2. The Steve Club

2 The Steve Club Fun? Every time a grown-up tells me something is going to be fun, it's never fun. It's just a way for grown-ups to teach us more stuff. It's bad enough that we have to learn so much stuff in school. Then we have to learn even more stuff after school too. No fair! I'm onto their tricks, though. There was

no way these extracurricular activities were going to be fun. At dismissal on Monday, we had to Pringle up and march to the gym. Alexia was the line leader. Emily was the door holder. There was a big banner on the wall of the gym that said SIGN UP FOR EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES! A skinny lady I had never seen before was standing behind a table. Mrs. Stoker introduced her. "This is Mrs. Marge," she told us. "She's in charge of the extracurricular activities program here at Ella Mentry School." "Welcome, Fourth Graders!" said Mrs. Marge. "Joining clubs will give you the

opportunity to explore your interests blah blah blah blah learn new things blah blah blah blah connect with others who have similar hobbies blah blah blah blah express your creativity blah blah blah blah get involved blah blah blah blah..." What a snoozefest! There were a bunch of clipboards on the table, and each one was for a different club we could join. I looked over the list of clubs—the Math Club, the Chess Club, the Computer Club, the Drama Club, the Book Club... Book club? Ugh. No way I was going to join that club! Books are boring. I don't even know why you're reading this one. All those clubs sounded boring to me. But that's when I saw a club that seemed really interesting—the Steve Club. "What's the Steve Club?" I asked Mrs. Marge. "It's a club for people named Steve," she replied. WHAT?!

I figured she was just making a joke. A club for people named Steve?* I don't know anybody named Steve. I think there's only one kid in the whole school named Steve. I decided that it would be hilarious to join a club for people named Steve. So I picked up the pen that was attached to the clipboard. "What's your name?" asked Mrs. Marge. "A.J.," I replied. "Why do you want to be in the Steve Club, A.J.?" she asked. "I always liked the name Steve," I told her. "My parents almost named me Steve." "I see," said Mrs. Marge. "Well, Ella Mentry School is all about acceptance and inclusion. Ordinarily, the Steve Club is made up of kids named Steve. But it wouldn't be fair if we only let certain people join certain clubs. So we'll make an exception in your case. Congratulations, A.J. You are officially a member of the

Steve Club." "YAY!" I shouted, which is also "YAY" backward. I signed the clipboard. Ryan heard what was going on and walked over. "Hey, did you join a club?" he asked me. "Yeah," I said. "I just joined the Steve Club." "That sounds cool," said Ryan. "Can I

join too?" "You have to ask Mrs. Marge," I told him. "She gave me special permission even though my name isn't Steve." Ryan looked up at Mrs. Marge. "I'd like to join the Steve Club," he said. "What's your name?" she asked him. "Ryan," said Ryan. "Is your middle name Steve?" "No." "Why do you want to join the Steve Club, Ryan?" asked Mrs. Marge. "I want to be in a club with A.J.," he replied. "Hmmm," said Mrs. Marge. "Our school doesn't discriminate against people just because they aren't named Steve. So, welcome to the Steve Club, Ryan." "YAY!" Ryan and I shouted. Michael and Neil came over to see what all the fuss was about. We told them that we signed up for the Steve Club. "No fair!" said Michael. "I want to be in