top off carefully just in case The bottle was filled with hot water and when I pulled on the string I discovered that it was tied to something long and beige and wet a hot dog Look Bradley dug a wad of tinfoil out of my lunch bag I think your dad gave you a bun too He was right No ketchup though he reported gravely But it turned out lack of ketchup was the least of our problems just then Because Bossy Becky McDougall captain of the R R Reginald Raccoons and my only real rival in the hundred meter dash was coming right toward us She pushed past our school mascot the Gledhill Gator without even saying Excuse me and came to a stop in front of us Clara What is that she asked catching sight of my Pepto-Bismol bottle Are you sick She asked the last part with a half-smirky half-hopeful look Wouldn’t it just make her day if a seriously upset stomach kept me from winning the blue ribbon in the hundred-meter dash It’s actually just a hot dog I held up the wiener on its string 14
Not that She stared at me like I was a doofus That she said The pink bottle We have it at home It’s for diarrhea She paused dramatically then looked around to make sure as many people as possible were listening Do you have diarrhea No I said quickly That’s even worse then You shouldn’t take medicine if you’re not sick It’s always like that talking to Becky You can’t say anything without getting lectured We were in the same Brownie pack for two years so I’d know She’d boss the other Brownies whenever an adult wasn’t looking but the second the leaders turned around she’d bat her long eyelashes pretend like she was being SOOOOO nice volunteer to make extra care packages for the children’s hospital and then get picked to lead the sharing circle Well whatever Enjoy your lunch Becky said wrinkling her nose at my medicine hot dog bottle She did a shoulder stretch then put one foot up on the picnic bench between me and Bradley and brushed a microscopic speck of dirt off her prized silver running shoes They were the same ones she’d made a huge deal about at the last track meet 15
saying that they were the most aerodynamic shoes on the market and that her dad got them for her in London England and that they were real Italian leather and a limited edition and very expensive so don’t step on them puh-lease Becky straightened up then pointed at the Gledhill Gator who had hopped up on a park bench He was popping and locking in time to the music playing over the loudspeakers Also she added don’t take this personally but your crocodile has like zero rhythm Don’t take it personally When she’d just insulted the ultimate symbol of Gledhill Elementary’s school spirit I won’t take it personally I answered because he’s got ten times more rhythm than your rat This was undeniably true There are some people who volunteer to be the team mascot because they think it’s an easy way to get out of class for an afternoon To them it’s 16
about putting on an animal suit and sitting around drinking from the vat of super-sugary neon-orange energy drink that the grocery store donates to every track meet The R R Reginald Raccoon is one of these people On the other The R R Reginald Raccoon hand when Don Hu the sixth grader who’s been our team mascot three years running puts on his suit he’s so much more than a kid in an oversized animal costume He is the Gator body and soul He busts out his best break-dance moves like his life depends on it and whenever we score a victory we know we owe our team spirit to the Gator and all that he stands for like a rat if you ask me Who looks more Our mascot is a raccoon Becky answered shooting me an icy look And he can dance circles around your crocodile 17
