Take a Pick Malcolm looked around the classroom at all the shocked faces He waited for someone else to ask the question on all their minds When no one did he raised his hand You mean we don’t have a choice on who our report will be on Not this time his teacher Mrs Goolsby said I’m tired of reading endless research papers on movie stars and athletes So this year I’ve chosen the
subjects for the reports and you get to take a pick from them She held a paper bag filled with small strips of paper On each strip was the name of a famous person Reach in and draw one out she said as she walked between the rows of desks Malcolm waited He hoped to draw the name of a noted scientist or inventor Most of the kids were groaning after reading their picks Then his best friend Dandy reached in Yes he cried beaming with excitement Malcolm couldn’t wait to see who Dandy got Mrs Goolsby finally made it around to Malcolm’s desk There were only a few strips of paper left She shook the bag then held it in front of him He reached in and flicked one strip away
Please be someone interesting He held his breath as he drew a strip of paper out of the bag He carefully unfolded it and read Cooley Tucker His heart sank Who was Cooley Tucker Malcolm looked around the classroom Most of the kids were jotting down the names they picked Dandy was swaying in his seat waving his strip of paper in the air Clearly he was thrilled
Okay Mrs Goolsby said once the last piece of paper had been selected This research paper is due a week from Friday And I don’t want you to just scour the Internet for information Use the library please Malcolm waited until everyone was lining up for lunch before approaching Mrs Goolsby Um Yes Malcolm she said shuffling some papers on her desk About my pick he went on Sorry she said We can’t change it Maybe you can ask a classmate to trade with you It’s not that he told her It’s just that I have no idea who Cooley Tucker is Mrs Goolsby’s eyes lit up Oh You’ll love researching him He’s a local hero
