Junie B., First Grader_ Aloha-Ha-Ha! - Barbara Park [7]
Then she quick tried to take the picture.
But oh no!
Both of those grouches sprang up as fast as springs!
AND THEIR BIG GRUMPHEADS GOT RIGHT IN MY PICTURE!
I covered my mouth real shocked.
Mother covered her mouth real shocked, too.
Then both of us kept our heads bent down, until the grouches stopped staring.
After they were gone, I looked at Mother.
“Me and my big fat mouth,” I said in a whisper.
Mother kept her head down, and she talked to me through her fingers.
“I couldn't have put it better myself,” she said.
After that, she gave me back my camera. And she said that maybe we would try again later … after the dust settled.
I did a sigh.
“Yeah, only I can't try again later,” I said real whiny. “On account of I need to save the rest of the pictures for Hawaii.”
I slumped down very glum.
Then I closed my eyes.
And I thought about that stupid dumb picture caption.
I did a cringe.
My photo journal was not off to a good start.
The plane ride took forever and ever.
Me and Philip Johnny Bob ran out of stuff to play with.
Then finally, we took a teensy little nap.
And when we woke up …
At last!
We were at Hawaii!
And wait till you hear this!
As soon as we got off the plane, some Hawaii people gave us flower leis! And that is just plain friendly, I tell you!
After Mother and Daddy got our suit-cases, we rented a car. And we drove to a pretty hotel.
A man in a uniform opened the door for us.
“Aloha,” he said real nice.
“Alo-who?” I said back.
“Aloha,” said the man. “Aloha is the Hawaiian word for hello and goodbye.”
I smiled. “Hey! I like that word of aloha,” I said. “It sounds like it's laughing, sort of. Aloha! Ha-ha!”
After that, I skipped inside the hotel. And my eyes popped right out of my head.
’Cause wowie wow wow! It was the most beautiful ’stablishment I ever even saw!
It had lots of colorful flowers! And tall, skinny palm trees! Plus outside, there were two different kinds of water!
First, there was an ocean with a real, actual beach. Plus also, there was a swimming pool with a real, actual diving board!
And that is not even the end of the beauty!
On account of—when we went to our room—there were two giant beds the size of a queen!
I threw out my arms real joyful.
“Hawaii!” I said. “You gotta love it!”
Then I twirled and twirled. And I crashed into one of the beds. And I fell on the softie carpet.
It was very thick and plushy.
I did a yawn.
Then I curled up very comfortable.
And I closed my eyes.
Daddy came over and picked me up.
Then Mother put me to bed.
And I slept all the way till morning.
The sun shined in my eyes.
I stretched very sleepy. And I looked all around the beautiful room.
Then bingo!
I remembered!
“I AM IN HAWAII!” I said.
I jumped out of bed. And I jiggled Mother and Daddy awake.
“ALOHA-HA-HA, PEOPLE! ALOHA-HA-HA!” I hollered. “WE'RE IN HAWAII! WE'RE IN HAWAII!”
After that, I ran to the window. And I looked at all the water.
“Let's go to the pool! Let's go to the pool!” I hollered again.
Mother and Daddy sat up and yawned. Then they looked at each other. And they flopped back on their pillows again.
Old people on vacation are not that fun.
I did a big breath at those two.
Then I went to their bed. And I jiggled them some more till they got up. Then finally, they got dressed. And we went to a restaurant for breakfast.
And YIPPEE! YIPPEE! HOORAY!
RIGHT AFTER WE ATE, IT WAS TIME FOR THE POOL!
Only here is the happiest part of all!
On our way to the pool, we passed a gift-shop window. And I saw the cutest swim ring in the whole entire world!
“Mother! Daddy! Look at that swim ring! It looks exactly like a parrot! See it? See it? Isn't it cute? Huh? Isn't it?”
The gift-shop lady heard me being gushy.
She took the swim ring out of the window. And she handed it to me.
“It's the last one we have,” she said.
I jumped up and down very urgent.
“The last one! The last one! Can I have it, Mother? Can I have it, Daddy? Please? Please? Please?” I said. “If you buy me this swim ring, I won't ask for one