23
Blame It on the Cloud
Mrs. Jewls went from desk to desk as she handed back the arithmetic test. “I’m very disappointed in you, Joy,” she said. “You need to learn your sixes and sevens.”
Joy had gotten an F. That awful letter was written in red ink, and there was a circle around it.
“But it wasn’t my fault, Mrs. Jewls,” Joy complained. “It’s the Cloud of Doom. It made me change my answers!”
“Hmmm,” said Mrs. Jewls as she took another look at Joy’s test. She made two little strokes with her red pen, changing the F to a B.
Joy smiled.
The door swung open and Bebe walked in more than fifteen minutes late.
“Bebe, you need to put your name on the board under DISCIPLINE,” Mrs. Jewls told her.
“Don’t blame me,” said Bebe. “I left my house on time. The Cloud of Doom slowed me down.”
“Oh. Okay, then,” said Mrs. Jewls.
Leslie screamed.
Mrs. Jewls turned.
“Paul pulled my pigtails!” she accused. “Both at the same time!”
“Paul, what do you have to say for yourself?” demanded Mrs. Jewls.
Paul shrugged. “Cloud-a-Doom?” he tried.
Leslie turned around and shook her fist at Paul. “I’ll doom you, you ugly bug sniffer!”
“Leslie, that’s no way to talk!” said Mrs. Jewls.
“It wasn’t me, Mrs. Jewls,” Leslie said sweetly. “The Cloud of Doom made me say it.”
“Well, apologize to Paul for calling him ugly.”
“But I didn’t call him ugly,” said Leslie. “He sniffs ugly bugs.”
Jenny and D.J. laughed. Mrs. Jewls glared at them.
“Cloud-a-Doom,” they said at the same time.
Mrs. Jewls continued to hand back the tests. “You can do better, Terrence,” she said, when she came to him.
Terrence crumpled his test into a ball and brought it to the front of the room, where he dropped it in the trash. He stood there a moment, staring at the trash basket.
“Terrence, return to your seat!” ordered Mrs. Jewls.
He stayed where he was.
“Terrence, do you have a problem?” asked Mrs. Jewls.
“No,” said Terrence. “No problem.” He kicked the basket. It sailed end over end across the classroom, spilling trash along the way.
Mac raised both arms like a football ref. “Three points!” he declared.