Junie B., First Grader_ Dumb Bunny - Barbara Park [14]
Sheldon's face went funny.
“Um, well … my magic-egg shirt didn't work out that good, Lucille,” he said. “I kept finding the eggs. But May kept swooping them. And so now I'm just sort of … well, you know …”
May butted her head in.
“QUITTING!” she hollered. “He's quitting, Lucille! Tell him he can't quit! Tell him right now!”
Lucille raised her eyebrows.
“You're quitting, Shelsie? Why are you quitting? You have to find the golden egg, remember?” she said. “If you don't find the golden egg, I will have to swim in my pool with someone I don't actually care for.”
She started to get annoyed.
“Think of me, Sheldon! You have to think of me!” she said. “Don't you know anything about being a boyfriend? Boyfriends do not let their girlfriends swim with people they don't care for!”
Sheldon didn't answer.
Lucille's face got madder.
Sweat came on her head and lip.
“Well, for goodness' sake! Don't just sit there, Sheldon! Go find that egg!” she snapped.
Then she wiped her sweat on her expensive dress sleeve. And she stomped away.
Sheldon watched her go.
Finally he turned and looked at me.
“My little lamb did not actually handle that well,” he said kind of quiet.
He paused a second.
“Also, she turned into a sweaty drip-ball,” he added.
Just then, May stuck her head in between us.
“Come on, Sheldon! You heard what Lucille told you!” she said. “You have to find the golden egg! Come on! Find it right now!”
Then she grabbed his arm and tried to pull him up. But Sheldon did not budge himself.
He shook her off like she was a bug.
I admire that style.
After that, both of us sat there until the hunt was almost over. And then we started walking back to the picnic tables.
Only too bad for me.
Because I forgot to pick up my hugie big feet. And I fell down in the grass again.
And that's when it happened!
I saw something gleamy!
It was gleaming right in my eyes, I mean!
I blinked and looked again.
Then I quick tried to cover my mouth with my paw mitt.
But the words came rushing right out of my lips.
“THE GOLDEN EGG! THE GOLDEN EGG! I SEE THE GOLDEN EGG!”
May and Sheldon looked down and saw it, too.
For a second, all of us stood there real frozen.
And then …
OOMPHFF!
FOOMFF!
PHIFFOOPHFF!
We all dived for it at once!
And …
SLAP!
SLAP!
SLAP!
We piled our hands on top!
“I'VE GOT IT!”
“I'VE GOT IT!”
“I'VE GOT IT!” we shouted.
Then suddenly, all of us got very silent. And we stared and stared at our hand pile.
My heart started to pound.
I stared some more.
Then my mouth fell open. And I did a loud gasp.
BECAUSE THE EGG WAS UNDER MY GIANT PAW MITT, THAT'S WHY!
“OH MY GOSH! I really do got it!” I hollered.
Sheldon frowned.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
He wiggled his fingers to locate himself.
“Shoot,” he said. “I was hoping that big paw was mine.”
I looked odd at him.
That was a joke, I hope.
“Well, at least you beat May,” I said real happy. “Beating May is still good, Sheldon.”
Then, KABOOM!
May exploded like a firecracker!
She yanked her hand off the top of the pile. And she slapped it on the ground.
“HE DID NOT BEAT ME, JUNIE JONES! Sheldon has zero eggs and I have six! How can you say he beat me, you big dumb bunny?” she yelled.
That's when I exploded, too.
“I AM NOT A DUMB BUNNY, MAY!” I shouted back. “I am the celebrity of this whole entire occasion! Plus you didn't even find one single egg on your own! And so I will show you how Sheldon can beat you! I will show you right exactly now, in fact!”
Then—without even thinking about it—I quick slid my paw mitt off of the golden egg! And I let Sheldon's hand drop on top!
“THERE! HA! SEE, MAY? SEE? Now Sheldon has the golden egg! And you don't! And the golden egg is the winner of this whole event!” I said.
May's eyes got as big as bowls.
Sheldon's eyes got big, too.
He grabbed the egg in both his hands. And he jumped up like a rocket.
May slumped her face in the grass.
Then TWEET! TWEET! TWEET!
The nanna blew the whistle.
And that was that.
The egg hunt was over.
I quit writing and thought about