Amber Brown Is Green with Envy (6 page)

I’m back in class.

I have washed my face, and I hope I can hide the fact that I’ve been crying.

What I can’t hide is the fact that I have been eating black licorice. I know this because when I went into the bathroom to wash my face, I stuck my tongue out at myself, and my tongue is black.

I look at the board.

Ever since we came back from vacation, Mrs. Holt has been putting the day’s list of happenings on the board.

I am very happy about that because for Christmas I gave her a book of events throughout the year.

I even have the same book at my house. I gave that to myself as a Christmas present.

Mrs. Holt asks us what interests us about the list.

Bobby Clifford says, “I thought only girls are secretaries. How come Alexander Hamilton was a secretary, and he’s a guy?”

Alicia Sanchez raises her hand and turns to Bobby. “Doofus.”

“No name-calling,” Mrs. Holt says.

Alicia stares at Bobby. “Men can be secretaries too. It’s a good thing that Alice Paul was born to help women’s rights…. It’s a shame that she isn’t around to help you, Bobby.”

She says “Bobby” in a tone of voice that sounds like she is saying “Doofus.”

Fredrich Allen raises his hand. “Being a secretary in the United States Cabinet is different from the traditional secretary.”

For a nose-picker, Fredrich Allen is very smart.

Bobby shakes his head. “I don’t get it. Why was Alexander Hamilton in a cabinet? Didn’t he have a room?”

For a non-nose-picker, Bobby Clifford is not very smart.

Mrs. Holt looks at Bobby as if she is not sure if he really can’t figure it out or if he is just being stupid.

She explains what the President’s Cabinet is.

Brandi waves her hand.

Mrs. Holt calls on her.

“I’m glad that the Surgeon General said that cigarettes are hazardous to our health. I wish that my grandpa had listened. He didn’t, and he got lung cancer.”

She looks sad.

I feel bad for her.

I am glad that the grown-ups in my life do not smoke, even if I am so mad at them.

Next we talk about whether we get milk delivered or whether we get it from the store. Everyone says that their milk is from the store. No one knew that milk was ever delivered to houses.

Jimmy says that when he was little, he got milk from his mother.

“Gross,” Hannah Burton says.

Mrs. Holt says, “It’s really not gross.”

Hannah makes a face and looks disgusted.

I stick out my licorice-covered tongue at her.

She looks at it and again says, “Gross.”

This time she is talking about my tongue.

Mrs. Holt says, “I’m going to read to you all now…. This is a wonderful book.”

She holds up a picture book.

“That’s baby,” one of the boys says. “That’s for little kids. We read chapter books now.”

Mrs. Holt smiles at him. “It’s never baby to read a good book.”

We all wait to hear the book and decide for ourselves.

Because it is Amelia Earhart’s birthday, Mrs. Holt reads
Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride
by Pam Muñoz Ryan. She also shows us the illustrations. I wish that I could draw like Brian Selznick.

After she is done, we all decide that a good book is a good book.

Mrs. Holt says, “Class…. now we have a special surprise!”

She goes over to the intercom phone and picks it up. “Hello. This is Mrs. Holt. Would you please ask my friends to come to our class now?”

She puts down the phone, and we all wait to find out who the friends are.

The people walk in.

Some of the kids yell out, “Mom.”

That’s because their moms have walked in.

Their moms are the room mothers.

Mine isn’t because she has to work.

I’m glad she isn’t because I definitely don’t want to see her now.

The moms just stand there while Mrs. Holt says to us, “Listen carefully…. Today
is ‘a fruit comes apart’ day. Can you think of another way to express that? If someone in this room can, we can celebrate.”

I think about it…. a fruit comes apart.

Vinnie yells, “Apple turnover.”

Mrs. Holt shakes her head no.

Everyone is quiet, trying to think about it.

I keep saying a fruit comes apart…a fruit comes apart…a fruit comes apart…

“Blueberry crumble.” Hannah sounds very proud of herself.

“Very good,” Mrs. Holt says, “but in this case, not correct.”

Hannah looks crumbled.

Again, I say to myself, “A fruit comes apart.” And then I figure it out.

“Banana splits!” I yell.

Mrs. Holt smiles and then goes over to the board and writes out:

“Hooray for Amber.” Brandi claps her hands.

I smile at my friend.

The moms set up a table with banana split ingredients.

We all go over to the table and tell them what we want.

I get to go first because I guessed.

My day is getting better.

I wish that every day could be Banana Split Day.

When we are all finished, the room gets cleaned up, and we all sit down again.

The moms go out of the room.

We all wave good-bye and smile at them.

Then Mrs. Holt writes our homework assignment on the board.

This assignment does not make me happy.

Who am I going to write to?….. Not my mom, not my dad, not Max….. There’s nothing that I want to thank them for, not today.

I think about writing to Mrs. Holt, but I bet a lot of people are going to write to her.

I make my decision.

I’m going to write a thank-you note to Mr. Robinson….. to thank him for listening to me, for teaching me how to make a Twizzler straw and for saying that he is going to talk to Mom.

I am thankful that there is someone that I want to write a thank-you note to.

Kelly Green and Brandi Colwin come up to me after school. “Amber, are you all right?”

I nod my head yes and then I shake my head no.

They are my two best friends in the whole school, in the whole town, in the whole state of New Jersey.

They can’t be my two best friends in the country or in the world…. because of Justin Daniels, who is my best friend who moved away in third grade, all the way to Alabama.

Justin is my best friend in Alabama. In fact, he is my only friend in Alabama. I miss his mom and his dad and his little brother, but they are not my best friends.

Anyway, I have three best friends and Kelly and Brandi are the ones who I see all the time. They are the best friends who like to talk on the phone, who like to put on nail polish with me, who I can really talk about my feelings with. Justin is not good at those things…. but he is very good at having fun and at making me laugh and for knowing me for my entire life.

I think about it.

I, Amber Brown, have three best friends and all of them have moved. Justin moved away in third grade. Kelly moved here this year, in October. Brandi moved here in third grade, and we became friends in fourth.

Moved…..
there’s that word again.

MOVE…. that’s a really bad four-letter word.

I hate that word.

I, Amber Brown, hate the word HATE….. another bad four-letter word.

They are both words that I am saying a lot….. and will have to say more.

“Brandi. Kelly,” I say. “I hate to tell you this…but I may have to move. Mom and Max are looking for a new house….. and it may not be in town.”

Brandi and Kelly practically fall to the floor.

They both start to cry.

That makes me start to cry.

“Listen.” I sniffle. “I’ve told you. Now I can’t talk about it anymore. It makes me too sad.”

“Amber,” Kelly says, “should I call my mom and ask if you can come over? Then you won’t have to stay in Elementary Extension.”

I don’t think that I could stand being in that room today, where everyone just sits
around or does something just waiting for someone to pick them up.

I nod.

Kelly goes into her backpack and takes out her mobile phone, a Christmas present from her parents.