us.
âSorry!â He shut the door and waved, and we drove off.
Chapter 8
A Long Story
âI talked to my mom and dad last night, and they changed their flight so they can be home for the spelling bee,â I told Erin. âThey might be a little late, though, so I canât get out too early.â We were hiding under her umbrella, waiting for the start-of-school bell. If it had been raining just a little bit harder, they would have opened the doors early and let us in. This was just a little bit of rain, though, that we call dribbly-spit, so we were stuck outside.
âDid you study last night?â Erin had loaned me her big book of spelling words so I could keep practicing.
âYep,â I said. âI had my aunt quiz me for almost a half hour, and I started reading my mom and dadâs big, huge dictionary too. Iâm up to academic .â
âGreat,â said Erin. âYou have just got to win that spelling bee!â
The bell finally rang, and we were first in line.
Charlie got in line behind us. âI forgot to ask you yesterday; howâs the purple?â
I pushed the sleeves of my raincoat and sweatshirt up. âIâm almost back to normal.â
âYou could never be normal.â Jack got in line behind Charlie.
âShe means a normal color,â said Charlie. âYou should have seen her on Saturday after the Purple Potion disaster.â
âWhat potion disaster?â Rosemary T. and Rosemary W. got in line behind Charlie and Jack and of course butted into our conversation.
I pulled my sleeves down and faced forward.
âThe potion disaster she had with her aunt,â said Charlie. âTell her, Cinderella.â
âI happen to be ignoring Rosemary T. and giving her the silent treatment at the moment,â I said.
âWhy?â asked Rosemary T.
I kept facing forward.
âWhy are you?â asked Charlie.
âItâs a long story,â I said, âso I donât even know where to begin.â
âTell me!â demanded Rosemary T.
âShe canât tell you,â said Jack, âbecause sheâs giving you the silent treatment.â
I gave him a thumbs-up.
âDoes this have something to do with your aunt?â asked Rosemary T.
âWhat does Flora have to do with anything?â asked Charlie.
âAll this weird stuff started when her aunt came,â said Rosemary T.
âIt started way before that,â said Erin.
I gave Erin a thumbs-up. It was a vexylent thing that she wasnât giving Rosemary T. the silent treatment 100 percent of the time, because sometimes it was almost impossible to do.
âThe Rosemarys are getting on my nerves,â said Erin.
We looked over to where they were eating at the other third-grade lunch table. Even though we were sitting as far away from them as we could, we could still see they were whispering and staring at us.
âI guess itâs getting a little awkward,â I said. âMaybe giving Rosemary T. the silent treatment isnât helping her get back to normal.â
Erin dipped a Tater Tot in ketchup and handed it to me. I made a cheese cracker sandwich and handed it to her.
âThank you,â we both said at the same time.
âDoes anyone want to trade a pretzel for something?â asked Kristy.
âHow about an apple slice?â said Olivia.
âHow about a cheese and cracker?â I said.
She handed us both a pretzel, and we handed her back an apple slice and a cracker sandwich.
âTo ignore someone and give them the silent treatment is one of the worst things ever!â Rosemary T. said very loudly. âItâs babyish and childish.â
I looked over and saw she had a crowd of girls all around her. Hannah and Abby got up from the table and walked over.
âRosemary T. sent us over to ask you why youâre giving her the silent treatment.â
I sat there and felt very, extremely awkward and
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley