Free EllRay Jakes The Recess King! by Sally Warner; Illustrated by Brian Biggs Page A

Oak Glen Primary School history.
    And not in a good way.
    â€œFight! Fight!”
    Okay, here is the embarrassing truth about the whole “Fight! Fight!” thing.
    1. If the kids who are mad are still throwing stink-eyes and making threats after five minutes, not pounding on each other, they are about ready for the whole thing to be finished, in my opinion. Not because they’re scared, but because they’re over it. Face it. Other stuff is more fun. And how long can a person stay mad?
    2. But then other kids see what’s happening, and they gather. They say things like, “Go ahead! Hit ’im!” Because what do those kids care if the fighting kids get in trouble? It’s just more entertainment for them!
    3. That’s when it’s hard for fighting kids to back down, though. Even if they really are over the whole thing.
    Like I am here, now.
    That’s when it takes guts to stop.
    4. So, what’s a kid supposed to do? Especially when there are no grown-ups around?
    Hope that energy drink is extra good today, Mr. Havens!
    And— fwump .
    I’m flat on the ground.
    Then, bam, bam, bam . Other guys pile on top of me. It’s like we are making a sky-high, noisy, third-grade kid sandwich.
    Oof!

    I can hear the older kids hooting and jeering at us.
    A few of us third-graders
are
trying to fight a little, or we’re pretending to. It’s like we have to put on enough of a show to satisfy the older kids—even though we’re so mooshed together we can barely move. I have hold of one of Jason’s sticking-out ears. Corey is growling. And some other kid—probably Jared—is twisting my sweatshirt so tight that it’s like he’s trying to wring me out.
    And then, fwoosh .
    Jared seems to fly off me, leaving my sweatshirt wrinkled, but in one piece.
    Corey disappears from the pile, too.
    Jason, Stanley, and Kevin have been lifted off as well, and now it’s easier to breathe. What is happening?
    Even though I am still on the ground, I peek around for a clue.
    And I see several pairs of grown-up feet.
    Mr. Havens is here, hoisting kids off the pile left and right, and so is Principal James. And even Miss Myrna, the little old lady who helps out in the auditorium.
    How embarrassing.
    All the big kids have disappeared, of course. They seem to have melted into the playground.
    And all that’s left is goofy, guilty
us
.
    â€œOkay,” Principal James says. “Break it up. Break it up.”
    I feel like explaining to him that there isn’t really anything to break up. This whole thing was just a keep-away game gone wrong! And then, when we were facing off, we kind of got forced into a fake fight by the big kids.
    â€œI turn my back for
one minute
,” Mr. Havens says, holding tight onto Marco’s shoulder, as if he might run away at any second.
    And go where, Mr. Havens?
    I get to my feet one sore inch at a time.
    â€œIt’s not your fault, Mr. Havens,” Miss Myrna is saying, trying to make the second grade teacher feel better, I guess. “You were taking care of Little Miss Nosebleed, over by the swings.”
    Wait. They have
nicknames
for us? That’s messed-up!
    I wonder what
my
nickname is?
    B-z-z-z-z-z! The buzzer sounds.
    â€œIn my office, each and every one of you boys,” Principal James says in a voice that tells us we’d better not argue. Like we
would
! “Miss Myrna,” he adds. “Please go tell Ms. Sanchez that she’ll be missing a few students for a while. I’m sure she’ll be interested to hear how they spent their lunch break. Now, march,” he tells us, like we’re soldiers. Or prisoners, maybe. That’s more like it.
    â€œCan I get my library book?” I find the courage to ask, trying to keep my voice steady, in spite of all the trouble I’m in. “It, um, fell. It’s on the ground over there,” I add, pointing.
    â€œAnd that, Mr. Jakes, is why we