4 A Tall Tree and Tater Tots

CHAPTER FOUR A TALL TREE AND TATER TOTS MR. WILLOW WASN'T talking about Max Brutus being super mad that Simon got his ball stuck in a tree. He was talking about himself being super mad because we were talking. In class. Again. He stood behind our table. He looked really tall standing over us like that. "Rosie," he said. "Can you look at the whiteboard and tell me what number three says on today's schedule?" "It says 'Silent reading time.'" "And Molly," he said, turning his head to stare at

me. "Are the three of you silent?"

"No, sir." "And Simon," Mr. Willow said, glaring at him now. "Are the three of you reading?" "Not exactly." He pointed at each of us and then at our books. Then he growled. It wasn't a funny, playful growl. It was more like an I-better-not-have-to-tell-you- again growl. So we didn't talk—until lunch. We found a table to ourselves. For lunch, we had a grilled cheese sandwich, tater tots, an orange, and a brownie. It was a really good lunch for me. That's because the grilled cheese sandwich was cut in two— and I only eat things in even numbers. And there were eight tater tots, so I didn't have to give any to Simon or Rosie—it was already an even number. And Simon's favorite dessert is brownies. So I looked forward to giving him mine. "So you kicked Max's special World Cup soccer ball into a tree?" Rosie asked, reminding us where we were in the conversation.

"Not just any tree," Simon said. "The tallest tree in Picasso Park." "And that's how you got sap on your hands?" I asked. "You tried to climb the tree?" "I did climb it this morning," Simon said, tossing three tater tots in his mouth. "I thought about it all night. But this morning I couldn't climb high enough. That dumb ball is almost at the top. I got as high as I could, but I could feel the tree trunk start to bend with my weight. I got kind of scared and had to stop." "Simon!" Rosie exclaimed. "I know that tree! You can't climb that high. It's totally dangerous!" "Yeah," Simon said and squeezed his little paper cup of ketchup into his mouth. "But it'sh not as dangeroush ash not giving Max hish ball back."

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"Wait," Rosie said, shaking her head. "Did you just put your tater tots in your mouth and then the ketchup after?" Simon nodded. "You don't dip them in the ketchup and then eat them?" I asked. "Not anymore," Simon said. He had swallowed it all now. "Smart, right?" Rosie asked, "How is it smart?"