Read Online Rosie Swanson: Fourth-Grade Geek for President by Barbara Park - Free Book Online
Authors: Barbara Park
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I
told
you it was brilliant. I’m the only girl I know who would never, ever do that.
I was just stuffing the last note back into my pocket when the dismissal bell rang. I didn’t leave, though. Instead, I stayed in my seat and waited for everyone to clear out of the room.
It took forever, too. This kid named William Washington kept following Mr. Jolly around the room, telling him some stupid story about how his grandmother has a potato chip that looks like Abraham Lincoln.
It took almost ten minutes before William wrapped up his potato chip story. The whole time he was blabbing, I pretended to be cleaning out mydesk. Finally, Mr. Jolly walked William into the hall.
That’s when I made my move.
In a flash, I pulled one of the notes out of my pocket and put it on Neil McNulty’s chair. Neil McNulty has the biggest mouth in the entire fourth grade. He’s definitely the “go to” guy if you want to spread a rumor.
After that, I grabbed my jacket and hurried out of the room. Then—on my way down the hall—I quietly ducked into each of the other fourth-grade classrooms and stuck a note on the seat of the closest chair.
This might sound risky, but it wasn’t at all. Two of the teachers weren’t even there, and the other one was standing at the sink in the back of the room. It looked like she was trying to get glue out of her hair or something. She never even turned around.
Once I finally got outside the building, I started to run. I didn’t stop, either. Not until I was all the way home. When I hit the front door, I ran straight up to my room and locked myself inside.
I huffed and puffed and tried to catch my breath. “The voters will thank you for this,Rosie,” I whispered to myself. “Really. They will. You’ll see.”
Downstairs, I could hear my mother rattling around in the kitchen. She usually gets home from work about half an hour before I do.
After a few minutes, I unlocked my door and went down. If I don’t say hello to my mother when I come home from school, she comes stalking me.
Trying to act relaxed, I strolled into the kitchen and grabbed an apple out of the fruit bowl on the table.
Mom was making tuna salad for dinner. She smiled at me, and the two of us began our usual after-school conversation.
“Hi, honey. How’s everything goin’?”
“Good.”
“How was school today?”
“Good.”
“How’d the history quiz go this morning?”
“Good.”
“How’s the campaign going?”
“Good.”
“Good,” she said. Then she went back to her salad.
I drummed my fingers on the tabletop for a minute. I smiled like there was nothing wrong. But the truth was, my stomach had started to feel tense and achy inside. I guess my nerves were finally starting to catch up with me or something. That happens sometimes. You’re real brave at first, and then your nerves catch up with you.
“Mom? I’ve got a question about something,” I said finally. “I mean, it’s no big deal, really. I just want your opinion, okay?”
“About what?” she asked.
I squirmed a little. How could I word it so she wouldn’t suspect anything?
“Um, well, let’s just say it’s sort of about …”
I paused to think a second. “ … um …
“… moon men.”
My mother raised her eyebrows. “Moon men?”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s about moon men. I mean, let’s just say there’s this moon man who wants to be elected king of the moon. And he’s really, really popular with the moon people. But there’s something about him they don’t know about. Something he did a long time ago, that was sort of … bad.”
My mother folded her arms. “Like what?”
I stalled for a minute. “I don’t know. Like what if he stole something from a store, but none of the voters know about it. Somebody ought to tell them, don’t you think? I mean, the voters need to know about his past so they don’t elect a thief, right?”
Mom looked funny at me. I’m sure she knew we weren’t talking about moon
told
you it was brilliant. I’m the only girl I know who would never, ever do that.
I was just stuffing the last note back into my pocket when the dismissal bell rang. I didn’t leave, though. Instead, I stayed in my seat and waited for everyone to clear out of the room.
It took forever, too. This kid named William Washington kept following Mr. Jolly around the room, telling him some stupid story about how his grandmother has a potato chip that looks like Abraham Lincoln.
It took almost ten minutes before William wrapped up his potato chip story. The whole time he was blabbing, I pretended to be cleaning out mydesk. Finally, Mr. Jolly walked William into the hall.
That’s when I made my move.
In a flash, I pulled one of the notes out of my pocket and put it on Neil McNulty’s chair. Neil McNulty has the biggest mouth in the entire fourth grade. He’s definitely the “go to” guy if you want to spread a rumor.
After that, I grabbed my jacket and hurried out of the room. Then—on my way down the hall—I quietly ducked into each of the other fourth-grade classrooms and stuck a note on the seat of the closest chair.
This might sound risky, but it wasn’t at all. Two of the teachers weren’t even there, and the other one was standing at the sink in the back of the room. It looked like she was trying to get glue out of her hair or something. She never even turned around.
Once I finally got outside the building, I started to run. I didn’t stop, either. Not until I was all the way home. When I hit the front door, I ran straight up to my room and locked myself inside.
I huffed and puffed and tried to catch my breath. “The voters will thank you for this,Rosie,” I whispered to myself. “Really. They will. You’ll see.”
Downstairs, I could hear my mother rattling around in the kitchen. She usually gets home from work about half an hour before I do.
After a few minutes, I unlocked my door and went down. If I don’t say hello to my mother when I come home from school, she comes stalking me.
Trying to act relaxed, I strolled into the kitchen and grabbed an apple out of the fruit bowl on the table.
Mom was making tuna salad for dinner. She smiled at me, and the two of us began our usual after-school conversation.
“Hi, honey. How’s everything goin’?”
“Good.”
“How was school today?”
“Good.”
“How’d the history quiz go this morning?”
“Good.”
“How’s the campaign going?”
“Good.”
“Good,” she said. Then she went back to her salad.
I drummed my fingers on the tabletop for a minute. I smiled like there was nothing wrong. But the truth was, my stomach had started to feel tense and achy inside. I guess my nerves were finally starting to catch up with me or something. That happens sometimes. You’re real brave at first, and then your nerves catch up with you.
“Mom? I’ve got a question about something,” I said finally. “I mean, it’s no big deal, really. I just want your opinion, okay?”
“About what?” she asked.
I squirmed a little. How could I word it so she wouldn’t suspect anything?
“Um, well, let’s just say it’s sort of about …”
I paused to think a second. “ … um …
“… moon men.”
My mother raised her eyebrows. “Moon men?”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s about moon men. I mean, let’s just say there’s this moon man who wants to be elected king of the moon. And he’s really, really popular with the moon people. But there’s something about him they don’t know about. Something he did a long time ago, that was sort of … bad.”
My mother folded her arms. “Like what?”
I stalled for a minute. “I don’t know. Like what if he stole something from a store, but none of the voters know about it. Somebody ought to tell them, don’t you think? I mean, the voters need to know about his past so they don’t elect a thief, right?”
Mom looked funny at me. I’m sure she knew we weren’t talking about moon
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