Junie B. Jones Is a Graduation Girl - Barbara Park [2]
A shy boy named William stood up next to his table.
“Graduation is here,” he said kind of nervous.
Mrs. grinned real big. “Excellent job, William! Excellent!”
She printed it on the board.
“All right. There's just one more line to go,” she said. “Let's try to make the last word rhyme with the word blue, okay?”
She read the first three lines out loud to us.
“Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
Graduation is here …”
Room Nine thought and thought.
Then—all of a sudden—rhymes started coming from all over the place!
“My dress will be new!” called Lucille.
“My dad's name is Lou!” called Jamal Hall.
“We made it! Woo-boo!” called Lynnie.
Just then, Paulie Allen Puffer springed right out of his chair. And he started laughing his head off.
“THE ZOO IS P.U.!” he shouted his loudest.
And then all of Room Nine laughed our heads off, too! ’Cause P.U. is the silliest rhyme we ever heard of!
Mrs. clapped her mad hands together. “Boys and girls! That's enough,” she grouched.
She hurried to Paulie Allen Puffer's table. And she put him back in his seat.
“I do not appreciate that kind of behavior, young man,” she said. “We're trying to write a nice class poem here, Paulie Allen. And your rhyme was entirely inappropriate.”
After that, I tried to stop giggling. But that silly poem kept on staying inside my head.
And then, out of nowhere, another funny poem popped right into my brain! And I couldn't even hold it inside me!
I quick jumped up on my chair.
“ROSES ARE RED,
VIOLETS ARE BLUE.
GRADUATION IS HERE,
AND YOUR FEET SMELL LIKE
STINK!” I shouted.
After that, Room Nine could not even control themselves again. ’Cause that poem was the funniest thing they ever even heard!
My teacher's eyes got big and wide at me.
“Junie B. Jones! Didn't you hear a word I just said?” she said very annoyed.
Then Mrs. hurried to my table.
And she took me into the hall.
And she pointed me straight to the office.
The office is where Principal lives.
I know my way there by heart.
There is a typing lady there, too.
She looked over the counter at me.
“Well, well, well. Would you look who it is,” she said.
I looked down at myself. “Well, well, well. It looks like me,” I said kind of quiet.
The typing lady pointed at the blue chair.
The blue chair is where bad kids sit. Only I'm not even bad. But I still have to sit there sometimes.
I put my feet on the edge of the chair. And I hid my face in my knees.
If you don't hide your face, people can recognize yourself.
Finally, I peeked one eye at Principal's door.
And guess what? That guy was looking right back at me!
“Is that Junie B. Jones I see out there?” he asked.
I did a gasp.
’Cause Principal can even recognize me from one eyeball, apparently!
I went into his office. And I sat in the big wood chair.
Principal winked at me.
“I'm a little bit surprised to see you, Junie B.,” he said. “You haven't been sent here for quite some time.”
I nodded.
“I know it,” I said. “That's because my behavior has shown considerable improvement.”
I pronounced the words very perfect.
“My teacher printed those words on my report card,” I said. “And guess what else showed improvement? My speaking, that's what. ’Cause I don't say runned anymore. And I don't say thinked. And I don't say throwed. Do you want to hear me say them right? Huh? Do you, Principal?”
I took a big breath.
“Ran, ran, ran, ran. Thought, thought, thought, thought. Threw, threw, threw, threw,” I said.
I smiled very proud.
“See? I told you. Mother says I am getting a better vocavulary,” I said.
“Vocabulary,” said Principal.
“Whatever,” I said.
Principal smiled. “Yes. Well, I'm delighted with your improvements, Junie B.,” he said. “But if everything has gotten better, then why are you here?”
I wiggled in my chair very uncomfortable.
“Because it wasn't my fault, that's why,” I said.
“What wasn't your fault?” said Principal.
I wiggled some more.
Then, finally, I told Principal about how my teacher made us write a graduation poem. And how she said the last word had to rhyme with blue.