Karen's Toothache

by Ann M. Martin

  “I do not see a cavity there. Let me take an X ray. That way we can see inside your tooth,” said Dr. Rice.

  He put a heavy blanket over me. He said it was to keep me safe from the X rays. Then he put a little card inside my mouth and pointed a big machine at it.

  Dr. Rice went out of the room. The machine went click. It did not hurt one bit.

  When the X ray was ready, Dr. Rice called Mommy and Andrew in to look at it.

  “Karen’s X ray shows that an adult tooth is waiting underneath her baby tooth,” said Dr. Rice. “The adult tooth is more than ready to come in. It is pressing on the baby tooth. But the baby tooth does not seem ready to come out. The only way to make Karen feel better is to pull out the baby tooth.”

  That did not sound very nice to me.

  “I suggest you see Dr. Celenza,” said Dr. Rice. “She is an oral surgeon who specializes in working with children. I will give you her number.”

  “Thank you, Doctor,” said Mommy.

  The Fortune-teller

  “Well, at least you did not have a cavity. That was good news. Wasn’t it, Karen?” asked Mommy. We were in the car on our way home.

  “I guess so,” I grumbled.

  I did not want to have a cavity filled. But I really did not want to have a tooth pulled. And I did not want to go to a new dentist. I know Dr. Rice. He is nice. I did not know the new doctor at all. Maybe the new doctor would not be so nice.

  At home, I ran to my room. I picked up Hyacynthia. She is the English baby doll I share with Nancy. I knew she would understand about going to doctors. She needed to be repaired by a doll doctor once.

  “Open wide, Hyacynthia,” I said.

  I looked inside her mouth. I did not see any stuck baby teeth.

  “You are lucky,” I said. “I am not. I need to have my tooth pulled out.”

  Hyacynthia gave me a hug.

  “I knew you would understand,” I said.

  Ring! Ring! It was the telephone.

  In a minute, Mommy called, “It is for you, Karen. It is Nancy.”

  “Hi, Nancy,” I said. “What’s up?”

  “I am so glad you are home,” said Nancy. “I could not wait to talk to you. My fortune came true!”

  I had to think for a minute. I could not remember Nancy’s fortune.

  “You said someone close to me would need my help. Well, Danny pulled on a lamp cord. The lamp was big and heavy. I caught it just in time and saved him!” said Nancy.

  Danny is Nancy’s baby brother. I was glad she had helped him. I was also amazed that her fortune had come true.

  We talked for a little while and I told Nancy about my tooth. Later, I was on my way back to my room when the phone rang again.

  “Karen, it is for you. It is Hannie,” said Mommy.

  “Guess what! My fortune came true,” said Hannie.

  I remembered Hannie’s fortune. “You mean you got a happy surprise?” I asked.

  “Yes. My grandma is coming to visit us next weekend. I have not seen her in ages. I am so happy!” said Hannie.

  And I am so surprised, I thought. I did not expect my fortunes to come true. I was only playing.

  The phone did not ring for five whole minutes. That is because Mommy was calling the new dentist. I heard her make an appointment for me for Monday morning. Boo.

  As soon as she hung up, the phone started ringing again.

  Ricky told me that he and Bobby and Hank won a game of stickball. (I remembered telling them they would be a winning team.)

  And Addie called to say that a new package of stickers had arrived. (I had told her she would get some important mail.)

  Maybe I really can predict the future, I thought. Maybe I am a real and true fortune-teller just like Madame Valerie.

  Madame Karena Brewena

  I had thought fortune-telling was just for fun. But maybe I really could predict the future. And why not? I had been reading the horoscopes every day. And I watched Madame Valerie very closely on TV.

  I just needed to look like a real fortuneteller. And I needed a name.

  Let’s see. Madame Karen Brewer. No. I needed something more. Karena. Yes. I like it. Karena Brewena. Madame Karena Brewena. Perfect!

  Now for the clothes. I had a box of dress-up clothes hidden away in my closet. I dragged it out. I found just what I needed. A long, flowery skirt. Six bangle bracelets. Lots of beads. And a scarf for my head.

  I put on the clothes. Then I looked in the mirror. Madame Karena Brewena was ready for business.

  Andrew was passing by my room.

  “Andrew!” I said. “I need someone to practice my fortune-telling on,” I said.

  “Not me,” said Andrew. “I am busy.”

  “Please? It will be a good fortune,” I promised. “Of course I will have to consult my crystal ball to be absolutely sure. But I have a strong feeling that good news awaits you.”

  “Really? Okay, then. You can tell my fortune,” said Andrew.

  We went down to the playroom. I put a chair on either side of a small table.

  “Please be seated,” I said.

  I set the crystal ball on the table between us. I thought about Andrew’s horoscope in the paper. It had said something about great losses. That was not good news. I looked into my crystal ball. I spoke in my most mysterious voice.

  “Tell me! Tell me Andrew Brewer’s fortune,” I said.

  I closed my eyes. Suddenly his fortune came to me.

  “You will find something you have been looking for,” I said.

  “Oh, goody!” exclaimed Andrew. “I lost my spaceman yesterday. Can you ask the crystal ball where it is?”

  “The crystal ball has spoken. It will speak no more,” I replied.

  “Then I am going back upstairs to play,” said Andrew.

  I decided to find The Hartford Courant. If I was going to be a real and true fortuneteller, I needed to study very hard.

  I read the horoscopes over again. By the time I finished, it was bedtime. I stopped by Andrew’s room to say good night.

  He was already asleep. He was holding something against his chest. I leaned into his room to see better. It was his spaceman. Amazing! My prediction had come true.

  Special Powers

  On Thursday morning, I woke up early to read the horoscopes. I read each one twice.

  “Madame Karena Brewena,” I said to myself. “You are ready.”

  I packed my skirt, scarf, jewelry, and crystal ball into my knapsack.

  When I arrived at school, I made my very own Surprising Announcement. (Ms. Colman was not there yet.)

  “As many of you have seen, I have special fortune-telling powers. So at lunchtime, I, Madame Karena Brewena, will be waiting on the playground to tell your fortunes. The charge will be twenty-five cents per person.”

  “Can we get our money back if we don’t like our fortune?” asked Bobby Gianelli.

  “I am sorry. Fortunes are non-refundable,” I said. Then I decided to tell everyone about my tooth.

  “If you are interested in having your fortune told, you should take advantage of this amazing offer today. On Monday, I am having a serious dental operation. I may not be able to speak for a long time after.”

  “You are having an operation?” asked Natalie. Her bottom lip began to quiver. She looked as if she were going to cry. (Natalie cries very easily.)

  “Yes. I am having my baby tooth pulled,” I said.

  “Ooh. That sounds scary,” said Addie.

  “I would not want to have my tooth pulled,” said Terri. “I hope you will be okay.”

  “Will you get money under your pillow from the tooth fairy?” asked Ricky. “I think you should get double for a tooth that is pulled!”

  Just then, Ms. Colman came into the room and asked us to take our seats. I told her about my tooth. She wished me good luck.

  The morning seemed to go on forever. When recess finally came, I decided to put on my scarf, my skirt, and my jewelry over my regular clothes. (It w
as cold outside.)

  I dragged three plastic milk crates across the playground to the seesaws. They were going to be my table and chairs. I put up a cardboard sign I had made in class that morning:

  Hannie was first on line. She handed me her quarter.

  I gazed into my crystal ball. “I see numbers. Many numbers,” I said. “They add up to a good mark on our next math quiz.”

  “Thanks, Karen!” said Hannie.

  Nancy was behind Hannie. “A letter from an old friend will reach you soon,” I said.

  It was Ricky’s turn. “Today is your day to compliment a friend,” I said. (Of course, I hoped the friend would be me.)

  Natalie handed me her quarter. She looked a little worried.

  I peered into the crystal ball and shook my head sadly. “Madame Brewena is sorry to tell you that you will have the dropsies today. Watch out when handling glitter at arts and crafts.”

  “My turn!” said Addie.

  “I see paper. I see a pencil. I see letters,” I said mysteriously. “You will write a funny poem today.”

  By the time recess was over, everyone who wanted a fortune, had gotten one.

  I was pleased. My first day as playground fortune-teller had gone very well.

  A Prediction for Ms. Colman

  On Friday, I was back in business. In the morning, before Ms. Colman arrived, I made an important announcement.

  “Your attention, please. Madame Karena Brewena will be available to tell fortunes at recess.”

  A few kids were not paying attention. So I decided to make another announcement.

  “Your attention again, please. It is highly unusual for a fortune-teller to tell her own fortune. But I, Karena Brewena, will do it today! I will read my future in the crystal ball. Do not miss it!”

  Pamela, Leslie, and Jannie were off in the corner talking. Luckily, I had one more announcement to make. I knew this one would interest them.

  “I would like to add that this morning I had a feeling. An important fortune-teller feeling. It is about Ms. Colman. If the feeling continues through the morning, I will make my prediction at recess.”

  That did it. I had everyone’s attention now. Even Pamela, Leslie, and Jannie looked interested.

  All morning, when Ms. Colman was not looking, my friends asked me to tell her fortune.

  Ricky wrote me a note. It said, “You can tell me. I am your husband.”

  I wrote back, “Sorry. You have to wait like everyone else.”

  Finally it was lunchtime. I could hardly eat because everyone was crowding around me. (It is not easy being a world-famous fortune-teller like me.)

  When I finished eating, I went into the bathroom and turned myself into Madame Karena. Then I ran straight outside to the seesaws.

  A few fortunes were coming in strong. I had to tell them.

  “Natalie, I have good news. Your dropsies are over,” I said.

  “That is a relief,” said Natalie. “I was dropping everything yesterday.”

  “You were right about my fortune, Karen,” said Addie. “I wrote a funny poem last night.”

  “My fortune came true, too,” said Hannie. “I got a very good mark on my math quiz.”

  “That is great, Hannie. According to my crystal ball, you are on a winning streak. You will do well on three more quizzes,” I said.

  After I told a few more fortunes, I was ready to tell my own. I rested my hands on my crystal ball. Then I pulled them off as though the crystal ball had turned red-hot.

  “I see bad news about my appointment with my new dentist, Dr. Celenza,” I said. “It will be a disaster.”

  “Oh, Karen, that is too bad,” said Hannie.

  “Maybe it is too hard to tell your own fortune. Maybe it won’t come true,” said Natalie.

  “Right,” said Nancy. “Do not worry.”

  “How about telling us Ms. Colman’s fortune now?” said Pamela. “You promised.” (Pamela did not seem very worried about my dental disaster.)

  “Yes, tell us!” said the other kids. “We want to hear about Ms. Colman.”

  “I am sorry,” I said. “My feeling is not quite strong enough.”

  “Oh, come on, Karen. You did promise,” said Hank.

  “I am sorry. You will just have to wait until next week,” I replied.

  I would know then if my prediction about Dr. Celenza had come true. If it had, then Ms. Colman’s prediction was sure to come true, too.

  I would have the answer by Monday afternoon.

  B-A-B-Y

  “Dinner is ready, girls!” called Elizabeth.

  It was Friday on a big-house weekend. Mommy had dropped Andrew and me off in the afternoon. Then Nancy and Hannie had come over. That is because Daddy had said I could have a Three Musketeers sleepover.

  “Daddy made his special vegetarian chili,” I told Nancy and Hannie.

  That was one of my favorite meals. There were always so many bowls on the table. Here is what the bowls were filled with: Chili. Sour cream. Onions. Peppers. Cheddar cheese. Taco shells. (I do not eat the onions or the peppers.)

  “Who wants to hear their fortunes?” I asked while we were eating. Everyone did, except Kristy, Sam, and Charlie. Kristy had to leave to baby-sit. Sam and Charlie were going to a movie.

  I told everyone else’s fortune. (I predicted that Emily Michelle would spill her chili on the floor. And she did.) Then the Three Musketeers ran to my room for our party.

  We had brought along the Doll Sisters, Merry, Terry, and Kerry. We bought them together with our very own money. They had not seen each other in ages. They had a lot to catch up on.

  After a while, Nancy said to me, “What kind of feeling did you have about Ms. Colman?”

  “I am sorry. I am still not ready to talk about it,” I replied.

  “Oh, come on,” said Nancy.

  “The feeling is not quite clear,” I said. “But we could ask the Ouija board. I brought it with me.”

  “That is a good idea,” said Hannie. “Let’s turn the lights out. The Ouija board always works better when it is dark.”

  I turned out all the lights, except for one little lamp on my table. I found an old sheet. We hung it over three chairs. Then we climbed into our fortune-telling tent.

  I placed my fingertips on the pointer.

  “Tell us what you know about Ms. Colman,” I said.

  Slowly, the pointer slid across the board to the letter B. Then it moved to A. Then back to B. Then to Y. Then it stopped completely.

  We said the letters out loud together. B-A-B-Y.

  “I knew it!” I cried. “Ms. Colman is going to have a baby!”

  “Wow!” said Nancy. “This is exciting!”

  “But wait,” said Hannie. “If she has a baby, she might leave school.”

  “She cannot do that. She promised she would be our teacher even after she got married,” I said.

  “That was before the Ouija board told us about her baby,” replied Hannie.

  “Wait till the rest of the kids hear about this,” I said.

  “Should we call them now?” asked Nancy.

  “I do not think so. I think we should wait until Monday to tell them,” said Hannie.

  “But we will have to wait until after my dentist appointment,” I added.

  Waiting was not going to be easy. We had found out the secret just five minutes earlier. But it felt like five years.

  It was going to be a long weekend.

  Albert’s Toothache

  By Sunday night, I was back in my room at the little house. I was thinking about my appointment with Dr. Celenza. I was not just thinking. I was worrying.

  “Goosie, I cannot go through with my visit to the dentist. It is going to be a disaster,” I said.

  Goosie had something to say. I held him up to my ear. He said I should keep my appointment. He said my tooth would feel better if I did.

  “But I do not know Dr. Celenza. Maybe she will make my tooth feel worse,” I replied.

  I
made up my mind about something. I was not going to go to the dentist. I went downstairs to tell Mommy and Seth.

  “Karen, honey, you have to go. It is the only way your tooth will feel better,” said Mommy. “Dr. Celenza works with children all the time. She is a very good dentist.”

  “I know going to the dentist can be scary,” said Seth. “Before I had a cap put on my tooth, I was nervous all day.”

  “I have an idea,” said Mommy. “Tomorrow I will bake you an I-went-to-the-dentist cake. It will have icing and candles and everything.”

  “Thank you. But I am not going,” I said.

  “It is time for bed now, Karen. I got a new book for you from the library. I think you will like it,” said Mommy.

  The book was called Albert’s Toothache. It was by Barbara Williams. It was about a turtle who says he has a toothache. But turtles do not have teeth. It turns out he really has a sore toe because a gopher bit him.

  “That was a good story, Mommy,” I said. “But I have a real toothache in my real mouth and I really do not want to go to the dentist.”

  “Get some rest now,” said Mommy. “I will see you in the morning.”

  As soon as Mommy left my room, I turned the light back on. If I was going to the dentist the next day, I had to do something important right away.

  I found some paper and a pen. At the top of a page I wrote in big letters:

  (I did not know what a testament was. But I saw that word in a book once. It sounded important.)

  On the first line, I started to make a list of all my earthly possessions. They were Goosie, Moosie, Tickly, Hyacynthia, Terry, pink sneakers, pink unicorn shirt, strawberry eraser, lucky hopscotch stone, bicycle, crystal ball …

  The list was getting very long. I crossed everything out and wrote:

  Nancy would take Hyacynthia. We share her anyway. But who would get Goosie and Moosie? And I wanted the pieces of Tickly to go to people who would appreciate him. I needed to write that down.

  This was getting complicated. I would have to leave it up to Kristy.

  Now for the service. I wanted it to be a nice one. I wanted everyone to come. My two families. My neighbors. Ms. Colman. All the kids in my class.