His feet stink, thought Jason.
For the rest of the day, Miss Nogard kept accidentally-on-purpose calling Jason "Justin."
One by one, she made every child in the class feel miserable. She called Calvin to her desk and asked in a whisper if he had to use the restroom. Whenever she passed D. J., she hummed the song stuck in his head. Whenever Bebe finally stopped thinking about her itch, Miss Nogard would walk by and scratch her own leg.
"It looks like it might rain," she said as she stared out the window at the bright blue sky.
Darn, I'll never get to go horseback riding! thought Jenny.
134
"I have a nephew who went horseback riding on a day like this," said Miss Nogard. "There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, it started thundering and lightning. It spooked the horse terribly."
"What happened to your nephew?" asked Jenny.
"Oh, he's fine," said Miss Nogard. "He just broke both his arms and legs. He'll be in a cast for a year. But he has a very positive attitude; that's the important thing. Remember, always keep a positive attitude."
By the end of the day, nobody had a positive attitude. The whole class was glum and blah.
The children walked out of the school building, heads down. Except Jenny, who looked up at the sky, worrying about the weather, although she didn't know if she was more worried about rain or sunshine.
Even D. J. was frowning.
"What's the matter?" asked Louis, the yard teacher.
"Nothing," muttered D. J. "I guess I just had a bad day."
"Don't you like your new teacher?" asked Louis.
"She's real nice," said Dana. It's not her fault I'm the ugliest girl in the world!
"I like her a lot," said Jason. It's my brother I hate.
"Me too," said Benjamin. I hate myself.
Louis rubbed his upper lip. His mustache was beginning to grow back. "What's her name?" he asked.
"Miss Nogard," said Bebe as she scratched the back of her leg raw.
"Are you sure?" asked Louis.
"Huh?" asked Bebe.
"I mean," said Louis, "are you sure it's Miss Nogard? Not Mrs. Nogard?"
"I think," said Bebe. "Why?"
Louis just shrugged.