April is a new 5th grader at New Hampshire Elementary. She already has a friend named Jacob. Jacob stands out from his family; he is a blondy, and ALL of his siblings and parents are brown haired. He’s also short for his age. But that doesn’t bother him a bit. April is scared of school because Jacob told her last week that she should watch out for 5 things.
- Watch out for Ms. Thompson; she will get angry if you mess up on art or you’re loud in the bathroom, even when you’re not in her class.
- School field trips, because the bus had no seat belts and there’s gum on the bottom of the chairs and tables on the bus and in classes.
- Food fights are a big one.
- Napping in class.
- Talking and not listening to the teacher.
So when she got on the bus she put her fingers under the seats and found herself face to finger with an old, gooey, and gross looking piece of gum. When she got to school, she looked out for Ms. Thompson, and she wasn’t loud in the bathroom, but the other girls were, so… she got in trouble too. Jacob was right—there is yucky gum under the seats, and I should watch out for Ms.Thompson, April thought. Are the other ones true too?
When April was in class, two kids fell asleep and got sent to the office. And in the next class two girls spread a rumor about Jacob, and talked in class about it, and April didn’t know where those two gossipers went. When the bell rang for lunch, April counted everything on the list, and there was one more, but she forgot it. But then when she started thinking more… something hit her in the side of the face, and it was gooey.
When she took it off her face, it felt as though a piece of slime hit her… pizza. Then she remembered what Jacob said. FOOD FIGHT!!!!!!! She was in it this time, she grabbed her tray, and threw the peaches off her plate and at Jacob. She got covered in food and milk. When she grabbed her PBJ and threw it so hard you could hear it whistle in the air, heading straight at Horha. But she ducked, and it hit Ms. Thompson instead. “April!!!” she yelled. “Coming,” April said, as she giggled away to the office with spaghetti stuck in her hair.
“April Thompson,” the principal called. “Oops, and sorry mom.” April said to Ms. Thompson, and headed into the office.
– by Meridian G. (10) Escalante
Feature image caption: April and Jacob participate in a food fight on the first day of school. April gets spaghetti in her hair! Courtesy Annalyn B. (9) Cannonville.
