The Beast in Ms. Rooney's Room (6 page)

There weren't any.

It was just could.

He remembered Holly yelling at him last night.

Was it
c
? Or
k
?

He knew there was an
l
.

C-u-l-d.

It didn't look right.

Too bad it didn't work out the way Matthew said. It was probably one of those things Mrs. Paris had said. An exception.

“Backyard,” Ms. Rooney said.

In front of him Matthew muttered, “Back … yard.”

Richard looked at Matthew's ears. Back. Yard. Easy. With a bossy
r
. Easy as anything.

Matthew was right. That baby with the wet-the-bed smell was right.

He wasn't such a baby.

He wondered if Matthew hated to wet the bed.

Just the way he hated his little baby front teeth.

He gave Matthew a little punch on the back. Then quickly he began to spell backyard.

Today was banner day: the day Mr. Mancina would tell them who won.

Richard's class had tried hard this week.

Even if they didn't win the banner, they were the best. He knew it.

“Time for reading,” Ms. Rooney said.

Quietly they started down the hall.

Kevin Klein was coming out of the boys' room.

“Hi,” Richard said. He remembered to whisper. “I've been meaning to tell you. Ms. Rooney didn't really mix her records up.”

“Whew,” Kevin said. “I was really worried. I thought it was me.”

“It takes some people a little time to zip into reading,” Richard said. “That's what happened to me.”

Kevin nodded slowly. “You're a good artist though.”

“Right,” Richard said. “That's right.”

He started down the hall and looked back over his shoulder. “Are you going to tell Drake?”

“That kid can find out for himself,” Kevin said. “Let him ask the teacher if he wants to know.”

They grinned at each other. Then Richard rushed down the hall to reading.

He didn't remember the surprise in his desk until he was almost at Mrs. Paris's door.

“I forgot something,” he told Mrs. Paris. “Can I go back to my room for a minute?”

“Sure,” Mrs. Paris said. “But try not to take an hour.”

Richard shook his head. He wanted to get back to reading. Even though they were reading a little skinny baby book, it was kind of interesting. It was all about a kid who got lost in a snowstorm.

Besides, he was beginning to know a lot of the words. Not all of them. But a lot more than he ever thought he would.

He started to race down the hall. But then he remembered the banner.

He slowed down.

He made believe he was caught in the snowstorm. He closed his eyes and took about ten steps.

But then he remembered the banner.

He opened his eyes and hurried into his classroom.

“Forgot something,” he told Ms. Rooney.

Richard raced back to his desk. He pulled out his notebook and went into the hall again.

He stopped at Holly's classroom to wave to her, then bent over the faucet for a quick drink.

A very quick drink. He didn't want to get into trouble for hanging around in the hall.

Drake was coming out of the boys' room.

“Hey, Richard.”

Richard turned around. “Shh,” he said. He could see Mrs. Kettle at the other end of the hall.

Richard started to walk down the hall as fast as he could without running.

Drake followed him. He was banging on the wall with a wooden pass.

Mrs. Kettle started down the hall toward them. She was frowning.

Richard ducked into Room 100 just in time.

He looked at Mrs. Paris. And Emily and the other two kids. They were waiting for him.

He opened his notebook and pulled out the surprises.

He had worked on them until bedtime the night before.

“I made some drawings for the bulletin board,” he said.

Everyone looked up.

“To cover the spots,” he said. “The bunny spots and the tulip spots.”

Mrs. Paris reached for his drawings. She looked at them carefully. “You're a great kid,” she said. “The best.”

There was a noise. The loudspeaker.

Emily looked at him. Then she covered her eyes. “It's Mr. Mancina,” she said. “Cross your fingers. Cross your toes.”

Richard crossed his fingers. So did everyone else.

“I have good news,” Mr. Mancina said.

He said that every time he announced the winner.

Richard looked at Matthew. Matthew grinned at him. “I hope it's us,” he said.

“Ms. Rooney's class,” Mr. Mancina said.

Emily Arrow yelled. So did Alex. And Matthew. So did he.

They could hear the rest of their class yelling in Ms. Rooney's room.

Ms. Rooney had promised them a party if they won. Cookies and juice.

It was going to be a great day.

Mrs. Paris handed Richard some thumbtacks. He went over to the bulletin board. Carefully, while the rest of them watched, he tacked up his pictures.

He had made a big fat bossy r sitting on a squished little
a.
He had drawn a dark brown Alex and a Matthew with ears. He had drawn a Mrs. Paris with glasses. She was smiling at an Emily Arrow and her unicorn.

And last he had drawn himself. He had a book in his hand. Not a big fat book. But not a little skinny book either. Kind of an in-between book.

He went back to his seat. He wanted to find out what had happened to the kid in the snowstorm.

He paged through the book to find his place. At the same time he pushed at his teeth.

“Hey,” he said.

Everyone looked at him.

He didn't want to tell them that one of his teeth was wiggling.

Not much. But a little.

“Can I read first?” he asked, and grinned.