Lone Bean by Chudney Ross Read Free Book Online Page B

bubblegum. She blew a huge bubble and then stuck it right in Gabrielle’s spelling book. Next, she hopped over to Aisha’s desk and drew hearts that said, “I Love Stanley!” on it with a red marker.
    Now, I know it’s not a good idea to write on tables and put gum in books and paste on chairs, but you have to admit it was kind of funny and really brave of her. I would never have the nerve to do stuff like that.
    Tanisha saw me smile, and I guess it made her not want to kill me so bad, because she left me alone. She rushed to her seat right as Ms. Sullivan came inside, and we both got back to writing.
    It took forever to finish twenty-five lines of I will not throw crayons, but I got the last one done just as the bell rang and everyone came into the room.
    I spent the rest of the day waiting for someone to mention Tanisha’s pranks, but no one did. Stanley went home sick after lunch, so the paste on his chair dried up. We had already had spelling in the morning, so Gabrielle didn’t notice that the pages of her book were all stuck together. I saw Aisha scrubbing her desk with a tissue, but she must have been too embarrassed to say anything.
    A crayon flew through the air and hit Sam right in the back of the head. Ha! Served her right for stealing my best friend. I looked over at Tanisha and she was smiling. Our eyes met and she winked at me. I smiled and winked back. Maybe Tanisha wasn’t so bad after all.

Chapter 8
The Dinosaurs Are Closed
    T GIF! That means “Thank God it’s Friday,” and boy, do I love Fridays! Mostly, I think they are great because it’s almost the weekend, but today was even better because my class was going on a field trip to the Natural History Museum!
    When Ms. Sullivan first told us about the trip, I was a little worried. I mean, who was I gonna sit with on the bus? Not Carla. Not Stinky Stanley and definitely not Terrible Tanisha. But then I had a great idea. Since Mom has Fridays off from work, I asked her to be a chaperone and—guess what? She said yes! My mom is the best.
    As soon as I woke up, I got dressed and headed to the bathroom. I bumped right into Mom.
    â€œGood morning,” she said with a weird look on her face.
    â€œHow come you’re wearing your hospital scrubs?” I asked.
    â€œBaby, I have some bad news.” She knelt down in front of me and looked right into my eyes. “I got a call from the hospital and they need me to come to work.”
    â€œBut you don’t work on Fridays. It’s your day off.”
    â€œI know, but Nurse Johnson and Nurse Manning are both sick.”
    â€œCan’t you tell them that you’re sick too?” I pleaded.
    â€œNo, baby, I can’t. That wouldn’t be true, and besides, they need me,” she said. “I already called the school to let them know.”
    â€œBut you promised.”
    â€œI know and I’m sorry.” Mom gave me a hug. “I’ll make it up to you this weekend. Maybe we can go for ice cream, just you and me.”
    â€œI hate ice cream,” I said as I stomped off to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and dragged my feet downstairs to the kitchen. Dad was at the table eating scrambled eggs.
    â€œCan you chaperone the school trip today, Dad?” I asked, squeezing him so tight around his shoulders that he couldn’t lift his fork to his mouth.
    â€œSorry, baby. I have classes all day at the college.”
    I slumped down in a seat at the table between Rose and Gardenia and scooped a spoonful of eggs into my mouth.
    â€œCome on, Bean. We’re gonna be late,” Rose said.
    â€œBye, girls! Have a good day,” Dad called as Rose dragged me and Gardenia out the door.
    â€œDoubt it,” I groaned to myself.
    I was not so excited for the trip anymore and not so thankful that it was Friday. ISMIF! That stands for “I’m So Mad it’s Friday!”
    â€œSee ya later,” Rose