Free The Candy Corn Contest by Patricia Reilly Giff Page A

I win,” he said, “I'll share with you.”
    “All right,” Matthew said. Then he shook his head. “We won't win. We're the worst readers in the class.”

Chapter 2

    It was almost time to go home. Richard was sick of waiting for show-and-tell.
    “All right,” Ms. Rooney said at last. “Who has something to tell us?”
    Richard waved his hand around in the air.
    Ms. Rooney picked Emily Arrow.
    Emily hurried to the front of the room. She was wearing red sneak-ers. Her legs looked like Slim Jim pretzels.
    “I went to my aunt Helen's wedding on Satur-day,” Emily said. “I'll tell you all about it.”
    Richard wiggled around in his seat.
    Emily told about the bride's dress and the brides-maids' dresses.
    She told about the wedding cake.
    Richard sighed in a loud voice.
    Emily danced around in her sneakers. “This is the way the bride danced,” she said.

    Richard looked at the other kids.
    Timothy was reading a book as fast as he could.
    He'd have about five guesses by tomorrow.
    He might win the jar of Candy Corn before Richard guessed once.
    Suddenly Emily saw Timothy reading. She frowned. “I guess that's all,” she said. She raced back to her seat and opened her library book.
    Ms. Rooney looked around.
    Richard put his hand in the air. He knelt up on his seat so Ms. Rooney would look at him.
    “Sit down, Richard,” Ms. Rooney said. She looked around the room. “Wayne?”
    Wayne O'Brien went to the front of the room. He stood there for a minute.
    Then he shook his head. “I don't remember what I was going to say.”
    In front of him Richard could hear Matthew trying to read. He didn't know the words.
    At last Wayne raised his shoulders up to his neck. He went back to his seat.
    Ms. Rooney smiled at Richard. “Do you have something—”
    Richard rushed to the front of the room.
    He took a deep breath. “I'm going to have a sleep-over,” he said. “Everyone's invited.”
    Emily looked up from her book. “Great,” she said.
    Richard swallowed. “I mean, the boys. Only the boys. It's a sleep-over party for boys.”
    “Oh,” said Emily Arrow.
    “There isn't room for girls,” Richard said.
    “All right,” Emily said.
    “I'm coming,” yelled Matthew. “When is it?”
    “The night after Thanksgiving,” Richard said.
    Timothy Barbiero put his hand in the air. “Will there be good stuff to eat?”
    “Sure,” Richard said. “My mother's making spaghetti and Italian bread. And leftover turkey. And we're going to have ice cream for dessert.”
    Derrick Grace raised his hand. “I can't come,” he said. He looked as if he were going to cry. “I'm going to my uncle John's.”
    “I can't come either,” Jason Bazyk said.
    Richard looked around.
    Not so good.
    Now there would be only six, counting himself.
    'Don't worry,” Matthew called again. “I'm coming. I love ice cream.”
    Richard went back to his seat. “You're coming, aren't you?” he called to Timothy Barbiero.
    “I think so,” Timothy said.
    Dawn Bosco was up in the front of the room. “My grand-mother lives in Florida,” she said.
    She held up a fat grapefruit. “My grandmother sent us a whole box of these.”
    Richard shuddered. He hated grapefruit.
    He opened his book to page three. Last week he had read two pages. Maybe he could get two guesses.
    As soon as Dawn sat down, he raised his hand. “Can I use last week's book for a guess?”
    Ms. Rooney thought for a minute.
    “Oh, good,” Timothy Barbiero said. “I read about a hundred pages last week.”
    Ms. Rooney shook her head. “I think we'd better stick to this week. We'll start with to-day.”
    Richard looked at page three. He tried to read the first sentence. It was a tough one.
    He turned to page four. A nice big picture took up most of the space. He wouldn't have to read many words.
    If he ever got there.
    Timothy Barbiero raised his hand. “I started my new book this morning,” he said. “And now I'm almost fin-ished.”
    “That's wonderful,” Ms. Rooney