"Late again, you turd!" My friend, Lakisha, told me.
"Shut up you egg" I retorted. She narrowed her eyes. "Mollyanne's fault" I told her. Apparently Lakisha had been waiting for ages and she had frozen feet. Big deal. She looked like Rudolph with her bright red nose!
We jogged to room 25, and, got to the door just when the bell rang. I pushed past Lakisha to get in before her and accidentally whacked her face with my bag. I escaped into the classroom before she could hurt me. Mrs. Douglous-Bray was calling the roll when I got into the class. She raised her eyebrows when I came in late but said nothing. She shut her laptop and got us outside, then led us into the hall. It was graduation day so we sat in front of the hall on top of the stage. Hundreds of faces stared up at us. I couldn't sit next to Lakisha because we were meant to sit in alphabetical order. I'm lucky. I'm hidden in the back of the crowd so not everyone could see me. I sighed loudly. How boring could this assembly be with Mr. Harrison droning on and on about us and the strict teachers watching us like hawks? Oh well, it would be worth the food we would be getting afterwards! I could smell the fresh goodness wafting from the school kitchen into the hall. I was practically drooling...
"POPPY" my friend, Sophie Hooper, nudged me.
"They are announcing the people that get the trophies!" I flinched. Her breath was really stinky. I felt sorry for the poor people that have to get up in front of the whole school to fetch the trophies. You have to polish them, and you have to return it after one year. What's the big deal? I was just wondering why I bothered to come to school today when the awful thing happened. Mr. Simpson opened his mouth and said it. The one awesome name that still clung to the silent air.
"Poppy Jennings!" This time it wasn't Sophie that said my name. I stood up and slowly approached his outstretched hand with the silver cup. Red in the face, I took the trophy and stomped back to my seat. "Hey, if you don't want that, I'll have it!" Sophie whispered. Urghhh! Does she ever brush her teeth? Just when I got to my seat and sat down, I had to get up again to sing the national anthem. "God of nations, at thy feet" Sophie squaked. I shuddered. Can we go yet? Finally, Mr. Harrison released us.
A FEW MINUTES LATER...
I grinned. This food was definitely worth that boring assembly!
My next step is to learn where to put paragraphs.
