belly pressed against it. It almost seemed as if he was waving at her. She waved back and made a mental note to bring in some freshly picked grass tomorrow.
“As you can see, class, the tickets have returned,” Mr. Bishop said the moment the bell had rung. “It must have been magic.”
B gulped. If only he knew! But she was grateful he hadn’t told the class
who
brought them back.
Mr. Bishop went on, waving his list in the air. “Now it’s time to start. Line up in front. Did everyone study? Eat a good breakfast? Ready to show us what you can do with words?” His eyes met B’s as he spoke. He’d never believe it if he knew….
They lined up in the front of the room. B frowned at the paper in Mr. Bishop’s hands. Another printout of the spelling list. Out of the corner ofher eye, she saw Jason eyeing it, too, struggling to suppress a cocky grin.
Darn that Jason! B refused to give up. What good was magic if she couldn’t …
Holy cats! Why didn’t she think of it sooner?
There
was
something B could do.
“C-H-A-N-G-E,” she whispered, staring at the paper and praying that it wouldn’t change into a walrus.
The paper remained a paper. Mr. Bishop watched her, the tip of his beard twitching. Maybe he’d overheard her spelling and thought she was practicing for the competition.
He looked back at the paper, blinked, and scratched his head. “This is strange,” he said. “I seem to have printed the wrong spelling list.” He glanced at B, then back at the list. “Never mind. These words will do just fine.”
“Uh … we can wait, Mr. Bishop,” Jason said. “Why don’t you go ahead and find the first draft? We’re not going anywhere.”
George leaned forward and turned to see B, his eyebrows wagging. Of course, he couldn’t know Bhad changed the list magically, but he knew this was bad news for Jason!
Mr. Bishop waved Jason silent. “The first draft, eh?” he said. “No, I like this list just fine.” He nodded, reading through it silently. “
Extremely
tricky words. This will be a lively competition.”
Jason slumped back in his chair.
B pressed her lips tight so the laughter she felt bubbling inside her wouldn’t spill out. She’d done it! She’d saved the spelling bee. She nearly burst into her happy dance. What was better than seeing Jason get what he deserved? Not much!
“Well, let’s get started. George, your word is ‘deceitful.’”
George sailed smoothly through, remembering the “i before e, except after c” rule. Other kids’ turns followed, and Jason, B was pleased to see, seemed more nervous than anyone else. He managed his first word, “festering,” without any trouble.
Then it was B’s turn. She held her breath. Would she be able to spell the word? She wasn’t afraid of not knowing the spelling … she was terrified of causing more mayhem.
“Business,” Mr. Bishop said.
“Business,” B repeated. Well, what harm could that do? She tried to empty her mind so that nothing could be influenced by her word. But emptying one’s mind is about as easy as not thinking of flaming salamanders when someone tells you not to think of flaming salamanders. So instead, she tried to think of her dad’s sales figures at Enchanted Chocolates Worldwide.
“You still with us, B?” Mr. Bishop said.
“Sorry,” B said. “Business. B-U-S-I-N-E-S-S. Business.”
She looked around the room. Nothing changed. No sirens approached, no tickets vanished, and there were no screams from the soccer field.
“That’s right,” Mr. Bishop said.
B nodded, smiling. So far, so good. She just hoped business would be good for Dad today.
They went around the class. Jimmy misspelled “embarrass,” and Claudia put an extra “s” in “disease” — B was grateful she hadn’t gotten that word — but otherwise everyone spelled their words right. George aced “fidelity,” and Jason managed“fiend” (like “friend,” without the “r,” that was B’s trick for it). Soon it was
“As you can see, class, the tickets have returned,” Mr. Bishop said the moment the bell had rung. “It must have been magic.”
B gulped. If only he knew! But she was grateful he hadn’t told the class
who
brought them back.
Mr. Bishop went on, waving his list in the air. “Now it’s time to start. Line up in front. Did everyone study? Eat a good breakfast? Ready to show us what you can do with words?” His eyes met B’s as he spoke. He’d never believe it if he knew….
They lined up in the front of the room. B frowned at the paper in Mr. Bishop’s hands. Another printout of the spelling list. Out of the corner ofher eye, she saw Jason eyeing it, too, struggling to suppress a cocky grin.
Darn that Jason! B refused to give up. What good was magic if she couldn’t …
Holy cats! Why didn’t she think of it sooner?
There
was
something B could do.
“C-H-A-N-G-E,” she whispered, staring at the paper and praying that it wouldn’t change into a walrus.
The paper remained a paper. Mr. Bishop watched her, the tip of his beard twitching. Maybe he’d overheard her spelling and thought she was practicing for the competition.
He looked back at the paper, blinked, and scratched his head. “This is strange,” he said. “I seem to have printed the wrong spelling list.” He glanced at B, then back at the list. “Never mind. These words will do just fine.”
“Uh … we can wait, Mr. Bishop,” Jason said. “Why don’t you go ahead and find the first draft? We’re not going anywhere.”
George leaned forward and turned to see B, his eyebrows wagging. Of course, he couldn’t know Bhad changed the list magically, but he knew this was bad news for Jason!
Mr. Bishop waved Jason silent. “The first draft, eh?” he said. “No, I like this list just fine.” He nodded, reading through it silently. “
Extremely
tricky words. This will be a lively competition.”
Jason slumped back in his chair.
B pressed her lips tight so the laughter she felt bubbling inside her wouldn’t spill out. She’d done it! She’d saved the spelling bee. She nearly burst into her happy dance. What was better than seeing Jason get what he deserved? Not much!
“Well, let’s get started. George, your word is ‘deceitful.’”
George sailed smoothly through, remembering the “i before e, except after c” rule. Other kids’ turns followed, and Jason, B was pleased to see, seemed more nervous than anyone else. He managed his first word, “festering,” without any trouble.
Then it was B’s turn. She held her breath. Would she be able to spell the word? She wasn’t afraid of not knowing the spelling … she was terrified of causing more mayhem.
“Business,” Mr. Bishop said.
“Business,” B repeated. Well, what harm could that do? She tried to empty her mind so that nothing could be influenced by her word. But emptying one’s mind is about as easy as not thinking of flaming salamanders when someone tells you not to think of flaming salamanders. So instead, she tried to think of her dad’s sales figures at Enchanted Chocolates Worldwide.
“You still with us, B?” Mr. Bishop said.
“Sorry,” B said. “Business. B-U-S-I-N-E-S-S. Business.”
She looked around the room. Nothing changed. No sirens approached, no tickets vanished, and there were no screams from the soccer field.
“That’s right,” Mr. Bishop said.
B nodded, smiling. So far, so good. She just hoped business would be good for Dad today.
They went around the class. Jimmy misspelled “embarrass,” and Claudia put an extra “s” in “disease” — B was grateful she hadn’t gotten that word — but otherwise everyone spelled their words right. George aced “fidelity,” and Jason managed“fiend” (like “friend,” without the “r,” that was B’s trick for it). Soon it was
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