8. Big Gig

8 Big Gig When I got to school the next Thursday, all the geese were gone from the playground. That was weird. Where did they go? Back to Canada, I guess. "Big news, kids!" said Mrs. Bacon when we got to room 303. "We have our first gig this morning!"

When a group of musicians play in front of people, it's called a "gig." Nobody knows why. "I'm scared," said Emily, who's scared of everything. "There's no need to be nervous," said Mrs. Bacon. "This is just a warm- up for our recital next week. Grab your instruments and Pringle up!" We walked a million hundred miles to the front of the school, where the bus was waiting. "Bingle boo!" said Mrs. Kormel, our bus driver. That means "hello" in her secret language. Mrs. Kormel is not normal. We drove a million hundred minutes until we reached a big building. The sign on the front said SHADY REST SENIOR HOME.

"We're going to play for senior citizens?" Michael asked as we piled out of the bus. "Yes!" said Mrs. Bacon. "But not just any senior citizens." And you'll never believe who came out of Shady Rest Senior Home to greet us. It was Ella Mentry, the lady our school was named after! She must live there. Mrs. Mentry was a teacher at our school a long time ago. "I'm happy to welcome you kids to Shady Rest," said Mrs. Mentry. "My friends and I can't wait to hear you play." We walked inside. Mrs. Mentry led us to a big room with bleachers. We climbed up on the bleachers and unpacked our instruments. The senior

citizens came into the room and sat in chairs. Some of them were already sitting in wheelchairs. Mrs. Mentry stood up and all the senior citizens clapped. "My friends," she announced. "I'm proud to introduce you to some wonderful students who attend the school that was named after me. These third graders would like to serenade

you. This is their first concert ever." "Woo-hooo!" some old guy shouted. "Rock and roll!" "'Stairway to Heaven'!" somebody shouted. "Pink Floyd!" "'Free Bird'!" I had no idea what they were shouting about. Mrs. Bacon waved her chopstick, and we started playing "Hot Cross Buns." We were all a little nervous, but if you ask me, we crushed it. The senior citizens gave us a nice round of applause. I think they would have given us a standing ovation, but a lot of them couldn't stand up. "AC/DC!" shouted an old lady. "More cowbell!" Mrs. Bacon waved her chopstick,

and we played "Mary Had a Little Lamb." Again, we were awesome.* While the senior citizens were cheering and clapping, Mrs. Bacon gathered us around her. "Okay," she whispered, "clean out your spit valves." "Where?" I asked. "On the bleachers," she replied. Gross! But who was I to argue? We emptied our spit valves on the bleachers.