Part 2 (1/2)
”Don't bother to send it,” Alan shot back. ”You can hand it to me, because I'll be there before you.” The way Alan and Logan talked, you'd think they were the only two students in the compet.i.tion. Someone needed to explain the meaning of teamwork to them. I hoped it wouldn't have to be me.
That afternoon, I met with my team (Alan and Howie) on the front steps of SMS. It was a short meeting. We didn't discuss the zoo or how much fun the project was going to be. All we talked about was how important it was to win.
”We better get this extra credit or it's - ” (Alan drew his finger across his neck making a cutting sound) ”for me.” Howie nodded. ”Me too.” I got the distinct impression that their grades were in big trouble.
Chapter 4.
I tried to rea.s.sure Alan and Howie that things would be okay.
”I'm going to do my best and work really hard on this project - ”I began.
”But I wouldn't count on winning,” Logan said, joining us on the steps. He was grinning, but staring straight at Alan.
This was very weird. Logan seemed determined to beat Alan, which of course meant he was determined to beat me.
”Want to make a bet?” Alan challenged him. ”How much?”
Logan's jaw tensed for a second, ready to take the challenge. Then he reverted to his friendly, polite self. ”I'm sorry, Alan,” Logan said with a smile. ”But I don't make bets. I think we should just do our project and may the best man - uh, group - win.”
A slow smile spread across Alan's face. ”Right.”
I had been looking forward to the project and spending time at Bedford Zoo, but this rivalry between Logan and Alan added a new, unpleasant twist to things.
That afternoon, during the BSC meeting, I was reminded that I wasn't the only one distressed about the group arrangement.
”I can't ride on the bus with Stacey and spend every afternoon staring at giraffes with her,” Kristy moaned to the group. ”I mean, that would be totally awful.”
”What are you going to do about it?” Claudia asked, pa.s.sing a bag of pretzels around the room. Everyone took one and chewed intently, thinking about our dilemmas.
”I think we shouldn't go to the zoo,” Kristy said with a shrug. ”Lauren agrees with me.
”What?” Dawn said. ”But that's the fun of the project.”
Kristy shook her head. ”I can't get on a bus with Stacey and work that closely with her. I'm just not ready to do that.”
”But how will you be able to study your animal?” I asked.
”We'll study the everyday habits of dogs,” Kristy said. ”Separately. Mrs. Gonzalez said we could study our pets. I'll spend my afternoons watching my dog, Shannon. Lauren will study her retriever.”
”But Stacey doesn't have a dog,” I pointed out. ”She doesn't have a pet of any kind.”
”Too bad,” Kristy replied stubbornly. ”She'll just have to go find one.”
Mallory had been quietly listening to all of us complain. ”I guess she could study Pow,” she said. (Pow is the Pikes' ba.s.sett hound.) ”He does some amazingly silly things. And since Stacey lives right behind us, it would be easy for her to observe him.”
”Good idea, Mal,” Kristy said, softening a little. ”Maybe Lauren can suggest it to her.”
”That solves Kristy's problem,” Dawn said, turning to face me. ”But what about Mary Anne's?”
I sighed and shook my head. ”Mine is more complicated, especially since it involves you and Claudia.”
Claudia, who had just shoved a handful of pretzels in her mouth, mumbled, ”Pwoblem? Me?”
I explained the Alan Gray versus Logan rivalry that had sprung up that day. ”It's weird because, let's face it, we all want to win. But now Alan wants to beat Logan. And Logan really wants to cream Alan. But if Alan gets creamed, so do I.”
Claudia listened wide-eyed to what I was saying and then collapsed back against the headboard of her bed. ”Whoa.” Then Dawn changed the subject a little. ”As long as we're discussing this project, I have to say that I am not a fan of zoos. I feel terrible for the animals, no matter how dean their cages look.”
Claudia gulped down the last of her pretzel and turned to Dawn. ”You're not suggesting we study house cats like Tigger, are you?”
”Well, uh, no,” Dawn stammered. ”It's just that . . . well, I just wanted you to know that I'm not crazy about zoos.”
”You'll get over it,” Claudia said with a wave of her hand. ”Especially after you meet Mojo and James.”
Dawn squinted one eye shut. ”Mojo? The gorilla?”
”That's right,” I answered. ”I showed you her picture in the paper. Remember?”
”I still think Mojo is a weird name,” Dawn remarked, shaking her head. ”So who's James?”
Claudia grinned. ”Mojo's mate. They're on loan from the San Diego Zoo. And - are you ready for this? Mojo communicates by using American Sign Language.”
That excited everyone. Especially Jessi, who was the first of us to learn American Sign Language when she baby-sat for Matt Braddock, who's deaf. The rest of us know enough sign language to sit for Matt, but Jessi's really good at it.
”You could come along as our interpreter,” I said to Jessi. ”You could ask Mojo questions about her life and what she does in a day.”
”Hold it!” Claudia put her hands on her hips. ”Jessi will be our interpreter. I was the one who mentioned the gorillas first.”
My eyes widened. Claudia was sounding as compet.i.tive as Logan and Alan. She saw the expression on my face and softened her tone. ”I guess Jessi could translate for all of us.”
Jessi grinned and made the sign for ”okay.”
Before we could talk about the project anymore, the phone started ringing. And it rang. And rang. And rang. We were swamped.
Dawn took a sitting job with the Gianellis on Tuesday. Shannon accepted one with the Papadakises. I scheduled Kristy and Jessi for Thursday afternoon with the Pike kids, and Mallory took a job with the Hobarts on Friday.
When we finally had a spare second to chat again, the subject turned to the Free Babar campaign.
”I mentioned it to Karen and Andrew and they're really interested,” Kristy said.
”You can count the entire Pike family in on this project,” Mallory said. ”The triplets had a great idea. They suggested we make campaign b.u.t.tons.”