3. A Teachable Moment

3 A Teachable Moment After Pee Air passed around his stinky cheese, Mr. Granite told us to open up our math books again. But you'll never believe who poked her head into the door at that moment. Nobody! Why would anybody want to poke their head into a door? I thought we went over that already in chapter one. But you'll never believe who poked her head into the doorway.

It was Ms. LaGrange, our school lunch lady! She was wearing an apron and a chef's hat. Ms. LaGrange is from France, just like Pee Air. "Bonjour!" said Ms. LaGrange. "I heard your class has a new exchange student from France." "His name is Pee Air," said Alexia. "Blah blah blah blah," Ms. LaGrange said to Pee Air. "Blah blah blah blah." "Blah blah blah blah," Pee Air said to Ms. LaGrange. "Blah blah blah blah." I had no idea what they were saying, because they were talking to each other in French. It made no sense at all. I don't know how anybody understands that stuff.

"Isn't French a beautiful language?" said Andrea. "When I get older, I'm going to take a class and learn how to speak French." "Me too," said Emily, who always does

everything Andrea does. "This is what I call a teachable moment!" said Mr. Granite as he put down his math book. "It's the perfect time for us to learn about another country!" "Yay!" shouted all the girls. "Boo!" shouted all the boys. Learning stuff is boring. "What would you like to know about France?" asked Ms. LaGrange. "I'm sure Pee Air and I can answer any questions." Andrea started waving her hand in the air like she was stranded on a desert island and trying to signal a plane. So of course Ms. LaGrange called on her. "Is it true that the French people gave us the Statue of Liberty?" Andrea asked. "Yes!" said Ms. LaGrange. "The Statue of Liberty was a gift from France." "Very good, Andrea!" said Mr. Granite.

Little Miss Know-It-All had a big smile on her face. What a brownnoser! She knew perfectly well that the French people gave us the Statue of Liberty. She only asked that question so everybody would know that she knew the French people gave us the Statue of Liberty. Andrea is always doing that. "How big is France?" asked Alexia. "France is about the same size as Texas," said Ms. LaGrange. "WOW," everybody said, which is "MOM" upside down. "Did you ever go to the Eiffel Tower?" asked Michael. "Oh yes, many times," said Pee Air. "It is very... how do you say... cool." "The Mona Lisa is in France too," said Andrea, who was obviously trying to impress Pee Air with how much she knows. "Very good, Andrea!" said Mr. Granite.

Why can't a truck full of Mona Lisas fall on Andrea's head? "Hey," I asked, "in France, do you call French fries 'American fries'?" "No, we call them pommes frites," said Pee Air. "We also eat... frogs' legs and snails... which we call escargot." Ewww, gross! They eat snails! "Maybe I'll make escargot for lunch tomorrow!" said Ms. LaGrange. Ugh! I'll be bringing my own lunch. I'd rather die than eat those S car things. "Did you know that the hot air balloon, the parachute, and the submarine were all invented in France?" asked Ms. LaGrange. "They probably invented that stuff so they could get out of the country," I said.