The Shortest Boss in the Room

by Zanaiah Williams

  Black Odyssey Media LLC

  Publishing Division

  3501 Gus Thomasson Rd. #87-2002

  Mesquite, TX 75187

  THE SHORTEST BOSS IN THE ROOM.

  Copyright © 2021 by Black Odyssey Media LLC

  Copyright © 2021 by Zanaiah Williams

  Illustrated by Navi’ Robins

  Content Editors: Niko Michelle, Shawanda Williams

  Copy Editor: Alanna Boutin

  All rights reserved. Published by Black Odyssey Media LLC

  Printed in the United States of America

  Interior Formatting: Qamber Designs

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2021907069

  Zanaiah Williams, author.

  Title: The Shortest Boss in the Room

  Series: Boss Magic

  Description: First Edition. | Dallas, TX: Black Odyssey Media LLC, 2021

  ISBN: 978-1735443126 (trade paperback) | ISBN: 978-1735443133 (ebook)

  Subjects: Juvenile Fiction | Business | Engineering | Children’s Literature | Friendships | Chapter Books | Middle Grade | Children’s Values Books

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publisher, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

  Dedicated to all of the young bosses in the universe.

  ~ Zanaiah Williams ~

  Chapter 1

  “Piper, I need you to get to creating, young lady.” Mrs. Scott, our art teacher, pushed her sliding glasses back up and eyed one of the most popular students at A. J. Stanly Elementary.

  “I’m not in the mood. Besides, this activity is boring.”

  I gasped, and my eyeballs nearly jumped out of my head. I stopped drawing, along with a few others, just in time to witness Piper serve Mrs. Scott the look. Piper could take down some of the most vicious bullies with her red-haired ponytail, cinnamon freckles, and Grinch-like green eyes, including Wes Bevins—the biggest bully on earth! Piper once made Wes cry crocodile tears in the hallway in front of everyone. She never even said a word. So if her look could cure bullying, someone whose classroom always smelled like fresh-baked banana nut muffins or sweet potato pie didn’t stand a chance.

  Mrs. Scott’s forehead wrinkled as she walked over to Piper. I’m sure once she invaded Piper’s personal space, she could smell the sweet and sour combination of apple and watermelon Jolly Rancher candies swirling in the air. I sure did.

  “Piper, you know the rule. Once we are in our creative circle, everyone must participate.”

  I remained frozen as if Mrs. Scott were speaking to me. Piper didn’t flinch or even blink, for that matter. She continued to stare in Mrs. Scott’s direction, obviously not worried one bit at how her behavior could land her in trouble. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something was definitely off with my bestie. What did she mean she wasn’t in the mood for art? She lived for it!

  Piper loved Mrs. Scott’s class, and Mrs. Scott loved Piper and her unique talents. It was Piper’s creative brilliance that landed our classroom in the best dressed Hall of Door Fame contest last month. Thanks to her, we earned a pajama-jam pizza party. Not to mention the bragging rights of the entire fourth-grade pod, making us officially the walking billboards for #PopArt!

  I scanned the room and waited along with the rest of the class to see what would happen next. I didn’t want to see Piper in time-out. I had to save my best friend—fast!

  Before the words could crawl out of my throat, “ARCKK-AAAHHH-CHOOOSSS!” I unleashed a flame-spitting dragon sneeze. The kind that sounds like a cough and a sneeze rolled into one. My hands flew to my face in record time.

  “Bless you, Zaria!” Hailey called out from the other side of the room.

  “Thank you,” I replied. I was so sure that it was going to be a snot-flying mess. My breathing returned to normal once I saw that my hands were still nice and dry. Even my allergies were irritated by Piper.

  “Piper! Please draw something like Mrs. Scott asked. Why are you being so difficult today?”

  That I-am-beyond-annoyed voice belonged to my other best friend, Cassidy Simpson, the third member of our Three Wayz squad. I could see that Cassidy was really into whatever she was creating. She never looked up from her paper. Her new braided hairstyle had a few ropes of turquoise and rose pink, which were neatly wrapped in an updo bun. Out of the sprinkle of brown-skinned girls in our entire school, it was my fashion geek BFF who always made it a point to “flex in her complexion” any chance given, from her versatile hairstyles to her multicolored nails.

  And although Cassidy was a tad shorter than Piper and me, she carried a lot of spirit for a girl who stood four foot five in those Chuck Taylors that she wore faithfully. She practically owned every color in the Converse collection to coordinate with her glam and glitzy outfits. Today, she wore the rose gold pair, which matched the shirt underneath her denim overalls.

  “Yeah, Piper. Why are you acting brand new? Follow the rules. Period.”

  That remark came from McKenzie Patel, who always claimed a spot at the front of the class to accommodate the space needed for her wheelchair. She was the coolest kid on wheels and had my vote of confidence any day of the week, especially after watching her beat Jamal Evans in a basketball free-throw competition. Talk about R-E-S-P-E-C-T, as my mother would say. Jamal was so embarrassed that he tried to pay me twenty dollars in weekly installments to keep quiet about it. Needless to say, McKenzie sometimes refers to herself as McJordan, especially at recess.

  Emotions were rising, and it seemed everybody had something to say. While Piper was very much present, there was this distant look in her eyes. Her blue mechanical pencil remained untouched on her desk.

  “Settle down, class. We’re okay. In fact, let’s break for a moment. I have a couple of announcements to make, and I need every eye and ear in my direction.” Mrs. Scott half-smiled at Piper before waddling into the center of the circle. She took a breather and then placed her right hand over her big round belly where her son, Gage, was growing. “Drumroll, please . . . ”

  I regretted my silence, but I perked up when, one by one, we started drumming our fists on our desks in anticipation. The noise grew louder and louder. Mrs. Scott waved a familiar hand gesture, and we immediately got quiet.

  “Next week starts our Acrylic Artistry Tour!”

  The room erupted all over again. I was so excited I could barely keep my legs still. I loved using my hands, and this tour showed a lot of promise. Art class was my second favorite to science, only because we made volcanoes and did a lot of experimenting.

  Cassidy and I glanced over at Piper to see if she was as excited as we were. I was surprised to see her pencil upright and between her fingers. She was sketching the floral pattern in Mrs. Scott’s dress.

  “We will be learning some of the most common ways to create using acrylic paint,” Mrs. Scott continued. “And I’m going to document the entire experience for our school’s yearbook and share it on our school’s Facebook page.”

  I bounced in my chair and threw my hands in the air, sending my glasses flying to the floor. I hurried to grab them, but I wasn’t fast enough. I cringed
at the sight of my lens cracking under Mrs. Scott’s left foot.

  “Oh, goodness, Zaria. I am so sorry. I didn’t even see them. Let me grab a baggie.” She walked to her desk.

  I slowly picked up my broken glasses and plopped back down into my seat. I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath. I could literally hear my mom in my head.

  Mrs. Scott returned with a small plastic bag. “Thank goodness the frame is still intact.”

  Tell that to the Queen, who might find it hard to believe how I broke my third pair of glasses in one week.

  Mrs. Scott resumed with her announcements, leaving me to my own problems.

  “Okay, class, we have one more major note to discuss.” Mrs. Scott held a sheet of paper in the air. “Add this to the list of things that you cannot use for your sketches. We only have a limited supply, and we need it to last the entire tour. Any questions?”

  I didn’t have any. There was a good possibility that Mama would take me out of this world once I got home. No need to worry about a tour I may not live to see.

  Chapter 2

  “Hey, Zaria, wait up.”

  Ian ran to catch up with Cassidy and me as we walked to Mr. Jean’s class. Ian wasn’t a part of the Three Wayz, but he was like my boy best friend. We had a lot in common, and I was a big fan of his teacher impersonations. He could be corny most of the time, but at least he was honest. There was this one time when he went into deep thought after one of our debates. Then he blurted out the corniest thing I had ever heard. It was something about me “being here before” and being an “old soul.”

  “Man, what’s up with hyper Piper today? She was really trippin’ earlier.”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Your guess is as good as mine,” I replied, turning my upper lip.

  Ian tugged at the straps of his Avengers backpack. “She’s lucky Mrs. Scott didn’t send her to the principal’s office.”

  “Or call her parents,” Cassidy added.

  “Hold up a minute. Where is Piper anyway? The three of you always walk to class together.”

  Ian was right. Cassidy and I had waited for Piper to gather her things when the bell rang to leave Mrs. Scott’s class, but she said she’d catch up to us.

  “She can’t be that far,” I said. I scanned the hallway full of squeaking tennis shoes, scattered conversations, and future track athletes, all trying to get to their next class. Without my glasses, it would be hard to spot Piper in the maze of moving bodies. “Let’s wait by the water fountain on Hall B. We can’t miss her there.”

  “Great idea, but no can do. I’ll be grounded for life if I get another tardy this month. I’ll catch y’all later.” Ian rushed off before I could reply.

  Before we arrived at Hall B, Wes Bevins barreled past us, colliding into my left shoulder. I crashed into Cassidy, who stopped me from hitting the floor.

  “Watch it, Bevins!” Piper yelled from somewhere. I looked around for her, but she was nowhere in sight.

  “Cassidy, do you see her?”

  “I don’t. Do you?”

  I pointed to my face. “Really? Remember, my glasses perished under Mrs. Scott’s heel.”

  “Wow, Zaria. Is your eyesight really that bad?”

  I shook my head. “I’m blind as a bat. It’s like I’m looking from inside a tornado.” Cassidy’s mouth hung open in shock. “Everyone moving around us are like blobs of color. I can barely see you, and you’re standing right beside me.”

  “Wait! There she is.” Cassidy pointed in the other direction.

  I barely spotted Piper’s yellow outfit. “Hey, we’re over here.” I waved to get her attention, but she strolled past us like she and I suddenly shared the same vision problem. “Wow! She’s ghosting us.”

  “Are you surprised? You saw how she acted in Mrs. Scott’s class.”

  “She was a little rude, but . . . Maybe she’s just having a bad day.”

  Cassidy paused and looked at me with her wide, light brown eyes. “A little rude? No, Zaria. That was a lot of rude, and you know it. Don’t make excuses for her.”

  I shook my head. “Come on. We don’t have much time to get to the other side of the building before the bell rings,” I reminded her, picking up my pace. The more we walked and talked, the more confused I felt. Cassidy and I were simply speculating. Trying our best to solve this conundrum, I said, “I really don’t get it. Everything was so cool last week.”

  “I hadn’t talked to Piper since last weekend when she came over to my house, and even then, she seemed pretty stressed out.”

  My eyebrows met in the middle. “Stressed out! From what?” I was definitely missing some details.

  Cassidy stopped in front of the lockers by Mr. Jean’s door. She looked around nervously as students were forced to walk around us.

  “Pinky swear that you won’t repeat a word of this.” Cassidy held out her right pinky finger.

  I quickly wrapped my right pinky around hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze—our Three Wayz pact.

  “We were discussing our test scores for Mrs. Rainey’s class, and out of absolutely nowhere, Piper blurts out that she’s going to drop out of school,” Cassidy revealed.

  My eyes doubled in size. “What! She wants to drop out of the fourth grade? And do what with her life?” I grilled.

  Cassidy’s face practically melted. “Heck if I know,” she said bluntly.

  I placed my hands on my temples and attempted to massage the spots like Mama does sometimes.

  “This is making my pressure rise,” I admitted. Cassidy’s face twisted in confusion. “Your what?”

  “My head pressure.”

  Cassidy stared at me for a long minute. As if she was trying to decide whether to continue with the story or render first aid.

  “So what else happened?” I asked, breaking her daze.

  “Well, uuuhhh . . . oh yeah!” she remembered. “You know how all moms have that creepy superpower hearing?”

  My head bounced in agreement. Cassidy couldn’t spit it out fast enough.

  “My mom was literally on the other side of the house, with her headphones in her ears, and she still overheard Piper’s comment. As soon as Piper left to go home, she said I needed a break from her. Something about her attitude being contagious and not wanting me to catch it.”

  I gasped in disbelief. Someone had cloned my bestie.

  “That’s not the real Piper,” I declared.

  Cassidy shrugged. “She sure looks like the real Piper to me.” She reached into her pocket and whipped out her bubblegum lip balm.

  “Sooooo, I guess that means you aren’t her friend now?”

  Cassidy raised a finger. “I did not say that. I said I’m taking a break. Big difference.”

  I paused to let it all sink in.

  “I have an idea. I’ll write her a note during class.”

  “Your eyes, remember?” Cassidy reminded me right before we entered Mr. Jean’s room. Not even a second later, the bell sounded.

  Ian, Piper, Cassidy, and I always occupied the four desks in the middle of the classroom, but this time, Piper sat in the far back of the class, away from us all.

  “So much for the plan,” I mumbled. I plopped down in my seat, feeling defeated.

  Chapter 3

  My vision wasn’t the most reliable, but it looked like Piper purposely kept her head down to avoid making eye contact with us. As if we were the source of her stress.

  “Piper, class has started. Please make your way to your assigned seat.”

  Mr. Jean turned his back and started scribbling on the whiteboard. When he turned back around to begin teaching the class, he saw that Piper had not moved.

  “Piper, did you—”

  “It’s not like I have any say-so anyway,” Piper interrupted him. “You are the adult, and that’s all that matters. Adults
do whatever they want to do. They never care about our feelings.”

  Yep. If I wasn’t sure before, I am a million percent sure now. Something is up—first, Mrs. Scott’s class, and now, Mr. Jean’s class. My classmates were in shock, and murmurs echoed around the room. Cassidy slumped down in her seat and placed her hands over her face. Talk about being embarrassed. I wanted to vanish.

  Piper finally flopped down next to me and put her head on the desk. Except for the tick-tock of Mr. Jean’s clock, the classroom was silent as we watched him walk over to Piper. It seemed like he walked in slow motion, just like in the movies. I distracted myself from possibly witnessing my best friend in the whole world get into trouble. I stared at the wall maps, timelines, and famous quotes from people that Mr. Jean said helped shape our society. When I heard Mr. Jean talking calmly, I listened to see if I would find out anything.

  “I’m sorry you feel that way, Piper.”

  Mr. Jean must have known something was up too because he took it easy on her.

  “It may not seem like it, but your presence and contribution in this class are just as important as mine. If not for you and the rest of your peers, I wouldn’t be able to teach. Now, can you please help me out by taking out your textbook so we can all begin?”

  “I guess,” Piper mumbled as she wiped away tears with her shirt.

  Mr. Jean lightly touched her shoulder.

  “Thank you, Piper. Today, you have helped me show the class how to work through differences.”

  “If you say so,” she whispered and fumbled through her backpack. I watched her every move.

  As she slowly pulled out her Earth & Science book, I whipped my head around and almost fell out of my desk when I saw it.

  “Is there a problem, Zaria?” Mr. Jean asked.

  There was, but I couldn’t tell our teacher that. My hair swept my shoulders as I shook my head.

  “No, sir.”

  So many questions popped into my head with every passing second, and I needed answers. From the looks of it, my bestie was a smart-mouthed thief. The paper that Mrs. Scott held in the air and banned us from touching was in Piper’s backpack. Now I knew what was taking Piper so long to leave art class. She was plotting her getaway.