Mae and June and the Wonder Wheel

by Charise Mericle Harper

  “Read READ ME FIRST!” whispers Sammy. That sounds funny—​I almost laugh out loud, but then I stop myself. We definitely and absolutely can’t make any noise. If Isabella wakes up before her normal time, we’re in trouble. She’s scary in the mornings.

  I open the note and read it to Sammy.

  WONDER WHEEL INSTRUCTIONS

  Number one—​Use your chalk to divide the wheel into six slices.

  There’s a picture of a circle with three lines on it. I’ve never thought about it before, but three lines makes six slices.

  Sammy licks his lips. “It looks like a pizza! Let’s have pizza for breakfast.”

  I shake my head. “It’s pancake day.” He licks again. Mom always makes him one too. I point to the note. There’s a lot to read.

  Number two—​Here are the words for each slice. Write them on the wheel.

  Questions

  Animal

  Dance/Spin Again

  Hand

  Poem

  Collection

  Number three—​Spin the wheel. The rubber flipper will stop on a slice with a word in it. Go to the Word Guide envelope. Inside you will find a note with that word on it. These will be your instructions for the day.

  Number four—​Each day before you spin, be sure to erase the word that you landed on the day before. And also erase one of the lines on the side of that slice. This way your empty slice will join another slice. Don’t worry, some slices will be bigger than others.

  Number five—​Spin and erase every day until you’re done.

  Exception—​Dance/Spin Again never gets erased.

  Sammy runs over to the wheel. I pick out a piece of chalk and follow him. His tail’s wagging super fast. If I had a tail, it would be wagging like crazy too.

  It takes a while to set up the wheel. It’s not easy to draw a straight line on a wheel that moves, and Sammy wants every slice to be exactly even. He whispers out comments—​too squiggly, too skinny, too chunky, too curvy. These are not the kind of words that make a person feel good about their drawing, but when I’m finally done he says, “Perfect.” And I feel better. Writing the words is easier and faster. I step back to look. The Wonder Wheel is beautiful.

  “Spin it!” says Sammy.

  I grab the wheel and pull down. We dance to the tackitys, until the wheel slows down, and then we stop and watch. This is the important part. Which slice will win? Tackity, tackity, tack. It’s ANIMAL!

  Sammy spins in a circle. “I pick squirrels. They’re fun to chase.”

  I look through the Word Guide envelope, find the animal note, and read it.

  ANIMAL

  Pick an animal you admire. This will be your spirit animal for the day. Today you will try to act like your animal.

  Example: If you picked lion, you will try to be fierce and brave.

  Remember, use your animal to help you. Think . . . What would a your animal name here do?

  PS. You do not have to walk like, talk like, or eat the favorite food of your animal. Have fun!

  Sammy nudges my arm. “Can I be your spirit animal?”

  I rub his ears. “What about squirrels?”

  Sammy shakes his head. “Admire and fun to chase are different things. Admire is a lot more important.”

  I hug Sammy and whisper in his ear. “Okay, it’s you!”

  Sammy bounces on the bed while I look in my closet. A special day needs a special outfit. When I’m done, I have on my I LOVE DOGS sweatshirt, a pair of dog knee socks, a dancing dog skirt, and my dog heart jewelry. That’s a lot of dog stuff to wear at once. Sammy gives me a paws-up and barks three times. That’s his I-like-it bark. It’s a big compliment.

  Not everyone likes my outfit as much as Sammy. As soon as I walk into the kitchen, Isabella scrunches up her nose.

  “You’re wearing that?”

  I get ready for more questions, but she doesn’t ask any—​her mouth’s too full of pancake. Isabella’s a big complainer on Monday mornings. She doesn’t like going back to school, but Mom is smart. She knows that a full mouth is a quiet mouth. Sammy’s pancake is gone in two seconds. It’s bad planning, because now he has to watch me eat mine, and I don’t share pancakes, even if he drools.

  After breakfast I get ready for school, then give Sammy an extra-big hug before I leave. He watches me from the living room window and I wave from the sidewalk. Suddenly he’s barking. Why? I look around, and then I see what he sees. The new girl’s across the street, with her dad, walking in the same direction as me. She’s going to my school!

  At the corner, I speed up and cross the street. Then, I sneak up on them, just like Sammy does with squirrels. Now I can hear what they’re saying. The new girl’s nervous.

  Her dad holds her hand. “It’s okay. You’ll find a new friend.”

  I smile. The new friend might be me.

  For the whole rest of the way, they are quiet. As soon as we get to the playground, the bell rings and I have to run past them. If you’re in Mrs. Warble’s class, you do not want to be late.

  Olivia is standing at Mrs. Warble’s desk, but that’s not unusual. She gets into trouble a lot, and usually it’s for arguing with Steven, her twin brother. They are not the kind of twins that are alike. Olivia is bossy and smart and Steven is not those things, except he could be smart, but it’s hard to tell, because he likes making up bad jokes more than he likes giving right answers. I look for Steven. He’s in his seat, smiling. When one of them is in trouble, the other one’s always super happy.

  I sit down and take out my books, but then I feel something. Eyes are like that—​sometimes you can feel them working, even if they belong to someone else. I look up. April is staring straight at me. She points to her shirt. It has kittens on it. They’re cute. I smile. She leans forward to talk. Maybe she likes my shirt too.

  She points and sneers. “Cats are better than dogs.”

  My brain’s surprised. Too surprised to make words.

  Suddenly someone’s next to me, leaning on my desk. “No way! Dogs are better!”

  It’s Steven, from two seats over. Where’s Jennifer? She’s supposed to sit in between us.

  Steven holds up his hand. “High-five for dogs!”

  I look back at April. She’s smiling her I’m-so-smart smile. I don’t like that smile. It makes me feel like a volcano. A volcano that wants to explode! I high-five Steven’s hand, and then I growl, just like Sammy does when he’s mad.

  “GRRRR!” Steven growls too.

  April looks surprised, but then she flips her hair and ignores us. She opens her pencil case and takes out her pencils. She has a collection.

  I cover my mouth. I can’t believe it! I just growled at April. That spirit animal stuff is a lot stronger than I thought it would be. And then a few minutes later, everyone in the whole class is talking about cats and dogs!

  Mrs. Warble surprises us. Instead of getting mad she says, “Charts can help with math. Let’s make a pet popularity chart.”

  “Petularity chart,” says Steven.

  He thinks that’s funny, putting words together. He’s wrong.

  When we’re done, there are fifteen Xs in the cat column, eleven Xs in the dog column, and one X in the rabbit column—​Olivia likes to be different.

  April is smiling. I know why. She’s happy that the cat side has more Xs. I decide not to look at her for the whole rest of the day, but then I have to, because suddenly she’s shouting.

  “LOOK! Another X!” She points to the door.

  Mr. Flint, our principal, is walking in, but he’s not the X. It’s the girl next to him. The new girl, and right on the front of her shirt is a smiling cat.

  Mrs. Warble puts the new girl in the empty seat next to me. Her name is Mae. Now I’m glad that Jennifer’s away. This is the perfect way for us to become friends. I sneak a peek. Mae looks nervous. I need to say the exact right thing to make her feel better. But before I can think of it, April starts talking to her.

  “Cats are the cutest.
Look!” She holds out her shirt. “Plus, guess what? I’m April. Get it? April and Mae.”

  Mae smiles. April grins and points.

  “You can have lunch with me and Ava. That’s her over there. We have a cat club.”

  Ava waves from the table behind April. She’s April’s best friend. They do everything together. Mae waves back.

  What is she talking about? “CAT CLUB! WHAT CAT CLUB?” I only mean to think the words, but by accident, my mouth says them out loud. Now Mae is looking at me.

  I smile. “I’m June.”

  Mae looks back and forth, like she can’t believe it. “April, Mae, and June?”

  April glares at me. “Forget June—​she’s in the dog club.”

  “Dog club rules!” Steven high-fives the air, but then pulls down his arm and rubs it, an eraser bouncing off his desk onto the floor. Olivia snort-laughs from the table behind us. She scored a perfect hit, right in the arm. Steven scrunches up a piece of paper and throws it. Olivia yelps. I know what’s coming next. TROUBLE!

  April shakes her head. “Dog people are crazy. Here.” She rolls a pencil across the table to Mae. “It’s from my collection. You can have it.”

  Mae picks it up, smiles, and says thank you. I can tell already. She likes April.

  Mrs. Warble stomps past us. She has triangle arms. That’s how you can tell if she’s mad. She takes Steven and Olivia out into the hallway. No one’s surprised.

  I want to say something to Mae—​something that will make her like me. I think of my spirit animal. What would Sammy do? But instead of an answer, I just feel like a sad dog. I look down at my desk. If I had a tail, it would definitely not be wagging.

  April always sits at the end of the lunch table. Today, Mae’s there too. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but they’re laughing and smiling. Are they talking about cats? Are they making fun of dogs?

  I’m sitting next to Leni and Jules. We eat together, and play together at recess, but we’re not the kind of friends who go to each other’s houses.

  “Why . . .” asks Jules. And then she takes a giant bite of her sandwich. Now we have to wait until she’s done chewing to find out more.

  Jules swallows and points at me. “. . . are you wearing so much dog stuff?”

  “Oh.” Leni waves her hand. “Is it okay that I’m a cat person?”

  I nod. “I like cats.”

  “Really?” Leni’s surprised. “But you look so doggy.”

  Now I’m embarrassed. Does everyone think I look strange? Dog day is harder than I thought it would be. What would a dog do? Run away? Hide? And then I think about Sammy. Sammy would not run off. Sammy would be excited. Sammy would shout, “YAY FOR DOG DAY!” And then he’d bounce around the room and his energy would make everyone love Dog Day as much as him.

  I look around. I’m not going to shout and bounce in the lunchroom. Can I be like Sammy from here? From my chair?

  I count to five and then do it. “Today’s dog day. I made up a day, for my dog. For fun!”

  Jules and Leni are quiet, and then Leni nods. “I get it. That is kind of fun.”

  Jules slams her hands on the table. She’s smiling. “What if we make up a day too! Tomorrow can be . . .”

  “CRAZY HAIR DAY!” shouts Leni. “We can wear crazy hairstyles!” She fluffs her hair.

  And then we are talking and laughing so much, that I almost forget about April and Mae. When I sneak a look, they are watching us, but only Mae is smiling.

  “We’ll spread the word at recess!” shouts Jules.

  Leni’s super excited. “Everyone will want to do it!”

  I smile and nod, but I’m not so sure about the everyone part.

  When I get home, Sammy and I roll around on the floor and I tell him about my day.

  He’s surprised about Mae—​“WOW! You got to meet her!”

  Now he’s extra excited. He jumps up and runs down the hall. I pull off my sock, roll it into a ball, and throw it. He catches it and brings it back. While we play, he asks me questions I can’t answer.

  “Does Mae have the three Fs? Does Mae like bones? Does Mae like dogs?”

  I shrug and he looks disappointed. I am too. I’ll try harder tomorrow.

  I save the best news for last, when we’re bouncing on my bed. “Guess what?”

  Sammy tries, but all of his guesses are about bones, so finally I just tell him.

  “Because of be-like-a-dog day, my friends invented crazy hair day!”

  “CRAZY HAIR DAY!” shouts Sammy, and he bounces extra high. We bounce and shout a hundred times and then stop. Resting feels good.

  Sammy has a question. “What’s crazy hair day?”

  I hold up my hair. “A day for funny hairstyles.”

  Sammy nods. “That’s not as fun, but probably safer than hair going crazy.”

  I try to imagine Sammy’s thinking. It’s funny, but scary, too.

  At dinner, I tell everyone about the wheel, and dog day, and crazy hair day.

  “That Grandma Penny,” says Mom.

  “She’s full of ideas,” says Dad.

  Isabella shakes her head. “I’m glad I didn’t get a wheel. Being me is hard enough. I don’t need extra projects.”

  After dinner, Isabella comes to my room. She stands in the doorway. “Do you want me to do your hair for you?”

  I’m surprised. That sounds exactly like an extra project. But I don’t say anything. I just nod.

  Isabella points to my clock. “You’ll have to get up early. Crazy hair takes longer than regular hair.”

  I want to jump and twirl, but instead I only say thank you. Teenagers are tricky. Too much happiness could make her change her mind.

  Sammy wakes me up. He’s filled with energy. He spins in a circle four times then runs to the wheel. “Woodpeckers! Spin it fast!”

  I pull down. I’m still tired. Tack-ity. Tack-ity. Tack-ity. It’s a slow spin. A minute later the wheel stops, right on QUESTIONS.

  I find the note and read it.

  QUESTIONS

  Asking questions is a good way to get to know people and make them feel good. Pick three people who are not family members or close friends. Ask them these two questions.

  What is the best thing that has happened to you this week?

  What is the worst thing that has happened to you this week?

  Have fun!

  Picking my own best and worst is easy. My best is meeting Mae and my worst is April being friends with her. That’s not a fun thing to think about first thing in the morning.

  “LET’S GO!”

  The words surprise me. It’s Isabella.

  When we get to her room, she points to her chair. “SIT!”

  Isabella’s bossy, even first thing in the morning. Sammy and I both sit—​me in the chair and Sammy on the floor. Dogs aren’t allowed on her bed.

  Isabella brushes my hair. “How about a crazy cute hairstyle, instead of just a crazy one?”

  I nod.

  “Keep still.” She pokes me with the brush.

  It’s hard to sit and do nothing, so I tell her about Mae.

  Isabella talks too. “I’ve seen the brother. He’s in my French class. His name’s Rocket.”

  I want to ask questions, but I can’t open my mouth. She’s spraying my head with hair spray and it tastes terrible. I close my eyes and hold my breath.

  She pokes me again. “Done.”

  When I open my eyes, she’s holding a mirror. I look. There are two little triangle braids right on the top of my head. They look like ears.

  “Squirrel ears,” says Isabella. She points the hairbrush at Sammy. “For you and your friend.”

  “SQUIRRELS?” Sammy runs to the window.

  I love my hair! And then I do something I can’t help. I give Isabella a giant hug. And, SURPRISE! She hugs me back.

  I run all the way to school. I want to see Mae’s hair and ask her the Wonder Wheel questions. Jules is waiting for me in the playground. She has braids—​eight of
them. When she shakes her head, they swing up into the air like octopus legs. She likes my hair even after I tell her they aren’t cat ears.

  Jules shakes her head. “Cat ears and squirrel ears kind of look the same.”

  When we get to class, Mae is standing at Mrs. Warble’s desk. She has a giant circle braid on the very top of her head. I go over to talk to her, but Mrs. Warble stops me.

  She points to my table, “June, your seat, please.”

  And then I see Jennifer. She’s back and sitting in her chair! Now Mae can’t be next to me anymore. I slump in my seat. This day is not staying happy.

  Jennifer’s sad too. “I didn’t know about crazy hair day. I didn’t get to do it.”

  I look across at April. Her hairstyle is almost the same as Mae’s. The only difference is, April has a bird right in the middle of her braid. It makes it look like a nest. Does Mae have a bird? Did I miss it? I turn to look, but someone pokes me in the arm. It’s Steven.

  “Why do you have cat ears?”

  “I don’t. They’re squirrel ears!”

  He’s leaning in front of Jennifer. She looks squished and mad. She grunts and pushes him away. I know what comes next—​TROUBLE! Steven likes trouble, so before he can do anything, I ask him the Wonder Wheel questions.