Natalie and the Bestest Friend Race

by Dandi Daley Mackall

  In the first race, Peter is running with Julia. She was the very last person chosen in our kindergarten class. Julia takes tiny steps to the beginning line. She is way wider and bigger than Peter, only maybe the same tallness.

  Principal Fritz shouts into a funnel thing, “On your mark! Get set! Go!”

  Peter jumps ahead and keeps getting more and more ahead. When he crosses the finish line, he shouts, “I won! I won! Me first!”

  We wait for Julia to get here too. I guess she’s running, but it might be walking. Principal Fritz cheers for Julia when she’s finished racing.

  There are more races. Jason wins both of his. He doesn’t even shout, “Me first.” But he keeps running when he crosses the finish line ’cause the run isn’t all out of him yet.

  Bethany and Farah have to throw big brown balls. Farah’s ball goes way farther than Bethany’s.

  I run up to Farah. “Wow! You’re a great ball thrower!”

  Farah smiles without her teeth. “Thank you, Natalie.” She turns to Bethany and shakes her hand. “I like your throw as well,” she says.

  Principal Fritz hollers at the grown-up helpers, “Volunteers, please set up our hurdles!”

  “That means me and you, Natalie Lizard Breath,” Peter says.

  I pretend I don’t hear Peter. On account of my name being Natalie 24 and only sometimes Natalie Elizabeth. But nobody ever calls me Natalie Lizard Breath, except for Peter the Not-So-Great. And maybe sometimes Sasha the Not-So-Nice.

  I can see three hurdles set up on our running circle. They are all way shorter than the jumps in my backyard. Shorter is easier. My heart is a little thumpy in a good way.

  “Good luck, Natalie,” Farah says.

  I move to the start line. Peter lines up next to me. He scoots his toes as close as he can to the line.

  “I’m going to beat you bad, Lizard Breath!” Peter says.

  Principal Fritz calls over, “Don’t forget, you’re on the same team! Let’s see some team spirit!”

  Peter growls. He has team spirit, but it’s all bad. That’s what.

  “On your mark!” shouts Principal Fritz. “Get set! Go!”

  Peter is a very fast boy and gets way ahead of me. Only when he gets to the first hurdle, Peter stops, jumps, and starts running again.

  I keep on running, jump, and keep running. And I’m almost up with Peter, on account of I didn’t stop.

  Peter frowns at me over his shoulder. He’s not far ahead of me. But now he runs even faster. I run the same fastness as I did.

  We get to the next hurdle. Peter stops. But I keep running, jump, and run more.

  “Hey! You can’t pass me!” Peter yells.

  But I’m still running. When I get to the next hurdle, I do my running jump. And this time, I remember to look at my watch I don’t have. I am a flying girl.

  I run across the finish line. Jason and Farah are there, cheering their heads off.

  “You won!” Farah shouts.

  Jason yells, “Nat’s number one! Nat’s number one!”

  Peter stomps up to us. “No fair! I’m faster than you are!” He yells over at Principal Fritz, “I don’t want to do that race! I want to run in a different race!”

  “Too bad!” Principal Fritz hollers.

  My heart is thumpy. I won. I beat Peter.

  And there is another thing in my head. This thought makes me want it to be the real Kindergarten Olympics and not just practice. I want to beat Peter again.

  Plus, I want to beat more than just Peter. I want to beat Sasha.

  And Laurie. That’s what.

  Chapter 15

  Digging

  Lunch is not as much fun as it usually is. I sit at one table with Farah and Anna. Laurie sits at another table with Sasha and Bethany. Nobody trades half of her sandwich with me. Plus, I can see Laurie. And she takes a giant piece of cake from Sasha’s lunch.

  “What is wrong with you and Laurie?” Farah asks.

  This question makes my sandwich stop going down my neck. So I can’t get an answer out.

  “They’re not friends anymore,” Anna says.

  I choke down my bite of sandwich. “What?”

  “That’s what Sasha said,” Anna says.

  “She said Laurie and I aren’t friends? Not just not bestest friends? Not any kind of friends?”

  “Sasha told Bethany and me that she and Laurie are best friends, and you and Laurie aren’t even speaking-to-each-other friends,” Anna says.

  I put my sandwich back in my lunch box. On account of I’m not hungry anymore. Plus, my stomach hurts. And other things inside of me hurt too.

  Granny picks me up from school in her car, which goes by the name of Charlotte the Chevrolet. She takes me back to her house to plant flowers there.

  I dig, dig, dig where Granny shows me to by her front step. Only this is not so much fun as you think it is.

  Granny is humming a church song that goes by the name of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” I can’t help having these words in my head while she hums. It feels part good, on account of I know I have one friend. And part bad, on account of that’s all.

  “Okay, kid. What’s up?” Granny has sneaked over to sit on her step.

  “I’m digging,” I tell her.

  She takes my little shovel from my hand. “Are you and Laurie still at odds?”

  I stare at the hole I made in the dirt. “Laurie didn’t pick me to be on her Olympic team.”

  “Well, you can’t always pick who you want if—”

  “She could! Laurie was a team captain. She didn’t pick me first. Then she didn’t pick me again. And again. And again.” I stop ’cause my neck is too chokey to keep going.

  “I see,” Granny says.

  “And it hurt my feelings really bad. And she should say sorry to me.” Tears start leaking out of me.

  “I can see why you’re so upset,” Granny says.

  “Plus, Laurie only talks to Sasha. And eats her cake. And they laugh together without me.”

  “Hmmm,” Granny says. “That doesn’t sound like the Laurie I know.”

  “Plus also, Laurie said she’s not my friend anymore.”

  “Laurie said that?”

  “Anna said that Sasha said Laurie said that,” I explain.

  “Hmmm,” Granny says again. “Something tells me there’s more to this story. Did you do something to make Laurie upset?”

  “No!” I shout. “Well, maybe. Kind of.”

  Granny is quiet. But she’s waiting. And she is a good waiter.

  “You know how you said not to let anybody call Laurie’s group dumb? Well, Peter did. So I told him not to. And he said Laurie was dumb. And I said, ‘No, sir! Laurie’s not dumb. She just has ’slexia.’ ”

  “Ah. You told Peter this?”

  “I didn’t mean to, Granny.”

  “Laurie asked you not to tell anybody, didn’t she?”

  “But Peter—”

  “But you did,” Granny goes on. “And Peter probably told everybody, right?”

  “He blabbed all over the place.”

  “Which he wouldn’t have been able to do if you hadn’t told him Laurie’s secret in the first place,” Granny finishes.

  My head is running that whole horrible picture when I yelled to Peter that Laurie had ’slexia. And I don’t like thinking about this part.

  “Did you tell Laurie how sorry you are?” Granny asks.

  “I tried! She won’t even let me.”

  “How hard did you try, Nat?” Granny asks.

  “Hard! Only Laurie only talks to Sasha.”

  Granny’s face scrunches like she doesn’t much like this answer.

  “Laurie should say sorry for not picking me for her team!” I explain.

  “Sounds to me like there’s plenty of sorry to go around,” Granny says.

  “Well, she should go first!”

  Granny laughs.

  I cannot believe my Granny is doing this laugh. “It’s not funny, Granny!”


  “No, it’s not,” Granny agrees. “I was just thinking. I sat out in that schoolyard waiting for you this afternoon, and I must have heard a dozen kids yell, ‘Me first!’ ”

  I still don’t get it. Kids yell this all the time. “So?”

  “I was chuckling because everybody wants to be first, except when it comes to saying sorry.”

  I stare down at my hole in the dirt. It looks empty. And I think that’s how I probably look on my insides. On account of that’s how I feel. ’Cause I told Laurie’s secret and didn’t even tell her I was sorry. And empty ’cause I miss my bestest friend.

  Granny goes back to planting and humming that song about having a friend in Jesus.

  I close my eyes, and my tears splash into the dirt. Then I talk to my friend Jesus. And the first thing I say is sorry.

  Chapter 16

  Winners

  Kindergarten Olympics day is sunny, with real birds singing in the trees. I can’t wait to talk to Laurie. Even if she never tells me sorry, I want to tell her sorry.

  When I get to my classroom, we are already divided up in teams. Laurie is too far away for me to talk to. Plus, she still won’t look at me.

  Miss Hines makes us line up in teams to go outside. “Now remember the spirit of the Olympics,” she tells us. “Let’s be good sports and have fun!”

  Farah and I walk to the running circle together. On one side of the track, parents are already sitting on blankets and chairs.

  “That is your grandmother, is it not?” Farah says, pointing.

  I see her too. And Mommy and Daddy.

  “Go, Nat!” Daddy yells. He keeps yelling this until I wave.

  “Welcome to Kindergarten Olympics!” Principal Fritz shouts through her squeaky speaker.

  It feels like a real Olympics. But it’s hard to get excited about it until I talk to Laurie. And her team is too far away.

  Kids from both kindergartens line up for the first race.

  “On your mark! Get set! Go!” Principal Fritz yells.

  Farah and I watch and cheer for our side. So many people scream that I can’t hear my own scream. Andrew from the other kindergarten comes in first, and Peter next. Only Peter yells at everybody, ’cause he wanted to win first.

  “Have you seen Laurie?” I ask Farah, while other kids get to the start line.

  “She is still with her team.” Farah points to the other team’s waiting spot. Laurie is there, next to Sasha.

  Farah and I watch more races. We scream our heads off.

  “Who is the winner so far?” Farah asks.

  “I don’t know.” Miss Hines told us about keeping score and every place getting points. Only I didn’t get it.

  Farah gets second place in her shot-put throw. Jason wins one of his races and comes in second in the other one. Then it’s my turn.

  “And now our last event!” Principal Fritz yells. “The hurdles!”

  “That’s you!” Farah says.

  I move to the start line. I can hear my dad’s cheering louder than anybody’s. Plus also Granny’s.

  My stomach is very twitchy. All day, I have been twitchy about talking to Laurie. Now I am also twitchy about this race.

  The other kindergarten takes up half of the line. Then Peter, Sasha, me, and Laurie. Laurie is the farthest-away girl.

  “I can trade places with you if you want,” I tell Laurie.

  She gets big in her eyes.

  “Stay where you are, Lizard Breath!” Peter yells. “Her spot has to run longer.”

  “I know,” I tell him.

  “I’m okay,” Laurie says.

  “Yeah,” Sasha calls over. “We’re just fine! We’re going to win! We’re number one!”

  This sets Peter off. “We’re number one!” he shouts.

  I want to tell Laurie I’m sorry for everything. Only Peter and Sasha are too loud. Plus, I know we’re not supposed to talk on the start line. But I’ve waited and waited to talk to her. And I can’t wait more. “Laurie, I—”

  “Quiet, please!” Principal Fritz yells. “On your mark! Get set! Go!”

  My feet take off. But they are not super fast feet. Sasha, Peter, and Laurie get in front right away. They get to the first hurdle before me. But they all stop or slow way down.

  I keep running. Jump. And run some more.

  “Way to jump, Nat!” Daddy screams so loud, I hear him.

  I’m right between Peter and Laurie now. We run. Only they move ahead of me.

  We get to the next hurdle, and I fly over it, checking my watch I don’t have. When I land, nobody is in front of me. I don’t even hear footsteps behind me.

  I keep running. Nobody is coming up on me.

  I peek over my shoulder. Peter is back there.

  “We’re killing them!” Peter shouts. “Ha! Look how far back Laurie is!”

  Close behind Peter comes Sasha. Laurie is behind her.

  I keep peeking at Laurie. She is in the way back. I start running backwards to see her better. Her face is sad, and that makes me sorry in my heart. I don’t want Laurie to be sad.

  Sasha is running past Peter. I see this on account of I am still running backwards.

  “Out of the way!” Sasha shouts. She runs right at me.

  I try to turn frontwards. But Sasha bumps my shoulder and sends me smashing into the last hurdle. I bounce off and slam down on the track.

  “Get up!” Peter shouts mean. He stops and jumps that hurdle.

  Only I stay down.

  “Nat, are you okay?” Laurie runs up and kneels beside me.

  Tears leak out of me.

  “You’re hurt! I’ll get your mom!” Laurie starts to get up.

  I grab her arm. “I’m not hurt!” And this is a true thing. The tears aren’t outside-hurt tears. They’re inside-hurt tears. “I’m okay. I…I’m just sorry, Laurie.”

  Laurie’s eyes get tears. “I’m sorry too, Nat. I—”

  “No. Me first,” I say. “I’m so sorry.” It feels good to get out those words. “I never should have told your secret. I didn’t mean to. I was trying to make Peter stop saying you were in the dumb group. Only I shouldn’t have told him about the ’slexia. And now everybody knows. And it’s all my fault. And now you don’t even want to be my friend.”

  “What?” Laurie is big in her teary eyes. “Nat, I was just so sad that it turned into mad. And then I didn’t pick you on my team. And I’m really sorry I didn’t. But how could you think I don’t want to be your friend?”

  “Anna said Sasha said you didn’t,” I explain.

  “Sasha told me you said you didn’t want to be my friend. You didn’t want a friend with dyslexia.”

  “I never said that! I always want you to be—!”

  “Run!” Peter stands over me. “If you beat Laurie, we can still win!” he screams.

  Sasha runs up to Laurie. “Laurie! All you have to do is finish the race before Nat! Go!”

  “Get going, Lizard Breath!” Peter yells.

  Sasha mean-laughs.

  Laurie jumps to her feet. I think she may be going to finish the race. But she doesn’t jump the hurdle. She turns line eyes at Sasha and Peter. “Don’t call Nat ‘Lizard Breath’! Don’t you ever say that name to my bestest friend again!”

  Bestest friend. Those are the bestest words I have ever heard. That’s what.

  “Come on, Nat.” Laurie sticks out her hand and helps me stand up.

  My knee is scraped, but I don’t hurt. Not outside. And not inside.

  Laurie and I hold hands and jump the hurdle together. Then we run, laughing, to the finish line and step on it at the exactly same time.

  And guess what. We are both winners.

  Other titles in the That’s Nat Series

  Natalie and the One-of-a-Kind Wonderful Day!

  Natalie Really Very Much Wants to Be a Star

  Natalie: School’s First Day of Me

  Natalie and the Downside-Up Birthday

  Natalie Wants a Puppy

  Copyrig
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  Zonderkidz

  Natalie and the Bestest Friend Race

  Copyright © 2009 by Dandi Daley Mackall

  Illustrations © 2009 by Lys Blakeslee

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  ePub Edition MARCH 2010 ISBN: 978-0-310-87668-7

  Requests for information should be addressed to:

  Zonderkidz, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

  * * *

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Mackall, Dandi Daley.

  Natalie and the bestest friend race / by Dandi Daley Mackall ; [Lys Blakeslee, illustrator].

  p. cm.—(That’s Nat! ; bk. 5)

  Summary: When Natalie accidentally reveals her best friend’s secret, it causes the friends to have their first real fight.

  ISBN 978-0-310-71570-2 (softcover)

  [1. Best friends—Fiction. 2. Friendship—Fiction. 3. Dyslexia—Fiction. 4. Christian life—Fiction.] I. Blakeslee, Lys, 1985- ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.M1905Nab 2009

  [Fic]—dc22

  2008049736

  * * *

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