5 Ch5-Checking for Headlights

Chapter 5 Checking for Headlights To make Mrs. Cooney fall in love with me, I would have to be on my best behavior. Luckily I got my chance the very next day. After we finished pledging the alle- giance, Miss Daisy told the class that we had to go to Mrs. Cooney's office one at a time. Ryan and Michael wanted to go

first. But I got to go first because my name starts with a. So nah-nah-nah boo-boo on them. When I got to Mrs. Cooney's office, she didn't seem mad at me anymore. I was determined to be the most perfect kid in the history of the world. "Good morning, A.J.," Mrs. Cooney said. "Every year at this time, I have to check the students for headlights." Headlights? Why would a kid bring a headlight to school? Headlights belong on cars. I kept my mouth shut, though. I didn't want Mrs. Cooney to get mad at me again. Mrs. Cooney put on a pair of rubber

gloves. She told me to sit on a chair, and she turned on a bright light over the chair. It was like one of those lights they shine at bad guys in police TV shows when they're trying to get them to confess. I wanted to tell Mrs. Cooney that check- ing kids for headlights was dopey but I was trying to be on my best behavior. "Is this really necessary?" I asked politely. "It's nothing to be ashamed of," she said. "Lots of kids have headlights." Nobody I know! Mrs. Cooney started looking through my hair and rubbing a stick against my head. What a waste of time! If I had a headlight up there, she

wouldn't have to look very hard to see it. "What happens if I have one?" I asked. "You'll have to stay home from school for a few days," Mrs. Cooney said. Hmm, that didn't sound like such a bad idea. I could use a vacation. I started thinking of how I could get a headlight. Maybe my dad had an extra one in the garage. But even if I could get a headlight, how would I attach it to my head? With a strap or something? As Mrs. Cooney was poking around in my hair, I started to think about what it would be like if the two of us were mar- ried. Maybe she would make me hop

around the house with a ruler on my nose and cluck like a chicken all day. Maybe I would have to wear a headlight all the time. My mom once told me that all people are different and that's what makes people so interesting. She said we should accept people for who they are instead of

trying to change them. Maybe I could live with Mrs. Cooney even if she was weird. "Okay" Mrs. Cooney said. "You can go back to class, A.J. You don't have head- lights." Duh! Mrs. Cooney is weird, but I still loved her. I decided that I still wanted to marry her when I grow up. When I got back to class, I told Ryan and Michael that Mrs. Cooney tried to find headlights in my hair. "It's head lice, dumbhead!" Michael said. "Not headlights!" Oh, That explained a lot.