Mindy Kim, Class President

by Lyla Lee

  “Okay,” I said.

  I wasn’t sure if it was going to work, but I was willing to try anything to get better at making a speech!

  Chapter 5

  That night, I put all my stuffed animals on my bed like Eunice suggested. A lot of them were dusty from being under the bed for so long, but I gave them all a good shake.

  “Sorry, friends,” I said. “Hope it wasn’t too scary down there.”

  I put Mr. Shiba front and center, along with Mr. Toe Beans. And then I put Mrs. Poodle, Mr. Koala, and Ms. Alligator in the next row. Soon I had a whole audience waiting for my speech!

  “Okay,” I said. “Please be nice to me. This is my first speech!”

  The stuffed animals didn’t say anything, but they still looked nice. Eunice was right. They were really polite!

  I stared down at my speech-planning sheet. My hands weren’t shaking like they were in Eunice’s house, but my tummy still felt kind of funny.

  “H-hi,” I said.

  I looked up from my paper. The stuffed animals were still staring at me, but they weren’t scary at all. They were actually really cute!

  I breathed out and tried again.

  “Hi! My name is Mindy Kim. I am eight years old.”

  I looked up. The stuffed animals stared back. I smiled.

  “I am running for class president! The things that are most important to me are my friends and my family.”

  Eunice was right. Practicing my speech was a lot easier with the help of my stuffed animal friends!

  In no time at all, I finished my speech. It wasn’t easy, but I still did it!

  I tried giving my speech again. This time I was a bit better!

  I was about to recite my speech a third time when Theodore came into my room. He jumped on my bed and grabbed Ms. Alligator!

  “Theodore, no!”

  Luckily, Theodore’s legs are pretty short, so I caught him before he could run off with Ms. Alligator.

  “Bad dog,” I said. “Ms. Alligator isn’t your toy. Give her back!”

  He dropped Ms. Alligator and licked my face, so I couldn’t stay mad long!

  I giggled. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

  I scooped Theodore up into a big hug.

  While I was hugging Theodore, Dad popped his head into my bedroom.

  “Hey, Mindy, how’s that speech going? I heard you practicing. Do you feel ready to say it in front of me now?”

  I gulped. Suddenly I was scared again.

  “Not yet,” I said. “I need to practice some more!”

  “Well, all right. Just let me know, okay? I’m more than happy to listen to your speech whenever you’re ready.”

  “Okay,” I said.

  Dad looked at Theodore, who was still in my arms. “Hmm, is he being distracting? Here, let me try something.”

  He went downstairs and came back with a brand-new bone.

  “Here,” he said, giving the bone to Theodore. “Hopefully, he’ll be less trouble while he’s chewing the bone.”

  I put Theodore on the floor. “Now, you be a good boy so I can practice my speech!”

  Right away, Theodore sat on the floor and started chewing on the bone.

  CRUNCH-CRUNCH-CRUNCH.

  He looked so happy!

  “Good idea, Dad!” I said. “Thanks!”

  “You’re welcome. Good luck with your speech!”

  Dad left my room. As he was chewing the bone, Theodore stared up at me from the floor like he was one of my stuffed animals. He was now part of my audience!

  I picked up my speech-planning sheet again. I could hear the loud crunching sounds of Theodore gnawing on his bone, but the sound was so funny that it helped me feel less nervous.

  “Hi, my name is Mindy Kim,” I said. “I am running for class president!”

  CRUNCH-CRUNCH-CRUNCH.

  I laughed. Practicing my speech had just become way more fun!

  Chapter 6

  The next day after school, Eunice picked me up again.

  “How’s the speech going?” she asked when I got into her car.

  “Pretty good!” I said. “Your idea worked, and I practiced a lot.”

  “That’s great! Do you have to memorize the speech too?”

  “We don’t have to, but Mr. Brady said we should if we can.”

  Eunice sat up straighter in her seat. “You should! It looks a lot more professional if you do. It’ll help you be less nervous, too! I always memorized my speeches, even when I was a little kid.”

  I gulped. Practicing the speech was hard enough—I didn’t think I could memorize it too.

  “If you’re sure…,” I said.

  “Don’t worry, Mindy,” Eunice replied. “You can practice with me and Oliver again!”

  I still didn’t know if I could do it, but I remembered what I thought about having to be brave. I had no idea if Brandon would memorize his speech, but it’d look really bad if he did and I didn’t.

  “Okay,” I said. “Let’s do it!”

  Back at Eunice’s house, I stood in the middle of Eunice’s room while Eunice and Oliver the Maltese lay on her bed. Eunice held my speech-planning sheet in front of her as I tried to memorize it.

  “Hi, my name is Mindy. I am eight years old and I am running for class president,” I said. “The things…”

  I trailed off. Giving the speech wasn’t so scary anymore, but I couldn’t remember what I’d said next!

  “ ‘The things that are the most important to me are…,’ ” read Eunice.

  “Right!” I said. “The things that are the most important to me are my friends and my family. I live with my dad and my dog, Theodore the Mutt! I am…”

  I stopped again. Memorizing was really hard!

  “Remember, Mindy,” Eunice said. “The speech has three parts: telling the class about yourself, talking about what’s important to you, and, finally, saying what you’d do to make the class better. You don’t have to say what you wrote word for word, but just try to do those three things!”

  I nodded and kept going.

  “I am confident and love my friends. Being everybody’s friend and helping others is really important to me!”

  Eunice smiled. “You almost got it! I think you just need to practice a bit more and you’ll be all set.”

  At that moment, Mrs. Park came into Eunice’s room with a tray full of cookies shaped like jack-o’-lanterns.

  “Happy almost Halloween!” she said. “I know Halloween isn’t until Saturday, but I wanted to make some cookies now so that you girls could bring them to school tomorrow.”

  “Wow, thanks, Mom!” said Eunice. She looked at me. “You’ve been working so hard, Mindy. You deserve a cookie break!”

  “Yay!” I cheered.

  “Come downstairs to eat so you don’t get crumbs on the carpet,” Mrs. Park said. “I also made ghost-shaped cookies!”

  Eunice and I did what she said. While we were eating the cookies in the kitchen, Eunice asked me, “Do you know what you’re dressing up as for Halloween yet?”

  “Yup! Halloween is my favorite holiday, so Dad and I always prepare super early. We already got our costumes a few weeks ago.”

  Eunice laughed. “That’s so cute! What are you going as?”

  “A vet! That’s what I want to be when I grow up. How about you?”

  Eunice shook her head. “I’m too busy to go trick-or-treating this year. I have a big exam coming up next week, so I’m just staying in and studying!”

  I gasped. I felt so bad for Eunice! I’d be so sad if I couldn’t celebrate Halloween.

  Eunice smiled at my reaction. “It’s okay. I’ll hand out candy, so I still get to see fun costumes. Be sure to have all the fun for both you and me!”

  I nodded very seriously. I was now determined to have the best Halloween ever!

  Chapter 7

  On Friday, the night before Halloween, I finally felt brave enough to practice my speech in front of Dad.

  When I came out o
f my room, Dad was watching TV on the couch with Theodore. They were watching a fun action movie, but Dad turned off the TV when he saw me. I could tell he wanted to give me his full attention.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  I nodded. I’d said my speech so many times to my stuffed animal friends that I’d memorized everything! I hoped I would be able to say it to Dad, too.

  I stood in front of the TV and let out a big breath.

  Dad gave me a nice, encouraging smile.

  And then… I gave my speech! It was still pretty scary, and I had to start over three times, but on my third try I made it all the way through.

  By that time Theodore was fast asleep on Dad’s lap. He was so adorable that I didn’t mind.

  When I finished, Dad got up to clap. Theodore fell out of his lap and yelped.

  “Oh no!” I yelled. “Theodore, are you okay?”

  Theodore got back on his feet and wagged his tail. Dad and I laughed.

  “Silly dog,” I said.

  I gave Theodore a belly rub. Dad came over and started scratching Theodore’s head. The dog stuck out his tongue, looking really happy. He is so spoiled!

  “You improved so much, Mindy!” Dad said. “I think you’ll just have to practice a bit more and then you’ll be all set!”

  I beamed. “You really think so?”

  “Yup! Keep working at it. Regardless of whether or not you get elected on Monday, I’m so proud of you for all the work you’re putting into this.”

  “Thanks, Appa,” I said.

  “Hey, why don’t we watch a fun movie, since tomorrow is Halloween?” Dad suggested. “I bet you could use a break.”

  I gasped. “Can we watch a scary movie?”

  Last year Dad had said I was too young for scary movies. But I was eight now! That meant I was old enough, right?

  Dad laughed nervously. “Hmm, maybe we can watch a scary movie for kids! How about Halloweentown?”

  “Okay!”

  I’d heard some kids talking about Halloweentown in school, but I’d never watched it myself. I was really excited!

  Dad made some popcorn, and I plopped down on the couch in between Dad and Theodore. It was the perfect start to Halloween!

  Chapter 8

  The next morning, I jumped out of bed, all excited. It was Halloween, my favorite holiday!

  “Happy Halloween!” I yelled.

  Theodore barked and jumped out of bed after me. He looked really surprised.

  “Sorry, boy,” I said, petting him on the head. “I didn’t mean to scare you!”

  I changed into my vet costume, which was a doctor’s white coat over pink, paw print–patterned pants. It also came with a stethoscope, and I picked up Mr. Shiba and put him under my arm as a finishing touch. I was ready for Halloween!

  I went downstairs with Theodore. Dad was waiting for us in a pirate costume!

  “Arr!” he said. “Shiver me theaters!”

  I giggled. “It’s ‘timbers,’ Appa.”

  Dad smiled. “I know. I just wanted to make you laugh!”

  While we were eating breakfast, Dad checked the route to the fall carnival on his phone.

  In honor of Halloween, our town was holding a big carnival, with a haunted house, a pumpkin patch, and fun rides! I was most looking forward to the haunted house, because I like scary things. I really hoped Dad would let me go into it.

  We picked up Julie, Dad’s girlfriend, on our way to the fall carnival. She was wearing a witch costume, and she even had a broom and a black-cat doll! She saw that I was carrying Mr. Shiba and gave me a high five.

  “Great costume, Mindy! I like your dog,” she said.

  “Thanks! I like your cat!”

  At the carnival we met up with Sally’s family, the Johnsons. Sally has a big family, with two sisters and two parents! They were all dressed as superheroes, which I thought was super cool!

  Sally was dressed up as Wonder Woman. Her mom was Batgirl, and her dad was Batman! Mrs. Johnson had squarish blue glasses and looked like a grown-up version of Sally. Mr. Johnson had red hair and a nice smile. Both of Sally’s parents looked really friendly. I’ve met Sally’s mom before, but this was the first time I’d seen her dad.

  Sally’s parents shook hands with Dad and Julie while Sally introduced me to her sisters.

  Sally pointed at her oldest sister, who was wearing a Catwoman costume.

  “That’s Martha. She’s in ninth grade.”

  Martha smiled at me. She has braces, which make her look really cool. She has red hair, like Mr. Johnson.

  “Hi!” I said. “Do you know Eunice? She’s my babysitter, and she’s in high school too!”

  Martha shook her head. “There are a lot of Eunices at my school, but I probably don’t know her. It’s a big school!”

  “And this is Patricia,” Sally said, pointing at her other sister. “She’s in sixth grade.”

  Patricia was dressed as Supergirl! She has blond hair like Sally.

  “Hi, how’s middle school?” I asked Patricia. I always heard about high school from Eunice, but I’d never really heard about middle school. It was where I was going after elementary school, so I was pretty curious.

  “It’s okay.” Patricia shrugged. “Elementary school was more fun, though.”

  Once we were all done saying hi, Dad asked, “So, girls, what do you want to do first?”

  “The haunted house!” I yelled, and at the same time Sally and her sisters said, “Pumpkin patch!”

  Dad’s face became a little green when he heard me say “haunted house.” He doesn’t like scary things like I do.

  “Okay, we can definitely do everything at some point,” he said. “But let’s go to the pumpkin patch for now!”

  I really wanted to go to the haunted house, but that was fine by me. The pumpkin patch was so cute! There were countless pumpkins in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some of them were orange, while others were yellow and green. Some of them were normal pumpkins, while others were jack-o’-lanterns carved into various shapes. My favorite was the one carved to look like Snoopy!

  After we were done exploring, we all gathered around for a group photo. I was so happy!

  While we were walking out of the pumpkin patch, I heard people screaming in the haunted house.

  “Dad!” I said. “Can we go to the haunted house now?”

  Dad looked at me, and then at our group. “Hmm, I don’t know. Mindy, you should ask if everyone else wants to go to the haunted house too.”

  “Sure, I’ll go,” said Martha. “I’m not scared.”

  “I—I’ll pass,” Patricia said. “I hate haunted houses.”

  “I want to go too!” yelled Sally. “But only if Mommy goes with me.”

  “Of course I’ll go with you, sweetheart,” Mrs. Johnson said. “I don’t think you can go in without an adult anyway.”

  Dad sighed. “And I’ll go with you, Mindy.”

  “Are you sure, Brian?” Julie asked. She looked a little worried about Dad. “I can go in with her if you want.”

  “Yeah, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, Dad,” I said. “Mrs. Johnson will be there with me too!”

  Dad shook his head. He looked really determined.

  “No, it’s okay,” said Dad. “I’ll do anything for you, Mindy. Even go into the haunted house. Let’s go!”

  “Yay!” I said. “Thanks, Dad!”

  I was so excited to go to the haunted house!

  Chapter 9

  The haunted house was a big, scary-looking mansion. The sign at the front of the house said that it was an old house that used to be owned by a rich family a long, long time ago. Something bad had happened in the house, and now the house was haunted!

  At the door there was a man dressed like a zombie and a lady dressed like an evil clown.

  “Hi!” I said. “Can we go into the haunted house?”

  The zombie and the clown stared down at Sally and me.

  “Sure, kid,” the zombie man said. “But
only if your parents come with you.”

  “No problem! Come on, Dad!”

  “O-okay, honey.” Dad’s voice sounded all weird and squeaky. I held his hand tight.

  “It’s okay, Dad,” I said. “I’ll protect you!”

  Clown Lady laughed. “What a brave girl!” she said as she gave us all flashlights. “Have fun!”

  We walked into the house. Sally and Martha stuck close to Mrs. Johnson, while I held Dad’s hand. I wanted to keep him safe!

  Inside the house it was really dark. We couldn’t see anything aside from the light of our flashlights. There were strange sounds like a dripping faucet and someone laughing from very far away. Footsteps came from behind us.

  “Boo!”

  A werewolf popped out of nowhere, growling and snarling!

  “Ahhh!” Dad screamed. So did Sally.

  “It’s okay!” Mrs. Johnson said to Sally. “There’s nothing to be scared of!”

  I held Dad’s hand tightly and yelled at the werewolf, “I’m not afraid of you! You look like my dog, Theodore the Mutt! Go away!”

  Werewolf Man looked sad as he walked away. I felt a little bad for hurting his feelings.

  “Follow me,” I said to our group.

  As we turned the corner, a witch popped out and started cackling.

  Dad and Sally screamed again, but I waved my flashlight at the witch. “Go away!”

  The witch howled and ran away.

  “See?” I said. “Haunted houses aren’t so scary.”

  Mrs. Johnson laughed. “Mindy, you’re one hilarious kid! Are you even shaking?”

  “Nope,” replied Dad. “She isn’t. I’m shaking enough for the two of us.”

  We all laughed. Dad was so funny.

  “Run away!” yelled a high-pitched voice.

  A white-faced ghost snuck up on Dad and waved her arms. Dad yelped and jumped away.