Junie B., First Grader_ Shipwrecked - Barbara Park [6]
I locked my lips again.
José frowned at me.
I unlocked my lips one more time.
“Plus also, I will tell José. But that is my final offer. And I mean it.”
Just then, Shirley did a big huffy.
“Okay, fine … and Shirley,” I said.
That's when Sheldon raised his hand and pointed to himself.
Then all of the other children pointed to theirselves, too.
And so that day at lunch, I whispered my secret to everybody in Room One.
But that was all.
After we got back from recess, Mr. Scary went back to the board.
“Okay, everyone. It's time for the big event,” he said. “We're going to begin choosing our play parts now. We'll start with Junie B. and José. Are you two ready to go?”
“Ready!” hollered José.
“Ready!” I hollered. “And guess what else, Mr. Scary? I'm even going to let José go first. ’Cause that will be very polite of me. Plus José already told me that he wants to be Columbus. And I don't. So being polite will work out beautifully this time.”
I pointed at José.
“Okay, go,” I said.
José looked annoyed at me. “But you already told him, Junie B. I want to be Columbus.”
I clapped my hands real delighted.
“I knew it!” I said. “I knew being polite would work out good this time! On account of I want to be the Pinta! ’Cause the Pinta was the fastest ship! And the fastest ship is the winner ship. And the winner ship is the star ship!”
I skipped to the pencil sharpener and back again.
Mr. Scary said please stop doing that.
“Being the Pinta is fine, Junie B.,” he said. “But you do understand that our ships will not be racing, right? All three of our ships will be arriving together.”
I did a little frown.
“Yeah, only that's not how I actually had it pictured in my head,” I said. “’Cause a race will be more exciting, I think. And so maybe I will just arrive a little bit first. Like by an inch, or a foot … or half an hour, possibly.”
Mr. Scary shook his head no.
“This play is not about stars or winners. It's about teamwork,” he said. “You are more than welcome to be the Pinta, Junie B. But you can't arrive before the other ships. Got it?”
I did a big sigh.
“Got it,” I said kind of glum.
Mr. Scary wrote my name next to the Pinta.
Then he called on the other children to choose their play parts, too.
Lucille chose richie Queen Isabella.
And Camille and Chenille chose the Atlantic Ocean.
Then my bestest friend Herbert chose to be Land. And that is the importantest role of all, almost. ’Cause without Land, you can't actually land, probably.
After Herb, lots of other children picked their parts, too.
Then finally, it was May's turn.
May had to go last because all her facts were about the dumb Mayflower, and not about Columbus.
She stood up very grouchy. “All the good roles are already taken. So I guess I'll have to be the tubby old Santa María,” she grumped.
Mr. Scary wrote her name on the board.
“The Santa María is an excellent choice, May,” he said. “The Santa María was the biggest ship. And it carried Columbus, you know.”
May sat up a little straighter.
“It did?” she said. “It really did? It carried Columbus? Nobody told me that before.”
She reached over and tapped on me.
“I bet you didn't know that, either. Did you, Junie Jones? If you knew that, I bet you'd be the Santa María,” she said.
I rolled my eyeballs at her.
“Of course I knew that, you silly-head May,” I said. “The whole entire world knew that except for you, probably.”
May looked disappointed.
She turned her head back around.
I waited for a second to make sure she wasn't looking.
Then I slumped down in my chair. And tapped my fingers very annoyed.
’Cause guess what?
I didn't know that.
Just then, the bell rang for school to start. And so I quick put away my journal. And I got ready to work on the play some more!
’Cause hurray, hurray!
Today we were making our costumes!
Mr. Scary got out costume supplies from boxes he brought from home.
He gave me and May cardboard to make our ships. Plus also, he gave us ship patterns!
He gave Sheldon a ship pattern, too.
Because