7 BELIEVE IT OR NOT

BELIEVE IT OR NOT "Breaking a world record is harder than it looks," said Emma the next day at recess. The second-graders who had gathered around The Amazing Book of World Records the day before were huddled under the play structure again. Without the book. "I could get two spoons stuck on my cheeks, no problem," Emma went on, "and for a second, I got three. But that's all. I wish the book said how that kid did it." "Did you try your nose?" asked Drew. "Sure I tried my nose," Emma said. "It slid right off." "Maybe he has a very sticky face," said Ivy. "Maybe he even puts something on his face to make it sticky." "Maybe," said Emma, "but forget it. I'm tired of trying to put spoons on my face."

There was a silence. Bean didn't want to be a braggy kid. Everyone hates braggy kids. She would wait to tell about the dinosaur bones until someone else told about breaking a record. "How'd the cartwheels go?" she asked Zuzu. "Super-great," said Zuzu. "You did it?" asked Ivy. "A hundred and eleven cartwheels?" Everyone looked impressed. "Wow!" "That's great!" "Are you going to be in the book?" Zuzu pulled the zipper on her jacket down and up. "I didn't do a hundred and eleven cartwheels. I did thirty-two." She looked around at the faces watching her. "That's a lot. I set the record for Emerson School for sure",. There was a short silence while everyone thought about that. Then Bean said, "Did you fall down or what?"

"I crashed into the fence" said Zuzu., "Got a bunch of splinters." She held up her knee. It looked like she had pepper under her skin. "Ouch," said Ivy. She hated splinters. "If my backyard was a mile long, I bet I could have done it "said Zuzu.,

"Eric's not at school today," said Vanessa. "I wonder if he ate five hundred M&M's." "He didn't", said Dusit. "He ate a hundred and twelve, and then he threw up." "But a hundred and twelve is hardly anything." "He didn't chew," said Dusit. "He just poured them down his throat." "Yuck," said Emma. "That's gross." "His mom is really mad," said Dusit

glumly. "She took the rest of his money away." "What about you, Bean?" asked Vanessa. "Did you get all those straws in your mouth?" "Straws?" Bean had almost forgotten the straws. "Oh. No. But Ivy and I broke another record—" "How many did you get in?" asked Zuzu. "What? Oh. Forty-four. But guys," said Bean, "Ivy and I broke another record yesterday afternoon." She stopped and waited. "Well?" said Vanessa. "What record?" "We became the youngest paleontologists in the world!" There was a little pause. "What's a paleontologist?" asked Drew. "A person who digs up dinosaur bones," said Bean. "And that's what we did! We

dug seventeen dinosaur bones out of my backyard yesterday. And today we're going to get more. And then we're going to put them together and make a dinosaur skeleton!" Nobody said anything. "Isn't that cool?" said Bean. What was the matter with them? "You did not," said Dusit, finally. "We did too!" cried Bean. "Seventeen dinosaur bones? No way," said Emma. "Yes way," said Bean firmly. Zuzu and Emma gave each other a look. Bean felt her face get hot.