Thank You, Miss Rose, for Everything!

What loony-head would bury a dead turtle in a sandbox? Freddie, that's who. Okay, so it's not a sandbox like at a playground. It's really a Zen garden with little rocks, a little rake, and all this pretty white sand, and it's supposed to help us think better. At least that's what Miss Forrest says. She keeps it in the back of the room along with science stuff, learning centers, computers, and comfy bean bag chairs. She calls it the Quiet Zone and it's kept separate from the rest of the room by a big glass screen. The glass is all wavy and is smoky enough to give us some privacy but clear enough so Miss Forrest can see exactly what we're doing. No funny stuff, you know.

I miss our teacher. Miss Forrest's been absent for almost two weeks. Last week her little baby girl got real sick so Miss Forrest stayed home those first three days, then she got sick. Ten days without our teacher and already we've gone through two substitutes. First came Mr. Kelly who was really nice but stayed just that morning. Something about a job mix-up, they said. He was supposed to be at another school. Too bad he had to leave 'cause Mr. Kelly really laid down the law to Freddie and his friends, and things were going great, just like Miss Forrest never left.

Another sub, Mrs. Brickle came after lunch. She lasted longer then I thought, but the last straw came yesterday when Freddie and his buddies, Seth and Lana, pulled one bad prank after another. They said many cruel things to Mrs. Brickle; they almost made her cry. I liked Mrs. Brickle a lot. She used to teach a long time ago then retired, and now she subs once in a while. Mrs. Brickle was really smart, and she had six college degrees! Wow, now that's what happens if kids stay in school, learn a whole lot, and stay out of trouble. That's what Mom and Daddy say all the time to me, "Mia, we want you to do your best and get good grades. stay away from those rowdy kids who only want to start trouble.

That was the big deal: Stay away from troublemakers. Like Freddie, Seth, and Lana. Well, in a way I kind of like Lana, but she's all goo-goo eyes for Freddie; she thinks he's really cute. Hey, I kind of like a boy in the room across the hall. Stephan. He's really cute, and really nice and smart. But we're all fifth grade. Much too young to think about hookin' up. There will be, Mom always says, plenty of time for boys in high school. Enjoy being a kid now, 'cause things really get hard once we're grown.

~~~~~~

Whew! Glad that job's done. It's my job to keep the Quiet Zone neat, and I tidy up first in the morning then the afternoon. Obviously, except for today, I usually enjoy doing it. I feed the fish, put books away, and clear away the sand around the Zen garden. Only today I find a little dead turtle buried in the bottom. I know Freddie put it there 'cause Lana told me. I bet he thought Mrs. Brickle would find it yesterday right after dismissal. She always stayed behind and tidied up the room, even the Quiet Zone. She never dared feed the fish and stuff. Too afraid of 'em, I guess.

I also have another morning job: Take the attendance and lunch count to the office downstairs. Not too bad a deal to have two important jobs, but Miss Forrest trusts me just like Mrs. Brickle did, like I hope the new sub will.
Thank goodness I finally trashed that dead turtle. Before tossing it, I showed it, all wrapped in paper towels, to Mr. Blum, our principal. Oh yes, he said, this has Freddie written all over it. Well, he reassured me, Freddie is spending the morning in detention, and that's no fun being in the detention room.
A few weeks ago, my friend Keisha spent the morning there for getting into a fight with Lana, not that is all Keisha's fault because Freddie started it. He kept messing with her during recess, then Keisha told Miss Forrest who gave Freddie after school detention. Come next morning Lana socked Keisha for, "Getting Freddie in trouble." Naturally, Keisha hit back which was not a wise decision, and both of them got detention. Lana got two days and Keisha just the morning.

As I said, detention is no fun at all. In the morning, a kid spending the day in detention has to report to his room, put his coat and stuff away, then get out all his books and supplies. Then he reports to the detention room, and he better have his supplies 'cause there's no going back to the classroom to fetch a pencil, and the detention monitor, Mr. Grubbs, charges fifty cents for a pencil and three sheets of paper. Not good if a kid plan to buy candy after school.
Anyway, the kids in detention have all their assignments for the day; the teachers send work packets first thing in the morning. And the kids have to work the whole time. No talking, no gum or candy, no note-passing, no fooling around. They only get two bathroom breaks if they're there all day, only one for half day. No lunch with their class, either. Mr. Grubbs sends to the lunch room a list of students staying in detention past the regular lunch period, and these kids get what the teachers call a "field trip" lunch: Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, carrot sticks, fruit, a cookie, and milk. And it's a silent lunch — no talking allowed. I know Freddie will get this 'cause Mr. Blum wanted him to stay in detention through lunch and recess. Thank goodness for that, 'cause we all want a good day, and Freddie can make any day very bad.

On the way back to class, I passed the detention room. I stopped and peeped in, just to see if Freddie is doing what he should be doing. Oh yeah, he's doing his assignments, and he's quiet for a change! Maybe he's learned his lesson. Maybe Freddie's grandmother will finally give him what for. Too bad he wants to be a bully and all 'cause Freddie's a smart boy, but, like Dad says, he uses his smarts in all the wrong ways. Some day, Dad also says, Freddie will learn a hard lesson, but it will be too late.

~~~~~~

Wow, that's our new sub? She's...Oh, wow, she's really pretty! That's what Grandma says is "drop dead gorgeous." Whoa, she could be a model or in movies or on TV, so why is she just a sub? Miss Rose, that's her name, and it really fits her.

When I got back to Room 19 the new substitute teacher was there, and Mr.Blum introduced her to the class, and he warned that any student who gives her a hard time will do detention for three days. That, and write a letter of apology and do K.P. for a week. That means help clean up the lunch room, and no one likes that job. He then told Miss Rose about Freddie, what he's like, what he's capable of, and that he'll return to the room after recess. If the boy does anything out of line, send him straight to the principal's office.

Mr. Blum then showed Miss Rose all the work for today, and, he said, "Thank your predecessor, Mrs. Brickle. She was very good with the children, organized, however..."

"Freddie," replied Miss Rose. Oh boy, even her voice is pretty. All fancy and what my mom calls cultured, like she's been to all kinds of places all over the world, and she knows just about everything. Bet she goes to concerts, not hip-hop or rock 'n' roll, but jazz, maybe symphony. She must eat at fancy restaurants and shops for cool clothes, like what she's wearing now.

After Mr. Blum left, Miss Rose introduced herself again then said, "I've worked all over town, in many schools. This one is very nice, and I've known your principal for a long time. He's one of my best friends. Now, I know your regular teacher's been sick and that she'll be back Monday. You had a good guest teacher in Mrs. Brickle, but a handful decided to make her time with your class miserable. So, frustrated, she left, and I'm here."

When she said that we knew the day had better be good. Miss Rose seemed like a lady no one should play or mess with. I, settled in my seat and busy studying my spelling words, glanced around the room. Oh yes, everyone, except two kids, got the message and did what they were supposed to do. Those two other kids were Seth and Lana who, though their seats were three rows apart, looked at each other. I could tell by how Lana wiggled her eyebrows at Seth that something was about to go down, if not now then sometime after lunch and recess. They knew Freddie would be back that afternoon; they would have their leader back and then their plan to "sink the sub" would begin. Somehow, I thought to myself, those kids wouldn't get their way. Why? 'Cause Miss Rose would get on their case for sure, and she'd send them straight to Mr. Blum.

~~~~~~

Did I say Miss Rose was the most beautiful, smartest, and cultured lady I've ever met? She was chocolate brown like me, big green eyes, long black hair. I liked her bangs. Her clothes were nice, too. Very professional but fashionable, as Miss Forrest, who dresses nicely, always says. Today Miss Rose wore a black leather skirt, a white long-sleeved blouse that had a big red rose pinned on it, a red sash tied around her waist, and cute black shoes. Not high heels, she told me when she took us to art class. Those can be hard on the feet, so she wears low heels at work, high heels when going somewhere fancy.

Miss Rose carried a big brown briefcase that she called "The Sub's Survival Kit". I watched as she took things out. Nothing unusual, that is until the last. Miss Rose says she never travels without the necessities, and she doesn't like to use too much of the regular teacher's supplies. "Your teacher spends a lot on things like paper clips and white-out. I bring my own."

So she set out the usual stuff good subs bring: Extra pencils, pens, her own little stapler, crayons, markers, even a stack of math and reading worksheets in case we needed something extra to do. But what she took out last...

It was a little red satin bag tied with golden string. "What's that?," asked Keisha.

"Just something I carry with me everywhere. It brings me luck."

~~~~~~

The rest of the morning went on just as if Miss Forrest was here. We did the usual Friday morning school work: spelling test, reading groups, map skills, then review our math unit. All through the morning I looked over at Lana and Seth wondering if those two would try something without Freddie around. I was wrong although Lana kept whispering to Seth at the pencil sharpener just before the spelling test. Miss Rose gave them both a warning then said, "If you're planning a little coup like the one that drove Mrs. Brickle away..."
She looked straight at them, her gaze resting longest on Seth, then said in a very warning voice, "Think again, because both of you will be doing K.P. all next week."

Now that's got me puzzled. She looked at Seth real long and hard, as if she knows he's the weak one of the trouble-making trio. Gee, how did she know? Did Mr. Blum tell her? I believe he did 'cause, during recess, I found out just how good friends Miss Rose were. What they had planned for Freddie once he returned to the classroom that afternoon...

Then everything went crazy, and, right after dismissal, I saw what was in that little red satin bag.

To be continued...

Copyright©2012 by P.R. Parker. All Rights Reserved.