Книга: December Secrets
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Chapter 1
Emily Arrow bit down on her pencil. Then she started to write.
The firefighter is your friend.
He puts out fires.
He comes to school.
He takes you for a ride in his turk.
Something didn't look right.
Emily raised her hand.
“How do you spell truck?” she asked Ms. Rooney.
“Good question, Emily,” said Ms. Rooney. She wrote truck on the blackboard.
“The fire truck is in the schoolyard,” Emily whispered to her friend Richard Best. “I can hear the sirens, Beast.”
“Me too,” Beast said. He was drawing a big red fire truck.
Right then the firefighter was giving another class a ride.
One of the kids would be sitting up in the front with the firefighter, Emily thought. He'd be wearing the big black fire hat. He'd be ringing the. siren.
Ms. Rooney's class would be next.
Emily hoped she'd be in the front, wearing the big hat, ringing the siren.
She was wearing her almost-new pink sweatsuit. It had dark blue polka dots and a little green stain on one knee.
She hoped no one would see the green stain.
When they walked out to the fire truck, she was going to keep her knees together.
She looked around. Dawn Bosco was wearing a brand-new sweatsuit. It had a big D on the shirt. D for Dawn.
It should be L for Lucky, Emily thought.
Dawn Bosco always had the best stuff.
Even her middle name, Tiffanie, was great.
Her almost middle name.
Dawn's real middle name began with an M. But she'd never tell what it was.
Emily hoped it was something horrible.
“It's snowing out,” shouted Beast.
Everyone ran to the window.
Jill Simon looked as if she were going to cry.
Jill always looked as if she were going to cry.
“Maybe we can't go out to the fire truck now,” she said.
“Shh,” Emily said. “Don't give Ms. Rooney any ideas.”
Jill shook her head. She rubbed her eyes.
Emily looked at her for a minute.
Everything about Jill was fat. She had four fat braids. Two in front Two in back. She was wearing four yellow loopy ribbons on her braids.
They made her head look like a round yellow sun.
But her face didn't look like the sun, Emily thought. Her face looked like a big fat raincloud.
“Time to go outside,” Ms. Rooney said. “Bundle up. It's cold out there.”
Emily bundled up. She wished she had a long jacket. Long enough to cover the green stain on her knee.
She took Uni, her white rubber unicorn, out of her desk. She tucked him in her pocket.
She raced to get near the front of the line.
She made sure she ran with her knees bent. It made her jacket look longer.
She hoped the firefighter would see her up in front. She hoped he'd ask her to sit in the seat with him and wear the fire hat.
Dawn Bosco tapped her on the arm. “Can I get ahead of you, Emily?” she asked.
The line started down the hall. Emily made believe she hadn't heard Dawn. She hurried as fast as she could with her knees bent.
In back of her everyone was bunching up.
Everyone wanted to get near the front.
“Can I—” Dawn started to ask again.
Outside Ms. Rooney clapped her hands. “We're not going to a fire,” she said.
The firefighter laughed. She was a woman.
She helped Beast and Matthew Jackson climb up on the side of the truck. Emily was next.
Dawn quickly moved in front of Emily.
“Hey,” Emily said.
But the firefighter put Dawn up on the side of the truck.
“You're next,” she said to Emily.
“Can I sit in the front?” she asked.
“Why not?” she said. She let Emily climb up into the front seat.
Jill Simon started to cry.
“What's the matter?” the firefighter asked.
“I wanted to sit in front,” Jill said.
Big baby, Emily wanted to say.
“Plenty of room,” the firefighter said. “Move over a little,” she told Emily.
Emily moved over an inch.
Jill squeezed in next to her. “Can I wear the hat too?” she asked the firefighter.
“Hey,” Emily said. “I—”
The firefighter put the big black hat on Jill. She swung into the seat.
Emily looked at Jill.
Jill looked big and fat with the hat on her head.
She looked silly with all those yellow ribbons hanging out under the hat.
Emily looked down. She could see the stain on her knee. It looked very green.
She sighed. She'd have to wait a whole year before the fire truck came back to the Polk Street School. She'd have to wait another year for a chance at the fire hat.
Chapter 2
“That was really exciting,” Ms. Rooney said when they were back in the classroom. “Everyone's cheeks are red.”
Emily's hands still felt cold. She blew on them a lit-tle.
“It's the first day of December,” Ms. Rooney said. She looked at the class. “Does anyone know what happens in De-cember?”
Noah Green raised his hand. “It's Hanuk-kah.”
“Right,” said Ms. Rooney. She drew a candle-holder on the board. It had one big candle in the middle and four smaller ones on each side.
“This is a special sign for Hanukkah,” Ms. Rooney said. “It's called a menorah.”
Matthew raised his hand. “It's Christmastime too.”
Ms. Rooney nodded. She drew a green wreath on the board. “And this is a special sign for Christ-mas.”
Emily wished she knew something that happened in December.
Beast raised his hand. “One of our presidents had a birth-day in December,” he said.
“Very good,” said Ms. Rooney. “Woodrow Wilson was born in December. He was our twenty-eighth presi-dent.” She drew a flag on the blackboard. “President Andrew Johnson was born in December too.”
Emily looked at Richard. She wondered how he knew about the presidents' birthdays.
Ms. Rooney asked Richard, “How did you know?”
Beast laughed. “I didn't. I just took a guess.”
Emily tried to think of something to guess.
“I'll tell you something,” Ms. Rooney said. “It's the month that someone patented chewing gum.” She drew a square piece of pink chewing gum on the board.
Emily put her hand up in the air. At least she could ask what patented meant. It sounded like shiny shoes.
Ms. Rooney smiled at Emily. “Patent,” she said. “When you invent something, you tell the government. Then no one else can say they invented it first.”
Ms. Rooney looked at the big clock on the wall. “It's almost time for art,” she said. “So I'll have to tell you this quickly.”
She drew a line under the menorah and the wreath. “This is the time for giving,” she said. “It's a special time for making other people happy. And that's what we'll do in the class-room.”
“Presents?” asked Matthew.
“Yes,” Ms. Rooney said. “But we'll do it in a special way. Everyone will pick one person in the classroom. He will be your secret friend. And all through December you can do special things for that person. You can draw pictures for him.”
Timothy Barbiero said, “You can hide candy in his desk.”
“Nice,” said Ms. Rooney.
Dawn put her hand up. “You can pick up her book if she drops it.”
“That's the spirit, Dawn,” Ms. Rooney said.
Emily tried to think of something to say so that Ms. Rooney would say “That's the spirit” to her too. She raised her hand.
“Yes, Emily?”
Emily couldn't think of one thing to say. “I for-got,” she told Ms. Rooney.
“Think of someone to pick,” Ms. Rooney said. “Don't tell that person. Tell me.”
Timothy raised his hand. “You mean, that person will never know?” he asked. “I have to give him stuff and he won't even know it's me?”
“Oh, yes,” said Ms. Rooney. “Everyone will tell his secret friend on the last day of school before the winter vacation.”
She held up her hand. “But it doesn't have to cost money. Do nice things for your secret per-son.”
Ms. Rooney looked at the clock again. “One more thing,” she said. “Tomorrow bring a box. Bring a cigar box. Or maybe a writing-paper box. We're going to do something exciting with it.”
Ms. Rooney smiled. “Time for art now.”
The class lined up.
Emily looked around at everyone.
Beast was at the end of the line. His head was way back. His pink eraser was sitting on top of his nose.
Beast was a very funny boy.
She'd pick Beast for her special person.
She tried to think of ways to make him happy.
Beast loved to draw.
Emily had an almost-new box of crayons. All of the points were sharp.
Except for the red crayon.
That's because red was her favorite. It was also because she had drawn lots of red turkeys last month.
She'd give Beast the box of almost-new crayons.
All of them except for the red one.
The class marched into the art room.
Emily took her seat. Maybe Beast wouldn't see that the red crayon was missing.
“Guess what month this is?” asked Mrs. Kara.
“December,” everyone yelled.
“Very good,” said Mrs. Kara. She passed out drawing paper. “How about drawing some December things?”
Emily took her crayon box out of the art cubby.
She pulled out a yellow crayon. She'd make a big candle-holder like the one Ms. Rooney had drawn.
Matthew poked her in the back. “Can I borrow a green crayon?” he asked.
She passed it back to him.
“Guess what?” he said. “I'm going to pick Beast for my secret person.”
Emily frowned.
“He's my best friend,' Matthew said. “He invited me to his Thanksgiving sleep-over last week. It was the best party in the world.”
“Oh,” Emily said. She drew nine sticks for can-dles. She put big orange flames on them.
She tried to think of someone else to pick for that special per-son.
Dawn Bosco leaned over. She looked at Emily's picture. “That's very nice, Emily,” she said.
Emily smiled at her. Maybe she should pick Dawn.
Emily looked at Dawn's picture. Dawn had drawn a picture of a girl. She had a great big pink chewing-gum bubble coming out of her mouth.
“I like your picture too,” Emily said.
Dawn smiled. She drew a pink sweatsuit on the girl. She put blue polka dots on the sweatsuit.
“Hey, that's me,” Emily said.
Dawn picked up a green crayon. She drew a little green mark on the girl's pink sweatsuit. She drew it right on the knee. 'How come you didn't let me get ahead of you in line?” she asked.
Emily looked at the green mark. She didn't answer.
Mrs. Kara clapped her hands. “Hold up your drawings,' she told the class. She looked around. “Just lovely.”
Emily ducked her head. She hoped Mrs. Kara didn't know that Dawn's picture was supposed to be Emily.
Emily certainly wouldn't pick Dawn for her secret person. She'd have to pick someone else.
Chapter 3
Wayne O'Brien was a nice boy, Emily thought. Maybe she would pick him.
Wayne liked fish a lot.
She could cut out fish pictures. She could draw fish in a bowl. She could buy fish food so he could feed the class fish, Drake and Harry.
Wayne was a perfect special December person.
Emily waited until the bell rang. Everyone lined up to go home. They raced out the door.
Emily went up to Ms. Rooney's desk. “I picked a secret person,” she said.
“Nice, Emily,” said Ms. Rooney. She pulled out a notebook. “I'm writing down all the secret persons. That way, no one will get left out.”
“My secret person will be Wayne,” Emily said.
Ms. Rooney looked at her book. “Sorry, Emily. Someone chose Wayne already.”
“Oh,” Emily said. “I was going to pick Beast, but—”
Ms. Rooney shook her head. “Someone picked him too.”
Emily looked at all the desks. She tried to picture who sat at each one.
Should she pick Sherri Dent? No.
Linda Lorca? Not really.
“How about Dawn?” Ms. Rooney said.
Emily thought about the green stain. She thought about Dawn's picture. She shook her head. “No.”
Ms. Rooney looked at her book again. “I have a perfect secret person for you,” she said.
“Who?”
“Jill.”
“Jill Simon?” Emily asked.
Ms. Rooney smiled. “That's the only Jill we have.”
Emily smiled too. She shook her head a little.
Jill was a crybaby. A fat crybaby;
And fat crybabies were no fun.
“Yes,” said Ms. Rooney. “I think Jill would be a good secret person. And she could use a friend.”
Emily looked out the window. There were a few dots of snow coming down. “I guess I'll pick Matthew.”
Ms. Rooney looked down at her book. “Oh, dear,” she said. “Someone picked Mat-thew.”
Emily looked at the snow again.
Maybe she could be her own secret person, she thought. She could save her own money. She could buy herself some nice bags of chocolate candy.
She could buy herself a pretty notebook. A blue one with pink flow-ers. Nicer than the one Dawn had.
She cleared her throat. “Did anyone pick her-self?”
Ms. Rooney looked a little shocked. “No,” she said.
Emily made herself look a little shocked too. “That wouldn't be very nice, would it?'9
Ms. Rooney shook her head. “No.”
“No,” Emily said too. She looked up at the ceiling. “Who's left?”
“Jill Simon.”
Emily sighed. “All right,” she said. “I guess Jill will be my secret person.”
Emily zipped her jacket. Then she went outside.
Beast was standing in front. He was trying to scoop up snow from the grass.
“Not too much snow,” Emily said.
Beast shook his head.
“What are you doing here?” Emily asked.
“Waiting for my sister, Holly. She takes for-ever.”
“Who's your secret person?” Emily asked.
Beast looked around. “Matthew,” he whispered. “Who's yours?”
Emily looked around too. “It's Jill Simon.”
Beast grabbed his throat. He fell on the grass. “Yucko,” he said.
“Jill is a very nice girl,” Emily said. “She could really use a friend.”
“She could really use a diet,” Beast said.
Emily nodded. “What are you going to do first for your secret person?”
Beast stuck out his finger and caught a snowflake. “My father has some after-shave stuff,” he said. “He never uses it. I think he'll give it to me for Matthew.”
“Matthew shaves?” Emily asked, sur-prised.
Beast shook his head. “No, he still wets the bed a little. I thought he could put on some of the after-shave stuff. It would make him smell bet-ter.”
“That's a good idea,” Emily said.
She started down the path.
Beast was lucky to have such a good idea.
It was hard to think of something to do for Jill.
Emily walked around a telephone pole. Too bad Jill was such a fat crybaby.
Maybe she could do something to make Jill skinny and happy.
What a wonderful December thing that would be.
She had some magazines at home. She started to run. She knew just what she was going to do.
Chapter 4
The next morning it was raining.
In school Emily hung up her yellow raincoat. She put her pink and green writing-paper box on the shelf.
She took the two magazine pictures out of the Baggie her mother had given her.
“Hi, Emily,” Ms. Rooney said. “You're early.”
“Yes.” Emily held up her pictures. “I have a present for my secret person.”
“Wonderful,” Ms. Rooney said. She put her um-brella in the coatroom. “Aren't you sorry it didn't snow?”
“I've been wishing for snow all week,” Emily said. She smoothed out her two pictures. Then she tiptoed over to Jill's desk.
Before she put the pictures on Jill's seat, she took a look at them.
One was a picture of a baby. The baby was fat. She was wearing a diaper.
She looked a lot like Jill. Except she was smiling.
On the bottom of the picture Emily had written Smile.
She had written it with her best red crayon. Her best red crayon with the yucko point.
It was a little hard to tell that the writing said Smile.
She had cut the other picture from a summer magazine. It showed a green cabbage and a yellow squash.
Emily hadn't written anything on the bottom.
She hoped that Jill Simon would think about eating things that would make her skinny.
Emily could hear children coming down the hall.
She put the pictures on Jill's seat. Then she went back to her own desk.
Up in front Ms. Rooney had taken a bunch of plastic Baggies out of a big brown paper bag.
The Baggies were filled with white things.
Just then Beast came into the classroom.
So did Noah and Dawn.
Beast ran to Matthew's desk. He put a bottle on Mat-thew's seat.
It was half filled with green liquid.
Then Beast slid into his own seat.
Emily wished Jill would hurry.
Jill would be so happy when she saw Emily's pictures.
The bell rang.
The rest of the children came into the classroom. All except for Jill.
Matthew took off his jacket. Then he looked at the bottle on his seat. He took the cap off and smelled it. “Phew,” he said.
Emily looked at Beast. She hoped he didn't feel bad.
But Beast was bent over his desk. He was drawing a picture of a Christmas tree.
Jill came into the classroom at last.
She had on a big blue plastic rainhat. It looked like the kind of hat Emily's mother wore in the shower.
Jill took her hat off and shook the rain out of it.
She was wearing four white ribbons on her four fat braids.
She looked like a snowball, Emily thought.
A big, fat white snowball.
Jill had a brown paper bag with her.
Emily smiled to herself.
It was probably a present for Jill's secret person.
Emily wondered who her secret person was.
Jill went to her seat. She sat right on top of Emily's two secret person pictures.
At the front of the room Ms. Rooney clapped her hands.
“We're going to do something special today,” she told the class. “Something special for December.”
Emily looked at Jill. She wondered if Jill would ever stand up so she could see her secret person present.
“Who can tell us the story of Hanukkah?” Ms. Rooney asked.
Noah put his hand up. “Once upon a time there was a good queen. Her name was Esther, I think. And then there was a very bad man. His name was—”
Jill Simon raised her hand. She stood up.
Emily leaned over to see what had happened to the pictures.
The picture of the baby was wrinkled on the edge.
“I think that's wrong, Ms. Rooney,” Jill said in a soft voice. “Noah's mixed up. He's telling the story of Purim. He's supposed to be telling the story of the oil.”
“No, I'm not,' said Noah.
Then he put his hand up to his mouth. “I guess you're right,” he said. He made a face at Jill.
“I'm just trying to help,” Jill said. She sounded as if she were going to cry.
Jill sat down again without looking at her chair.
Emily sat back. She watched Jill open the brown paper bag.
Jill reached in. She took out a chocolate chip cookie. Then she ducked down behind a book so Ms. Rooney wouldn't see her. She took a bite of the cookie.
“Hanukkah,” said Noah. “Well. Once upon a time the Jews had to fight for their freedom. Then they won. They wanted to light the temple light.”
Ms. Rooney pointed to the menorah on the blackboard. She nodded at Noah.
“But there was only enough oil to keep the temple lamp lit for one day.”
Jill raised her hand. “Let me tell the rest.”
Noah sighed. “Go ahead.”
“Very thoughtful, Noah,” Ms. Rooney said.
“Even though there wasn't enough oil, the candle stayed lighted for eight days,” Jill said.
“Now,” said Noah, “we light a candle every night for eight nights.”
“And we get a present every night for eight nights too,” said Jill.
“Lucky,” said Matthew.
Ms. Rooney held up one of the Baggies. “We're going to make presents,” she said. “You may use them for Christmas or for Hanukkah.”
Beast said, “I think it's time for gym now.”
Ms. Rooney frowned. She looked at the clock. “Absolutely right, Richard. I guess we'll have to make our presents later.”
The class lined up.
Emily watched until Jill stood up.
This time Jill saw the pictures.
They were all wrinkled.
Jill looked a little surprised. She looked at the pictures for a moment. Then she crumpled them up and put them into the waste-basket.
Emily gritted her teeth. Just her luck to get such a dummy for a se-cret December person.
Chapter 5
The next day, after Mrs. Paris's reading class, Emily went back to the science table. She looked at the fishbowl.
“Hi, Harry,” she said to the striped fish.
She looked at Harry's eyes. They were always open. She wondered if Harry ever went to sleep.
Emily tried to keep her eyes open too.
She counted to thirty-four. Then she had to blink.
“Hi, Drake,” she said to the other fish.
Drake was the mean one. He was always eating.
He never gave Harry a chance.
Drake opened his mouth wide. Then he shut it.
Pop.
Emily did the same thing.
Beast came back to the table. “Hi, Fish Face,” he said to Emily.
Emily laughed.
Beast took a little fish food in his fingers.
He tried to drop it on Harry's side of the bowl.
But Drake swam over quickly. He opened his mouth to grab the food.
64Mean,” said Beast.
“Did you get a present today?” Emily asked.
Beast shook his head. “No. Well, maybe.”
“What—” Emily began.
“I found a Good and Plenty candy in my desk.”
“That's not much,” Emily said.
“No,” said Beast. “And I had Good and Plentys last week. This one may have been left over. Did you get a pre-sent?”
Emily shook her head. “Not yet.”
“I thought I saw someone put—” Beast began. Then he closed his mouth.
“In my desk?” Emily asked.
Beast pressed his lips together.
“Who was it?” Emily asked.
Beast covered his mouth with his hand. He shook his head. “Don't ask me,” he said.
“All right, class,” Ms. Rooney said. “It's time to start our December presents.”
All the children raced back to their seats.
Emily reached into her desk. No present.
Ms. Rooney held up one of the Baggies. “Guess what I have?”
“Macaroni,” someone said.
“Not just ordinary macaroni,” Ms. Rooney said.
She held up some fat shells. She held up some short squiggly ones. Then she held up some wheels.
Emily stuck her head into her desk.
There was nothing special in the desk.
Maybe she was nobody's special December per-son.
“Take out your cigar boxes,” Ms. Rooney said.
Emily went to the coatroom. She took her pink and green box off the shelf. Then she went back to her seat.
6'Now,” said Ms. Rooney. “Will our glue monitor give out the glue, please?”
Timothy Barbiero went to the front of the room.
He gave out the honey-colored jars of glue.
'This is easy,” said Ms. Rooney. She held up a box.
“Ah,” said everyone.
It was the most beautiful box Emily had ever seen. It was covered with macaroni. Macaroni shells. Macaroni wheels. Squiggly macaroni. Gold maca-roni.
“How—” Beast started to ask.
“Gold spray paint,” Ms. Rooney said. “I have gold spray and silver spray.”
Dawn Bosco put her hand up.
So did Emily.
“I want gold,” Dawn said.
Ms. Rooney frowned a little. “We're not up to that yet.”
Emily quickly put her hand down.
“This is our December present,” Ms. Rooney said. She pointed to her box. “It will be ready for the first night of Hanukkah. If you celebrate Hanukkah, you may take it home to your mother and father. Or you may save it for a Christmas present.”
“Hey,” Dawn said. “Look at this.” She held up a blue barrette. “It was in my desk.”
Jill looked as if she were going to cry.
“I didn't get anything,” Jill said.
Emily wanted to hit her right in her big, fat white snowball head. “You did so,” she started to say.
Then she shut her mouth.
Jill turned around. “What did you say, Emily?”
“I said, I didn't get anything either,” Emily said in a cross voice.
Ms. Rooney called Emily up to her desk. “You may pick a macaroni Baggie, Emily. Pour a few on everyone's desk.”
Emily picked wheels.
She poured a few on everyone's desk.
She poured five on Beast's desk because he was her friend.
She poured only two on Jill Simon's desk because Jill had sat on her present.
She poured only one on Dawn Bosco's desk because she still remembered the green stain.
Some of the other children were walking around the room. They were putting macaroni on people's desks.
Matthew was giving out ziti.
Dawn was giving out stars.
“Hey,” Emily said to Dawn. “How come you gave me only one star?”
Dawn put her shoulders up in the air. “How come you gave me only one wheel?”
Jill Simon started to cry. “I don't have enough.”
Ms. Rooney sighed. “I have plenty for every-one.”
Emily picked up her glue. She poured some on her box. Then she stuck a wheel in the middle.
Chapter 6
It was Wednesday. Time for music.
Emily gave Uni, her rubber unicorn, a gallop across her desk.
She took a look at the window. The macaroni boxes were lined up on the sill.
Hers was beautiful. It was sprayed with gold.
“Hurry, everyone,” said Ms. Rooney.
Mrs. Avery was waiting for them in the music room. 'Open your books to page twenty-one,” she said. “We'll sing a Christmas song.”
Emily looked outside. It was starting to snow.
It was starting to feel like Christmas. It was less than a week away.
She opened to page twenty-one.
The name of the song was “Rudolph the Red-nosed Rein-deer.”
Jill was sitting in front of Emily. She was wearing three loopy red bows. She looked like Rudolph.
One of the bows must have fallen off, Emily thought.
She looked like a messy Rudolph.
The class began to sing.
Next to Emily, Dawn Bosco was singing. She was singing very loud.
She had a terrible voice. Screechy.
Emily tried to sing a little louder than Dawn. She knew her voice was nice.
Mrs. Avery always said so.
This time Mrs. Avery raised her eyebrows a little. “Dawn Bosco and Emily Arrow,” she said. “How about singing a little softer? This is not a shouting match.”
Beast and Matthew started to laugh. They made believe they were boxers fighting each other.
“That will do,” Mrs. Avery told them.
Emily sang a little softer. She didn't have to look at her book.
Dawn had to look at her book.
Emily was glad she knew all the words by heart.
She turned the page to see what came next.
Someone had put a piece of paper inside her book. It was a picture of three girls. They were all wearing mittens.
Underneath someone had written in blue crayon:
Good Frineds
Emily looked around. She wondered who had put the picture in her book.
She turned the picture over. On the back someone had writ-ten:
Good frineds let peple ahead of them in line.
Emily crumpled the paper up. That Dawn Bosco.
What kind of a present was that to give to a good friend?
Emily marched up to the wastebas-ket.
She threw the crumpled up picture inside.
Mrs. Avery tapped on her desk. “Emily Arrow,” she said. “Why did you get up in the middle of our song? You know better than that.”
Emily didn't say anything.
She wanted to say that Dawn was the one who should know bet-ter.
Mrs. Avery frowned at her. “I think you'd better go back to your classroom. Tell Ms. Rooney that you are not interested in Christmas mu-sic.”
Emily hurried out of the music room. She didn't want eve-rybody to see that she had tears in her eyes.
She didn't want everyone to think she was a crybaby like Jill Simon.
Before she went back to her classroom, she stopped in the girls' room.
She could hear her class singing.
They were singing “It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.”
Emily looked in the mirror. Her face was red.
It was beginning to look as if she were going to have a terrible De-cember.
Slowly she walked back to her classroom.
She hated to tell Ms. Rooney that Mrs. Avery had said she wasn't interested in Christmas music.
She was very interested in Christmas music.
She was practically the only one who knew all the words by heart.
Ms. Rooney was sitting at her desk. “What's the matter, Emily?” she asked.
Emily started to cry. “Dawn tried to get me in trou-ble.”
“Really?” Ms. Rooney said.
“Yes,” said Emily. She sniffed a little. She needed a tissue. “Dawn tried to sing louder than me.”
Ms. Rooney passed her the hankie box.
Emily rubbed her nose. “Dawn doesn't want me for her secret December person either.”
Ms. Rooney looked surprised. “Why do you think you're Dawn's secret per-son?”
“I guessed,” Emily said.
Just then Matthew raced in.
He stopped when he saw Emily and Ms. Rooney. He put his hand over his mouth. “I didn't know anyone was here,” he said.
“T'm here,” said Ms. Rooney. “Why aren't you in music? Did you sing too loud too?”
“No.” Matthew smiled. “I asked to go to the bathroom.”
He reached into his pocket. He pulled out a box of Good and Plen-tys.
“I wanted to put this box of candy in Beast's desk.”
“That's nice,” said Ms. Rooney.
“Beast loves Good and Plentys,” Matthew said. “Yesterday I bought him a box too.” He put his shoulders up in the air. “I ate some before I got to school. I ate a lot.”
Chapter 7
It was hard to think of things to give Jill Simon.
Last night Emily had looked through her closet.
She had pulled out a pile of stuff. Shells from the beach last summer. Her old first-grade notebook.
At last she had found some-thing.
A pencil.
It was a special pencil. Green. Her Aunt Helen had brought it back from California. It had a big, fat almost-new erase.
It was long and very skinny.
Maybe it would make Jill think about being skinny. Maybe it would make Jill think about a diet.
When Emily got to the classroom, she looked at the pencil again. Jill would love it.
But she might not think about being skinny when she looked at it.
Ms. Rooney clapped her hands. 'Today we're going to talk about Christmas.”
Emily loved to talk about Christmas. She closed her eyes for a min-ute. She could see the Christmas tree in her living room. She could see presents.
She looked at the pencil again.
Maybe she should write a little note with it. A note to remind Jill about a diet.
44Who would like to tell us about Christmas?” Ms. Rooney asked.
Quickly Emily raised her hand.
Dawn Bosco's hand shot up in the air too.
Ms. Rooney called on Emily.
“Christmas,” said Emily slowly. “It's surprises. And a tree. It's getting lots of pre-sents.”
Dawn waved her hand around. 44It's not just getting pre-sents,” she said. 44It's giving presents. That's the important thing.”
'That's what my mother said,” Matthew told the class.
Emily made a face at Dawn. She wanted to say “I was going to tell about the giving part next.”
She wished she had thought of it.
But Ms. Rooney was talking now. “Who can tell us more?” she asked.
Beast stood up. “It's a birthday. A special birth-day. It's the day Jesus Christ was born.”
“Exactly right,” said Ms. Rooney.
Exactly right, thought Emily. She felt cross with herself. Too bad she hadn't thought about saying that.
She sighed. She looked at the pencil for Jill again.
Maybe she would write a poem to go with Jill Simon's se-cret December present.
What went with skinny? Minny. Jinny. Linny.
You won't look tinny when you're skinny.
No.
How about something with diet? Fi-et. Ly-et.
She thought for a minute.
How about:
A skinny dress your mother will buy it.
If you go on a diet.
That was a little better.
But not perfect.
She looked out the window. The snow had stopped.
How about:
Try a diet
Yes. That sounded good.
She said it in her head a couple of times. Try a diet. Try a diet.
Sherri Dent turned around. “Are you talking to your-self?” she whispered.
Emily shook her head. Then she took out her notebook. She tore out a piece of paper.
Ms. Rooney stopped talking about Christmas.
“Who is making that ripping noise?” she asked.
Emily ducked down.
“Yes,” said Ms. Rooney after a minute. “We are very lucky. Mr. Mancina, the principal, is giving us a present. Our own class Christmas tree.”
Everybody clapped.
Emily clapped too. Then she frowned.
Try a diet was no good.
It would hurt Jill's feelings. She might cry for an hour.
No. She peeked at Jill to be sure she wasn't looking at her.
Then she wrote Surprise on the piece of paper.
She wrote it with the long, skinny green pencil.
“We're going to make Christmas ornaments this week,” said Ms. Rooney. “For the tree.”
Everyone smiled. Beast was smiling the hardest.
Emily looked over at him. Beast loved to draw. He'd make a great ornament.
She reached into her desk for Uni, her rubber unicorn. Maybe she'd give him a run.
She pulled him out. He was wrapped up in paper.
Emily pulled the paper off.
Underneath he had a piece of red shiny material covering him.
A little card said:
A blanket for Uni
Next to her Dawn Bosco was playing with a piece of gum.
She saw Emily looking at her.
She pulled the gum into a long string.
Emily smiled.
Dawn blinked. Then she smiled back.
Emily gave Uni a pat. She could feel his new red cover. It felt smooth, beautiful.
She was sorry she hadn't let Dawn ahead of her on the fire-truck line.
She'd have to make it up to Dawn.
She waited until everyone lined up for lunch. Quickly she put the pencil on Jill's desk.
Then she marched out the door.
Chapter 8
Emily reached into her desk. She felt the package.
Her mouth watered.
Inside the package were two cookies. Two big fat ones. Two sugar cookies with nuts and raisins and rainbow sprinkles on top.
She and her mother had made them last night.
These cookies were not for her secret December person. They were for Dawn Tiffanie Bosco.
As soon as Dawn got up to sharpen her pencil, Emily put the cookies inside her desk.
Then she sat back and waited.
Now Dawn would know she was sorry about the fire-truck line.
“I need some people to go on a message,” Ms. Rooney said.
Emily raised her hand as hard as she could.
“All right, Emily,” said Ms. Rooney. “You may go. And also …”
Beast knelt up on his seat.
He had a magnifying glass in his hand.
“Please, Ms. Rooney …”he be-gan.
“Jill,” said Ms. Rooney.
Beast slid down in his seat. He held his thumb up to the magnifying glass.
Emily smiled.
Beast had Matthew's old magnifying glass. It must be a secret December person present.
Emily went quickly to Ms. Rooney's desk.
“Go to the custodian's room,” Ms. Rooney said. “Ask Jim to bring up the Christmas tree.”
“Ooh,” everyone said.
Emily hurried out of the room.
She was lucky. This was a terrific message.
She waited for Jill outside the door.
Today Jill was wearing green bows on her braids.
She looked like a fat green lollipop, Emily thought.
Emily remembered Jill was her secret December person. “Your bows look pretty,” she said.
She crossed her fingers behind her back.
“Do you think so?” Jill asked. She took a little hop down the first step. “I think I look like a frog. A fat green frog.” She hopped down the next step. “Glunk, glunk.”
Emily's mouth opened.
Jill reached the bottom step. “Glunk, glunk,” she said again. She started to laugh a little.
Emily laughed a little too. Jill really looked funny with her braids jumping up and down.
“Do you think we could stop for water?” Jill asked. “I'm dying of thirst.”
“A quick drink,” Emily said.
“Yes,” Jill said.
Emily took three gulps of water. “Glunk, glunk,” she said. “I sound just like a frog.”
Jill laughed.
Emily waited while Jill took three gulps of water.
Jill didn't look like a fat green lollipop when she laughed.
Her face made Emily smile. It looked like the happy faces Beast drew in his notebook.
They stopped to look out the window.
“I wish it would snow,” Jill said.
“Me too,” Emily said. “We could sled right across the yard.”
“Slide right into the flagpole,” Jill said.
Emily laughed, thinking about people banging into the flag-pole.
They knocked on Jim's door.
“Could we have the Christmas tree?” Emily asked. “For Room 113.”
“Please,” Jill added.
“Why not?” Jim said. He had a box of crackers in his hand. “Want some?”
Emily said, “Yes.” She took one.
Jill said “Yes” too. She took two.
Then they ran upstairs again.
“I'm dying of hunger,” Emily said.
“Me too,” Jill said. She broke off part of her second cracker. She gave it to Emily.
Suddenly Emily remembered Dawn's cookies. She won-dered if Dawn had found them.
“Let's hurry,” she told Jill.
They raced down the hall.
Back in the classroom everyone was working on ornaments.
There was colored paper on everyone's desk. And pieces of ribbon and lace.
“Wow,” said Emily when she went back to her desk.
Jill raised her hand. “I don't know how to do it.” She looked as if she were going to cry.
Emily sighed. Jill looked like a raincloud again.
“Alex will help you,” Mrs. Rooney told Jill.
Emily slid down in her seat.
She could see the cookies in Dawn's desk.
She wished Dawn would find them.
Emily went to her art cubby. She took out her scissors. She held them by the ears.
Ms. Rooney always made a big fuss if someone didn't carry his scissors by the ears.
Emily was so busy remembering how to hold her scissors that she didn't remember her crayons.
She went back to get them.
Ms. Rooney frowned. “Settle down, Emily.”
Emily rushed back to her seat.
She cut out a big blue circle.
Then she looked for her glue.
The glue monitor had forgotten her.
She thought about getting up to get some. But Ms. Rooney would tell her to settle down again.
Maybe she'd draw some pictures on the blue ball first. Too bad the red crayon was yucko.
She reached for her crayon box.
“Hey,” said Dawn. She pulled out the cookies. “Gorgeous,” she said.
Emily looked over.
“Aren't they gorgeous?” Dawn said.
Emily nodded a little. She smiled at Dawn.
Dawn took a big bite. “I wonder who keeps giving me all this stuff?”
“I—” Emily began.
Dawn held up her hand. “Don't tell me. I want to be surprised on the last day of school.”
Emily looked down at her crayon box. That Dawn Bosco. She knew very well who had made those cookies. She knew that Emily had baked them with her mother.
That mean Dawn Bosco.
She was making believe the cookies were a secret December person present.
Emily made a face at her.
Dawn stuck her tongue out at Emily.
Emily reached for her red crayon.
It wasn't hers. It was a brand-new one.
Emily put her hand over her mouth.
Dawn had given her a new red crayon.
She leaned over. “Dawn,” she said. “Would you like to use my red crayon?”
Dawn stuck her tongue out at Emily again. “No, thank you very much,' she said. “I have my own,”
Then Dawn put the rest of the cookies into her mouth.
Chapter 9
Emily rushed down the hall.
She had a secret December person present for Jill. It was the last one.
Today was the last day of school before the holidays. Noah had told her that Hanukkah began tonight. And Christmas was in two days.
Today was going to be a very exciting day.
Jill's mother was coming to school. She was giving the class potato pancakes for a Hanukkah treat. “Latkes,” Jill called them. She said they were wonderful.
Emily had a little box in her schoolbag.
Inside the box were four pink ribbons. They were for Jill's braids.
They would make Jill look like a fat pink pillow.
So what?
Jill would look like a nice fat pink pillow.
Emily thought about the other day. She thought about Jill saying “Glunk, glunk.” She thought about Jill sharing her cracker.
Emily quickly opened her schoolbag.
Ms. Rooney came into the room. “Good morning.”
Emily said hello to Ms. Rooney. She put Jill's present in-side her desk. Then she raced to her seat.
Dawn slid into the seat next to Emily. She put a package on her desk.
Emily looked at it out of the corner of her eye.
She knew it was for her.
It was a secret December person present.
She smiled at Dawn.
Dawn smiled back at her. “Let's be friends again.”
“All right,” Emily said.
“How do you like this?” Dawn asked. She pointed to the package.
“Very pretty,” Emily said. She wondered what was inside. She hoped it was something she liked.
Dawn leaned over. “It's a truck.”
“A truck?” Emily said.
“It's for my secret person,” Dawn said. “It's for Timothy Barbiero.”
Dawn went over to stand in the pencil-sharpener line.
Emily took her pencil. She went to stand in line too. “How come you gave me the picture?” she asked Dawn.
“What picture?” Dawn asked.
“The one with the girls and the mittens,” Emily said. “And the green stain on the knee.”
Dawn ducked her head. “I was mad at you. I'm sorry.”
“It's all right,” Emily said. “I guess.”
Emily let Jill get in line in front of her. Jill had her long skinny spe-cial pencil with her.
“Do you like that pencil?” Emily asked.
“I love it,” Jill said.
Emily wished she could tell Jill some-thing.
She wished she could tell her that she looked a lot better when she was smiling.
Jill was turning out to be a good friend.
Emily leaned forward. “You look nice when you smile.”
“Thank you,” Jill said.
“I wish you would smile a lot,” Emily said. “It makes you look pretty.”
“Glunk, glunk,” Jill said.
They both started to laugh.
Jill sharpened her pencil. Emily sharpened hers too. Then they went to look at their gold macaroni boxes.
“I love mine,” Jill said. She lifted the top to show Emily.
Inside she had colored the box with a blue crayon.
“Pretty,” Emily said. She wished she had thought of coloring the inside of hers. “Maybe I'll color mine.”
“Good idea,' Jill said.
'Til color mine red,” Emily said.
“I was going to do that,' Jill said. “Red is my favorite color.”
Then Jill put the top back on the macaroni box.
She didn't put it back right. The top fell.
A macaroni shell fell off. So did a wheel.
Jill looked as if she were going to cry.
“Don't cry,” Emily said quickly.
Jill tried to smile.
They went back to their seats.
Then Jill's mother came. She had a big box in her hand. “Careful,” she said. “They're hot.”
Emily took a potato latke. Mrs. Simon gave her a paper napkin with a snowflake on it.
The latke was wonder-ful.
Emily watched as Jill reached into her desk.
Jill pulled out the box of pink ribbons. She held them up for every-one to see.
Then Emily reached into her desk. She took out her box of crayons. She had a great idea.
She'd color the inside of her macaroni box. She'd color it red. Jill's favorite color.
Then she'd give the box to Jill. She'd get her mother something else.
She took another potato latke.
She wondered why Jill hadn't colored the inside of her box red.
Maybe she didn't have a red crayon.
Emily took a deep breath.
“Hey,” she said to Dawn. “I just thought of something.”
Dawn looked up.
“If I'm not your secret December per-son,” she said, “then who gave me a red crayon?”
“I can't tell,” Dawn said.
Ms. Rooney clapped her hands. She stood in front of the class Christmas tree.
It looked beautiful. Everyone's ornament was hanging on it.
Emily could see her blue one. It was next to Beast's.
His was green and red.
It was the best in the class.
“Now,” said Ms. Rooney. She smiled. “It's time for everyone to tell about his secret December per-son.”
Matthew raised his hand. “My secret December person is my best friend,” he said. “It's Beast.”
Beast held his magnifying glass up to his eye. “And my secret person is my friend Matthew.”
Matthew clapped his hand to his head. “I never guessed,” he said.
Emily stood up. “My secret December person,” she said slowly, “is Jill Simon. She's a very nice girl.”
Jill smiled. Today Jill was wearing her red ribbons again. But she had only three braids.
“Hey,” Dawn Bosco said.
Emily looked over at her.
“I thought I was your secret December person,” Dawn said.
Emily shook her head.
“But you baked those gor-geous cookies for me,' Dawn said.
“Yes,” Emily said. “Because of the fire-truck line.”
“Oh,” Dawn said. “That was very nice.”
“Yes,” Emily said again.
“Then next year,” Dawn said, “maybe you'll let me get ahead of you.”
“Maybe,” Emily said. “But I'm not sure yet.”
Jill Simon stood up. “I had a very special secret per-son,” she said. “Her name is—”
Emily looked at her.
“Her name is,” Jill said again, “Emily Arrow.”
“Wow,” Emily said. “Thank you for the red crayon.”
“You're welcome,” Jill said.
“And thank you for Uni's cover,” Emily said.
Jill laughed. She pulled at her braids. “I used one of my red hair ribbons.”
Emily finished the last of her potato latke.
She looked up at the Christmas tree. Then she looked at her macaroni box. Jill was going to love it.
She leaned over to Dawn again. 'How about coming over to my house tomorrow? You and Jill and Beast and Matthew.”
“All right,” Dawn said.
Emily looked out the window.
It had started to snow.
“Jingle bells,” Emily sang under her breath.
Next to her Dawn started to sing too.
Emily sang a little louder.
“Let's all sing,” said Ms. Rooney.
Emily looked at Dawn. It was December. She sang a little softer.
Then Dawn sang a little softer too.
“Lovely,” said Ms. Rooney.
Emily smiled. She thought it was lovely too.
Published by Yearling, an imprint of Random House Children's Books
a division of Random House, Inc., New York
Text copyright © 1984 by Patricia Reilly Giff
Illustrations copyright © 1984 by Blanche Sims
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