part). I looked out at the sea of unfamiliar faces that made up Mrs. Danielson’s fourth-grade class. Sure, their teacher might welcome me. But what about her students? They didn’t look particularly friendly to me. In fact, they looked downright mean…which made sense, in light of the thought bubbles.
Then I realized why they were all looking at me ! They were waiting for me to say something!
This made the butterflies in my stomach turn into pterodactyls.
“Oh,” I said. Maybe they thought I was the one who wasn’t very friendly! First impressions are very important, you know. That’s a rule. You can never make a second first impression (also a rule). I saw it on TV.
I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t believe it. Here it was, my one chance to make a good first impression, and I was already blowing it!
“Um…thank you.” Great! My one chance to make a good first impression, and I said “thank you.”
All the kids just stared at me. This wasn’t helping the pterodactyls in my stomach any.
“Well,” Mrs. Jenkins said, “we’ll let you get back to your lesson. Sorry for the interruption.”
“That’s all right,” Mrs. Danielson said, with a smile that didn’t go all the way to her eyes. After that, to my relief, Mrs. Jenkins pulled me away.
The next room, 209, was Mrs. Hunter’s room. Mrs. Hunter was Erica’s teacher, and sure enough, when Mrs. Jenkins opened the door to Mrs. Hunter’s classroom (which was exactly like Mrs. Danielson’s, only no one in it looked at all bored) and we peeked in, I saw that Erica’s head was one of the many that turned in my direction.
When she recognized me, Erica squealed and waved.
“Hi, Allie!” she whispered, smiling.
I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to make a good impression, but I wasn’t sure it was okay to wave back in front of everyone. What if Mrs. Hunter got mad?
But I didn’t want Erica to think I didn’t like her. I settledfor waving to Erica very small, and smiling, while I also paid attention to Mrs. Hunter, who was the total opposite of Mrs. Danielson. Her hair wasn’t in a bun. It was actually cut short but very stylishly. And Mrs. Hunter wasn’t in a pantsuit, either. She was wearing a very short skirt. With knee-high boots. With high heels! She looked really, really modern and nice.
And her classroom wasn’t decorated with thought bubbles telling you that you couldn’t start a story until you had brainstormed, made an outline, and gotten your notecards ready. Her classroom was decorated with moons, clouds, and stars. And on the stars, it said things like, Reach for the stars! And on the clouds, it said things like, Every cloud has a silver lining! And on the moons, it said things like, I like to think the moon is there, even if I’m not looking at it. — Albert Einstein.
I could tell right away that this was a much better classroom to be in than Room 208.
I could also tell that, if I had to be in any classroom in the world other than Ms. Myers’s, this was the one I wanted to be in.
“Well,” Mrs. Jenkins said, “I see that someone in this class has already made her acquaintance.” She meant, I realized, Erica. I could feel myself turning red with embarrassment. “But for the rest of you—and you, Mrs. Hunter—this is Allie Finkle, a fourth-grader who may be joining your class in a few weeks.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Allie Finkle,” Mrs. Hunter said. When she smiled, she looked even prettier than Ms. Myers, which I didn’t even know was possible. “Are you moving to the neighborhood?”
“Yes,” Erica cried, before I had a chance to say anything. “She’s moving in next door to me!”
Great. Why can’t I ever make a normal first impression?
“Well,” Mrs. Hunter said, smiling at me some more. “That’s nice. We look forward to having you join us.”
I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, though. Especially not Mrs. Hunter’s, seeing how nice she was being.
“Well,” I
Then I realized why they were all looking at me ! They were waiting for me to say something!
This made the butterflies in my stomach turn into pterodactyls.
“Oh,” I said. Maybe they thought I was the one who wasn’t very friendly! First impressions are very important, you know. That’s a rule. You can never make a second first impression (also a rule). I saw it on TV.
I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t believe it. Here it was, my one chance to make a good first impression, and I was already blowing it!
“Um…thank you.” Great! My one chance to make a good first impression, and I said “thank you.”
All the kids just stared at me. This wasn’t helping the pterodactyls in my stomach any.
“Well,” Mrs. Jenkins said, “we’ll let you get back to your lesson. Sorry for the interruption.”
“That’s all right,” Mrs. Danielson said, with a smile that didn’t go all the way to her eyes. After that, to my relief, Mrs. Jenkins pulled me away.
The next room, 209, was Mrs. Hunter’s room. Mrs. Hunter was Erica’s teacher, and sure enough, when Mrs. Jenkins opened the door to Mrs. Hunter’s classroom (which was exactly like Mrs. Danielson’s, only no one in it looked at all bored) and we peeked in, I saw that Erica’s head was one of the many that turned in my direction.
When she recognized me, Erica squealed and waved.
“Hi, Allie!” she whispered, smiling.
I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to make a good impression, but I wasn’t sure it was okay to wave back in front of everyone. What if Mrs. Hunter got mad?
But I didn’t want Erica to think I didn’t like her. I settledfor waving to Erica very small, and smiling, while I also paid attention to Mrs. Hunter, who was the total opposite of Mrs. Danielson. Her hair wasn’t in a bun. It was actually cut short but very stylishly. And Mrs. Hunter wasn’t in a pantsuit, either. She was wearing a very short skirt. With knee-high boots. With high heels! She looked really, really modern and nice.
And her classroom wasn’t decorated with thought bubbles telling you that you couldn’t start a story until you had brainstormed, made an outline, and gotten your notecards ready. Her classroom was decorated with moons, clouds, and stars. And on the stars, it said things like, Reach for the stars! And on the clouds, it said things like, Every cloud has a silver lining! And on the moons, it said things like, I like to think the moon is there, even if I’m not looking at it. — Albert Einstein.
I could tell right away that this was a much better classroom to be in than Room 208.
I could also tell that, if I had to be in any classroom in the world other than Ms. Myers’s, this was the one I wanted to be in.
“Well,” Mrs. Jenkins said, “I see that someone in this class has already made her acquaintance.” She meant, I realized, Erica. I could feel myself turning red with embarrassment. “But for the rest of you—and you, Mrs. Hunter—this is Allie Finkle, a fourth-grader who may be joining your class in a few weeks.”
“It’s very nice to meet you, Allie Finkle,” Mrs. Hunter said. When she smiled, she looked even prettier than Ms. Myers, which I didn’t even know was possible. “Are you moving to the neighborhood?”
“Yes,” Erica cried, before I had a chance to say anything. “She’s moving in next door to me!”
Great. Why can’t I ever make a normal first impression?
“Well,” Mrs. Hunter said, smiling at me some more. “That’s nice. We look forward to having you join us.”
I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, though. Especially not Mrs. Hunter’s, seeing how nice she was being.
“Well,” I
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