Special Delivery! by Sue Stauffacher Read Free Book Online Page A

He was sitting in one of the chairs, Keisha was next and Grandma was on the other side. This part of the meeting never lasted long. Keisha did spider fingers on Razi’s back to help him stay still, then she let him play with his clip-on tie. After that, he made the church and the steeple with his fingers.
    But enough was enough for Razi. During new business, he started waving his hand madly in the air. It looked like he was swatting at a bee or something. “Oh! Oh!” he said.
    “Razi?” Big Bob pointed to him.
    “I have a question,” Razi said.
    “Is it new business?” Big Bob asked.
    “I think so,” Razi said.
    “Okay. Go.”
    “Why do pigs have such big noses and such little eyes?” Razi asked.
    There was a big silence and a little look that passed between Grandma and Keisha. Keisha scooched one inch closer to Grandma and one inch farther away from Razi. Did he have to ask
every
question that came into his mind?
    “I’m sorry, Razi. Help me understand how that connects to our subject tonight. Weren’t we talking about birds?”
    Another long silence. Razi looked around. He seemed, all of a sudden, miserable.
    “Are you saying you want to put pig noses on our next agenda?” Bob asked.
    “I think I know,” Jorge said.
    Everyone turned to look at Jorge.
    Jorge
never
said anything. At least not that Keisha could remember. Jorge was the quietest, Wen was the second quietest and she was the third quietest in Wild 4-Ever.
    “It’s like birds have big beaks … like crows, and little eyes. Why is that?”
    “Yes!” Razi said. “Why is that, Big Bob?”
    “Well,” Big Bob said. “I don’t know. Alice. Do you have any suggestions?”

    Grandma Alice saw that everyone was now looking at her. She sat up straight.
    “Crows,” she said, after thinking about it for a minute. She stopped. Then she started again. “Like other birds with big beaks, crows take advantage of the largeness … of their mouthparts to eat large things … dead things … such as those things found on the side of the road.”
    “That is disgusting,” Aaliyah said. And she gave her “eeww” look.
    “While it may be disgusting,” Grandma replied, “it is opportunistic and therefore increases survival rates.Nature, Miss Aaliyah, doesn’t give a rattlesnake’s rear end whether you think it’s disgusting or not. It is what it is.”
    “Thank you, Alice.” Grandma and Big Bob gazed into each other’s eyes for a long time. “We are all smarter because of you.”
    Jorge raised his hand to ask when they were going to have the ceremony. “I have some things I want to ask Razi about animals,” Jorge said. “But I’m not sure it’s legal until he’s a member.”
    Razi stood once again with his straight-arrow arms and everyone knew: this was his big moment. “I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty,my hands to larger service and my health to better living.…”
    Everyone held their breath.
    Razi looked around wide-eyed. “For my club, my communitymyworldandmycountry,” he finished.
    “Hurrah!” Mr. Sanders shouted. And even though Razi put the
W
right in the middle of the three
C
s, he got a standing ovation anyway.
    Big Bob hurried things up to the end of the program, probably so he could spend more time with Grandma over refreshments, which, Keisha had to admit, had gotten a lot sweeter since their crush. Tonight it was cinnamon twists and apple tarts.
    During refreshments, Razi got hugs and kisses and handshakes and claps on the back. He walked around on his tiptoes a lot.
    Jorge told Razi, “You did a good job. I can never remember the ‘hands to larger service’ part. I don’t know why. I guess I just don’t want to give my hands to anybody. It seems weird.”
    “Me too,” Razi said, pushing his shoulder into Jorge’s shoulder as he bit down on his cinnamon twist.
    Keisha let her shoulders relax. “Razi-Roo, I’m proud of you,” she whispered.
    “You’re a poet and you