Free Horrible Harry Moves up to the Third Grade by Suzy Kline Page A

and Mrs. Chan?”
    Miss Mackle smiled. “Every summer brings some changes. As you know, we moved upstairs. And South School just hired two new teachers. Mr. Moulder for second grade, and Miss Zaharek in kindergarten. Mrs. Chan retired.”
    â€œWhat happened to Miss Foxworth? Did she fall off a cliff or something?”
    â€œNo, Harry,” Miss Mackle said. “She got married over the summer and changed her name. Now she’s Mrs. Carpenter.”
    â€œShe looks different,” I said.
    â€œShe changed her hair,” Miss Mackle said. “She’s a blonde now.”
    â€œOoooooh,” we replied.
    When the bell rang, Harry and I found our seats. They had our names on them. Mine was by the window. Harry’s was next to the pencil sharpener and wastepaper basket. He seemed to like that. He gave me the thumbs-up sign.
    I wasn’t so sure, so I just nodded.
    Was everything going to change in third grade?

Two Things in Third Grade That Didn’t Change

    The first thing I did when I sat down was look out the window. Everything looked so different from the second floor. Last year, I could see the school Dumpster, lawns, and cars on the street. Now there were just clouds and the sky.
    â€œLook!” Harry blurted out from across ‘the room. “There goes Lifestar, the helicopter. I bet it’s taking a bloody person to the hospital.”
    Mary made a face. “I was hoping you might change over the summer, Harry But you haven‘t,” she groaned. “You’re still gross.”
    I smiled.
    At least that was one thing I could count on.
    Ida raised her hand. “Where’s the monitor chart, Miss Mackle?”
    â€œUp here, in cursive,” she said, pointing to the front bulletin board.
    It looked like Greek to me. I tried reading it:

    I couldn’t even read the job I had.
    The rest of the kids’ names were in the envelope at the bottom. I couldn’t read the words on that either:

    â€œWelcome to third grade, boys and girls,” Miss Mackle said. “I am so excited that we looped. Here we are for a second year together! I hope you all got my postcard asking you to bring a summer memento to class.”
    Everyone nodded.
    Even Harry.
    Harry did his homework? Now I knew I was on another planet!
    â€œBefore we have our morning conversation about our summer, let’s have our class leaders start the pledge.”
    Harry and Sidney each carried a small flag to the front of the room. I knew why Miss Mackle put them together. They have a tough time getting along. Sidney does something stupid and then Harry gets revenge.
    I wondered if that would change, too?
    After the pledge and “The Star-Spangled Banner,” we all sat down at our desks. “Now,” Miss Mackle said, “let’s share our summer experiences. Song Lee, will you begin?”

    Song Lee opened the brown bag on her lap.
    Everyone leaned forward to see what was inside.
    â€œMy aunt visited us from Korea. When we took a walk, I found this.”
    We watched Song Lee hold up a jar that had something golden inside. It looked like an egg wrapped in silk.
    â€œAunt Sun Yee and I found this under a fence post. It is a spider egg sac. In the spring, it will hatch into many spiders just like Charlotte’s magnum opus.”
    Miss Mackle sighed. “Ohhhh ...”
    I could tell the teacher loved Song Lee’s memento. She put her hand over her heart.
    â€œCan I go next?” Sidney blurted out. “I’ve got a momento, too.”
    â€œMemento,” Mary corrected. “No, you can’t go next. I have a question for Song Lee. What did you put on top of your jar?”

    Song Lee giggled. “Aunt Sun Yee’s pantyhose. We cut up an old pair.”
    When everyone laughed, I thought about Song Lee. She spoke English so well now.
    â€œCan we keep the egg sac in the classroom?” Dexter asked.
    â€œYes,” Song Lee replied. After we