17 A Wonderland

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN A Wonderland Sodium (noun). This is a chemical element that is a silvery-white metal. When combined with the element chlorine, it can form a crystal known as sodium chloride, otherwise known as salt. Next time you want more salt on your fries, ask for sodium chloride, and you'll sound like a hungry scientist. "IT'S BEAUTIFUL, ISN'T IT?" asked Birdie. We stood in line in the pickup circle in front of the school. The whole world was covered in fresh snow. The white on the boughs of the pine trees made them look even greener somehow. And the sun shone through a patch of clouds, making everything sparkle. "It is!" I clapped my mittens together, staring at the bus. "Look at it. Just waiting for us. All shiny and yellow." Birdie whipped around. "I meant that snow." She giggled. "I meant the bus," I said, "because it's taking us to the aquarium."

"I know," said Birdie. She pulled out her bag of ginger chews. "See, I'm prepared. And wearing this." She unzipped her coat to show me her long-sleeve jellyfish shirt. I knew that Tala had her sea star shirt on, just like Memito had his shark shirt. Avery had on her octopus shirt, and Elijah was wearing his beluga shirt. Soon enough, I'd get my penguin shirt at the aquarium. I smiled at the thought. A couple minutes later, Mrs. Eberlin said we had to get organized into our field trip groups. She held a clipboard and started to call out names of the kids who would go with chaperones. "Some of you will go with chaperones from Mrs. Que's class and some from mine. Just listen up as we call your name, and you'll hear who your chaperone is going to be." Elijah's mom got Mia Wong, Skyler, and three kids from Mrs. Que's class, two with nut allergies and one with epilepsy. Since she's a pediatrician, she would know what to do in case of an emergency. Memito went to stand by his grandma and then cheered when Elijah, Jeremy, and Rory joined them. Mrs. Eberlin handed Mom her list of kids. Then Mom read out the names. "I've got Kate, Birdie, Tala, and Julia."

Julia looked hesitant as she strolled over to us. Smiling, I tried to make her feel welcome, but I could tell she wasn't happy about it. She kept on peering over at Mia and Skyler. "Looks like we've broken up a friend group," Mom whispered. "Sometimes it just can't be helped." I nodded. It made sense, since not all friends were in groups of four or five. Avery went with her dad, along with Phoenix and two kids from the other class. "Would it be okay if I stand with Mia and Skyler until we board the bus?" Julia asked my mom. "Of course," said Mom. "We'll reconvene when we get to the aquarium. After that, we'll be stuck together like superglue." "Okay, thank you so much!" said Julia, as if my mom had just given her a present. She darted over to be with Mia and Skyler, and then Mom ran into the school office to do a few last-minute tasks. Meanwhile I zipped open my backpack and pointed at the containers of chocolate-covered pretzels. "We have these!" After waiting for Tala to join us, we started handing out two pretzel rods to all of the kids. Of course, Memito and Jeremy were first, and they held their pretzels out like swords as they wanted to duel it out.

Next was Julia. "Have a couple of pretzels," offered Birdie. Julia waved her hand. "Sorry. I shouldn't. It's against the rules to eat on the bus." "Are you sure?" I asked. Actually, that was a dumb question. Julia knew her rules. "You could eat them now," Tala told her. "Or just save them for later. "Thanks," said Julia. "That's really nice." She lowered her voice. "I just don't want to get us in trouble." That's when Mrs. Eberlin stepped up to us. She gazed at the pretzels. She looked over at me, Birdie, and Tala. "They smell delicious," said Mrs. Eberlin. "Thank you, girls, for making them. However," she switched into her teacher voice and announced, "there's no eating on the bus. So either eat your pretzels now, before you get on the bus, or put them away until it's lunchtime at the aquarium." "I forgot about the no-eating rule," I said to Birdie as we climbed onto the bus to look for an empty seat. "Me too," said Birdie, as she shrugged her shoulders. Mom was the last person onto the bus. "I'm really ready for this trip now," she said to me as she stood in the aisle for a moment. "Everything's settled with the

office. No more snow in the forecast." She glanced at her watch. "Let's go!" she yelled, throwing her fist in the air before sitting down toward the back of the bus with Elijah's mom. "Yes!" we cried. With a tug on her lever, the bus driver closed the door. I glanced back over at Mom to see if she would start telling everyone a bunch of bus rules. But honestly, she was just chatting with Elijah's mom. She was kind of acting like a regular mom. She looked like one too in her jeans and bright blue sweater. I wondered how many fifth graders had ever seen her in anything other than her typical principal outfits. Nobody was even whispering that the principal was on board. Instead Mrs. Eberlin was the one to remind of us of the general plan, which was to get to the aquarium at 10:30, see the 11:00 aquatic show, then split off into groups with our chaperones. We were then to meet back all together to have lunch in a special room set up for us. Mrs. Swensen, our bus driver, pointed out exit locations and said there was no switching around seats. She also told us that we have to drive through Indiana to get to Chicago, which is in a whole other state called Illinois. "You get to see three states today!" she exclaimed. Then everyone clapped as we

pulled out of the parking lot. Things were definitely looking up. The roads were clear, and Mom said there was no more snow expected in the forecast. I turned to Birdie. "Wouldn't that be amazing if we got front-row seats at the aquatic show? And the penguins waddled right in front of us and you took some pictures so you could sketch them later?" Birdie had called me last night to let me know her mom was letting her bring her phone to take photos and for emergencies. "No flash photography," said Julia from the seat behind us. "I wouldn't," said Birdie. "Good, because it's not allowed." Oh brother. She really did have all the rules memorized. Then suddenly, I heard someone singing "Ninety- Nine Bottles of Milk on the Wall" in the back of the bus. Someone whose voice I knew really well. My jaw dropped. It was my mom. She cupped her ear. "C'mon, everyone. I can't hear you!" And so with each verse, we all started singing louder and with more energy. When we got to "one bottle of milk on the wall," we were all singing so loudly they could probably hear us all the way in Chicago.