The Valentine Star Read online

Matthew turned around. “Don't you know any more?”

  Emily felt her face get hot. She wondered if Ms. Vincent thought she was the dumbest kid in the class.

  Just then Sherri Dent shot past her.

  She went straight to Ms, Vincent's seat.

  “I'm all finished,” she said; “I wrote three yellow vegetables.”

  “Wonderful,” said Ms. Vincent.

  Emily tore a piece of paper out of her notebook.

  She wrote:

  I'm going to get you.

  She folded it four times. Then she tossed it toward Sherri's desk.

  It landed on Sherri's chair.

  Good, Emily thought. She swallowed.

  She hoped she wasn't going to cry in front of everybody.

  The next morning Emily went straight to the Valentine box. She slipped in three cards.

  One for Dawh Bosco. One for Beast. And one for Timothy.

  She still had a pile of cards to do.

  She was going to make a card for everyone.

  Everyone but Sherri Dent.

  Emily went to the coatroom. Sherri was there too.

  Emily made a little sniffing sound.

  She hung up her jacket. Then she went to her seat.

  She folded a piece of looseleaf into fours. It would make a nice Valentine card.

  She picked up her red crayon and wrote:

  Ms. Vincent is not mean.

  She looks like a dream.

  She put a red star on top.

  Ms. Vincent would love it.

  Ms. Rooney would love it too.

  Emily had used two of her spelling words.

  On the bottom she wrote:

  Guess Who

  She dashed up to the Valentine box and dropped it in.

  Just then the door opened.

  It was the office monitor. “Please bring the attendance to the office,” she said to Ms. Rooney.

  “Right away,” Ms. Rooney said. She looked at Ms. Vincent. “Are you ready to give your lesson?”

  Ms. Vincent went to the front of the room. “Boys and girls,” she said.

  Emily saw that no one was paying attention.

  She sat up straight. She hoped Ms. Vincent would see.

  Matthew and Beast were playing “got you last.”

  Dawn was making a Valentine card for Mr. Mancina.

  It had about fifty green stars all over it.

  Ms. Rooney clapped her hands.

  Everyone stopped what he was doing.

  “We are going to learn about February birthdays,” said Ms. Vincent.

  She spoke in a little voice.

  Emily could hardly hear her.

  Ms. Rooney walked to the door. “Ms. Vincent,” she said. “Please speak a little louder.” She went out.

  In front of Emily, Beast and Matthew were punching each other again.

  Ms. Vincent cleared her throat. “Who knows a famous birthday in February?”

  Everyone raised hands.

  Matthew stopped punching Beast.

  He raised his hand too.

  “Yes, Michael,” Ms. Vincent said.

  Everybody laughed.

  “Matthew,” someone said.

  Ms. Vincent ducked her head a little. “I'm sorry. Matthew.”

  Emily looked over toward the window. Sherri was waving her hand hard. She was holding the big blue book.

  Emily tioped Ms. Vincent wouldn't see her.

  Matthew stood up, “A famous February person.”

  “Yes,” said Ms. Vincent.

  “My grandfather,” Matthew said. “Devoe Jackson.”

  “De-voooooe,” Timothy Barbiero said, “I never heard of a name like that.”

  Everybody started to laugh again.

  Ms. Vincent said, “That's not very kind.”

  “He wasn't famous, I bet,” said Jason.

  “He was famous in our family,” Matthew said. “He had three cars.”

  Emily looked over at Sherri.

  Sherri was waving her hand even harder.

  “Who can tell us another one?” Ms. Vincent asked.

  Dawn Bosco raised her hand. “William Henry Harrison.”

  Ms. Vincent blinked. “Wonderful.”

  “Is that your grandfather?” Beast asked. Dawn shook her head. “No, he was a president. My Aunt Olga told me. Her birthday was the other day. It's the same day as his. February ninth.”

  Suddenly Emily remembered. She raised her hand. “George Washington,” she called out.

  “Good,” said Ms. Vincent.

  “I know about his life too,” said Emily. “I don't even need a big blue book.”

  “The whole world knows about George Washington,” said Sherri.

  “He was our first president,” said Ms. Vincent.

  “I know all about Abraham Lincoln,” said Sherri. “They called him Honest Abe. He was our sixteenth president.”

  Sherri looked at Emily.

  She made a pointy know-it-all face.

  “His birthday is today,” Sherri said.

  “That's pretty good,” said Beast.

  “Neat,” said Ms. Vincent.

  Emily slid down in her seat.

  She felt like banging Sherri on the head with a book. A big blue book.

  When Ms. Rooney came back, they started board-work.

  It was math, Emily's best subject.

  Emily drew nine sticks on her paper.

  She crossed out four of them.

  She began to count. “Nine take away four is …”

  Up in front, Ms. Rooney was counting too.

  “Thirty … thirty-one … ” Ms. Rooney said.

  She was adding up the lunch money.

  Emily put a big five on her paper.

  She waited for Ms. Rooney to call her name.

  Emily was the lunch-money monitor for February.

  It was the best job in the classroom.

  “Emily Arrow,” said Ms. Rooney.

  Emily rushed up to Ms. Rooney's desk. She took the brown lunch-money envelope.

  Jill Simon, her lunch partner, was absent.

  Emily looked around the classroom.

  She looked at Sherri. She made a little face.

  Sherri made a face back at her.

  Then Emily looked at Richard.

  He was drawing a picture. It looked like a fat gray groundhog.

  He had been drawing pictures of groundhogs since Groundhog Day.

  “I pick Beast,” Emily said.

  Ms. Rooney nodded.

  Richard put down his crayon. He stood up.

  Quickly they went down the hall.

  “I'm glad you picked me,” Richard said.

  “I'm glad too,” said Emily.

  “I thought you were going to pick Sherri Dent,” Richard said.

  “Never,” Emily said.

  “She's pretty smart,” Richard said. “She knows all about Abraham Lincoln.”

  Emily walked a little faster. “She's a know-it-all. She's a tattletale know-it-alj. SheVa pointy-face tattle tale…”

  “She's a pretty nice kid,” Beast said. “She gave me a candy bar last week. For nothing,”

  Emily thought for a moment. “She used to be.” She frowned. “But not anymore.”

  They went into the cafeteria.

  The cafeteria lady was waiting for them.

  She took the lunch-money envelope.

  Emily and Richard went back into the hall.

  They stopped at the side doors. They looked out at the piles of snow.

  “It's hot in here,” Emily said.

  “Boiling,” Richard said.

  Emily pushed open the door a crack.

  She poked her nose out. “Smell that air.”

  Richard took a sniff. “Neat,” he said. “Wouldn't you love to go outside?” Emily asked.

  “Just to run down the path and back,” Richard said.

  “We'd get in trouble if someone saw us,” Emily said.

  “We could go fast,” Richard said.
/>   “Go like a rocket ship,” said Emily.

  She took another breath of cold air. “Ready?”

  “Go,” said Richard.

  They pushed the door open wider.

  They tore down the path. Emily could feel the snow crunching under her feet.

  At the end of the path she touched the telephone pole.

  Then she ran back to the door. She pulled at the knob.

  “Hey,” she said. It didn't turn.

  She shivered. The door was locked.

  “Yikes,” said Richard. “Let me try that.”

  Together they pulled.

  Emily could feel the wind. It tore at her blue sweat-suit.

  She peered through the window in the door.

  Two little kids were walking down the hall.

  They were carrying trays of milk.

  “Here come the kindergarten snack monitors,” Richard said.

  Emily banged on the door.

  The kindergarten kids looked at her.

  One of them nearly dropped the tray.

  They hurried past.

  Emily shivered again.

  “Maybe we should run to the front door,” Richard said.

  Just then someone else walked down the hall.

  “I think it's a fifth grader,” Emily said. She banged on the window.

  “Hey,” Richard said. “It's my sister, Holly.”

  Holly looked out. “Richard Best,” she said. “Are you crazy?”

  “Open the door, dummy,” said Richard. “We're freezing to death out here.”

  Holly pushed the door open.

  Emily and Richard scrambled in.

  “Whew,” Emily said. “My fingers are like icicles.”

  “If Mommy knew you were outside in the snow without your boots … ” Holly said. She shook her head and started down the hall again.

  Emily and Beast looked at each other.

  “That was a close one,” Emily said.

  “We'd better get back to the classroom,” Richard said.

  Emily looked up.

  Sherri Dent was coming down the hall toward the girls’ room. She was staring at them.

  Emily looked at Beast. “Come on,” she said.

  She didn't look at Sherri when they passed her.

  They ducked into the classroom.

  “Did she see us outside?” Emily asked.

  “I don't know,” Richard said. “Maybe.”

  Emily sat down in her seat.

  She was still freezing. Herleet were soaked.

  She pulled her sweat suit sleeves down over her hands a little.

  She pulled out her notebook.

  Something fell out of her desk.

  It was Sherris note. YOU'LL BE SORRY.

  Emily shivered a little. Suppose Sherri knew?

  She began to make math sticks again.

  After school Emily helped Timothy wash the blackboard.

  She was glad school was over for today.

  She was glad Ms. Rooney hadn't found out.

  Emily had watched Sherri all afternoon.

  She had waited for Sherri to raise her hand.

  Emily made a big wet swirl with the sponge.

  Sherri probably didn't know they were outside.

  Of course she didn't.

  Emily had been worrying over nothing.

  She made a big wet N for Nothing on the chalkboard.

  After Timothy left, she stopped to make a Valentine card. A special one for Jill Simon.

  Jill had been absent all week.

  Emily tried to rhyme with cold.

  Last time Jill had a cold her nose was red as a beet.

  It wouldn't be nice to remind her, though. At last Emily wrote:

  You are a good friend

  Right to the end.

  (Of the turm.)

  She put a red star in the middle of the card.

  It looked like a red nose. Maybe Jill's red nose.

  Emily giggled. It would be her own secret.

  She'd never tell anyone.

  She walked over to the Valentine box.

  She stuffed the card in.

  The box was getting full.

  She couldn't wait until Ms. Rooney passed the cards out. She hoped she'd get a lot.

  Wouldn't it be awful if she didn't get any?

  She went back to her seat.

  She pulled out a piece of drawing paper.

  Dear Emily, she wrote on top. Happy Valentine's Day.

  She signed it Guess Who.

  She put a gold star on top.

  She tried to think if she was doing anything wrong.

  No. Even Abraham Lincoln would want to get a Valentine card, Even if it were from himself.

  Carefully Emily put the card into the box.

  “I hope you're not looking at the cards,” a voice said behind her.

  Emily twirled around.

  Sherri Dent.

  “You're not supposed to be in here,” Emily said.

  “Neither are you,” said Sherri.

  “I am so,” Emily said, “I washed the board. You think you know everything but you don't.”

  Sherri pushed her card into the box. “I know a lot more than you,” she said, “You don't even know yellow vegetables.”

  “Who cares about vegetables?” Emily said.

  Sherri walked to the door. “Turnip face,” she said.

  Emily opened her mouth. She tried to think of something to yell at Sherri.

  By the time she did, Sherri was halfway down thehalL

  Emily ran to the door. “Bug brain,” she shouted.

  Then she went back to the Valentine box.

  She could see the edgib of Sherri's card.

  She'd like to rip it up into little pieces.

  She looked at the writing on top, To S … it began.

  Emily tried to think whose name began with 5.

  She pulled the card up. To Sherri, it said.

  Sherri was writing Valentines to herself.

  That big baby.

  Then Emily remembered her own card.

  She swallowed.

  Just then Ms. Vincent came into the room. “Hi, Emily,” she said, “You still here?”

  Emily jumped. “I was washing the blackboard.”

  Ms. Vincent was carrying a stack of Valentine cards. “Someone's card is sticking out of the box.”

  Emily tried to look surprised. She leaned over. “It says, To Sherri.’ “

  “I guess Sherri has a lot of cards,” Ms. Vincent said.

  “Maybe,” Emily said.

  “Sherri is a lovely girl,” said Ms. Vincent.

  “Sometimes,” Emily said.

  She wondered if Ms. Vincent thought Sherri was lovelier than Emily.

  “I liked the kittens on your collar yesterday,” Ms. Vincent said.

  Emily smiled. She wanted to ask if Ms. Vincent had seen her look-like-real fur jacket.

  But Ms. Vincent started to talk again, “I have a kitten at home,” she said.

  “What's her name?” Emily asked.

  “Jack,” said Ms. Vincent.

  “Jack,” Emily said. She tried to look as if Jack were a wonderful name. “That's a very nice name,”

  ‘T named him after my boyfriend, “Ms. Vincent said. She held out her hand.

  Ms. Vincent was wearing a ring. It had a sparkly diamond in the middle.

  “Beautiful,” Emily said.

  “I'm getting married in April,” Ms. Vincent said. “April twenty-eighth.”

  “Are you having a flower girl?” Emily asked.

  “I don't have any nieces,” Ms. Vincent said. She smiled. “Sherri asked me that too.”

  Emily wondered if Sherri had asked to be the flower girl. She probably had.

  Ms. Vincent started to stuff some Valentine cards into the box.

  Emily could see Sherri Dent in a long pink dress.

  She was marching down the aisle. She had a basket of flowers in her hand.

  “Whew,” said Ms. V
incent. “There's hardly any room.”

  “That's because people are writing Valentines to themselves,” Emily said. “People like Sherri Dent”

  Ms. Vincent's mouth opened.

  “I have to go now,” Emily said. She pulled on her jacket.

  She raced out the door before Ms. Vincent could say a word.

  Emily and Beast rushed down the hall.

  They slid into the classroom and hung up their coats.

  A substitute teacher was standing in front of the room. The one with the fat body and skinny little legs.

  It was Mrs. Miller. Miller the killer.

  “Ms. Rooney is side today,” said Mrs. Miller. “She'll be back tomorrow.”

  “Yucks,” Emily whispered to Beast.

  She sat down at her desk.

  It was going to be a horrible day.

  Emily looked back over her shoulder.

  Ms. Vincent was sitting next to the science table.

  She winked at Emily.

  Emily wanted to wink back.

  She still had trouble with winking, though.

  Both eyes winked at once.

  Instead, she smiled at Ms. Vincent.

  She hoped Ms. Vincent didn't remember the things she had said yesterday.

  The things about Sherri Dent.

  She didn't want Ms. Vincent to think she was mean.

  Just then Sherri came in the door.

  Mrs. Miller looked at her watch. “You're late,” she told Sherri.

  Sherri ducked her head. “I slept late,” she said.

  Good, Emily thought.

  She had a mean feeling in her chest.

  “Is everybody: here?” Mrs. Miller asked. She looked around and counted.

  “I think so,” Ms. Vincent said. “Yes.”

  “Before we begin the boardwork,” Mrs. Miller began, and frowned. “Some very serious news.”

  Emily looked up.

  She made a serious face.

  It was too bad Ms. Vincent couldn't see it.

  Mrs. Miller shook her head. “Some children were outside during school yesterday.”

  Emily felt her face get hot.

  Her heart began to pound.

  “Out in the snow,” Mrs, Miller said. “Without jackets or hats.” “How did you find out?” Beast asked.

  “A neighbor saw them,” Mrs. Miller said.

  “Oh,” said Beast.

  Emily watched him bend over his 4esk. He began to draw another groundhog.

  “We are trying to find out who the children are,” said Mrs. Miller.

  Emily looked around the room.

  She made believe she was looking for the children.

  Everyone else was looking around too.