block so we could walk to school all over again, looking like we did not expect to find a classroom decorated like a party store threw up in it.
Frank was standing there with most of the other kids waiting for Ms. Ruiz to open the door by the time we got back. He looked cool. Bean touched her nose and pulled on her earlobe, and Frank nodded. If those guys were going to use secret hand signals, they should teach us, too. I glanced over at Oliver. He had a weird look on his face like he felt happy and confused all at once, even though nothing was really happening. I think he was trying to look innocent, but if you ask me, it made him look suspicious. I went to stand by Hector.
âWhoâs that?â he nodded down the hallway. Sienna stood back away from the others against the lockers. She held on to her backpack like someone would try to yank it off. It looked new. Her clothes looked new, too.
âDunno, a new girl, I guess,â I said. âSheâs kind of pretty, donât you think?â Hector looked like Iâd suggested he use his skateboard for firewood.
Ms. Ruiz moseyed over with her coat on and car keys still in her hand.
âIâm not in the mood for a Monday,â she announced to anybody close enough to hear, and opened the door.
The classroom looked kind of fantastic. Even better than it had looked with the balls. Oliver had twisted up the brown and green streamers and attached them all to the fluorescent lights that hung down the middle of the ceiling. It looked like a giant octopus. Red and silver balloons were everywhere, and applause broke out when the class spotted the tray of cupcakes and other snacks. Ms. Ruiz set her purse down on her desk and picked up the memo. She didnât look freaked out, just kind of dazed. Leo Saylor stuffed a cupcake in his mouth and read the whiteboard. âWhoâs Sienna?â Sprinkles sprayed out of his mouth and onto my shirt.
Sienna was the girl standing by the door, still holding her backpack straps. She didnât raise her hand or anything, but she smiled just a little bit. It wasnât an âI just found $100!â smile, but it was there.
About half of the kids asked who Sienna was before chowing down on cupcakes, and half waited until afterward. Ms. Ruiz seemed confused by the whole thing, but she said okay when someone asked if they could turn some music on. She talked to Sienna for a couple of minutes, and then she yelled over the music for everyone to welcome our new classmate. Everybody yelled hi and toasted her with cupcakes. Some kids yelled thanks. Sienna sat down at a desk and Bean brought her a cupcake. I wished I had thought to bring sodas or at least juice boxes. Some of the other girls started talking to her, too, and asking if sheâd made the cupcakes. I watched her shake her head no, but she didnât elaborate. She just smiled and picked the crumbs and sprinkles off of her cupcake paper. Oliver looked proudâlike he might tell the class that he made the cupcakes. He was smiling really big and standing up straight enough to puff his chest out. I shook my head when I caught his eye and his shoulders slumped, but he nodded.
After the cupcakes, everyone ate the chips and grapes. Even those were gone in less than five minutes. Ms. Ruiz turned the music off after only two songs and said we needed to start class, but we could leave the decorations up. I think she just didnât want the hassle of having to take them down. She read the Ramayana to calm us down, but it didnât really work since itâs full of fighting monkeys and stuff. Frank threw me a note folded into a star.
They donât know it was us. They think Principal Lebonsky threw the new girl a party!
I shrugged. I felt happy that it worked and we didnât get caught. Ms. Ruiz never even called the office. It felt like a freebie. Frank shook his head and scribbled a new note.
We need people to know itâs us.
We need to
Frank was standing there with most of the other kids waiting for Ms. Ruiz to open the door by the time we got back. He looked cool. Bean touched her nose and pulled on her earlobe, and Frank nodded. If those guys were going to use secret hand signals, they should teach us, too. I glanced over at Oliver. He had a weird look on his face like he felt happy and confused all at once, even though nothing was really happening. I think he was trying to look innocent, but if you ask me, it made him look suspicious. I went to stand by Hector.
âWhoâs that?â he nodded down the hallway. Sienna stood back away from the others against the lockers. She held on to her backpack like someone would try to yank it off. It looked new. Her clothes looked new, too.
âDunno, a new girl, I guess,â I said. âSheâs kind of pretty, donât you think?â Hector looked like Iâd suggested he use his skateboard for firewood.
Ms. Ruiz moseyed over with her coat on and car keys still in her hand.
âIâm not in the mood for a Monday,â she announced to anybody close enough to hear, and opened the door.
The classroom looked kind of fantastic. Even better than it had looked with the balls. Oliver had twisted up the brown and green streamers and attached them all to the fluorescent lights that hung down the middle of the ceiling. It looked like a giant octopus. Red and silver balloons were everywhere, and applause broke out when the class spotted the tray of cupcakes and other snacks. Ms. Ruiz set her purse down on her desk and picked up the memo. She didnât look freaked out, just kind of dazed. Leo Saylor stuffed a cupcake in his mouth and read the whiteboard. âWhoâs Sienna?â Sprinkles sprayed out of his mouth and onto my shirt.
Sienna was the girl standing by the door, still holding her backpack straps. She didnât raise her hand or anything, but she smiled just a little bit. It wasnât an âI just found $100!â smile, but it was there.
About half of the kids asked who Sienna was before chowing down on cupcakes, and half waited until afterward. Ms. Ruiz seemed confused by the whole thing, but she said okay when someone asked if they could turn some music on. She talked to Sienna for a couple of minutes, and then she yelled over the music for everyone to welcome our new classmate. Everybody yelled hi and toasted her with cupcakes. Some kids yelled thanks. Sienna sat down at a desk and Bean brought her a cupcake. I wished I had thought to bring sodas or at least juice boxes. Some of the other girls started talking to her, too, and asking if sheâd made the cupcakes. I watched her shake her head no, but she didnât elaborate. She just smiled and picked the crumbs and sprinkles off of her cupcake paper. Oliver looked proudâlike he might tell the class that he made the cupcakes. He was smiling really big and standing up straight enough to puff his chest out. I shook my head when I caught his eye and his shoulders slumped, but he nodded.
After the cupcakes, everyone ate the chips and grapes. Even those were gone in less than five minutes. Ms. Ruiz turned the music off after only two songs and said we needed to start class, but we could leave the decorations up. I think she just didnât want the hassle of having to take them down. She read the Ramayana to calm us down, but it didnât really work since itâs full of fighting monkeys and stuff. Frank threw me a note folded into a star.
They donât know it was us. They think Principal Lebonsky threw the new girl a party!
I shrugged. I felt happy that it worked and we didnât get caught. Ms. Ruiz never even called the office. It felt like a freebie. Frank shook his head and scribbled a new note.
We need people to know itâs us.
We need to
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