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

don’t eat lunch with library books,” Principal James says, his beard bristling. “Grab it fast, and then follow me.”
    So I do, and I do.
    We
all
do.
    We follow Principal Harry—
Hairy
—James, I mean.
    Left, right. Left, right. Left, right.
    Off to meet our doom.

15
    BIRDS OF A FEATHER
    â€œWe covered for you yesterday, dog. So you better not tell,” Jared says to me under his breath. We are making our way toward the school building, following Principal James like—well, like a bunch of bad geese who have been placed under arrest. You know, geese. Like in
The Sword in the Stone
.
    â€œYeah,” Stanley and Jason chime in.
    â€œDudes. You don’t have to threaten me,” I say, shaking my head. “If I was going tattle on you guys, wouldn’t I have already done it? Principal James asked what happened. And I didn’t blab.”
    Jared looks like he can’t remember back that far. It’s been three whole minutes, after all. But hey, he’s still one of the flock. Or “herd,” as Cynthia would say.
    â€œYeah,” Marco says, backing me up. “EllRay would have already blabbed. And he
didn’t
.”
    Corey, Kevin, and Major nod, backing him up.
    Diego and Nate just keep plodding along.
    â€œI told Principal James the book fell on the ground, remember?” I tell Jared, Stanley, and Jason, and whoever else is listening. “
I’m
the one who got yelled at for bringing a library book to lunch.
I’m
the one who’s gonna have to pay it off for the next ten years. Not to mention what happens when my mom and dad find out,” I add, shuddering.
    â€œWhat
about
your mom and dad?” Stanley asks as we start down the hall.
    â€œYou think they’re not gonna get mad at me about this?” I ask. “Have you
met
them?”
    â€œThey’re kinda strict,” Corey says, cluing Stanley in.
    He should talk! Corey’s mom runs his whole life, practically. But this is no time to pick a fight with my one-and-only friend. That would
really
mess things up.
    All I wanted in the first place was
more
friends. And I wanted them bad!
    I
need
more friends, so I will always have someone to hang with after school and on weekends. Someone to play video games with. Stuff is just more fun that way.
    Also, this may sound weird, but I want Alfie to think I’m at least a little bit popular. I’m her
big brother
. And she’ll be in kindergarten here soon. I don’t want her to think Oak Glen Primary School is a tough place for us Jakes kids to make friends.
    Like I said before, I look out for my little sister.
    Jason doesn’t seem at all interested in being my friend, though. Not after yesterday. And Diego is off in his own daydreamy world again. He never even noticed the book!
    That leaves me with no one but almost-always-too-busy Corey, who I’ve kind of been ignoring lately. I admit it.
    â€œInto the office,” the head secretary says, shooing us with her hands.
    â€œAll ten of us?” I ask, surprised. Because usually, from what I hear, Principal James likes to talk to kids one at a time when there’s trouble. It’s probably so they can’t all grab onto some fake story like it’s a life-raft that might save them all.
    â€œThat’s right,” the secretary says. “Each and every one of you.”
    And so in we go, in clumps:
    1. Jared Matthews, Stanley Washington, Kevin McKinley, and Jason Leffer.
    2. Diego Romero and Nate Marshall.
    3. Major Donaldson and Marco Adair.
    4. And Corey and me. Or I.
    There are two visitors’ chairs in Principal James’s office, but none of us kids sits down. Nobody wants to look that permanent, in my opinion.
    â€œEyes front, gentlemen,” Principal James says from behind the desk. He raps his stapler on it to get our attention—which he already has, believe me.
    I think he’s being sarcastic, calling us