooney went to the chalkboard. “We'll work together in groups,”

Emily raised her hand again.

She knew about groups.

She had been captain of a math group one time.

Maybe Ms. Rooney would let her be the head of an invention group.

“Not so fast, Emily.” said Ms. Rooney. She picked up a piece of chalk.

THINK, Ms. Rooney wrote on top of the board.

LISTEN, she wrote next.

SHARE, she wrote on the third line.

She turned to the class. “That's how we work in groups,” she said.

Emily wished Ms. Rooney would hurry up.

She wanted to get to the inventing part.

“Yes,” said Ms. Rooney. “It's important to learn how to work together. Sometimes we can get more done and—”

Linda Lorca raised her hand. “If you have a big box to carry, and a couple of people to carry it”—Linda stopped to take a breath—-“then it doesn't get dropped.”

“Right,” said Ms. Rooney.

“Snaggle doodles,” said Emily under her breath.

In front of Emily, Beast wasn't paying attention.

He pulled out a piece of paper.

Emily watched him draw a boy.

The boy was wearing a baseball suit.

Then he drew a baseball.

The ball was landing on the boy's head.

“CLUNK,” Beast wrote on the bottom of the picture.

Emily started to laugh.

Beast was laughing too.

“I hope you're listening,” Ms. Rooney told them.

Emily sat up straight.

She tried to stop giggling.

She wished she knew how to invent something.

“Now,” said Ms. Rooney. “I think we're ready.”

She looked around the room. “Linda,” she said. “You can be the head of the first group.”

Emily looked at Linda.

Linda was smiling.

That Linda Lorca.

She loved to be the head of things.

Emily raised her hand fast.

But Ms. Roonéy didn't call on her.

She called on Jason Bazyk and Wayne O'Brien for the other two groups.

“Snaggle doodles,” Emily said under her breath.

She looked down at her desk.

She didn't want Ms. Rooney to know that she had a mad face.

Next to her Dawn Bosco had a mad face too.

“I hope you remember what we said,” Ms. Rooney told them. “About groups, and working together, and leaders

Emily nodded a little.

She didn't even know Ms. Rooney had been talking about leaders.

Maybe that was because she had been watching Beast draw.

It didn't make any difference, though.

Ms. Rooney hadn't called on her to be a leader.

She had called on Linda Lorca.

Linda Lórca probably would be a terrible leader.

She hadn't even been captain of a math group.

Emily followed Linda to the back of the room.

She leaned against the science table.

Alex Walker and Matthew came back to the science table too.

Is everybody here?” Linda asked.

“Of course we're all here,” Emily said. “Four of us.”

She wanted to say, “Can't you count?”

She didn't, though.

They might think she was angry because Linda was the leader.

Matthew leaned against the science table too.

Emily tried to inch away from him.

Next to Beast, Matthew was the nicest kid in the class.

But Matthew must have wet the bed last night.

Matthew wet the bed almost every night.

Linda Lorca was inching away from Matthew too.

Ms. Rooney called the rest of the groups.

Jason's group went to the front of the room.

Wayne's group sat on the side.

Ms. Rooney opened the big INV box. “Let's see which group can make the best invention^’ she said.

Ms. Vincent went to the front to help Ms. Rooney.

A minute later she came back to Emily's group.

She dumped a pile of things on the science table.

“This is my special month,” Ms. Vincent told them.

‘
‘Your wedding,” Emily said.

“Right,” said Ms. Vincent. “April 28.”

“Are you having flower girls?” Linda Lorca asked.

“I already asked that,” Emily said. “A long time ago.”

Ms. Vincent smiled. “No flower girls.” She went to the front of the room.

Emily thought about Ms. Vincent's wedding.

She wished she were Ms. Vincent's flower girl.

She'd be wearing a long pink dress.

She'd carry a basket of pink flowers.

She sighed.

She wished she could at least go to Ms. Vincent's wedding.

“I hope I get to go to Ms. Vincent's wedding,” said Linda.

Emily didn't say anything.

She looked at the things on the table.

A cardboard cereal box. Two pink balloons.
A red belt. A white plastic cup. Two black socks. A flashlight.

Matthew picked up a balloon.

He began to blow it up.

“Listen, Matthew,” Linda said. “Let's not be putting our mouths on everything. There'll be germs all over the place.”

Emily looked over to the side of the room.

Wayne's group was staring at a pile of stuff too.

Jill Simon had a pine cone in her hand. “I don't know what to do,” she was saying.

She looked as if she were going to cry.

“Don't be a baby,” Sherri Dent told her.

Emily looked back at her own group.

Matthew had put a green paper hat on his head.

He was playing a make-believe drum.

Alex Walker held a dog's mask up to his face.

He began to make barking noises.

“Stop fooling around!” Linda yelled.

“Let's get started,” Emily said.

“This is my group,” said Linda. “I'm the one who says, ‘Let's get started.’ ”

Linda was getting very bossy, Emily thought.

This was going to be a terrible group.

They'd probably have a terrible invention.

Emily pulled Uni the unicorn out of her pocket. She stood him next to the fish tank.

She wondered if Drake and Harry, the class fish, knew what a unicorn was.

Up in front Ms. Rooney clapped her hands.

“I hope you're off to a good start,” she said.

“Some start,” said Alex.

“No start,” said Matthew.

Linda raised her hand. “I can't get everyone to—”

“This is a big project,” said Ms. Rooney.
“You'll have to think about it. Next week we'll work some more. And the week after.”

Just then the bell rang.

Three times.

Three times more.

“Line up,” said Ms. Rooney. “It's a fire drill.”

“Too bad,” Linda Lorca whispered. “I just thought of a terrific invention. I even thought of a name for it.”

Emily lined up behind Linda.

She put her finger up to her mouth. “Shh.”

Linda shouldn't be talking during a fire drill.

It was against the rules.

Emily marched out of the classroom.

She wished Linda were the head of someone else's group.

She wished she could think of a terrific invention.

She wished she could think of a name for it.

It was Wednesday, the next week.

Recess time.

Emily marched under the monkey bars.

“Turn, turn, de, turn,” she said. “All dressed in white.”

She made believe she was marching down the aisle.

The rest of the class were sitting in pews. They were smiling.

They thought Emily was the prettiest flower girl they had ever seen.

A little stick hit Emily on the head.

“Snaggle doodles,” Emily said. She looked up.

Matthew Jackson was sitting on top of the monkey bars.

He was grinning at her.

Emily grinned back.

“What's this snaggle doodles stuff?” Matthew asked.

“I made it up,” Emily said. “I like the sound of it.”

“But what's it supposed to mean?”

Emily raised one shoulder. “I say it when I'm really mad … or worried… or really happy.”

She stepped over Beast.

Beast was lying in the dirt. He was digging a hole to China with a stick. He had started it yesterday.

“Pretty good,” Emily said.

“Up to my wrist,” Beast said.

“Terrific.”

“Not so terrific,” Beast said. “I was almost to my elbow last week. Jim the custodian filled it in.”

Emily leaned over. “Look at that great worm.”

“I wonder if it's the one we saved last fall,” Beast said. “Remember? We took him out of a puddle.”

“Maybe,” Emily said. “He looks the same.”

“All worms look the same,” Matthew said. “Some are just a little longer. Or fatter.”

“Listen,” Emily said. “I've been thinking of something all week.”

Matthew threw another stick down.

“Are you listening?” Emily asked. “It's about—”

Just then Linda Lorca came over.

Jill was right behind her.

Today Jill was wearing fat white ribbons on her four braids.