The Beast in Ms. Rooney's Room by Patricia Reilly Giff Page A

the tray into the garbage pail while the monitor was looking the other way.
    Then he changed his mind. He fished around for the ice cream. It had a tan noodle stuck to the top.
    He picked the noodle off, licked the top of the ice cream, and ducked out the side door of the cafeteria.
    The hall was empty.
    No, it wasn't.
    At the other end Ms. Rooney was coming around the corner. She had a bunch of yellow and brownpaper leaves in her hand. They were probably for the hall bulletin board.
    Richard was just passing the boys' room. Quickly he slid inside.
    A first-grade boy was washing his hands at the sink.
    He looked like a midget, Richard thought.
    “Hi,” Richard said.
    The boy looked as if he were ready to cry.
    “Don't cry,” Richard said.
    The boy didn't answer. He rubbed his wet hands on the sides of his pants.
    “I used to be afraid too,” Richard said. “When I was in first grade.” He glanced out the window to see if any of the kids in his old class were outside yet. “That was a long time ago,” he added.
    The boy nodded. “What grade are you in?”
    “Uh … fourth,” Richard said, lying.
    “Wow,” the kid said. He circled around Richard and started for the hall.
    “Hey. Wait a minute. What's your name?” Richard called after him.
    But by that time the kid had raced into the hall. He must have bumped right into Ms. Rooney.
    Richard heard a loud oof.
    “Slow down, young man,” Ms. Rooney said. “Did I hear you talking to someone in there? It sounded like—”
    “A fourth-grader,” the kid said.
    Richard ducked into one of the stalls and closed the door. He waited a few minutes, then he stuck his head out.
    Ms. Rooney was probably gone by now, he thought.
    He could hear some noise on the playground. It was time to go outside.
    He stopped to look in the mirror. He made his eyes cross and stuck out his front teeth. “lam the beast,” he said. “The beast with the baby teeth.”
    He bent down and slurped up some water from the dripping faucet.
    Richard dashed out of the boys' room.
    Emily Something, the girl in the party dress, was walking along ahead of him.

    He gave her a little poke.
    She twirled around to see who it was.
    Richard grinned, trying not to show his teeth.
    She kicked out with one of her dirty red sneakers and just missed his shin.
    He jumped back. “Hey. Cut it out.”
    She screwed up her eyes into little slits. “Stay away from me,” she said, “or I'll nail you. My father's a cop.”
    Richard backed away. He made believe he was looking at the yellow-and-brown leaves on the bulletin board.
    He waited until Emily was gone.
    Then he measured the steps with his eyes. He tried to take them two at a time.
    It didn't work.
    He tripped a little, stopped to rub his knee, then slowly walked outside.
    The kids in his old class were running around on the baseball field, getting ready to play.
    He trotted over to them.
    “I've got first base,” he yelled.
    “You've got nothing,” Drake Evans yelled. “I've got first base.”
    “I called it first,” Richard said. He moved over to stand next to the base.
    Drake came charging over. So did a couple of the other kids.
    “No left-backs,” Drake said.
    “Hurry up,” said Andrew Bock. He tossed a ball into the air.
    Richard looked at the kids. “I called it first,” he said again.
    Kevin Klein shook his head. “You're not in our class anymore.” He looked as if he felt sorry for Richard.
    “By a mistake,” Richard said. “By accident.”
    “By dumbness,” Drake said. He moved around Richard and stood on the first-base bag.
    Richard wanted to push Drake off first. But Drake looked different this year.
    Kind of fat. And big. With muscles.
    Kevin shook his head again. “Sorry, Richard,” he said. “Maybe you'll get skipped next year.”
    “Listen,” Richard said. “I'll teil you why I was left back. Ms. Rooney made a big mistake. She mixed up all the marks.”
    “Are you sure?” Kevin asked.
    Richard nodded slowly.