SIX THINGS YOU CANNOT TELL JUST BY LOOKING AT ME
1. That some people think my name is Just Grace, even though it’s only Grace. This is the kind of thing can happen if your teacher doesn’t listen properly when you say, "I want you to call me just Grace."
2. That I am super lucky because I have Mimi, my best friend in the whole world, living right next door to me. And even better than that: our bedroom windows are right across from each other.
3. That I have a friend named Augustine Dupre who is a French flight attendant, and she lives with her husband in a cool apartment that is right in the basement of my very own house.
4. That I like to draw comics because they make me happy.
5. That I am in third grade, and that my teacher is Miss Lois.
6. That I have a girl dog and her name is Mr. Scruffers. She came with that name so I couldn’t change it, but it’s okay, because now I am used to it.
THE BEST THING ABOUT BEING IN MISS LOIS’S CLASS Everyone in our whole class has been waiting for the day when Miss Lois says, "Today we are going to start working on the spring fair." And that is because every year Miss Lois’s class does a special spring fair project. It’s the most fun thing you get to do in her class, and the only reason why when other people find out you have Miss Lois as a teacher they say, "You’re so lucky."
THE FIVE THINGS I KNOW ABOUT THE SPRING FAIR
1. It’s exciting, fun, and there are games and prizes and even giant blow-up rides.
2. Everyone comes—even people who are not in our school.
3. Our class gets to make up games and work at the fair.
4. Everyone helps at the fair, even moms and dads.
5. There is a cotton candy machine.
Every Monday since spring started I have been thinking,
I bet today’s the day we get to start on the fair. And every Monday I have been 100 percent wrong!
HOW I KNOW THAT MISS LOIS WILL TALK ABOUT THE FAIR ON MONDAY When Miss Lois tells her class it’s time to work on the spring fair, she always does it in exactly the same way. I know this because Grace F.’s cousin Benny had Miss Lois for a teacher last year, and he told Grace F. all about it.
Benny said that as soon as everyone saw the hat they started clapping and shouting like crazy, and that Miss Lois just stood at the front of the class smiling and nodding. This part of the story is hard to believe, because Miss Lois is not the kind of teacher who is okay with shouting. The part that I do believe is when Benny said it was super fun. Kids don’t lie about fun.
If you looked at Miss Lois, you would never think that she is the kind of person who would wear a crazy hat. That’s why just looking at people can fool you about what they are really like on the inside. Miss Lois is full of other surprises, too, because she doesn’t just wear crazy hats—she makes them, too! And all by herself!
Mimi says Miss Lois should get the gold star of making giant crazy hats, because her hats are excellent and very creative. That’s a big compliment, because Mimi knows a lot about crafts, and she wouldn’t give Miss Lois a gold star unless she deserved it.
MISS LOIS’S SURPRISE I couldn’t believe it! The surprise happened today! And it wasn’t even Monday—it was Friday.
Fifteen minutes before class ended, Miss Lois came out from the closet wearing her giant nest hat from last year. Instantly everyone knew what that meant—it was time to work on the spring fair.
WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT GRACE’S COUSIN Benny is an exaggerator, because as soon as Robert Walters started shouting, Miss Lois pointed her finger at him and said, "Robert! No shouting." She did let us clap, though, so that part was true.
WHAT IS NOT EASY When we were walking home, Mimi could tell that I was a little bit unhappy. Best friends are like that—they can tell about your inside feelings even if your outsides look totally normal. I told her I was grumpy about Miss Lois doing the Spring Fair announcement on a Friday.
WHAT MIMI SAID ABOUT MISS LOIS "Maybe she was too excited to wait until Monday." "I know," I said. "But still, I wish it hadn’t happened today. Grandma is coming tomorrow, and now my brain is going to be confused about which fun thing to think about." "I think your brain can think of more than one thing at once," said Mimi. I looked at her and nodded. I felt better than before. Now I was mostly happy and only a tiny bit grumpy.
GRUMPY + HAPPY = GRAPPY
It was a brand new feeling word. "There should be more words for feelings," I said. Mimi nodded and right then I decided to keep a list.
"What are you going to do with your grandma?" asked Mimi. It was a good question, and it stopped me from thinking about feelings, which was also good. I needed my thinking energy to be on Grandma, because I had a big plan and it was to make her visit 100 percent perfect.
I told Mimi about the special dinner Mom was making, the surprise fancy brunch we were taking Grandma to, and the big sign I was going to put up right over Grandma’s door.
But the thing I was excited about more than anything else was that Grandma was finally going to meet Mr. Scruffers. I couldn’t believe it hadn’t happened yet. Grandma had seen lots of pictures of Mr. Scruffers, but this was the first time she was going to meet her—person to dog.
"Your grandma is going to love Mr. Scruffers!" said Mimi. "She’s the best dog ever!" It was really nice to hear Mimi say that. It made me feel good, plus I knew it was true. "I’ve been teaching Mr. Scruffers a new trick," I said. "Grandma loves dogs that do tricks." Mimi looked surprised. "A new trick? Can she do it yet?" she asked. I was going to tell her about it, but then suddenly I had a better idea.
MY BETTER IDEA Mimi and I were standing out on the path to my front door, so I grabbed her hand and pulled her toward it. "Come in" I said. "I’ll show you." Mr. Scruffers was on the other side of the door barking like crazy. Mimi took a step back. She doesn’t like it when Mr. Scruffers is super excited and jumpy.
Mimi turned around. "What if I go home and drop off my backpack?" she asked. "Then I’ll come back." "Okay," I said. I watched her go, and then slowly I opened the door, ready to face the flying furball of energy.
WHAT FEELS REALLY GREAT Having a dog be super excited to see you. Mr. Scruffers always acts like I’ve been away forever, even if I’ve only been gone for five minutes. Dogs are special that way. They are filled with love. Even though I really like cats, they are not the same as dogs. Crinkles is the cat next door, and even though he really likes me and we have been friends for a long time, he still does not have the same kind of love as Mr. Scruffers does.
The best way to get Mr. Scruffers to calm down fast is to take her outside to the backyard. She loves sniffing around for squirrels. It’s too bad you can’t arrange a special squirrel-chasing surprise. That would be a perfect dog present.
MR. SCRUFFER’S NEW TRICK I thought the new trick would be easy for Mr. Scruffers to learn, because she already knew all the parts of it. But I was wrong. Even with a whole box of dog treats—the new trick was not easy.
Mr. Scruffers was good at the sitting part, but every time I grabbed her paw she fell over onto the ground. If she could talk, she probably would have said, "What is it with you and the paw? Can I please just have it back, and c...