Haven't Got a Clue!: Give Me Liberty or Give Me Detention!
guests made my dog Little Ricky go absolutely bananas The room wasn’t half bad There were four rows of computers The hum of each computer went along with the tick of the clock like some strange electronic orchestra I gave the marker one more flip then placed it back on the whiteboard ledge Without taking my eyes off of the paper I made my way back to the blue plastic chair I parked myself in it and scooted it back up to the table The sun was still out pushing itself through the window behind my head It illuminated the words written in pencil on that crumpled piece of paper has hereby been disqualified from this year’s science fair Then a loud sigh forced me to lower the crumpled piece of white paper I stared at the boy who sat in the seat next to me I don’t know what to tell ya Henry I said These seem like some serious roasted potatoes that have been thrown your way 10
Henry squirmed a little in his chair and then straightened Henry was about my height maybe a little taller He had greasy brown-blond hair that he tried to make nice by slicking back Some of it draped over his forehead not doing him any good Gee Jon I don’t know what to do he whined twisting a baseball cap in his fists I’m in real trouble here I need your help I sat back in the chair again and sighed Then I put my hands in both pockets and searched Finally I pulled out a half-pack of gum and dug a stick out for myself I offered a stick to Henry A smile formed on Henry’s face and the grip on his hat loosened Aw no thanks I gave that stuff up a while ago he said You know on account of the cavities and all I’m on a first-name basis with my dentist now Probably a good call there Hank Your teeth will last a lot longer without this I waited a few seconds Do you mind if I call you Hank He loosened up a bit more Gee my own mother calls me Jason sometimes She doesn’t 12
even know anyone named Jason Well he snorted except for me I guess I’m just a face that you can’t remember He frowned To be honest I think that’s why I could never run for any type of student council position You won’t be voting for a mug that no one recognizes I shoved the gum into my mouth and gave it a few good chews Then I tapped my right index finger on top of the note Hank had handed to me Never mind that I said lifting the paper off of the desk again You wrote this Sure did Hank replied twisting up his cap Principal Links was there He saw you I again asked Yep He stood over my shoulder the entire time I was writing it out He even told me all of the words I had to scratch He looked down at his mangled baseball hat and then back up at me You gotta help me Gummyshoes I didn’t do it honest It’s all a big setup I swear And you have to have this signed by your mom before Principal Links can put ya behind the eight ball I asked 13
