10. What to Wear

WHAT TO WEAR? 10 Sam was drying his clay dinosaur. It was Thursday morning. The first bell hadn't rung yet, but Sam had already been in the art room for an hour. Ms. Winter was rushing around, preparing for the show. She kept taking student artwork from the room and hanging it in the hallways.

Sam felt like each piece she carried out drawings and paintings and doodles was watching him. Sam shook his head. He needed to focus on finishing his project. He was close. He looked down at his clay dinosaur. And he gulped. Sam felt like the dinosaur's eyes were watching him, too... Sam felt like everything was watching him. "WE HAVE HIT OUR GOAL! One hundred dollars!"

Sam was jolted out of his daze. He looked up and saw Lucy happily marching into the art room. Antonio followed. He was carrying their money jar over his head. "We just gave Mr. Nekobi our hat full of ideas so he can pick the winning entry," Antonio said. "And I've just finished my project!" Sam said, shutting off his hair dryer. "You were still working on it?" Lucy asked. "Lucy and I finished our projects days ago," Antonio teased. Sam rolled his eyes as he set his dinosaur on Ms. Winter's desk.

Then Sam and his friends hurried to Ms. Grinker's classroom. It was a long day. The hall monitors knew that at any moment, Mr. Nekobi could come over the loudspeaker. He would announce the winning costume, which could be anything! KRR-CHH!

Everyone looked up at the loudspeaker. Ms. Winter's voice filled the room: "Happy Thursday, students! Don't forget the art show is tomorrow. And now, Mr. Nekobi has a fun announcement!" Sam looked at his friends. Mr. Nekobi was about to reveal the winning costume. "This is the big moment," Antonio said under his breath. "I really hope we get to dress up as something cool, like superheroes! Or life-size peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!" Finally, Mr. Nekobi read the winning entry aloud. They would not be wearing awesome costumes. Not even close...