It was amazing how she could smile the entire time she was talking as if her cheerfulness could will the kindergartners to behave.
3.When I announced the title of our story, one skinny kid in the back yelled, “I have that book!”
Then the girl sitting next to him said, “You do not!”
Then the boy punched her in the arm.
“Stanford, we do not hit. Especially girls,” the teacher said, separating them.
I looked at Gabby, wondering if we’d made a big mistake volunteering to do this.
4.Finally, the teacher calmed everyone down again, and we started the story.
5.The kids gasped and laughed in all the right places. And when we said, “The end,” they clapped and cheered and yelled, “Tell it again! Tell it again!”
Four Things That Happened in the Hallway outside the Kindergarten Room after Our First Story Time
1.Gabby and I hugged each other and jumped up and down. I never knew it would be so much fun to tell a story to little kids. I shouldn’t really have been surprised because it kind of reminded me how much I loved babysitting—I guess I hadn’t realized how much I missed it.
2.As we hurried to our lockers so we wouldn’t be late for first period, I heard someone call out, “Hey, Abigail!”
It was AlliCam. They were standing by the drinking fountain outside the library.
“You’re not going to believe this!” they said, sprinting toward me. “Guess what we just found out in homeroom?”
3.When they got to where Gabby and I were standing, they each grabbed one of my arms.
“Alicia Brenton broke her leg last night at gymnastics class,” Cami said.
“Jackie told us that her sister Janay, who’s friends with Alicia’s sister, said that Alicia’s probably out for the rest of the season,” Alli continued in a rush.
“You know what that means?!” Cami asked.
“You’re a pom-pom girl!” they both squealed, jumping up and down.
4.At first I only jumped along with them because they were still squeezing my arms. But as their excitement pumped through my body, the words sunk in: “You’re a pom-pom girl!”
I was a pom-pom girl! For real. This was it! I wasn’t an alternate anymore. My dream had come true!
Three Things That Happened after Mrs. Landers, the Librarian, Stuck Her Head Out in the Hallway and Told Us All to Be Quiet
1.Gabby said, “Congratulations, Abigail.”
2.AlliCam rolled their eyes.
3.I cleared my throat and felt a Gabby Guilt migraine coming on.
Eight Reasons I Couldn’t Fall Asleep That Night
1.I practiced each pom-pom routine in the bathroom in front of the mirror exactly six times, which is exactly half of the number of times that my mom yelled at me to turn down the music and get to bed.
By the time I actually did get into bed, my heart was pounding faster than the beat of the music. I was wired.
2.So I got out of bed and tried on my pom-pom uniform again. I had picked it up from Ms. Jenson’s office immediately after finding out about Alicia. I couldn’t believe how great it felt standing in front of the mirror looking at myself in that uniform.
But while I was admiring myself, I heard my mom coming upstairs to check on me, so I switched out the light, jumped into bed with my uniform on, and pulled up the covers. By the time she peeked in, I lay in bed with my eyes closed, breathing hard, since I had just done the ten-yard dash into bed. It looked like I’d been asleep for hours.
3.Once my mom left, I got up and practiced my smile in the dresser mirror. I wanted it to be perfect for the pom squad yearbook photo.
4.Finally, when my cheeks were tired from all that smiling, I took off my uniform and put on my pj’s again. By this time, I was more wide awake than a rooster at five a.m.
5.That’s when the headache that had started earlier that day in the hallway at school came back in full force. My head hurt so bad it felt like that five a.m. rooster was inside my brain trying to peck its way out.
6.Every time I closed my eyes, I saw myself jumping up and down in the hallway. Sometimes I was jumping up and down with Gabby. Sometimes I was jumping up and down with AlliCam.
7.One thing I was worried about. Now that I would officially be a pom, would J&M be nicer to me?
8.Every time I opened my eyes, I looked at my alarm clock. Each minute that blinked by was closer to seven a.m., when my alarm would go off. Each minute closer to seven a.m. made me feel further and further away from sleep.
The Note I Found on the Kitchen Counter the Next Morning
Hey Abs,
Congrats about poms!
There’s a celebration doughnut in your lunch.
Love,
Dad
Ten Things AlliCam and I Talked About on the Bus
1.How exciting it was that I was finally a real pom-pom girl!
2.Ditto
3.Ditto
4.Ditto
5.Ditto
6.Ditto
7.Ditto
8.Ditto
9.Ditto
10.Ditto
The Announcement That Came over the Loudspeaker before Homeroom Began
“Ms. Jenson’s out sick, so pom squad practice is canceled for today.”
My DESTINY would be delayed one more day.
The Thank-You Note from Mrs. Carwell, Which Old Hawk Read Out Loud in Homeroom
Dear Gabby and Abigail,
Thank you so much for coming to our class. The children have not stopped talking about you. One of them asked me if you two are Dr. Seuss’s kids.
One Thing Jackson Dawber Whispered to Brent While Old Hawk Was Reading the Letter
(Of course his whisper was loud enough for a few kids nearby to hear, but not quite loud enough for Old Hawk to hear.)
“Dr. Seuss maybe. Dr. Stupid for sure.”
If I hadn’t been so tired, I would have punched him, but I barely had the strength to get mad about it.
One Thing Old Hawk Asked before Continuing to Read the Letter
“Is there something you would like to share with the rest of the class, Mr. Dawber?”
The Rest of the Letter from Mrs. Carwell
The boys and girls drew pictures to thank you for spending time with us. We do hope you will come back soon.
Love,
Mrs. Carwell’s Kindergarten Class
The Thing Gabby and I Did after Homeroom
We looked at all the pictures the kindergartners had made for us. Some were of me in my Sam I Am hat, holding up the plate of green eggs and ham. Some were of Gabby in her hat, scrunching up her face, getting ready to eat the green eggs and ham. And some were pictures that didn’t have anything to do with Green Eggs and Ham. But they were all cute! And they were for us!
The Thing That Happened While We Were Looking at the Pictures from the Kindergartners
Other kids leaving homeroom tried to look over our shoulders to see what the pictures looked like. And I knew no matter what Jackson Dawber or anyone else said, they were wishing the pictures were for them. I could just feel it. It was the same feeling I’d had when I thought I’d made captain of the pom squad.
Something I Said to Gabby While Waiting for Algebra to Start
“I want to show these pictures to my mom and dad.”
Two Things I Thought About after I Said It
1.Gabby didn’t have a mom to show them to.
2.Did she have a dad?
Something Gabby Said after That
“Yeah, I think I’ll ask Old Hawk to make copies so I can send them to my dad.”
The One Question I Wanted to Ask Gabby, but Didn’t
Where is your dad anyway?
The Reason I Didn’t Ask Gabby about Her Dad
Whatever the answer was, I w
as worried that it would somehow make me feel even more guilty.
Things to Do
1.Ask Old Hawk if I could take a few of her picture books home.
2.Read the picture books tonight and find another good one for Gabby and me to read to the kindergartners.
One Thing I Said at Dinner before My Dad Even Had a Chance to Ask If Anything Interesting Happened
“Wait ’til I show you the cute thank-you notes the kindergarten kids gave Gabby and me.”
Two Things My Brother Said
1.“Are you talking about Gabby Marco?”
2.“Didn’t her brother drop out of school to become a lumberjack or something?”
The Thing I Said That Sort of Surprised Me
(Actually the Way I Said It Is What Surprised Me)
“He’s a tree climber, and it’s superdangerous. And for your information, he had to quit school to take care of Gabby.”
The Only Thing My Neanderthal Brother Said Before Stuffing an Entire Dinner Roll inTO His Mouth
“Cool.”
The List of Books I Showed Gabby the Next Day that We Could Maybe Use for Our Next Storytelling with the Kindergartners
1.Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
2.Stone Soup
3.Miss Nelson Is Missing!
4.Abiyoyo
5.Jack and the Beanstalk
Three Things I’ll Always Remember about My First Practice as a Real Pom-Pom Girl
1.The minute I walked into the gym, AlliCam and J&M saluted me with the secret wave. Then they ran to me screaming, surrounding me with their pom-poms, and I knew right then that I was NOT an alternate anymore. And when Jackie put my very own “POMS FOREVER” T-shirt over my head, I felt like I’d just been crowned Miss America.
2.Jackie liked my idea for the ending pose of our second routine, and since she was the squad’s captain, she said we’d probably use it at our next game.
3.The whole basketball team walked through our practice on the way outside to run laps. I swear Kip Thompson winked at me. I almost passed out.
All my pom-pom dreams were coming true.
The Note I Found on the Floor the Next Day in the Hallway outside AlliCam’s Locker When I Stopped by to Leave Them a Note
AlliCam,
What’s with Abigail and Gabby? They aren’t friends, are they? Doesn’t she know she’s part of the Fab Five now?
Poms Forever,
J&M
The One Thing I Wanted to Do but Didn’t Do after Reading the Note
Cry.
The One Thing I Did Do after Reading the Note
Crumpled up the note that I’d planned to leave in AlliCam’s locker and threw it away.
It said:
AlliCam,
Poms for real is even better than I dreamed, and J&M are soooo great!
SPF,
Abigail
The Thing That Happened the Next Afternoon at Practice
The fire alarm went off. Ms. Jenson filed us out into the parking lot. The fire department showed up. Right away they said it wasn’t anything serious. A small fire in the faculty bathroom, which made sense, since we saw smoke coming out of the window. They said we wouldn’t be getting back into the building anytime soon. Ms. Jenson decided to have us practice out in the field, but when she realized Jackie and Alli couldn’t stop drooling over the cute firemen, she decided to cancel practice. I was glad. I couldn’t concentrate anyway.
All I could think about was Gabby. Were we friends?
All I could think about was the Fab Five. Were we friends?
All I could think about was poms. Was this the way it was supposed to be?
What We Found Out the Next Day about the Fire
A stink bomb had started the fire. Mr. Buckley found out it was Jackson who lit it. It was his own dumb fault he got caught because he left an extra stink bomb in his locker. It was out in plain view when Old Hawk had us do our weekly locker cleanup. Now Jackson’s in HUGE trouble. Besides an in-school suspension, Mr. Buckley is making Jackson earn twice as many service points by the end of the school year. Looks like Jackson will be putting down his highlighter-microphone and picking up a broom, a shovel, and a trash bag full of litter. Worse than that. If he doesn’t watch it, come summertime, he’ll be packing his bags for bad-boy boot camp just like his brother did last summer.
Five Things That Happened in the Next Few Days that Made It So Great to Be Part of the Fab Five
1.I got to do the “secret wave” in the hallway with all the other poms, even the seventh- and eighth-graders.
2.I was finally part of the inside jokes and pom-pom politics with AlliCam.
3.Maddie Jacobson, a seventh-grade pom, told me she loved my gym bag, and now she has one just like it.
4.Kip Thompson said hi to me in the hall exactly three times and smiled at me in the cafeteria.
5.We have a game on Friday, and I get to wear my uniform to school. I CAN’T WAIT!!!
The Note from Ms. Jenson That Reminded Me Even More Just How Great It Was to Be a Pom
Dear Sixth-Grade Pom Squad,
Yearbook photos will be taken two weeks from Saturday. We will meet in the main gym that morning at 11. Be prompt and be sure both you and your uniform are at their best.
Ms. Jenson
One Reason Ms. Jenson Didn’t Need to Remind Us to Be Prompt and Prepared for the Pom Squad Yearbook Photo
Being in the pom squad yearbook photo was one of the BEST parts about being a pom. None of us would ever be late.
One Awesome Thing AlliCam Said When We Got the Note about the Yearbook Photo
“Abigail’s the Queen of Lists! Let’s have her write a to do list for our pom squad photo shoot.”
Our Pom Squad Photo Shoot To Do List
1.The day before the photo shoot, meet at Jackie’s house for manicures.
2.The morning of the photo shoot, meet at McKenzie’s at 6 a.m. to get ready.
3.Take turns doing each other’s hair.
4.Take turns doing each other’s makeup.
5.Put on uniforms.
6.Head over to school by 10:30.
One Thing That Happened That Ruined All Those Good Things
Gabby and I had switched our practice time to before school so I could go to poms after school. But on Thursday, Gabby couldn’t come before school, so we had to do a quick run-through of our latest story for the kindergartners before I went to poms.
I had thought about telling Gabby to forget the whole reading thing, but I knew if I did that, my Gabby Guilt might turn into a permanent pain in the neck that might just last the rest of my life. Besides, I could only imagine the speech I’d get from Old Hawk if I backed out now. I decided it was just easier to stick with it, but that was before Jackie brought it up in front of the whole squad.
When I got to practice, Jackie asked Ms. Jenson in front of everyone, “Won’t it be a conflict for Abigail to be on poms and be a little storyteller for the kindergartners?”
Thankfully, Ms. Jenson basically told her to mind her own business. She really said, “I’m sure Abigail and I can work that out.”
But as soon as Ms. Jenson went to check on the seventh- and eighth-grade squads, Alli whispered to McKenzie, “Gab-Agail, Gab-Agail, tell me your tale.”
One Thing That Made the Cafeteria’s Tuna Casserole Taste Like the Best Lunch I’d Ever Eaten
It was Friday, game day, and I was feeling great in my pom uniform. I didn’t think it was possible, but I was about to feel even better.
After I paid for my lunch, I headed toward my usual spot next to Jeannie and Marcy. This is when my life changed in an instant. I looked up to see Kip waving me over to sit by him.
At first, I thought he must be waving at someone else, but when he smiled that cute, dimpled smile, there was no mistaking it. He was smiling at me.
<
br /> I was so nervous, I don’t know how I even walked all the way to his table without dropping my tray or tripping or something. I sat down across the table from him, acting as casual as I could, but it wasn’t easy because inside my head I was screaming, “I’M EATING LUNCH WITH KIP THOMPSON!!! HOW CAN THIS BE HAPPENING??!! WAIT ’TIL I TELL ALLICAM!!”
Kip didn’t talk much. I talked even less. I’d been so busy being geeked about Kip liking me, I’d never even thought about what I might say to him if I actually had the chance to talk to him.
But it was still the best school lunch I’d ever tasted.
The Note I Wrote to AlliCam Right after Lunch
Dear AlliCam,
Question of the day:
Which pom-pom girl just ate tuna casserole in the cafeteria with the Kip Thompson?
You get one guess.
Give up?
ME!! ME!! ME!!
Can you believe it?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SPF,
Always, Abigail Page 8
