Independence and Harriet in her I HAVE A PORPOISE IN LIFE , but he didn’t even notice he was between his two loves, didn’t even feel the warmth of their shoulders against his.
Now the outside doors were being unlocked. Now they were being opened.
No one breathed. No one moved.
A figure appeared in the doorway, a figure in a gray jumpsuit. It was the janitor! The janitor! THE JANITOR!
Their mouths dropped open. They blinked their eyes to clear their vision, and it was still THE JANITOR.
Now everybody started looking around at everybody else. The exact same burning questions were popped in every mind.
What’s going on here?
Where’s Boehmer?
What’s the janitor doing opening the doors?
How can this be the most thrilling day of our lives if Boehmer and Billy Wentworth don’t have a head-to-head confrontation?
Bingo briefly considered leading the crowd in a chant. We want Boehmer! We want Boehmer! Maybe he had gotten his father’s cheerleading gene after all.
Before he could put this plan into effect, however, Billy Wentworth turned around. He locked his hands over his head and gave the victory signal.
Through the sudden tears in Bingo’s eyes, he saw Billy Wentworth disappear through the outside doors, into the little room which was never used, through the inside doors and into the school.
Then he didn’t have to lead the crowd. They burst into a rousing cry that could be heard five miles away.
“YYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”
And then in a rush, they happily followed their rebel leader inside.
Bingo’s Embrace
B INGO HAD THOUGHT THAT his thrills were over for the day when he walked into the classroom and saw the substitute teacher.
“My name’s Miss Brownley,” a lady with a bushel-basket of hair said, “and I’m your substitute for the day.”
Mamie Lou put up her hand. “Miss Brownley?”
“Yes.”
“Where’s Mr. Boehmer?”
“The principal? I believe he had a staff meeting this morning. He’ll be in his office later.”
“Why wasn’t he at the door?”
“What door?”
“The front door! He was supposed to be at the front door! We weren’t supposed to wear shirts with writing on them and we did and he was supposed to send us home but he didn’t. Why?”
“I have no idea,” said Miss Brownley.
Yes, Bingo thought, the thrills were over for the day. Then at exactly ten twenty-three something happened that made the wear-in seem like child’s play. Melissa walked into his arms.
This was the first time that Melissa and Bingo had ever made real contact so Bingo would have been pleased even if their hands had bumped or she had stepped on his tennis shoe. To have her walk into his arms was like something out of a soap opera. It left him delirious.
The embrace came about in an unexpected way. To get the class to calm down, Miss Brownley asked them to write in their journals.
Everyone was too excited to think of something to write. Even Bingo had no burning questions.
“Let me make a suggestion,” Miss Brownley said. “Write about someone who has significantly changed your life—a teacher, a coach, perhaps one of your parents. It could even be someone on television …”
While Miss Brownley droned on, Bingo wrote a page and a half about the doctor who had been responsible for his being named Bingo. He ended with a question. Who knows what kind of person I might have become had the doctor said, “Richard!” instead of “Bingo!”
He illustrated the piece with a picture of the doctor holding up the unfortunate baby. Even with all that, he was finished before anybody else. He immediately broke his pencil.
Bingo felt safe in doing this. Usually he didn’t break his pencil until he made it to the pencil sharpener, but Miss Brownley was new and had never seen him in action before.
He took his time getting to the pencil sharpener and leisurely checked out the people who had significantly changed the lives of his classmates.
No one’s lives had been changed very
Now the outside doors were being unlocked. Now they were being opened.
No one breathed. No one moved.
A figure appeared in the doorway, a figure in a gray jumpsuit. It was the janitor! The janitor! THE JANITOR!
Their mouths dropped open. They blinked their eyes to clear their vision, and it was still THE JANITOR.
Now everybody started looking around at everybody else. The exact same burning questions were popped in every mind.
What’s going on here?
Where’s Boehmer?
What’s the janitor doing opening the doors?
How can this be the most thrilling day of our lives if Boehmer and Billy Wentworth don’t have a head-to-head confrontation?
Bingo briefly considered leading the crowd in a chant. We want Boehmer! We want Boehmer! Maybe he had gotten his father’s cheerleading gene after all.
Before he could put this plan into effect, however, Billy Wentworth turned around. He locked his hands over his head and gave the victory signal.
Through the sudden tears in Bingo’s eyes, he saw Billy Wentworth disappear through the outside doors, into the little room which was never used, through the inside doors and into the school.
Then he didn’t have to lead the crowd. They burst into a rousing cry that could be heard five miles away.
“YYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!”
And then in a rush, they happily followed their rebel leader inside.
Bingo’s Embrace
B INGO HAD THOUGHT THAT his thrills were over for the day when he walked into the classroom and saw the substitute teacher.
“My name’s Miss Brownley,” a lady with a bushel-basket of hair said, “and I’m your substitute for the day.”
Mamie Lou put up her hand. “Miss Brownley?”
“Yes.”
“Where’s Mr. Boehmer?”
“The principal? I believe he had a staff meeting this morning. He’ll be in his office later.”
“Why wasn’t he at the door?”
“What door?”
“The front door! He was supposed to be at the front door! We weren’t supposed to wear shirts with writing on them and we did and he was supposed to send us home but he didn’t. Why?”
“I have no idea,” said Miss Brownley.
Yes, Bingo thought, the thrills were over for the day. Then at exactly ten twenty-three something happened that made the wear-in seem like child’s play. Melissa walked into his arms.
This was the first time that Melissa and Bingo had ever made real contact so Bingo would have been pleased even if their hands had bumped or she had stepped on his tennis shoe. To have her walk into his arms was like something out of a soap opera. It left him delirious.
The embrace came about in an unexpected way. To get the class to calm down, Miss Brownley asked them to write in their journals.
Everyone was too excited to think of something to write. Even Bingo had no burning questions.
“Let me make a suggestion,” Miss Brownley said. “Write about someone who has significantly changed your life—a teacher, a coach, perhaps one of your parents. It could even be someone on television …”
While Miss Brownley droned on, Bingo wrote a page and a half about the doctor who had been responsible for his being named Bingo. He ended with a question. Who knows what kind of person I might have become had the doctor said, “Richard!” instead of “Bingo!”
He illustrated the piece with a picture of the doctor holding up the unfortunate baby. Even with all that, he was finished before anybody else. He immediately broke his pencil.
Bingo felt safe in doing this. Usually he didn’t break his pencil until he made it to the pencil sharpener, but Miss Brownley was new and had never seen him in action before.
He took his time getting to the pencil sharpener and leisurely checked out the people who had significantly changed the lives of his classmates.
No one’s lives had been changed very
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