Free The Girls Take Over by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Page A

chance.”
    As everyone got into line, Wally felt a wild urge to scratch his neck, but he didn't dare. He chose a placeby the doorway and slowly scraped his back against the door frame.
    “Are you ready?” Miss Applebaum called from her desk. She sounded like the hostess on a game show.
    “Ready,” answered a few of the students, Caroline among them.
    “Not ready,” a few of the kids said, and the others laughed.
    “All right, I'll start on my left. You will each get a different word. If you don't spell it correctly the first time, you are out of the contest and may take your seat.”
    Several students laughingly tried to slip into their seats before the contest even began, but the teacher made them get back in line.
    “Now, take your time,” Miss Applebaum said. “Listen carefully to the word. Try to visualize it in your mind. You may ask to have it repeated, and you may ask to have it used in a sentence. Here we go.”
    Wally itched all over. Even the bottoms of his feet itched. He wanted to scratch parts of his body he would never scratch in public.
    The teacher turned to the large girl at the front of the line. “Okay, Emily, you seem to be first. The word is squirrel. ”
    The girl blinked. Then she took a deep breath, her arms straight down at her sides. “S-q-u-e-r-r …, ” she said.
    A low gasp went around the room.
    “I'm sorry, Emily, but squirrel has an i before the r 's,not an e, ” Miss Applebaum said, and, looking chagrined, Emily took her seat.
    How easy it would be to misspell a word and be done with it, Wally thought. How comforting it would be to go back to his seat and, with everyone's attention on the people up front, scratch to his heart's content.
    “Joanne, you're next,” said Miss Applebaum. “Obstruct.”
    Each time the teacher said a new spelling word, Caroline whispered a soft “I know it!” even though it wasn't her turn. She made Wally sick.
    “Would you use it in a sentence, please?” the girl named Joanne said.
    “Certainly: It is against the law to obstruct justice.”
    Joanne cleared her throat. “O-b-s-t-r-u-c-t.”
    “That's correct. Go to the end of the line for your second turn,” said Miss Applebaum. “Kenny, your word is substantial. ”
    Kenny spelled his word correctly and took his place behind Joanne.
    As the words went on, the line moved forward slowly. A student either took his place at the end or sat down. There were two students in front of Wally. His neck itched. His toes itched. Even his eyelids seemed to itch. When the two girls in front of him missed their words, Wally was next.
    Miss Applebaum smiled at him. “Wally, your word is anonymous .”
    Anonymous? thought Wally. How come one kid gets squirrel and I get anonymous? When would he everuse a word like that? Still, he was sure he'd seen it on paper.
    “Would you use it in a sentence, please?” he asked.
    “Of course. The man who gave the donation wishes to remain anonymous.”
    The first and last parts were easy, Wally thought, but what was the letter in the middle? He closed his eyes and tried to see the word. E? he wondered, his head feverish. No, e wasn't right.
    “A-n-o-n …, ” he began, “y-m-o-u-s.”
    “Correct. You may go to the end of the line.”
    Wally didn't know whether he was glad or disappointed. He wanted so much to scratch. His head throbbed and his cheeks felt on fire. He went to the end of the line and stood against the bookcase this time. He rubbed his arm against the sharp corner of an encyclopedia.
    Three more students took a turn, and then Caroline was next. She smiled at the teacher. Then she turned and smiled at the class. Wally couldn't stand it. It was as though she were onstage. As though she expected everyone to clap and throw roses at her if she got her word right, and how could she miss? She was Little Miss Perfect!
    “Ready?” asked the teacher.
    “Ready,” said Caroline in her queen-of-the-world voice.
    Miss Applebaum looked at the list before her.