Read Online Drat! You Copycat! by Nancy Krulik - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Nancy Krulik
Ads: Link
over the classroom doorway. “It’s time for lunch,” she said finally. “Let’s line up.”
“All right!” shouted Kevin. “Tomato time!”
“What’s he talking about?” Becky asked softly, as she walked over to where Katie and Suzanne were standing.
Katie grinned. “You’ll see,” she said. “Lunchtime is always tomato time for Kevin.”
Becky forced a nervous smile to her lips. “Thanks for saying you’d be my buddy this week,” she said in her thick Southern accent. “I hope I’m not getting in the way of anything y’all wanted to do.”
Suzanne glanced over at the two double-Dutch jump ropes Miriam was carrying down to the lunchroom for recess. “Well, as a matter of fact ...” she began.
But Katie didn’t let Suzanne finish. She knew whatever Suzanne said would hurt Becky’s feelings. Suzanne sometimes said mean things. It wasn’t that Suzanne wasn’t nice. She just didn’t always think before she spoke.
Becky hadn’t had a chance to see Suzanne’s good side—the side of her that was fun and exciting, and made you feel important just because you were her friend. Katie wanted Becky to know that Suzanne was really a good person.
“She’s just kidding,” Katie assured Becky. “We can all play together. Suzanne’s great at coming up with fun stuff to do.”
Suzanne glared at Katie.
Katie ignored her.
“Come on,” Katie urged Becky. “Let’s go to the cafeteria. I want to get there before all the chocolate pudding is gone.”
Chapter 2
Katie showed Becky where the lunch line was in the cafeteria. She helped her get a tray and pick out her food.
Once the girls paid for their lunches, they carried their trays over to a table near the windows. Suzanne was already sitting there with Miriam Chan, Mandy Banks, and some of the other kids in class 3A .
Becky took a seat beside Katie. She smiled at Suzanne. Suzanne barely even glanced in Becky’s direction. Instead she opened her pink and purple lunch bag. Inside was a small plastic container. Suzanne tore off the lid and showed everyone a strange-looking mix of rice, lentil beans, and tomato sauce.
Manny Gonzalez looked across the table at Suzanne’s lunch. “Ooh! Gross!” he shouted. He made a grunting noise. “I think I’m gonna puke!”
Suzanne rolled her eyes. “That shows what you know. This is kosheri. It’s a recipe from Egypt. I’ll bet Cleopatra ate it.”
“Oh no, here we go again,” Manny moaned.
Becky looked curiously at Katie.
“Suzanne is crazy about Cleopatra,” Katie explained to her.
“It’s all she’s talked about for the past two weeks,” Manny said.
“That’s better than last month, when all she talked about was that artist, Vincent van Gogh,” Mandy told Becky.
“She kept telling us how he chopped his ear off,” Katie said. “Yuck.”
“You’re lucky. Hearing about Cleopatra’s better than that,” Mandy assured Becky.
“Cleopatra was better than anyone,” Suzanne insisted. “She was the most powerful woman in ancient Egypt. She was ...”
“The Queen of the Nile,” Katie, Miriam, Mandy, and Manny all finished her sentence for her. They’d heard Suzanne give the same Cleopatra speech about a gazillion times in the past two weeks.
“Well, I don’t care who ate that stuff. It’s gross,” Manny said. “It looks like something George would do with his food.”
Katie looked over at George. He’d already begun mixing his spaghetti into his chocolate pudding. George always made a mess of his food. Then he’d wait for someone to dare him to eat it—which he always did.
George cracked Katie up. He told the best jokes. Nothing was too wild or too weird for him to try.
George had also been the one to give Katie her nickname, Katie Kazoo. It sounded a lot like Katie Carew, only cooler. Katie loved it!
Just then, Kevin and Jeremy came over to the table. Kevin’s tray was stacked high with tomatoes—round cherry tomatoes, small grape tomatoes, and thick, beefy
“All right!” shouted Kevin. “Tomato time!”
“What’s he talking about?” Becky asked softly, as she walked over to where Katie and Suzanne were standing.
Katie grinned. “You’ll see,” she said. “Lunchtime is always tomato time for Kevin.”
Becky forced a nervous smile to her lips. “Thanks for saying you’d be my buddy this week,” she said in her thick Southern accent. “I hope I’m not getting in the way of anything y’all wanted to do.”
Suzanne glanced over at the two double-Dutch jump ropes Miriam was carrying down to the lunchroom for recess. “Well, as a matter of fact ...” she began.
But Katie didn’t let Suzanne finish. She knew whatever Suzanne said would hurt Becky’s feelings. Suzanne sometimes said mean things. It wasn’t that Suzanne wasn’t nice. She just didn’t always think before she spoke.
Becky hadn’t had a chance to see Suzanne’s good side—the side of her that was fun and exciting, and made you feel important just because you were her friend. Katie wanted Becky to know that Suzanne was really a good person.
“She’s just kidding,” Katie assured Becky. “We can all play together. Suzanne’s great at coming up with fun stuff to do.”
Suzanne glared at Katie.
Katie ignored her.
“Come on,” Katie urged Becky. “Let’s go to the cafeteria. I want to get there before all the chocolate pudding is gone.”
Chapter 2
Katie showed Becky where the lunch line was in the cafeteria. She helped her get a tray and pick out her food.
Once the girls paid for their lunches, they carried their trays over to a table near the windows. Suzanne was already sitting there with Miriam Chan, Mandy Banks, and some of the other kids in class 3A .
Becky took a seat beside Katie. She smiled at Suzanne. Suzanne barely even glanced in Becky’s direction. Instead she opened her pink and purple lunch bag. Inside was a small plastic container. Suzanne tore off the lid and showed everyone a strange-looking mix of rice, lentil beans, and tomato sauce.
Manny Gonzalez looked across the table at Suzanne’s lunch. “Ooh! Gross!” he shouted. He made a grunting noise. “I think I’m gonna puke!”
Suzanne rolled her eyes. “That shows what you know. This is kosheri. It’s a recipe from Egypt. I’ll bet Cleopatra ate it.”
“Oh no, here we go again,” Manny moaned.
Becky looked curiously at Katie.
“Suzanne is crazy about Cleopatra,” Katie explained to her.
“It’s all she’s talked about for the past two weeks,” Manny said.
“That’s better than last month, when all she talked about was that artist, Vincent van Gogh,” Mandy told Becky.
“She kept telling us how he chopped his ear off,” Katie said. “Yuck.”
“You’re lucky. Hearing about Cleopatra’s better than that,” Mandy assured Becky.
“Cleopatra was better than anyone,” Suzanne insisted. “She was the most powerful woman in ancient Egypt. She was ...”
“The Queen of the Nile,” Katie, Miriam, Mandy, and Manny all finished her sentence for her. They’d heard Suzanne give the same Cleopatra speech about a gazillion times in the past two weeks.
“Well, I don’t care who ate that stuff. It’s gross,” Manny said. “It looks like something George would do with his food.”
Katie looked over at George. He’d already begun mixing his spaghetti into his chocolate pudding. George always made a mess of his food. Then he’d wait for someone to dare him to eat it—which he always did.
George cracked Katie up. He told the best jokes. Nothing was too wild or too weird for him to try.
George had also been the one to give Katie her nickname, Katie Kazoo. It sounded a lot like Katie Carew, only cooler. Katie loved it!
Just then, Kevin and Jeremy came over to the table. Kevin’s tray was stacked high with tomatoes—round cherry tomatoes, small grape tomatoes, and thick, beefy
Similar Books
