Anna, Banana, and the Big-Mouth Bet Read online

  Maybe I could feel it out, though, without telling him the whole story. I looked at Chuck out of the corner of my eye. “Isabel still believes in the Tooth Fairy, even though I told her there’s no such thing,” I said.

  Chuck shrugged. “So what?” he said.

  That wasn’t the response I’d been expecting. “So . . . don’t you think that’s embarrassing?”

  “Is she embarrassed about it?” he asked.

  I thought about that. No, I decided. She really wasn’t. Isabel was hardly ever embarrassed about anything. I shook my head.

  “Then why should you be embarrassed for her?” Chuck said.

  “Because . . .” I started to say, but I didn’t have a good answer. When he put it that way, I realized maybe I shouldn’t.

  Chapter Eleven

  Loosen Up

  What would be embarrassing, though, and surely get me in deep trouble, would be having to dance the Funky Chicken in the middle of class. I couldn’t let that happen. I had to make sure my tooth fell out first. So I wiggled and wiggled and wiggled it.

  I wiggled it with my left hand while doing homework with my right. I wiggled it with my spoon while eating chocolate ice cream for dessert. I wiggled it with my tongue while Chuck and I cleared and washed the dishes. I wiggled it with my fingers while tossing Banana’s favorite bunny toy, and patting her ears, and telling her about the bet, and explaining Isabel’s ideas about the Tooth Fairy.

  Banana wasn’t sure about the Tooth Fairy stuff, but she was certain I’d be a superhero just like Sadie if I could win the bet and stop Justin from bothering us. She wiggled her entire backside to encourage my tooth along.

  I wiggled the tooth until my fingers and wrists and elbows got tired, and my arms got sore, and the tooth got much looser. But even with all that wiggling it still wasn’t quite loose enough.

  “Maybe it will fall out while I’m sleeping,” I whispered to Banana, in her basket, after Mom had tucked us in. Banana curled up into an even tighter ball and heaved a doggy sigh. We both would be relieved when this toothy trouble was over.

  “Don’t worry,” I told her. “There’s no way Justin’s has fallen out yet either.”

  As I turned over to sleep on my other side, I gave the tooth one last, big good-night wiggle and hoped that was true.

  Chapter Twelve

  The Better Bettor

  When I opened my eyes the next morning, Banana was already awake in her basket beside the bed, looking up at me with her ears perked in a question.

  I touched my tongue to the tooth spot and shook my head. “Nope,” I answered. “Still there.”

  Banana flattened her ears against her head and pushed her nose under her blanket with a sigh. That was how I felt about it too.

  When Chuck and I got to school, Isabel and Sadie were waiting for me at the edge of the playground. Sadie ran over. “Justin’s tooth is still in,” she reported. “But he told some kid on the bus that he’s certain it will come out today. How’s yours?”

  I showed them. Sadie grimaced. “We’ll think of something,” she promised. “But keep wiggling it.”

  All through school Justin was unusually quiet. He didn’t tug my hair to get my attention during social studies, or try to tell any jokes before recess, or call out to tease Isabel or me or anyone else during silent reading time. He didn’t even tap his pencil on his desk or ask to borrow my eraser during math. He kept his big mouth shut for once, which made me feel extra nervous because it probably meant he was too busy wiggling his tooth out to talk.

  I couldn’t know for sure what he was doing or not, though, because I refused to turn around and look. I kept my head facing forward and my eyes glued to the whiteboard, where Ms. Burland had written the word of the day, “foreboding.” Foreboding: a sense that something bad will happen.

  Yes. I was filled with exactly that.

  When the final bell rang to release us from school, I popped out of my seat, turned toward the coat hooks, and slammed straight into Justin. We both froze.

  He looked at me with startled eyes for what felt like the longest second in the world. For a moment I wondered if Justin was filled with foreboding too. Maybe he was just as worried about the bet as I was.

  Then he spoke. “Better rush home and practice your dance moves,” he said, “since tomorrow you’ll be performing in the middle of class. Bawk, bawk!”

  I glared. “Better practice keeping your mouth shut,” I said, “since soon you won’t be allowed to open it at all.”

  I stormed off without waiting for his comeback. This tooth had to come out now.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Reality Bites

  When Isabel and Sadie and I got to Sadie’s house after school, my friends were ready with a plan.

  “Chew this,” Sadie said, handing me a pack of strawberry bubble gum. “It will pull the tooth right out.”

  I unwrapped three pieces of bubble gum and chewed them as best I could, while Sadie and Isabel took turns wearing the sparkly purple helmet and riding Sadie’s new bike up and down her long driveway. I chewed while Isabel showed Sadie how to pop a wheelie in the grass. I chewed while Sadie tried it herself and Isabel cheered. I chewed until my jaw was sore and the big wad of gum had lost all its flavor. But the tooth stayed put.

  Sadie put the bike away and led us into the kitchen, where she got me an apple. “Bite this,” she said.

  I took the apple and nodded, but I was a little bit scared. Biting into it with my loose tooth seemed like it might hurt. But I had to do it. I couldn’t let Justin win the bet. I reminded myself that it wasn’t just for my sake. I was doing this for my friends, too. I lifted the apple to my mouth.

  “Wait,” Sadie said. She got two more apples, one for her and one for Isabel. “We’ll do it together. On the count of three. One . . . two . . . three!”

  With my friends beside me, I could be extra brave. I chomped into the apple and felt my tooth move, but it didn’t come out. I took another bite and felt it again. But still the tooth stayed in.

  Sadie’s plan wasn’t working.

  Sadie frowned. Isabel looked worried. They glanced at each other, then back at me, and Isabel swallowed hard.

  “There’s one more thing we haven’t tried,” Sadie said. “But it’s pretty drastic. I don’t think you should do it.”

  “What is it?” I asked.

  Sadie turned to Isabel. “Tell her,” she said.

  Isabel shifted from one foot to the other and back again. I’d never seen her so nervous. “Well,” she said. “I don’t know if this is true, but my sister Emma knows a girl who says her brother once pulled his tooth out by tying it to a doorknob.”

  “You mean, like, with a piece of string?” I said, trying to picture it.

  Isabel nodded gravely. “And then slamming the door shut,” she said.

  I blinked. “Oh,” I said, feeling the breath whoosh out of me.

  Nobody moved.

  Part of me wanted to run home and bury my face in Banana’s soft fur and forget about the tooth and the bet and especially about Justin. But another part of me, the same part that had gotten me into this dumb bet in the first place, wanted something different. That part of me wanted to be the kind of person who would do something huge to protect my friends. Something drastic. Something brave.

  I stood taller. I wanted to be a superhero. “I’ll do it,” I said.

  Chapter Fourteen

  All Tied Up

  Isabel’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you sure?” she said.

  “You don’t have to,” Sadie told me. Now she looked worried too—as worried as Banana gets when Dad turns on the vacuum.

  I shook my head to clear away their questions. “I’m sure,” I said. “Let’s try it.”

  I wanted to do it quickly, before I could change my mind.

  My stomach flipped and spun in a crazy dance while Sadie ran to get a spool of dental floss. She pulled off a long string of it and handed the string to Isabel. I opened my mouth wide. I
sabel carefully tied one end of the floss to my tooth, and the other end to the pantry door.

  I reminded myself that this would all be over in a few seconds, and tried to picture how excited Banana would get when she heard my tooth was out before Justin’s. I imagined how grateful my friends would be to go the whole rest of the year without him annoying any of us. I did not think about what it would feel like when the door slammed shut and the string yanked my tooth and the blood gushed out. But even without letting myself think about that, my heart was pounding fast.

  “Okay, on the count of three I’m going to slam the door. Are you ready?” Sadie said.

  I nodded as well as I could with my jaw hanging open and my tooth tied to a doorknob. A doorknob that was about to rip the tooth right out.

  “One . . .” Sadie said.

  I took a deep breath. Isabel grabbed my hand.

  “Two . . .” Sadie said.

  I squeezed Isabel’s hand and shut my eyes tight. I didn’t want to look, and I didn’t want to cry. I hoped I wouldn’t pass out. I wondered how we’d stop the bleeding.

  “Th—”

  “Wait!” I cried, lunging to grab the door before Sadie could push it. “I can’t do it.”

  I watched through a blur of tears and relief as Isabel quickly untied the doorknob. I slipped the other end of the floss off my tooth and sank to the floor in defeat.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m so, so sorry.”

  My friends dropped to the floor beside me and wrapped me in a double hug.

  “Don’t be sorry,” Sadie said. “You were so brave to even think about doing that. I wouldn’t have.”

  “Yeah,” Isabel said. “Why are you apologizing?”

  “Because I might lose the bet,” I said, wiping my drippy eyes. “And this is our chance to make Justin leave us alone. I don’t want to let you guys down.”

  Isabel looked surprised. “You’re not letting us down,” she said. “We’re just trying to help save you from having to do the Funky Chicken. It’s okay with us if you don’t win. We can still handle Justin. I don’t care what he thinks.”

  Sadie was nodding. “Besides, sometimes Justin’s funny,” she said. “And kind of cute,” she added.

  I wrinkled my nose. That was grosser than a dog fart.

  “Anyway, you don’t have to do this for us,” Sadie said. “We love you no matter what.”

  That was nice to hear, and it did make me feel better, but it didn’t solve all my worries. Losing wouldn’t only mean blowing my chance to make Justin leave us alone. It would also mean having to act out in class, like some kind of troublemaker. Ms. Burland would be so disappointed in me. And when she called my parents to tell them what I’d done, my parents would be disappointed too. I’d probably get detention and be grounded for life.

  Isabel brushed some dirt off her sneaker. “You know, if you lose, you don’t have to go through with that chicken dance,” she said. “We can tell Justin you’re not doing it.”

  Sadie and I stared at her like she was crazy, because apparently, she was. “Of course I do,” I said. “Everyone heard us make the bet. And we shook on it. I can’t back out now.”

  Isabel shrugged. “It just doesn’t seem very smart,” she said.

  I nodded sadly. “It’s definitely not smart.”

  Sadie crossed her arms. “Well, you haven’t lost yet. And maybe you won’t. But if you do, we’ll just have to outsmart him.”

  “Okay,” I said, feeling a little more hopeful. “How?”

  Sadie looked at Isabel, then back at me. “I have no idea,” she admitted. “But we’ll think of something. We always do.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  The Biggest Loser

  The next morning I woke up certain: Today was the day my tooth would come out. It was super loose and twisty, and barely holding on at all. I was going to beat Justin and win the bet. I just knew it.

  I threw on my favorite polka-dot dress and a pair of stripey leggings, and ran down the stairs with Banana right behind me.

  “Still got that tooth in, kiddo?” Dad asked as we came into the kitchen.

  “Yup, but not for long,” I said. I scooped some kibble into Banana’s food dish and served her a kiss on the snout. “Did you ever figure out your book’s big plot twist?” I asked him.

  Dad smiled over the top of his TOP DOG coffee mug. “Yes, actually.”

  “What is it?” I said, reaching for the box of Gorilla Grams.

  “Everything will turn out the way the heroine wanted. But when it does, she’ll realize that maybe that wasn’t what she truly wanted after all,” Dad said, sounding pleased with himself.

  I glanced at Banana. She didn’t think that was a very good plot twist either.

  “Oh,” I said. When my tooth fell out first and I won the bet like I wanted, I was not going to realize I’d really wanted it to go another way. But I didn’t tell Dad that his plot twist sounded dumb. That wouldn’t be polite, and I’m not old enough for his books yet anyway.

  When I got to school, Sadie and Isabel were waiting, ready to give me the Tooth Report. “Justin’s is still in,” Sadie said. “He wiggled it the entire bus ride, but it hasn’t come out yet.”

  I showed them how loose mine was. Isabel let out a squeal. “You’re way far ahead of him! You’ll win today for sure.”

  “Thanks to the gum and the apple,” I said.

  Sadie grinned. “What are friends for?”

  But when we walked into the classroom, our smiles disappeared fast. A whole bunch of kids were crowded around Justin’s desk. Justin stood next to it, holding a bloody tissue to his mouth. When he saw me, he said, “There she is!” He held out his hand to show me the tooth that was lying in his palm.

  I couldn’t believe it. I’d lost the bet.

  “Bawk, bawk!” Justin said. “Time to dance!”

  I gulped and turned away. My stomach felt sick. What had I gotten myself into?

  “She’s not really going to do it,” I heard Amanda say. “She’ll wimp out for sure.”

  “She can’t,” Timothy said. “They shook on it.”

  Sadie gripped my arm. “We’ll dance it with you,” she said. “You don’t have to do this alone.”

  Isabel was nodding, but I shook my head. There was no reason for all three of us to get in big trouble. I was the one who’d made the stupid bet and gotten myself into this mess in the first place. Now I’d have to dance my way out of it.

  But as my Nana would say, I might have bitten off more than I could chew.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chickening Out

  The bell rang and everyone scrambled into their seats as Ms. Burland clapped twice to start the day. I was so nervous, I could hardly see straight.

  Ms. Burland was the very best teacher I’d ever had, but she was pretty strict. If I stood up in class and started flapping and bawking, there was no way she wouldn’t be furious. Even though I’d heard her say, “Learning should be fun,” I didn’t think she’d find my dance very funny. The only learning involved would be me learning how it feels to be in deep, deep trouble.

  My stomach hurt. I needed a distraction. I focused on the whiteboard, where Ms. Burland had written the word of the day. Today’s word was “zany”: silly in an unexpected, out-of-the-ordinary way.

  There was nothing zany about the way I felt. “Pukey” would be a better word for that.

  I wished I could whistle for Banana to come save me.

  I stared down at the floor as Ms. Burland handed back our spelling quizzes from earlier in the week. She was wearing her bright-green shoes with neon-pink laces that I love. Last time she wore those, Sadie had called them the Watermelon Shoes. Banana had thought that sounded delicious.

  The shoes went well with today’s word of the day. Ms. Burland had zany watermelon feet.

  Wait. That’s it! I thought. Suddenly I knew exactly how to outsmart Justin, and maybe get in slightly less trouble.

  I shot my hand up into the air. “Ms
. Burland,” I said. “Ms. Burland!” I had to do this quickly, while she was still passing back the quizzes. And before I lost my nerve.

  “Yes, Anna?” she said.

  I stood up. This was it.

  In as calm and loud a voice as I could manage while my stomach was turning in circles like Banana chasing her tail, I announced, “I’d like to demonstrate the word of the day. Here’s my zany dance, the Funky Chicken!”

  I tucked my hands under my armpits and flapped my elbows, lifting my knees one at a time and squawking, “Bawk, bawk, bawk!” as I danced down the aisle and back. “Bawk, bawk!”

  When I reached my desk again, I stopped and stood still. The classroom was completely silent. I could feel my cheeks burning and everyone staring at me in total surprise, but I couldn’t look at any of my classmates. I had to look at Ms. Burland, to see how much trouble I was in.

  Ms. Burland’s face was frozen in shock. She lifted her hand to her forehead, and then . . . she laughed!

  I couldn’t believe it. I broke into a huge smile as everyone around me laughed too.

  Ms. Burland shook her head. “That was silly and unexpected indeed, Anna. Very zany. I’m glad you’re so excited about the word of the day. But next time you’d like to act one out, please talk to me first, so we can schedule it not to disrupt, okay?”

  “Okay,” I said.

  “Now, if everyone’s done dancing and could take a seat, let’s talk about next week’s spelling words.” She turned toward the board to write.

  I couldn’t believe my luck. I’d done it! I’d outsmarted Justin and gotten away with the dance. I couldn’t wait to tell Banana the whole tale.

  I peeked over at Isabel and Sadie. Their faces glowed with triumph. Sadie flashed me a big thumbs-up.