10. Pressure

10 Pressure Friday Dear first-grade journal, I keep thinking about May's present. I wonder what will happen when she sees the coal? I wonder what her face will look like? I wonder if she will learn a lesson?

I wonder if Santa will be proud of me? That is all the things I am wondering. Your friend, Junie B., First Grader Just then, I felt a poke. It was May. "Are you getting excited, Junie Jones? I'm getting excited," she said. Lennie heard her. "Me too," he said. "I'm getting excited, too." Herb and José both nodded their heads. "Me too," they said together. May squirmed and bounced around in her seat. She was acting like a regular kid. "Having a Secret Santa makes you feel like

you have a best friend," she said very giggling. "Right, Lennie? Huh? It makes you feel like you have a best friend, doesn't it?" Lennie looked funny at her. "But I do have a best friend, May," he said. "My best friend is José." José smiled. "Back at'cha, Len," he said. Herb pointed at me. "And my best friend is Junie B.," he said. I poked him very fun. "And my bestest friend is y-o-u, Herbert!" Just then, May stopped bouncing and squirming. And her face lost all its happy. "Oh," she said real soft. "Right." Her shoulders slumped a little bit. "Well, anyway that's what it makes me feel like," she said. "Having a Secret Santa makes me feel like I have a best friend, too." After that, all of us sat there very still.

The mood did not feel happy anymore. Very slow, Lennie and José turned back around in their chairs. Me and Herb turned around, too. We didn't talk again. We just sat there and waited for Mr. Scary to call our names. Finally, he called José and then Lennie. May started to get excited again. I heard her whispering to herself. "It's almost my turn! It's almost my turn! It's almost my turn!" Just then, Lennie came back from the gift table. And May sprang right up. "Me! Me! It's time for me!" she hollered. Then she grabbed her gift bag. And she ran right back to Mr. Scary. Pretty soon, it would be my turn, too. I picked up my gift-shop bag, and I peeked at the coal.

My stomach felt a little bit sickish at the sight of it. I wonder if Santa's stomach feels sickish before he gives children coal? May skipped back to her chair. And she started singing "Frosty the Snowman." I closed my ears. And I tried not to hear her being happy. Finally, Mr. Scary called my name. "Junie B.?" he said. My heart pounded real hard. I picked up my gift bag and walked to the back table. Mr. Scary winked at me. "Do you need any help?" he asked. I shook my head real fast. "No," I said. "No help! No, thank you. No help, Mr. Scary. I can do this all by myself." My hands felt sweatish and clammish.

I wiped them on my skirt. Then I waited very patient for my teacher to walk away. After he was gone, I picked up May's gift sack. And I held it in my hand. It was the beautifulest sack on the table. It was covered with shiny gold stars and sparkly red glitter. Plus also, there were beautiful green bows all over the sides. I did a gulp. I wondered how it would look with the black coal inside it. I wondered if May would be sad when she saw it.