Messy Miranda by Jeff Szpirglas

Chapter One
    â€œAll right, class,” said Ms. Basil, “it’s time to clean out your desks.”
    Miranda got nervous whenever Ms. Basil said that. It was the weekly desk cleanup. She hated desk cleanup more than spelling tests. She hated it more than fixing her writing. In fact, Miranda could not think of anything she hated more.
    Other students loved the weekly desk cleanup, which happened every Friday. Neela used that time to sharpen her pencils, since her desk was always neat and tidy. She never shoved loose papers inside, or broken pencils, or leftover lunch. No dirt ever came near her desk.

    Miranda’s desk was another story.
    Ms. Basil came by Miranda’s desk and bent down. She took a long look inside. “Miranda, what’s in your desk?”
    â€œMy books,” Miranda said.
    â€œAnd…?”
    â€œMy pencils.”
    â€œAnd…?”
    â€œMy science project.”
    â€œAnd…?”
    â€œSome other stuff.” Miranda’s face started turning red.
    â€œA lot of stuff, I’d say,” Ms. Basil said. She stood up straight and crossed her arms. “Too much stuff.”
    Miranda gulped. She looked over to Neela and her friends. They were already at the door, waiting for the recess bell. Neela had a bright-orange skipping rope in her hand.
    â€œHey, Miranda, are you going to skip with us at recess?”
    Miranda nodded her head. “Just a minute.”
    CRASH!
    Miranda jumped. She and Ms. Basil turned to see Jaiden’s desk tipped over on its side. The contents had spilled out and spread across the floor. Now the floor was a mess of crumpled paper and pencil bits.
    Jaiden always found cool things during the weekly desk cleanup. Interesting bits of junk somehow made their way inside his desk. Now he was looking at a dried-up apple core. How did it get there? It was a mystery, and Jaiden was hungry. He took a bite. Jaiden wasn’t afraid to eat anything.
    Miranda let out a high-pitched “Ewwwww!”
    Jaiden gulped down the apple bit. He looked at Miranda. “I was hungry. What’s in your desk, Miranda? Anything good?”
    Miranda shook her head.
    â€œYou won’t know until you dump it,” Jaiden said.
    Some kids near Jaiden started to chant, “Dump it! Dump it!”

    Ms. Basil cleared her throat. “Jaiden, you will be staying in the classroom until you clean up your mess.”
    Jaiden’s smile fell. “But recess is in five minutes.”
    â€œYes,” Ms. Basil said firmly.
    â€œIt will take at least fifteen minutes to clean this mess up.”
    â€œYes.” Ms. Basil did not need to raise her voice to make a point.
    â€œOh,” Jaiden said. “I guess I’m staying in.”
    â€œDon’t worry,” Ms. Basil said. “Miranda will keep you company.”
    Miranda eyed Neela’s skipping rope. “But I want to go skipping.”
    Ms. Basil bent down to look into Miranda’s desk again. A piece of Miranda’s science project fell to the floor. “You can go skipping as soon as your desk is tidy.” She smiled.
    The recess bell rang.
    â€œSee you later, Miranda!” said Neela.
    Miranda lowered her head and stared at her desk. How was she ever going to tidy up?

Chapter Two
    Miranda missed recess. As she cleaned, she looked out the window. She watched Neela and her friends skip rope. Everybody looked so happy playing outside. Jaiden was even happy exploring his mess. He took crumpled papers and shot them into the garbage bin like a basketball player. Ms. Basil just sat by the window, reading a book and enjoying the sunshine.
    It took all of recess for Miranda to clean up her desk.
    Miranda was so upset that she didn’t smile the rest of the school day. Her backpack was stuffed with the mess she’d cleaned out. It was so heavy, Miranda zigzagged all the way down the hall to her brother’s class. Ben was in grade six and always walked home with