The Judy Moody Double-Rare Collection - Megan Mcdonald [13]
Then the author lit a candle and mixed the candle wax drips with red powder to show how they make crayons. “It’s like mixing flour in a cake mix,” said Ms. Tater.
Ms. Tater told them how one time she met some famous guy named Captain Kangaroo at a crayon museum in New York. No lie.
She even told about the Crayon Eater machine. It was a big machine that checked for broken or lumpy crayons and threw the bad ones out.
Once, Ms. Tater got to name her own crayon.
“What was it called?” everybody asked.
“Pumpkin Moon,” she said, and she held up an orange crayon that matched her boots. “Mr. Todd helped me think of it.” Her smile was Nightlight Bright.
“Some new names of crayons are Atomic Tangerine, Banana Mania, and Eggplant.”
Eggplant was a color! Stink was right! “Is Zucchini a crayon?” asked Judy.
“No, but that’s a good idea,” said Ms. Tater. “And then there’s my favorite: Purple Mountain Majesty.”
“RARE!” said Judy. Purple Mountain Majesty! That was as good as Joyful, On-Top-of-the-World purple.
“Mr. Todd’s favorite is Vermilion.”
“That’s red,” said Mr. Todd.
Red! Judy sat up straight as a president and perked up her best third-grade listening ears.
“And we can’t forget about Macaroni and Cheese!” Ms. Tater held up a cheesy-looking crayon. “This one looks good enough to eat! But we’ll leave that to the Crayon Eater machine.” Everybody in Class 3T cracked up.
“Now it’s your turn,” Ms. Tater said. “Who can think up a good name for a crayon? Any ideas?”
“Baseball-Mitt Brown!” said Frank.
“Piggy Pink!” said Jessica Finch.
“Mud,” said Brad.
“Moody Blue!” said Judy.
When they were finished, Ms. Tater let them ask questions.
“How long does it take to make a crayon?” asked Jessica Finch.
“About fifteen minutes.”
“How long does it take to write a book?” asked Rocky.
“A lot longer than that. It took me about one year.”
“Who invented crayons anyway? George Washington?” asked Frank.
“Well,” said Ms. Tater, “two guys named Binney and Smith made the first crayon. It was black. Mr. Binney’s wife, Alice, was a teacher, like Mr. Todd. She invented the name Crayola.”
“Any more questions?” asked Mr. Todd.
Judy waved her hand in the air. “I have a comment, not a question.”
“Yes?” said Ms. Tater.
“You were so non-boring.”
“Thank you,” Ms. Tater said. “What a great compliment.”
Everybody clapped for the Crayon Lady when the program was over.
“Okay, 3T,” said Mr. Todd, “Ms. Tater brought free crayons for all of us. Line up and I’ll pass them out. Then you can go back to your seats and draw.”
Judy got in line for her crayon. That’s when she saw it. The candle! All the wax from the candle that Ms. Tater lit had dripped to one side. The left side.
But wait! If Mr. Todd was in love, the candle would have dripped to the right side. The left side meant a woman was in love.
Judy looked harder at the Crayon Lady. Mr. Todd handed her a Vermilion Red crayon. Ms. Tater smiled back at him like he had just turned into a handsome prince or something.
Or something! Boing! Of course! That was it! Ms. Tater was in love! The candle drips proved it. Judy saw it with her own eyes. And Tater started with T. Just like the apple seed said.
At last, she, Judy Moody, had made a non-fiction prediction! Mr. Todd was in love with the Crayon Lady! The Crayon Lady was in love with Mr. Todd. There were a Vermilion and one reasons.
Judy Moody was in a tell-the-world mood. Judy told Frank Pearl. Judy told Rocky and Stink and the whole bus. Judy told Mom and Dad when she got home. She even called Jessica Finch. She announced to the whole world her best-ever, foretell-the-future, non-fiction prediction: “Madame M predicts . . . Twa la! Mr. Todd and the Crayon Lady are in love!”
By the next morning, Virginia Dare School was buzzing with the news. Really and truly? Could it be? Had Judy Moody predicted the future, once and for all? How did she know? Should they ask Mr. Todd?