9 September

9 September July and August were over. We had no vacation at all. Bummer in the summer! In September, everything was perfectly normal at Ella Mentry School. It was just like any other school. September 3 was World Whistling Day. In music class, Uncle Fred taught us how to whistle. September 4 was Eat an Extra Dessert Day. Our

lunch lady, Ms. Hall, let each of us have an extra dessert. September 5 was Be Late for Something Day. We were allowed to come to school a half an hour later than usual. Then came September 19. When we got to school, our speech teacher, Miss Laney, was standing on the front steps wearing a hat with a skull and crossbones on it. She had a patch over one eye, a peg leg instead of a foot, and a hook at the end of her arm instead of her hand. "Ahoy, mateys!" she shouted. "What happened to you, Miss Laney?" asked Andrea. "Arrrrrrr!" she replied, scrunching up her face. "I was tryin' to batten down the hatches in the teachers' lounge when I tripped over Davy Jones's locker. Arrrrrrr!"

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Huh? Miss Laney had a gravelly voice, and she was grunting and growling. She's a speech teacher! She never talks like that. "Why are you talking funny?" asked Ryan. "Arrrrrrr!" said Miss Laney. "Today be International Talk Like a Pirate Day!" OHHHHHHH! "Let's celebrate!" we all shouted. Miss Laney taught us how to talk like pirates. It's easier than you think. All you need to do is say "Arrrrrrr" all the time. "Avast, ye hearties," shouted Andrea. "Hoist the Jolly Roger!" "Shiver me timbers!" shouted Neil. "Hoist it yourself, ya scallywag!" "Yo-ho-ho!" shouted Alexia. "Yer nothin' but a binge rat, ya son of a biscuit eater!" "Aye!" shouted Michael. "I'll make ye walk the plank, ya lily-livered landlubber! You'll be shark bait!" "Blimey!" shouted Ryan. "I'll keelhaul you, ya bilge-sucking scurvy dog!" "Arrrrrrr!" I shouted. "Let's settle this out on the poop deck, lads and lassies!"*

International Talk Like a Pirate Day was fun because we got to say words like "scuttlebutt" and "hornswoggle." I don't know what they mean, but they sound like they're not appropriate for kids. We talked like pirates all day. It was weird, but cool.