Free The More the Merrier by Stephanie Barden Page B

a fourth-grade girl who walked up to the microphone.
    â€œMiss Allen, your word is agreeable .”
    â€œ Agreeable ,” said Melissa. “ A-g-r-e-e-a-b-l-e. Agreeable .”
    Someone started to clap but then they remembered the rules and stopped.
    A third grader from the other class went next.
    â€œMr. Bingham, your word is already .”
    A-l-r-e-a-d-y , I spelled to myself. But Fred Bingham spelled it a-l-l-r-e-a-d-y .
    â€œI’m sorry, Mr. Bingham; that is incorrect,” said Mrs. Shu. “Please join the audience.”
    Finally it was my turn. I walked up to the microphone a little shaky.
    â€œMiss Smith, your word is athlete ,” said Mrs. Shu.
    Since I’d made it through the A s in the dictionary, I knew this one for sure. “ Athlete. A-t-h-l-e-t-e. Athlete .”
    â€œCorrect,” said Mrs. Shu.
    I smiled and looked out at the audience to where Aunt Flora and Tess were sitting. The two empty places next to them weren’t empty anymore! They were full of my mom and dad! They smiled and waved, and I smiled big and went back to my seat.
    â€œMiss Taylor,” said Mrs. Shu, “your word is believable .”
    â€œCan you pronounce it again?” asked Rosemary T., so maybe she didn’t hear it just right.
    â€œ Believable ,” said Mrs. Shu.
    â€œ Believable ,” said Rosemary T. “ B-e-l-i-e-v-a-b-l-e. Believable .”
    She spelled it right. Alas. And so did the next five people; and the round finished, and the audience finally got to clap.
    I took the opportunity to give a little wave to my mom and dad, and my bracelets jingled.
    â€œBe quiet!” hissed Rosemary T.
    No one got out in round two, and no one started to clap by accident, so I guess we were all getting used to being at a spelling bee. Round three got a little harder. Emma from the other third-grade class mixed up where the i and a go in alleviate ; and Leslie, who’s also in that class, got mixed up about the r and the e in mediocre .
    â€œMiss Smith,” said Mrs. Shu, “your word is herbicide .”
    For a minute I was a little stumped, but then I remembered about vegetarian dinosaurs eating plants and herbs. “ Herbicide. H-e-r-b-i-c-i-d-e. Herbicide .”
    â€œCorrect,” said Mrs. Shu. “Miss Taylor, your word is scissors .”
    â€œCan you pronounce it again, please?” asked Rosemary T.
    â€œ Scissors ?” Mrs. Shu pronounced it again, but this time like a question.
    â€œCan you define it, please?” asked Rosemary T.
    Mrs. Shu gave Rosemary T. a funny look, and I knew why. Everyone in that whole auditorium knew what scissors were. “A two-bladed cutting instrument.”

    â€œCan you—,” said Rosemary T.
    â€œNo,” said Mrs. Shu, “time to spell.”
    â€œ Scissors ,” said Rosemary T. “ S-c-i-s- .” She stopped for a minute and started back up again. “ S-c-i-s-s-o-r-s. Scissors ?”
    â€œCorrect,” said Mrs. Shu.
    Next a fifth grader spelled continuous wrong, and a fourth grader spelled renovate wrong, and then that round was over and people clapped.
    The fourth round had tons of hard G words. Isaac missed the word ghoul , and I got the word guardian and was sure I was going to miss it too. Then I remembered about lifeguards. Phew! Rosemary T. got gymnasium , and Mrs. Shu said it very slowly and told her she knew what it meant and that she should spell. And Rosemary T. did and got it right.
    Round five was all full of words I had never even heard of like appellate and bassoon . I got vernacular ; and thank goodness for figuring out where vexylent would live if it goes in the dictionary, because I got it right.
    â€œMiss Taylor,” said Mrs. Shu, “your word is harangue .”
    Rosemary T. stood there for a second and then she said, “Can you pronounce it again, please?”
    â€œ Harangue ,” Mrs. Shu said very slowly.
    â€œCan you define it,