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T.J.’s AdventuresObjective: Protect & Serve“Mr. Angel” RamirezSAMPLE

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Copyright © 2021 Angel RamirezAll rights reserved The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, livingor dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form orby any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express writtenpermission of the publisher. ISBN-13: 9798750846764 Cover design by: Angel Ramirez Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309 Printed in the United States of AmericaSAMPLE

CONTENTS Copyright1 My Morning Routine2 The Daily Struggle3 Don’t Forget Again4 Make Good Choices5 You’ve Convinced Me6 Future Funmaker Duties7 That’s Just Great8 Stay In Place9 Classroom Communication App10 Just Do It!11 No Toilet Paper12 It’s Lunch Time13 Are Those Helicopters?14 The School Bell15 Make It Stop!16 An Unexpected Skill17 You Are Safe18 Protect And ServeAbout The AuthorSAMPLE

Books By This AuthorSAMPLE

Some heroes just make the best of what they have.SAMPLE

1 My Morning Routine“I am Batman. I am Batman. I am Batman,” my alarm clocksounded, waking me from my slumber. That means it’s 6:45 in themorning. Time to get ready for school. Here we go!As I get out of my bed, I have that daily, it must be morning,you know what’s coming, tingly feeling in my lower abdomen.Guess who needs to pee! As usual, I walk to my bureau, open up theSAMPLE

top drawer and take out a clean pair of underwear. After closing mydrawer, I head straight downstairs to the bathroom.Now, you might think that waking up this early is a bit much.Ridiculous even. But you don’t know Xochitl. If my little sister getsinto the bathroom before I do, then getting ready for school becomesa battle. Sometimes, I win. Sometimes she wins. Sometimes. Butmaybe I’ll save those details for another adventure. Let’s just agreethat waking up at 6:45 in the morning is better off for all of us.After I use the restroom, I exchange my overnight protectionfor my clean pair of underwear. Thankfully, last night was anotherdry night. Back into the bureau they go. To help make sure that Ihave as many dry nights as I can, I’ve been limiting myself to justone cup of water after 5:30 p.m., just like my pediatrician suggested.It has really been helping. Today marks my fourth dry morning in arow. That’s a new record!While I’m downstairs, I usually check the breakfast menu.Mom keeps it posted on the refrigerator using magnets that Xochitland I made at a Christmas party a few years back. It was a craft wedid at dad’s old boss’s house. Mine is a snowman and Xochitl’s is agingerbread girl.The breakfast calendar serves two purposes. It shows us what isgoing to be served for breakfast at school and it also helps us put theright date on our homework. Xochitl and I take turns putting an ‘x’on the calendar, before we go to sleep. The calendar says that todaySAMPLE

we have a choice between cereal and sausage on a stick. Cereal isgood any day, but a sausage wrapped in a pancake? Now, that’s goodeatin’!Since I’m not going to be eating breakfast at home, I’m goingto head back to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Xochitl says thatmom’s mint toothpaste burns her tongue and that dad’s cinnamonflavor is gross, so she still uses the bubblegum flavored toothpastethat I used to brush with. Now, I use mom’s toothpaste. It’s not that Idon’t like cinnamon. It’s just that I like the way my mouth feels afterusing her mint toothpaste. It feels like I can blow smoke from mymouth, like when it’s cold outside and you can see your breath!After rinsing my mouth out with water and pretending to blowsmoke from my mouth, like a dragon, I wash my face. I’ve neverunderstood how the people in television commercials wash theirface. I’ve tried to do it the way they do, but all I end up doing iswetting my chin. And my neck. And the front of my shirt. And thesink. And since I have lots of morning crust in the corner of my eyes,I think I’ll wash my face the proper way.By the time I finished brushing my teeth and washing my face,Xochitl’s footsteps could be heard from upstairs.“Out of the way! I have to pee!” she ordered, moving me asideas I climbed the stairs.Like I said, a battle.SAMPLE

When I get back to my room, I put my overnight protectionback into their hiding place. After asking him to, dad made me asecret compartment in my underwear drawer, just like Marcus has inhis. And now it’s time to pick out some pants. To the closet I go!I don’t know what the weather’s been like where you live, butover here, it’s been raining for a few days straight. And when momwas watching the news last night, the weather lady said it was goingto continue throughout today. I think a long sleeve shirt will go wellunder whatever shirt I decide to choose.When I finish tucking my long sleeve shirt into my pants, Ireturn the two hangars back to the closet. I then go back to mybureau to pick out a shirt. Today, I’m on Future Funmaker duty, so Ithink I’ll just put on my Future Funmaker shirt.Shoe choice is easy today. Rainy weather equals rain boots.And not just any rain boots. Batman rain boots. My grandmotherbought them for me back in third grade. Luckily, I haven’t grownsince then. Well, not much anyway. The point I’m trying to make, isthat they still fit. Oh, yeah!Now that I’m dressed, it’s time to do my hair. Just so you know,I don’t really want to do my hair, since it’s raining outside. I mean,I’m going to be wearing my Batman raincoat anyways. You know,the one that matches my rain boots. And I’ll definitely be wearing thehood to keep dry. Which is just going to end up making my hair allSAMPLE

messy. But, mom won’t let me leave the house unless my hair is neat.She just doesn’t get it.Luckily, Xochitl was out of the bathroom went I went backdownstairs, so I don’t have to fight for the mirror. Even if she’s justbrushing her teeth, she won’t move away from the sink so I cancomb my hair. It’s so annoying! It’s not like we have a small mirroror anything. It can definitely fit both of our faces.I really like the mirror we have. When I spend the night atMarcus’ house, I have to use a handheld mirror to make sure theback of my hair is straight. And since it’s a reflection, I sometimesbrush the wrong way. At my house, we have a medicine cabinet thathas a mirror with three equal parts. Kind of like those foldingbrochures or trifold poster boards we sometimes use for schoolprojects. It allows me to adjust the two outside mirrors so that I cansee the front, back and both sides of my head, without having to usea handheld mirror.I was almost finished combing my hair when mom’s reflectionappeared before me. Or was it behind me? Either way, I don’t knowhow she does it, but mom’s always dressed when I wake up. And Idon’t just mean dressed. Her hair is done, and her teeth have alreadybeen brushed. I wonder if it’s a mom thing. Like, maybe she justwakes up that way. You know, like the moms on television and in themovies who wake up with perfect hair and makeup and stuff.SAMPLE

Without saying anything, mom gently took the comb from myhand and fixed the portion of hair I hadn’t gotten to yet. Even withour cool mirror, the back of my hair always takes the longest to getjust right. You would think that after all these years of practice, I’dbe a pro by now. Not!When she finished combing my hair, she turned me around andinspected the front of my hair before giving me a kiss and asking fora ‘freshalyzer test’. A freshalyzer test is where mom says,‘freshalyzer test’ and I have to blow in her face. She basically smellsmy breath to make sure that I’ve brushed my teeth.One time, I was feeling lazy, so I just put a dab of toothpaste onmy tongue to make it seem like I had brushed my teeth, but shefigured it out. When I asked her how she knew, she said that it wasone of her ‘mom superpowers’. I’m not sure I believe her. But itdefinitely convinced me not to try that trick on her again.Once I passed the freshalyzer test, mom asked me if I wasgoing to be eating the school lunch or if I wanted her to pack me one.I told her I had to check the menu. You see, the lunch menu is on adifferent calendar than our breakfast menu. I’ve never understoodwhy, but that’s just the way it is!Today is a choice between a chicken sandwich and nachos, soI’ll be eating at school. I haven’t had nachos since last month. Aftercrossing out yesterday’s date, since Xochitl must have forgotten tolast night, mom handed me a snack pack of trail mix and aSAMPLE

supplement shake. Supplement shakes are normally for people likeXochitl’s age. You know, to help them get all the vitamins andnutrients they need. But since I haven’t grown much in the pastcouple of years, the pediatrician told mom that it wouldn’t hurt if Ikept drinking them. And to be honest, I don’t mind. They’re prettytasty. Now to grab an ice pack from the freezer and put it in myBatman lunchbox with the pack of trail mix and the supplementshake. If there’s one thing you don’t want to drink with any snack,it’s a warm supplement shake. Gross!“Have you made your bed?” mom asked, closing the freezerdoor for me.“Not yet,” I admitted.“Get to it,” she said, directing me to the stairs and gentlypatting my bottom.“Yes, ma’am,” I responded, climbing the stairs two steps at atime.I always put my lunchbox next to my backpack, that way Iwon’t forget it. I learned this lesson the hard way. When I don’t put itnear my backpack, I tend to leave it behind. Which if you haven’tguessed, is a bad thing. Especially on days when I don’t like what’sbeing served for lunch. I mean, there’s always the yogurt and granolaoption that the cafeteria offers. But that doesn’t usually keep me fullfor very long.SAMPLE

I was on my bed, straightening the part of my blankets thatfaced the wall when mom asked me if she needed to sign anything. Ifinished smoothing out my blankets before taking my daily agendaout of my backpack. I also handed her my practice test. Mrs.Whiston has an adult sign our practice test to make sure that it’s real.You know, to make sure that we didn’t just copy the words straightfrom our list.“Clean or dirty?” mom asked, holding up my pajamas.“Clean,” I answered, taking them and throwing them on mybed.When I turned around, mom had her arms crossed and a ‘doyou really think you’re going to get away with that?’ look on herface. I smiled awkwardly, and chuckled nervously, before turningaround to fold my pajamas. I really should have seen that coming.When I turned back around, mom was gone, so I grabbed mybackpack and lunchbox and headed downstairs. I put them down infront of the door and walked to the hallway closet. That’s where wekeep our jackets and umbrellas. I put on my Batman raincoat andgrabbed my Batman umbrella. If this is the first time that you’remeeting me, then you may have noticed that my favorite superhero isBatman.There’s still some time before we have to leave, so I guess I’llwatch some television. Luckily, I’m finished first today, so I don’thave to watch some dumb show that Xochitl would normally choose.SAMPLE

But then again, we don’t have cable, so the only other thing to watchis the news. Or one of the Spanish channels. But the only thing onthe Spanish channels right now are those dramatic soap operas. So,the news it is!And that, Leaguers, is my morning routine!SAMPLE

2 The Daily StruggleXochitl finally finished getting ready, so mom told us to get inthe car. Thank goodness it’s not raining that hard. Actually, it’s onlydrizzling, so I don’t have to use my umbrella. Xochitl, of course,uses her umbrella no matter what, which just makes it harder formom, since she can never get it closed when we get in the car.Even though I’m past the required age for using a booster seat,I still use one. Why? Because I’m short, remember? And earlier thisSAMPLE

year, a study came out that said age isn’t the true factor fordetermining when someone should stop using one. Height is.They showed how kids, that haven’t reached a certain height,can easily get injured by the shoulder strap of the seat belt. Youknow, when your mom or dad have to make a sudden stop or if youget into a car accident? ‘Kids can be choked or receive severe bodilydamage’, the doctors and scientists on television had said. And sinceI’m nowhere near the suggested height, I’ll probably still be using abooster seat in sixth grade. Unless I have a sudden growth spurt, thatis.I would rather sit in the front seat, away from Xochitl, but momsaid that isn’t going to happen anytime soon. Apparently, that’s evenmore dangerous than not using a booster seat. She’s shown me theyellow label on the underside of the sun visor. It warns againstchildren sitting in the front seat. Something about the airbag beingdangerous.When I was younger, I didn’t understand how something that’ssupposed to protect you could be dangerous, so mom pulled out thecar’s manual. She looked in the table of contents and found whereinformation about the airbags was. She read that the airbag canlaunch at between one hundred and two hundred miles an hour! Ourcar doesn’t even go two hundred miles an hour! After finding thatout, I never argued about sitting in the front seat again.SAMPLE

Now, if I’m in someone else’s car, I usually just sit on my legs.That way I’m taller and won’t get hurt by the seatbelt. Unless I’mwith Marcus. His mom noticed that my legs were always asleepwhen I got out of the car, so she bought a special Batman boosterseat for me, for whenever I go with them. It has a ‘utility belt’around the bottom. The belt is actually just a bunch of smallcompartments that you can use to store things. Like small toys,snacks or things like that. I think I know who Marcus gets hiscompassion from.Speaking of Marcus, he is tall enough to not need a boosterseat, so he doesn’t use one. He also doesn’t make fun of me forhaving to use one like some people do when they see me getting outof my car. I’ve gotten pretty good at ignoring those people, butMarcus always backs me up if he’s around. Have I ever mentionedhow awesome he is?“I want Kids Bop!” Xochitl whined, as mom changed themusic for me.Just like we take turns putting an ‘x’ on the breakfast calendar,we take turns choosing the music in the car on the way to school.That’s the only time mom lets us choose. And dad doesn’t even giveus a choice. He just plays jazz or classic rock. Except when he’s inwhat he calls ‘native homeland mode’. Then he puts on Spanishmusic. Sometimes fast. Sometimes slow. It depends on his mood. Atleast that’s what he says.SAMPLE

But today is my turn to choose the music. How do I know?Because yesterday Xochitl had us listening to Barbie’s Bonus Balletsoundtrack. She listens to it all day, every day! She just blasts it fromher Barbie boom box, even though I tell her to use her wirelessheadphones. But then again, she usually forgets to charge them. Ihear it so much, that I know all the songs by heart. And there aren’teven any words!“Today is brother’s turn,” mom reminded Xochitl. “You chosethe music yesterday.”“But I want to choose the music!” she continued to gripe.“You can choose tomorrow,” mom said, in a calm voice.“But—.”“Xochitl,” mom said, in a ‘if you don’t calm down, then there’sgoing to be consequences’ voice.Xochitl didn’t say anything else. She just crossed her arms andput on her pouty face. That was fine with me. She’s always gettingher way with dad. At least mom has my back. Well, sometimes.“Time for our morning weather report,” the voice on the radioannounced. “It seems this storm is moving slower thatmeteorologists thought it would. That means at least one more day ofrain.”“Hey! That means another day we don’t have to go out andwater our grass!” another voice on the radio commented.SAMPLE

I don’t know what he’s so excited about. He may be thinkingabout watering the grass, but I’m thinking of another day that wedon’t get to have lunch recess. You see, on rainy days, we still haverecess, but it’s inside the multi-purpose room. But since we have toeat lunch in there too, we don’t get to have lunch recess!Don’t get me wrong. I like the rain. It’s actually a dream ofmine to play a game of tag in the pouring rain. Of course, if I everdid that, I’d probably end up getting into more trouble than I’ve everbeen in. Especially since I’m a Future Funmaker. When you’re aFuture Funmaker, the little kids like to pretend that they’re you! Itused to be so annoying. Until mom taught me a famous quote, that is.Mom said that ‘imitation is the highest form of flattery’. Iknow. I didn’t understand it at first either. It means that when peopletry to copy you, it’s usually because they look up to you. As in, theywant to be you! After she told me that, I didn’t let it bother me somuch.But she recently reminded me of another meaning it has. It alsomeans that because those people look up to you, it’s your job to bethe best example that you can be for them. Because if they see youmaking bad choices, then they are going to copy those choices. Theyare going to think it’s okay. And then the people that look up to themare going to copy their bad choices.But, if you make good choices, then they are going to copythose choices. And then, the people that look up to them, are going toSAMPLE

copy their good choices. And so on, and so on. You know, the goodchoices will get passed around and make the world a better place!“See! T.J.’s station doesn’t even play music!” Xochitl whined,causing mom to give her a ‘complain one more time’ look from therearview mirror.Are you annoyed by Xochilt’s continuous whining, too?Welcome to my life, where it’s just another part of the daily struggle.SAMPLE

3 DON’T FORGET AGAINNormally, mom just drops us off anywhere in front of theschool. You know, however far back the car line is. But since it’sraining today, she told us to wait until we’re right in front of theentrance. I don’t exactly understand why. I mean, we both have ourraincoats, rainboots and umbrellas. I’m not sure we could be anymore protected from the rain.When it was finally our turn, a supervision aide opened thedoor for Xochitl and me to get out. Normally, we would give mom aSAMPLE

kiss goodbye, but mom said not to worry about it and to just quicklyexit the car. Xochitl couldn’t get her backpack on over her raincoat,so I just grabbed it and told her to hurry up. It may seem like I wasbeing mean or rude, but there were other cars waiting to drop theirkids off. She whined, of course, and told me to give it back. But atleast she followed me inside of the school.There are lots of kids crowding the hallways. Normally, mostof them would be on the blacktop waiting in their lines. Or, theywould be playing one of the games that Funmaker John put out. Butwith the rain, all they can do is wait in the hallways. Xochitl and Iheaded for the multipurpose room so we could get breakfast.When we got there, the line was longer than usual. I’ve noticed,over the last few days, that more people eat breakfast when it rains.I’m not sure why. But they do. It doesn’t really matter to me. As longas they have my sausage on a stick! But the longer we waited in line,the more I worried that they might run out.After getting my sausage on a stick, syrup pack, orange juiceand chocolate milk, I tried to put in my personal food code. But itdidn’t work. So, I tried again. I was about to try a third time, whenthe cafeteria manager reminded me that her computer software hadbeen updated and that the old codes don’t work anymore. I had touse my student number. But I couldn’t remember my studentnumber!SAMPLE

I miss the old computer software. With the old software, weonly had to enter the last four digits of our student number. Thissoftware made us enter our entire nine-digit student number. That’sfive extra numbers to remember! And it’s not like we had a heads up.When we showed up to school on Wednesday, the software had beenupdated!And lunch time used to be even easier than breakfast. At lunchtime, we didn’t have to remember any numbers! All we had to dowas tell the supervision aide our teacher’s name and she would tellthe cafeteria manager that we were coming. By the time we got ourlunch and made it to the computer, all we had to do was touch thescreen. You know, click on our own picture. No entering numbers.No forgetting numbers. Just click on our face.“What’s your last name, T.J.?” the cafeteria manager asked.“Olivera,” I answered.I know. I know. You’re probably thinking ‘I thought your lastname was Espinosa’. And you’re not wrong. My full name is TomasRaymundo Olivera Uribe Barrientos Lopez Espinosa, Jr. But forsome reason, if you have more than three names. You know, a first,middle and last name. Then the school uses your first last name inthe computer. And on certificates and awards. I don’t blame themthere. It would take quite a while to handwrite my full name.“Here you go,” the cafeteria manager said, giving me a paperwith my student number handwritten on it.SAMPLE

“Thank you, Mrs. S,” I said, taking the paper and putting it inmy raincoat pocket.I then surveyed the room for a good place to sit. Normally, Iwould take my breakfast and sit with the T.J. League at our usualspot, but that table is outside. Luckily, it didn’t take long for me tospot a good place to sit.“Sausage on a stick!” I said, holding up mine like a sword.“Sausage on a stick!” Marcus answered back, holding his up sowe could pretend to sword fight.His was a bit shorter, since he had already taken a few bites, soI won of course.“No playing with your food!” the supervision aide called to us.We just laughed and sat down.“So, did you hear?” I asked Marcus.“Hear what?” he answered, with another question.“The lady on the radio said that we’re going to have anotherday of rain!” I exclaimed, throwing my arms up in frustration.“Another day of rain?” Marcus said, in a ‘you must be kiddingme’ voice.“That’s what the lady said,” I answered in a ‘don’t kill me, I’mjust the messenger’ voice.“Don’t get me wrong. I like splashing in the puddles and all,but I haven’t been able to play basketball in days!” he commented.SAMPLE

“I know. And it’s probably going to take a couple of days forthe tree house to fully dry,” I pointed out.“What are you guys talking about?” Sammy asked, taking aseat next to Marcus.“It’s supposed to rain again, tomorrow!” Marcus said, throwinghis arms up this time.“I know,” Sammy responded. “I track the weather through myweather app. I check it every night before I go to bed. It seemsanother storm from the north has collided with ours, creating an evenlarger storm. I wouldn’t be surprised if we heard thunder and sawsome lightning before school is out.”Have I ever mentioned how smart Sammy is? That’s why Ichoose her for group projects whenever I get the chance. Not tomooch off her or anything, if that’s what you’re thinking. I makesure to do my share of the work, too. I just like not having to worryabout whether or not my partner is going to flake out on their part!“I love thunder and lightning!” a girl sitting near us exclaimed.“I don’t,” the boy sitting next to her said, looking around themultipurpose room as if it would begin to thunder and lightning atany moment. “Especially thunder. That scares me the most!”“Don't worry. Thunder can't hurt you. It's just sound,” Sammyexplained. “lightning on the other hand, that can hurt you. Make sureto stay indoors if you see lightning. Getting struck by lightning is aSAMPLE

thousand times worse than getting shocked by those trick bubblegum packs or pens!”The little boy looked around the room again, before cautiouslytaking a spoonful of his cereal. I don't mind the lightning so much.But like the boy, I don't like thunder. I know it can't hurt me, but itjust sounds so scary sometimes!We sat and ate the rest of our breakfast, mostly in silence. It gotso noisy in the multipurpose room that it was hard to have aconversation where we could actually hear each other. And eventhough the hallways are so stuffed with children, we threw away ourtrash and headed towards the exit.I was almost out the door when I heard the supervision aide callout my name. When I turned around, I noticed that she was holding apiece of paper in her hand. She also had one of those ‘are youforgetting something?’ looks on her face. You know, the one yourmom gives you when she told you to do something, but youcompletely forgot what it was. Yeah, one of those looks. As I gotcloser, I noticed what the paper said.“You dropped this,” she said.“Thank you,” I said, placing the paper in my pants pocket thistime.“You might want to put it in your backpack,” she suggested.“That way you don’t lose it.”SAMPLE

“Or you can just memorize it,” Sammy suggested, “so youdon’t forget again.”“Yeah, yeah.”SAMPLE

4 Make Good ChoicesEven though the hallways are protected by awnings, thehallways are soaked. I’m not sure if it’s because of the wind blowingthe rain everywhere or the fact that everyone’s feet are dragging thewater with them. Either way, there isn’t a single dry spot of concreteor blacktop in the whole school!The supervision aides finally let us go past the office so that wecould wait in front of our classrooms. You might think that letting usSAMPLE

do so would clear up the hallways. And if you did, you would bewrong.There are three to four classrooms in each wing. Depending onwhich wing you’re in. Some wings, like the three hundred wing,have a supply room. Or like the five hundred wing. That’s where thecomputer lab is!Getting back on track. Since each wing has at least threeclassrooms, that means at least seventy-five kids waiting in thehallway for their teacher to arrive. And that’s just the lower grades.The upper grade hallways can have over one hundred and twentystudents waiting outside!As I passed by the different hallways, I could hear lots ofdifferent conversations going on. Some kids were talking about whatthey watched on television last night. Others were talking aboutvideos they had watched on the internet. One conversation actuallystopped me in my tracks. I overheard a group of kids talking aboutthe new Batman movie that’s going to be coming out. It won’t be intheaters for another three months, but it seems that the latest previewwas released last night. I missed it because I was at Xochitl’s balletpractice.Mom stays for the entire practice and I usually just stay atMarcus’ house, but he had a doctor’s appointment. His mom said Icould go, but mom told her that I would be okay. Let me see. Waitingfor my little sister’s practice to end or hang out with my best friend. ISAMPLE

don’t care how boring the doctor’s office can be. I would rather havebeen with Marcus!When I finally reached my wing, I almost got knocked over byone of the fourth graders. As I was turning the corner, she camesliding towards me. Luckily, Sammy was able to pull me out of theway before we crashed.One of the fun things that the rain brings are wet floors. Andnot just wet floors. Slick floors. The kind of floors you can slideacross. Depending on what kind of shoes you’re wearing, you canslide pretty far before coming to a stop. Shoes and good balance,actually. It doesn’t matter how good your shoes are if you can’t keepyour balance.First, you have to get a running start. Then, you take a littlehop. It may sound weird, but when you land, you have to make sureyour feet are in the right position. Kind of like riding a skateboard orsurfboard. If you don’t land right, you’ll just trip and fall. But if youland just right, and have good balance, you can get some pretty gooddistance. The school record is one and a half classrooms! At leastthat’s what I’ve heard.It happened a couple of years ago. According to the story, oneof the sixth graders used an old pair of shoes to get the job done. Youknow, the kind that have been worn so much that the bottoms aresmooth all the way across. It seems that helped him slide better. Afull half class past the old record!SAMPLE

After letting us pass safely, the fourth graders continued in theirfun. I was tempted to join them, but Sammy grabbed my backpackand dragged me to our classroom. I didn’t see any harm in a coupleof good trips down the hallway, but Sammy reminded me that it wasour job to set a good example for those younger than us. She may besmart, but sometimes she can be a party pooper, too. But don’t tellher I said that!It ended up being a good thing that she stopped me. Just beforethe first bell rang, Mrs. Whiston came walking around the corner.Unfortunately, one of the fourth grade boys that was boasting that hecould beat the school record, had already started his slide down thehallway. With no way to stop himself, he crashed right into her.Luckily, she wasn’t carrying anything in her hands, so there wasnothing for her to drop on the floor. Unluckily, the boy fell right intoa huge puddle that hasn’t shrunk in size since it first started raining afew days ago.Mrs. Whiston reached over and helped the boy up while herepeated, ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry,’ over and over again. She alsoremoved some leaves from his hair. The winds have blown so manyleaves off the trees that they almost look bald!“Do you have an extra pair of clothes in your backpack?” Mrs.Whiston asked the boy.“No,” he answered, between apologies.SAMPLE

“Is there anyone at home that can bring you some dry clothes?”she asked.“No. My mom is on her way to work,” he explained.I can’t believe Mrs. Whiston is being so calm. If he had crashedinto his own teacher, she would be giving him a piece of her mind.And not a good piece, either.“Okay. Hopefully she can turn around and bring you some,”she said.“But I take the bus because we don’t have a car,” the boy said.“Mom takes the bus, too.”“Well, you can head to the office so they can call someone tobring you a fresh pair of clothes. Or, maybe they’ll have some loanerclothes that fit you,” Mrs. Whiston said, turning him towards theoffice.“You mean I’m not in trouble?” the boy asked, turning backaround to face her.“I’m sure that your teacher will think of something when youshow up late to class and tell her why you’re late. Just remember thatsomeone could get hurt. You could crash into someone and bumpheads. Or worse! You could fall back and hit your head on theconcrete. And then instead of having to call home for dry clothes, wewould be calling home for someone take you to the emergencyroom!” she answered, shuffling the boy’s hair and redirecting himback towards the office.SAMPLE

When she turned back around to walk to our class, all thefourth graders who were sliding down the hallway suddenly linedthemselves up against the wall.“And that goes for you, too,” she said, looking each of them inthe eye. “Don’t think I don’t know that you guys were enjoying aslide or two yourselves. This isn’t the first time someone has crashedinto me sliding down this hallway.”Of course, they each denied that they were doing anythingwrong as their teacher approached. Mrs. Whiston just shook her headand smiled.“Make good choices!” she said, as she continued her way toour classroom.SAMPLE

5 YOU’VE CONVINCED MEWe usually keep our backpacks outside on the backpack rack,but the rain has been so wild that we’ve had to put them on the backof our chairs instead. That’s made it a little more difficult to getaround the room. I mention that because it has totally changed mydaily routine in the classroom.Normally, I would put my backpack on my hook and take outmy homework folder and library book. Then, as I walk into theclassroom, I would drop off my homework in the ‘Homework’ binSAMPLE

by the door. I would then put my homework folder and library bookin the basket on my desk. It’s usually a pretty simple task, aseveryone marches in, single file, and follows the same routine.But today, it’s chaos. Today is like trying to navigate one ofthose mazes that Mrs. Whiston sometimes gives us when we’vealready finished all our work. You know which ones I’m talkingabout. The ones where you have to do them in pencil, because youthink you’ve found the right path to the finish, but nope, just anotherdead end! Today is like that. What normally takes us two, or threeminutes max, has already surpassed five minutes!When I finally made it back to my seat, I took out my dailyjournal so that I could do the Daily Prompt. I looked at the board so Icould copy it into my journal, when I noticed that the date waswrong. And then I remembered something important: this week it’smy job to change the date! Some people are still putting theirhomework in the Homework bin, so once again, I have to navigatemy way through the classroom. Here I go!After changing the date and returning to my seat, I worked onthe daily prompt: What is your pet peeve? I wasn’t sure what a ‘petpeeve’ was, so I looked it up in the dictionary. That didn’t help, so Ilooked it up on my school tablet: something that a particular personfinds especially annoying. Hmmm. What is my pet peeve?Xochitl can be pretty annoying, but the definition sayssomething, not someone. I sat, scratching my chin as I thought. PetSAMPLE

peeve. Pet peeve. Pet peeve. What is my pet peeve?Well, I’m not sure if it’s a pet peeve, but it’s pretty annoyingwhen people just drop their trash on the floor when they’ve finishedtheir food. I see it every day. When kids are finished with their chipsor cookies and stuff, they just drop their trash and walk away. Even ifa trash can is nearby!It’s also pretty annoying when people just pass by trash on thefloor. You know. Step over it like it’s not even there. Or pretend theydon’t see it. I know you saw it. You looked right at it. Just be a goodcitizen and pick it up!When we’ve completed the daily prompt, we take out ourlibrary books for SSR: Sustained Silent Reading. Every day, Mrs.Whiston gives us fifteen minutes to read. Silently. She also playsclassical or jazz music quietly while we read. You know. To set themood. Except at Christmas time. Then she usually plays the karaokeversions of Christmas songs.The rule is this: if she can’t hear the music, then that meanspeople are talking. And if people are talking, then they aren’treading. And if they aren’t reading during SSR, then they get to readduring recess. And if she doesn’t know who’s talking, and no oneconfesses, then everyone gets to read during recess! And tattling isn’tallowed. The people have to admit that they were talking. The entireclass could tell Mrs. Whiston who was talking, but it wouldn’tmatter. ‘Trustworthiness and responsibility’, she always says.SAMPLE

Thankfully she’s never had to keep everyone in. Since she’susually nice, even when dishing out consequences, the person justadmits it. It’s either that, or the fact that we’ve learned that if we getcaught in a lie, that the consequence will be worse than if we had justadmitted our wrongdoing. The most Mrs. Whiston usually has to dois scold the person and remind them that there’s a better choice theycan make next time.Since today is Friday, we’ll be having our spelling test afterSSR. Even though they’re not supposed to, some people will useSSR to study their spelling words. But that’s a risky thing to do. IfMrs. Whiston catches you studying instead of reading, you drop afull letter grade on your test! That means if you spell all the wordscorrectly and get a perfect score, the highest grade you can get is aB+. I don’t know about you, but personally, I don’t think it’s worth it.I would rather get a B+ knowing I earned it, than to spell all thewords right and only get a B+!Not to mention, Mrs. Whiston makes us write any word wemiss on the test, ten times for homework. Then we have to attach itto our test and get it signed by our parents. If we get caught studyingour words during SSR, or cheating during the test, then we have towrite all our words ten times! And since we’ve had Mrs. Whistonsince kindergarten, our parents know that we were caught cheating.Like I said, not worth it!SAMPLE

“Okay boys and girls, time to put away your library books.Please put up your zombie proof walls and prepare for your spellingtest,” Mrs. Whiston ordered.If you’re wondering what a ‘zombie proof’ wall is, I’ll explain.Zombie proof walls are ‘walls’ that we put on our desk during a test.They have three panels like my bathroom mirror at home, exceptthey’re made out of cardboard. Their purpose is to keep us fromlooking at each other’s test. Not only do they keep us from seeingeach other’s test, they’re also soundproof. Sort of. Actually, not atall. But we’re supposed to pretend that they are.“I want you to pretend these are zombie proof. If a zombie can’tget through, then nothing can!” Mrs. Whiston had explained, back infirst grade.“In the movies and television, zombies can get throughanything. So, if these are ‘zombie proof’ walls, then theoretically,nothing can get through these! Not even sound. So, if your neighboris talking to you, just put up your imaginary zombie proof wall sothey won’t distract you!”Some of us have gotten pretty good at putting up imaginaryzombie proof walls. Others, not so much. But no one is as good asJefferson. I’m pretty sure Jefferson could ignore a real-life zombie ifit were trying to distract him during SSR or a test or something.“T.J., I’m going to need you to put your tablet away for thetest,” Mrs. Whiston instructed.SAMPLE

“But I’m documenting my day for the project you gave us,” Iexplained.“I understand that, but you could have the spelling words onyour screen and that would be cheating,” she commented.“But I don’t! It’s just recording,” I pointed out, showing her thescreen. “You can’t even dual screen when it’s in video mode.”It doesn’t seem like I’m changing her mind.“What if I sit at the kidney table, facing backwards. That wayyou can see that I’m just recording,” I asked, offering a solution. “Ijust want to get as much recording done as I can so that I canaccurately document my day.”“You understand that your video can only be three to fiveminutes long,” Mrs. Whiston reminded me.“Yes. But I just want some footage of me taking my spellingtest,” I defended.She just stood there with that ‘I don’t know’ look on her face.You know which one I’m talking about. The one your mom or daduse when you’ve just spent the last ten minutes explaining why theyshould let you do something or buy you something that they don’treally want you to. That face.“I’ll even use the school tablet. My spelling words aren’t evenon there!” I tried to convince her, one last time.“Very well, T.J., but just this once,” she said, motioning towardthe kidney table.SAMPLE

“Thank you, Mrs. Whiston!” I said excitedly, taking my schooltablet with me.SAMPLE

6 Future Funmaker DutiesWith our spelling test over, we moved on to language arts andthen math. Before long, it was time for me to head to the MPR, a.k.a.the multipurpose room. Even though it’s raining, we still get to haverecess. Except instead of using the blacktop and play structure, weuse the MPR floor and stage.Today, the whole T.J. League is scheduled for recess duty.More help is usually needed on rainy days. You know, to keep thingsSAMPLE

organized and running smoothly. With all of us working together,recess should be no sweat.“Okay, Future Funmakers, I’ve posted signs on the walls foreach activity,” Funmaker John explained, as we all sat on the stagesteps.“None of our activities will involve running. This will helpensure that no one will slip and get hurt. Station one will be the HulaHoop Challenge and will be at table two. Station two will be ZimZam Zoom Relay 2.0 and will be at table five. Station three will beLimbo Lower and will be at table seven. Station four will be theColor Creations Station and will be at table ten. And finally, stationfive will be Booty Basketball and will be on the stage.”You may not be familiar with some of these activities, so let metake some time to explain them to you, that way you can have abetter understanding of all the fun that was about to go down.The Hula Hoop challenge is where everyone stands in a circleand holds hands. Then, a Future Funmaker has two people releasetheir grip so they can put a hula hoop between them. Then, they holdhands again so that the hula hoop is now part of the circle.Once everyone is ready, the Future Funmaker will shout amagic word. Whatever magic word they choose. Then, everyone hasto pass the hula hoop to the next person, without unlocking theirhands, until it’s made its way all the way around the circle. It maysound easy, but since everyone is holding hands, the only way toSAMPLE

pass the hula hoop is to climb through the hula hoop. Believe me, it'seasier said than done. The challenge is to get the hula hoop all theway around the circle in under sixty seconds.Since we can’t run, Zim Zam Zoom Relay 2.0 is completelydifferent that the Zim Zam Zoom Relay we play on the black top. Itstill starts with two teams though. It works like this: The two peopleat the front of the line play Zim Zam Zoom. Whoever loses, has tocrawl through the legs of the other team, like a tunnel, until theyreach the back of the line. Now, they are part of the other team.The goal of the game is to get everyone from the other team,onto your team. It may seem easy, but it’s a lot harder than it sounds.Sometimes recess ends before we can even find a winner. Thenagain, I’ve seen a team with only one person left, come all the wayback and win! I think it’s the uncertainty that makes this game somuch fun to play.Now for our next activity. If you’ve ever played limbo, thenyou know the basics of the game. But Limbo Lower changes thingsup a bit. Instead of moving the stick to a lower rung, we place it inthe middle and leave it there. It may sound too easy, but just wait.Whoever makes it past round one, has to hold a one-pound weight totheir chest during the second round. That’s usually no challenge formost people. But after each round, we exchange the weight for aneven heavier one.SAMPLE

Think of it this way. Whatever round you’re on, the weightyou’re holding is one pound lighter. For example, if you make it toround six, then the weight you’re holding will be five pounds. Eventhough the stick never moves, the added weight after each roundincreases the difficulty.The Color Creations Station is less of a recess game and moreof just a fun activity. For Color Creations, everyone has the samecoloring page and a bunch of crayons to share. For this activity, tomake sure that everyone participates, each person takes a turnspinning a wheel to decide what color crayon everyone has to use.Although the spinner chooses what color you have to use, you get todecide what part of your color page to fill in. And you can only fill inone part of the page at a time. No coloring the entire thing after thefirst spin and saying, ‘I’m finished!’.Even though everyone has the same coloring page, no twopeople end up coloring them the same way. I’m not sure if they do iton purpose, just to be funny, or if everyone truly has a different ideaof what their color page should look like. I mean, if you and all yourfriends got the same color page and your teacher told you to colorthem, using the zombie proof walls, do you think you’d all colorthem the same exact way? Me neither. We’re all different. And that’sthe way I like it!Our final activity, Booty Basketball, is usually everyone’sfavorite. It’s like basketball. But it’s not. You still have two teams,SAMPLE

like real basketball. And you still have two baskets. Except, we useempty trash cans for Booty Basketball. Clean trash cans!The main difference, is that to get around, you have to scoot onyour booty. Also known as the ‘Booty Scoot’. No crawling on yourknees. No crab crawling. No nothing, but scooting on your booty. Aslong as you don’t have the ball, you can scoot around. Once youhave the ball in your hand, you can’t move. You’re frozen in place.You can only pass the ball or shoot the ball. If you booty scoot withthe ball in your hand, the ball is taken away and given to the otherteam.Also, to make it fair, we put a piece of blue tape two feet infront of the trash can so that no one can block your shot. In otherwords, no babysitting. Anyone who passes the line or is caughtmoving around off their booty, has to sit out for two minutes in theSit Out Square.The Sit Out Square is just a square on the floor that we makeout of blue tape. If someone else is in the Sit Out Square when it’syour turn to sit out, then that person is released from the Sit OutSquare. Even if they’ve only been sitting there for thirty seconds.Like Mrs. Whiston said to those fourth graders earlier: make goodchoices!On a normal day, kids would get to choose what games theywant to play during recess. And they’re not restricted to playing justone game. They can change games anytime they like. But to makeSAMPLE

things easier on rainy days, we give kids a number as they come intothe MPR. Whatever number we give them, that’s the station they goto. And that’s the station they stay at. That way everyone doesn’t justgo to the same activity, like Booty Basketball. Unless they brought asnack. Then they go to the snack table. And if someone says that thestation we give them is an activity that they don’t like, we remindthem to Try A Game That’s Not The Same!Even though there are five different activities for FutureFunmakers to lead, Erick and I have a different job today. Eventhough we’ve technically been Future Funmakers longer than anyoneelse who is working today, we have the least exciting job. But that’swhat happens when you pick the shortest straws. And because wechose the shortest straws, Erick and I have the task of keeping thefloor dry.With everyone coming from outside, where the floor is soaked,lots of water is bound to come in with them. And even though wehave extra floor mats to help soak the water up, some still managesto make it inside. And because it does, Erick and I get to walkaround mopping up any water we see. Yay us! Just another part ofour Future Funmaker duties!SAMPLE

7 THAT’S JUST GREAT “Okay, Future Funmakers, good job setting up all the stations,”Funmaker John praised, as we all sat on the stage steps, our fullfocus on him.Everyone high fived each other and cheered.“Now, we still have three minutes before the first recess periodbegins. Let’s go over the Recess Revitalization Foundation rules,” hecontinued.“Tattle Tales Don’t Prevail!” Justin called out, standing up withhis fist in the air.SAMPLE

“Right,” Funmaker John confirmed.“Try A Game That’s Not The Same!” Paul quoted, alsostanding tall, with his fist raised.“Yes,” Funmaker John said.“Don’t Shun My Fun!” the rest of us cried out confidently,standing up together, with our fists raised above our heads.“Great job, guys,” Funmaker John said, adding his fist to ours.It didn’t take long before we heard voices coming from downthe hallway. Without waiting to be told, we all hurried to ourstations. Since Erick and I don’t have a station to run, it’s our job togive kids a number as they come into the MPR. We usually taketurns. He’ll do one class and then I’ll do the next. You know, to keepthings fair.Once everyone was at their stations, Funmaker John used theMPR’s sound system to remind everyone that there is no runningwhile in the MPR. Anyone caught running, would have to sit out therest of recess at table one. Table one is also the snack table. If youbrought a snack to eat, you have to eat it at table one. When you arefinished, you can join the activity that you were originally assigned.He also told everyone that since there is only one bathroom inthe MPR, students would still be allowed to use the ones at the endof each wing. That way no one has to hold it in or have an accident.Especially since the first recess period is only first graders.SAMPLE

Sometimes they hold it in too long before asking to use the restroom,and that usually doesn’t have a good outcome.His final announcement reminded everyone that even thoughwe were inside the MPR, it was still Fun Friday. That meant that wewould still get to listen to music during recess. Yes!In case you’re wondering what the supervision aides do duringrecess on rainy days, I’ll fill you in. There’s always one who roamsthe room with Funmaker John, making sure that everyone isfollowing the rules, or allowing students to use the restroom. Theother two usually join one of the activities and play with the kids. Idon’t know about you, but beating an adult is pretty fun to me. Eachrecess period, they take turns monitoring the MPR and playinggames.As recess went on, I scoured the room for water on the floor.Luckily, there wasn’t much to be found, so I was able to watcheveryone having fun. I know it may sound weird. But to me,sometimes watching someone have fun is just as much fun asplaying the game yourself.I know. I know. Saying that watching someone play a game canbe as much fun as playing the game yourself, doesn’t make sense.Kind of like Paul’s parents not understanding why he would watch avideo of someone playing a video game instead of just playing thegame himself. And to those people who don’t understand it, likePaul’s parents, I ask you this: why would you watch someone onSAMPLE

television playing a sport, when you could go out and play ityourself? I know they’re professionals, but the concept is the same!When I got to Booty Basketball, I had to laugh, because Inoticed that one of the supervision aides was sitting in the Sit OutSquare. They’re always telling us to ‘play fair’ and ‘play by therules’, and here they are, in the Sit Out Square for breaking a rule.Serves him right!“T.J., one of the first graders spilled her juice,” the roamingsupervision aide informed me.“I’ll get right on it,” I said.I took one last look at Booty Basketball and walked quicklytowards table one, but I was stopped in my tracks before I could getthere. By the time I made it halfway across the MPR, Erick hadalready gotten there. One less thing for me to do!I decided to scan the room for water in the direction of theColor Creation Station. I wanted to see how differently everyone wascoloring their picture.“Why don’t you give the wheel a spin?” Sammy suggested, as Iapproached table ten.“Sure!” I obliged, giving the wheel a hearty spin.Before we could find out what color everyone would have touse, the lights went out. Actually, so did the music! Then somethingeven better happened. Everyone started to scream! If you didn’tnotice, by ‘better’, I meant not better.SAMPLE

I know, I know. Sometimes sarcasm is hard to read in text form,which is why I’m kind of glad my parents won’t let me get a cellphone yet. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen people get angrywith each other because they read a text wrong. Instead of texting,just talk to each other!“Well, that’s, just, great!” Sammy said, rolling her eyes.Did you notice the sarcasm in her voice? No? Then maybe inthe way she rolled her eyes? Yeah. I think that was a better giveaway, too.SAMPLE

8 Stay In PlaceFunmaker John tried to calm everyone down using the wirelessmicrophone, but it didn’t work. I guess the electricity is out. Thatmust be why the music turned off when the lights went out.Since the speakers were out, the Future Funmakers used atechnique that we’ve practiced, but have never had a chance to usebefore. We all gathered together at the center of the MPR and stoodback to back, in a circle, with our hands cupped over our mouths.SAMPLE

“Okay, Leaguers!” I shouted. “On my count! One. Two.Three!”“If you can hear us, clap once!” we shouted, together.Some kids clapped in response, while others continued toscream. Actually, some kids have even started to cry.“If you can hear us, clap twice!” we continued.More kids joined in the clapping that time.“If you can hear us, clap three times!” we ordered.Almost everyone clapped that time.“‘Everybody clap your hands!’” we instructed, quoting D.J.Casper from the Casper Slide.Everyone clapped together, including Funmaker John, thesupervision aides, and even Mrs. Sorroyan, who had come out of thekitchen. By the time we finished clapping the rhythm, the entireMPR was silent. Some kids were still sniffling, but our technique hadworked. And now Funmaker John has everyone’s attention.“Great job, boys and girls,” Funmaker John said. “For thesafety of all, I would like everyone to please take a seat whereveryou are.”He didn’t have to say it twice. Everyone sat down together, asif one hundred invisible hands had gently nudged all of us toward theground. Except the supervision aides, that is. They didn’t sit down.Instead, they walked around the room, trying to calm the kids whowere still crying.SAMPLE

“I’m going to go head to the office to check on the lights. I’mleaving the supervision aides in charge, so please follow theirinstructions,” Funmaker John announced, leaving the MPR.He was only gone a couple of moments before PrincipalMartinez’s voice came over the school’s old speaker system. I don’tthink I’ve heard anyone use those speakers since I was in secondgrade. Actually, I didn’t even know those speakers still worked!“Good morning, students and staff,” he began, in a calmingvoice. “Please excuse this interruption. As you have probablynoticed, during that last shock of thunder, our electricity went out.”Thunder? I didn’t even know it was thundering outside. Themusic, laughter and screams of joy must have drowned it out.“Unfortunately, the phones are out, too, which means nointernet, so you won’t be able to contact the office by phone oremail,” he continued. “Teachers and staff, if you need to contact me,please use the Classroom Communication app.“I’m not sure if the outage is due to the storm, but we areworking hard to restore the power and phones as soon as possible. Iam currently using the school’s old announcement system to speakwith you and will be sure to keep you posted as we receive updateson our situation.“Keep in mind that the lights in the bathrooms are also notworking. So, for safety purposes, please keep restroom breaks toemergencies only. In the meantime, please stay in place.”SAMPLE

Stay in place? For how long?SAMPLE

9 Classroom Communication App“I knew it was a bad idea for our school to go digital with ourphone system,” Sammy commented.“Digital?” Justin asked.“Yeah, digital,” Sammy repeated.“What exactly does that mean?” Paul asked.“It’s like this,” Sammy started. “Our old phone system used acopper wire base to connect all the school phones, and the phonesSAMPLE

outside of school for that matter, to a central line, so that when youdialed a number, it would connect you with that phone’s copper line.This was a great system to have in place, because even if you didn’thave money to pay your phone bill, you could still call 9-1-1 foremergencies.”“Makes sense,” Marcus commented, matter of factly.The rest of us just exchanged confused looks and continued tolisten.“The problem with the new phone system, is the fact that itdirectly links to the school’s internet protocol,” Sammy explained.“What does that mean?” Erick asked.“That means that anytime the central internet hub goes down,so does the phone system!” she finished, slapping her palm to herforehead.I’m starting to wonder, if maybe, just maybe, Sammy is a childandroid prototype that the government created and planted at ourschool, to see if it could blend in and learn from it’s surroundings.Either that, or reincarnation is possible, and all the smart stuff shesays are just facts that she knew in her past life. Lives? Or maybeshe’s just the smartest girl in our grade. In our school. In the wholecity!Back to the blackout. Even with the curtains opened, it’s prettydark in the MPR. If it was a sunny day outside, we could have justcontinued recess. But since the storm clouds are as dark as they canSAMPLE

be, not much light is getting through. And since most first gradersare afraid of the dark, that’s not helping!“Okay, Leaguers,” I said, getting their attention. “As FutureFunmakers, it’s our job to make sure recess runs smoothly. Even ondays like this.”“But how can we make this any better than it is?” Justin asked,throwing his arms up in frustration like he always does.“You’re going to head back to your stations and try to keep thekids calm,” I instructed.“But what about you and Erick?” Paul asked.“We’ll continue to roam around and help out wherever we’reneeded,” I explained.“Come on, guys,” Sammy said, enthusiastically. “If we canovercome all the obstacles that T.J. throws at us when we play T.J.League, then this should be easy. This is our chance to show whatbeing a Leaguer is really all about!”“Yeah!” Erick said, putting his hand in the center of our circle.“Let’s do this!” Paul said, adding his hand to Erick’s.“Easy peasy, mac and cheesy!” Marcus exclaimed, putting hishand on top of Paul’s.“Something inspirational!” Sammy shouted, placing her handatop everyone else’s.I just laughed and joined my hand with theirs.SAMPLE

“Here goes nothing,” Justin said, sounding like he had given upbefore we had even started.◆ ◆ ◆After five minutes or so, I noticed that our plan was working.Eventually, we were able to calm everyone down. As we waited forfurther instructions, we played hand games. Slide. Zim Zam Zoom.Rockin’ Robin. Superhero, Villain, Kryptonite. Games like that.Wait. What do you mean you don’t know what Rockin’ Robinand Superhero, Villain, Kryptonite are? You’ve never played thosebefore? Okay. Okay. I’ll explain them to you. But man! You shoulddefinitely talk to your principal or PTA about getting the RecessRevitalization Foundation at your school!Rockin’ Robin goes to the song ‘Rockin’ Robin’ and takes fourpeople to play. First, you have to stand, or sit, in a square formation.The person across from you is your partner. The people on the sideof you are important, too.First, you and your partner have to give each other a high ten.You either go high or low. If the people to your side go high, thenyou go low. If they go low, then you go high. Get it? And if you gohigh first, then you go low second.After clapping high then low, you have to clap side to side.Then you repeat high and low and side to side again, all whilesinging Rockin’ Robin.SAMPLE

You continue this pattern until you reach the part of the songthat says ‘tweet, tweet, tweet’. At that part, you clap your hands withyour side partner three times. One for each ‘tweet’. Then you start allover again, with the original pattern you used at the beginning.It can take some time to get it going just right. But onceeveryone in your group gets the hang of it, you can get through theentire song without making a mistake. And once you go through thewhole song, you do it again, but a little faster. The challenge of thegame is to go as fast as you can without making a mistake.Superhero, Villain, Kryptonite is a completely different kind ofhand game. It’s one the T.J. League came up with, and it’s more of atournament style game. The last person to get out, wins!For Superhero, Villain, Kryptonite, you have three movementsto choose from. If you want to be a superhero, you stand with onehand on your hip and the other in a fist, raised high above your head.If you want to be a Villain, you stand with both hands in front ofyou, making claws. If you want to be Kryptonite, you stand withyour arms in an ‘x’ across your chest.The game goes like this: superhero beats villain, villain beatskryptonite, and kryptonite beats superhero. Your objective is to tryand guess what your opponent is going to choose so that you can usewhatever it is that will defeat them.If they choose villain, you choose superhero, since superheroesalways win in the end. If they choose, superhero, you chooseSAMPLE

kryptonite, because every superhero has a weakness. And if theychoose kryptonite, then you choose villain, because kryptonite hasno effect on villains.You could argue, like Sammy, that kryptonite should workagainst villains, too, since they also have a weakness. But for thisgame, we just make kryptonite work against the superheroes. It’seasier that way.◆ ◆ ◆A couple of minutes before recess would normally be over, theearthquake drill started to alarm. Once again, kids were screamingand crying.“Not this again,” Sammy uttered.One of the supervision aides ordered everyone to get on theirknees and cover their necks. The other supervision aides ran to closethe doors, which confused me. Why would they close the doors?Once the alarm stopped, we gathered at the center of the MPRand repeated our special technique to get everyone’s attention. Whileone of the supervision aides gave instructions for everyone to staywhere they are, I wondered something out loud.“How can the earthquake drill work if there’s no electricity?”“The emergency systems are on a different circuit,” Sammyexplained, “that way the sprinklers will still work if there’s a fire.”“How do you know all these things?” Justin asked.SAMPLE

“It’s basic knowledge,” Sammy answered in a ‘doesn’teveryone know this’ kind of voice.“Well, that didn’t come with my basic knowledge package,”Justin commented.“Maybe you need to upgrade,” Sammy whispered, under herbreath.“Guys. It doesn’t matter how she knows. All that matters is thatwe help keep these kids calm,” I said.Wait a second. Did Sammy just confirm my theory about herbeing a child android prototype when she suggested that Justinneeded an upgrade? Nah!As Justin looked at everyone with a ‘is anyone going to backme up?’ face, I looked back and forth between the doors that thesupervision aides had just closed.“What is it?” Marcus asked.“Did you notice that the supervision aides closed the doorsduring the earthquake drill?” I asked.“I did,” Paul answered.“Yeah.”“Me, too.”“They did?”“Why would they close the doors?” I asked, still looking backand forth.SAMPLE

“It doesn’t matter,” Sammy commented. “It’s like you said,T.J., our focus should remain on keeping the kids calm.”The guys went back to their stations while Erick and Icontinued to roam the room so we could be used wherever we wereneeded. It didn’t take long to get everyone calm again. We justcontinued playing hand games to keep the first graders distracted.◆ ◆ ◆I was at table one, playing Superhero, Villain, Kryptonite whenSammy waved for me to come to the Color Creation Station.“You win!” I told the first grader, before getting up so that Icould go to table ten.Erick gave me a ‘what’s going on?’ look as I crossed the MPR.I shrugged my shoulders, truthfully not knowing why Sammy hadmotioned for me.“Sit down,” she ordered, patting the empty space to her left.“What is it?” I asked her, as she continued playing Zim ZamZoom with her partner.“You win,” she told him. “Find another partner to play with.”Then she turned to me and held up her fist as if to challenge meat Zim Zam Zoom. I still had no idea what was going on, so I held upmy fist and played along.“I think we’re on a lockdown,” she whispered, so that the firstgraders wouldn’t hear her.SAMPLE

“What do you mean?” I asked, continuing to play Zim ZamZoom with her.“I overheard the supervision aides talking about it,” she said,motioning to the hallway with her head, where the three supervisionaides were standing.“How in the world would they know?” I asked, genuinelyconfused.“The Classroom Communication App!” she whispered intentlywith a face that said, ‘are you seriously that dumb!’.The Classroom Communication app. Now, why hadn’t Ithought of that. Maybe I need an update to my knowledge package,too.SAMPLE

10 Just Do It!I can’t figure out why we would be on a lockdown. I thoughtwe were just having an electrical outage? Either way, as long as thedoors are closed, we should be safe, so there’s no use in telling therest of the guys about the lockdown.I told Sammy to keep me updated on any other importantinformation she overheard the supervision aides talking about andreturned to the snack table, since it was the only station that didn’tSAMPLE

have a Future Funmaker watching over it. Once again, Erick gaveme a ‘what’s going on?’ look. I shook my head and gave him a ‘noneed to worry’ look and hand gesture. Without any moreinformation, there’s no need to spread panic.◆ ◆ ◆Eventually, the first graders started getting bored of playinghand games. That led to whining. The supervision aides tried theirbest to keep them relaxed, but we were losing them. And if we don’tfigure out something new for them to do, I’m not sure we’ll be ableto get them back.“Leaguers!” I called out, walking to the center of the MPR.Erick, Justin, Marcus, Paul and Sammy all stood up and joinedme. As the leader of the T.J. League, I had decided that we needed acall that meant ‘come quickly’. And I’m not the only one that canuse it. Any core member of the League can use it and the rest of uswill come running. Or in this case, speed walking, since we can’t runin the MPR.“What is it, T.J.?” Erick asked, giving me a ‘I thought you saidthere was no need to worry’ look.“The first graders are getting restless,” I commented, motioningaround the room.“That’s why you called us over? That’s why we left ourstations? That’s why you called this emergency meeting?” JustinSAMPLE

said, throwing his arms up. He really does wear his emotions on hissleeve.“If we don’t act fast, whining is going to turn into crying. Thenit’s going to turn into all out chaos!” I explained.“T.J.’s right,” Erick agreed. “When my little brother gets tired,he starts whining. And if he doesn’t take a nap or get what he wants,he usually starts throwing a fit. And believe me, once that starts, evenmy mom has a hard time calming him down.”“I know what you’re talking about,” Justin chimed in. “Mylittle brother and sisters are the same way. My mom does this cointrick to get them to fall asleep. She tells them, ‘heads you take a napand tails you go to sleep’. It used to work on me when I was little,but now I don’t fall for it.”“But we can’t just tell all these first graders to take a nap!”Marcus pointed out.“You’re right,” I agreed. “So, what do we do?”We all stood in silence as we tried to think of a solution.“What if we just went back to playing recess?” Ericksuggested.“We can’t. It’s too dark,” Sammy said, pointing at the windows.“Right,” he said. “It was just a thought.”“Let’s keep thinking,” I instructed.Once again, we stood in silence.“What if we play the silent game?” Justin recommended.SAMPLE

“With this many people?” Sammy asked, in a ‘you’re not reallyserious, are you?’ voice.“You come up with something,” Justin shot back.“Come on guys. Keep thinking,” I ordered.More silent thinking. I decided to look around the room forideas. As I looked toward the stage, I saw my tablet on top of one ofthe rolling cabinets.“Guys! My Tablet!” I exclaimed, pointing at the rolling cabinet.“That’s great!” Justin said, then immediately covered his ownmouth when he heard how loudly he had said it.“What’re we going to do with your tablet?” Paul asked.“We could show a movie!” Justin whispered, loudly.This time, instead of verbally shooting down his idea, Sammypointed toward the ceiling with a ‘really’ smile on her face. As we alllooked up, we noticed that the internet router was off.“So-rry ,” Justin whispered. “I forgot that the internet wasdown, too.”“What about a game? Do you have any good games on yourtablet?” Paul asked.Sammy smiled that ‘really?’ smile again.“What?” Paul asked. “What’s wrong with my idea?”“What game do you know of that allows one hundred people toplay at once?” she asked. “Not to mention, how would they all beable to see the screen?”SAMPLE

She has a good point, but Paul doesn’t look too happy. I thinkthat the T.J. League might be getting a little restless, too.“What about music?” Erick offered. “Do you have any musicon your tablet?”“What do you mean?” Marcus asked.“Whenever we do a Random Dance Party while waiting forteachers to pick up their classes, everyone always dances,” Ericksaid.“And,” Sammy said in a sort of ‘tell me more’ kind of voice.I’m not sure if she’s looking for a way to shut down his idea, or ifshe’s truly interested in what he has to say.“If T.J. has some good dance songs, we can get everyone totake their mind off being stuck in the MPR,” Erick expounded.“Hey, that’s a pretty good idea,” Justin said, as the room lit up abit. I guess the rain clouds currently blocking the sun aren’t that full.“Um, I hate to be a downer—” Sammy started.“No, you don’t,” Justin interrupted.“But,” she continued, “if you haven’t noticed, we still don’thave any electricity.”“But we don’t need any!” Erick said, excitedly.“I don’t get it,” Paul said.“The portable sound system!” Marcus joined in.“The portable sound system!” Erick repeated, looking atSammy with smiling eyes that said, ‘find a flaw in my idea; I dareSAMPLE

you!’.“That’ll work,” Sammy agreed.“Yes!” Erick said, motioning Marcus for a high five.“Just one thing,” Sammy said.“Do you always have to be right?” Justin said, throwing hisarms up again.“How are we going to get to the portable sound system?” sheasked.“Don’t they keep it in the closet on the stage?” Erick asked.“I think so,” I answered.“But we’re not allowed in the closet on the stage,” Sammyreminded us.“So, let’s ask one of the supervision aides to get it!” Paulsuggested.“Yeah! They can get it for us!” Justin agreed.“Let’s just hope it’s charged,” Sammy said.“Seriously?!”“Really?!”“Come on!”“I’ll go ask them,” I told the guys. “I have to get my tabletanyway.”“I’ll go with you,” Erick said.“Good idea. The rest of you guys go back to your stations soyou can lead your group in dancing,” I directed.SAMPLE

Erick and I walked to the rolling cabinet to get my tablet andthen to the stage steps where the supervision aides were standing.“Hello,” I said.“Hello,” Mr. Farmer greeted me.“Would one of you guys be able to get the portable soundsystem from the closet on the stage?” I asked.“For what?” he asked.“We were thinking of having a Random Dance Party,” Iexplained.“Why?” Ms. Hart asked, strongly.“If you haven’t noticed,” Erick said, “the first graders aregetting restless.”“We did,” Mr. Farmer said, with a gentle voice.“So, we thought a Random Dance Party might take their mindoff being stuck in the MPR,” I further explained.The supervision aides exchanged glances. They mostly madethat ‘it’s not a bad idea’ face before looking back at us.“Just do it!” Erick said, quickly followed by, “please.”SAMPLE

11 No Toilet Paper“Okay, T.J.,” Mr. Farmer said. “I’ll get the portable soundsystem for you.”“Yes!” Erick said, doing a fist pump again.I unlocked my tablet. Luckily, I’ve downloaded FunmakerJohn’s ‘Random Dance Party’ playlist on the Recess RevitalizationFoundation app. It has all the songs and dances that the kids are usedto dancing to.SAMPLE

Once Mr. Farmer brought out the portable sound system andconnected it to my tablet, I took the wireless microphone thatconnected to it.“Random Dance Party!” I announced, in a deep, DJ voice, theway Funmaker John does it.Whining quickly ended as the entire MPR erupted in cheers.The T.J. League stood and instructed their stations to follow. Erickand I stood on the stage so that we could lead everyone. Mr. Farmerjoined us and asked if he could dance with us.“Of course!” Erick exclaimed.This time it was Mr. Farmer who did a fist pump, followed bya high ten from Erick.The first song I chose to play was one that I knew would getthe party started. It’s more of an exercise warmup, but the firstgraders don’t know that. It’s even called ‘Warmin’ Up’. Once theyheard the music, they started dancing in place. All they have to donow is follow whatever Greg & Steve say.Next, I chose an all-time favorite. They had already clappedalong with us when we used it to get their attention earlier. Now theywould get to dance to the entire song!Now, I know that you’re supposed to turn to the left every timeDJ Casper says ‘turn it out,’ but since that can be a bit confusing forfirst graders, we just stayed facing forward.SAMPLE

After the Cha Cha Slide, I went straight into the Cupid Shuffle.And once again, instead of turning to the left, when DJ Cupid said,‘now walk it by yourself’, we just ‘walked’ in place.By now, all the first graders had forgotten that that we werestuck in the MPR because they were too focused on dancing. Theother supervision aides also joined us in dancing. Thank, you, Erick,for your brilliant idea!When we got to the fourth song, Watch Me, by Silento, Inoticed a line beginning to form outside the bathroom door. It hasbeen about an hour since recess has originally started, so I’m notsurprised. Actually, just thinking about it kind of makes me have topee. Just a little. Nothing I can’t handle. For now.When the song ended, I noticed that the line had more thandoubled in size. I guess what they say is true: monkey see, monkeydo! Or like Mrs. Whiston always calls it, a ‘potty party’.Erick tapped me on the shoulder and gave me a ‘what’s thenext song?’ look, so I started playing the Macarena. For somereason, first graders can turn to the left on this song. Don’t ask mewhy, because I have no idea!We had only turned to the left twice when a first graderclimbed the stage steps and made a beeline for me. I thought she wascoming up to request a song. I was all ready to tell her that I don’ttake requests. But what she asked me for was way more importantthan a song request.SAMPLE

I stopped dancing and walked over to Mr. Farmer. He wasdancing with his eyes closed and his lips tucked into his mouth. Iguess he really likes this song. Since he couldn’t see me, I tuggedlightly on his jacket. He quickly opened his eyes and stoppeddancing.“Oh. Hi, T.J.,” he smiled. “Great dance party. You could be aDJ someday!”“Thank you, Mr. Farmer, but we have a situation,” I said, in astern tone.“Oh,” he said, a bit more serious. “And what would that be.”I turned to the first grader who was not doing the Macarena.She was doing a totally different dance. I think you know which oneI’m talking about.“Yes?” Mr. Farmer asked her.“There’s no more toilet paper,” she said, in a small voice, herlegs crossed as far as they could go.SAMPLE

12 IT’S LUNCH TIME“Well, now. That is a situation,” Mr. Farmer commented,looking across the MPR. “T.J., you stay here and keep the danceparty going. Ms. Hart, Mrs. Lender and I will find a solution to thisproblem.”He called the other supervision aides over to himself and toldthem of the toilet paper problem. Ms. Hart quickly walked over tothe girl, placed her hand on the girl’s shoulder and told her thatSAMPLE

everything was going to be okay. She then walked the girl back tothe restroom.Mrs. Lender hurried behind the stage to see if there was anytoilet paper stored in the stage closet. Mr. Farmer, on the other hand,just stood there, continuing to look around the MPR. Like me, Mr.Farmer thinks with his chin.“What about the toilet paper in the kitchen bathroom?” Sammyasked, appearing out of nowhere.“How did you know?” Erick asked her, still leading the firstgraders in the Macarena dance.“I’m the one that sent Sophie to tell you guys about the toiletpaper situation in the first place!” she said, pointing back at therestroom.“Well, sorry. I didn’t know,” Erick apologized.“There’s no time for apologies,” Sammy commented. “Who’sgoing to check the kitchen restroom for toilet paper?”“I will,” Mr. Farmer volunteered. “You go back and help withthe restroom. T.J. and Erick can handle the dance party.”The Macarena was almost over, so I looked on FunmakerJohn’s list for another song to play. After scrolling down a couple oftimes, I found a good one.Baby Shark! But it’s a short song, so I added it to the queue andscrolled some more. That’s when I saw Achy Breaky Heart by TheSAMPLE

Chipmunks. And that’s when it popped into my head. Oh, pleasehave it on your playlist, Funmaker John. Please!I had almost scrolled all the way down when I saw it! A songthat was sure to get everyone pumped up. Not just pumped up, butpooped out. The Payaso de Rodeo by Caballo Dorado. I added it tothe queue and set my tablet down. I was sure that it would be the lastsong I would need to play.When the Macarena finished and Baby Shark started, everyfirst grader screamed with glee. Even the kids waiting in line for therestroom came back to the center of the room. What can I say, it’sjust one of those songs that’s hard not to participate in. And for thefirst time since the Random Dance Party had started, every person inthe MPR was singing the lyrics.Luckily, as we started to sing about Daddy Shark, Mr. Farmercame out of the kitchen holding a couple of rolls of toilet paper. Theydidn’t look full, but it was better than nothing. And like I said, thesong didn’t last long. And even though there were shouts to play itagain, I let the playlist continue. That allowed people who had leftthe restroom line to go back to their spots.While Erick and I led everyone in the line dance for AchyBreaky Heart, Mr. Farmer joined us and informed us that thecafeteria workers had sacrificed their own toilet paper so that thefirst graders could use it. That Mrs. Sorroyan and her cafeteria ladies.They’re just the best!SAMPLE

When Achy Breaky Heart faded out and Payaso de Rodeofaded in, only about half of the MPR got excited. We had tried toteach the dance to the school a few months back, but only the uppergrades had been able to keep up.As Erick and Mr. Farmer stood tall, stomping their right footand pumping their right fist into the air, I grabbed the wirelessmicrophone and told everyone that I would call out the instructionsso that everyone could dance along. The slow part is easy enough foreveryone to join in and dance to. It’s when the song speeds up, thatthe difficulty instantly jumps from one to a hundred!“Front! Back! Left! Right! Front! Back! Left! Right!” I saidover and over, into the microphone, wondering when the song wouldend.When it finally did, I spun in a circle and fell to the floor, lyingon my back. Everyone in the MPR copied my actions. I did it tocatch my breath. After dancing to all those songs, I was almost out ofenergy. Now that I think about it, the first graders were probablyrunning out of energy, too.“Water break!” I announced.Fortunately, our MPR doesn’t just have a restroom. It also has awater fountain. I played some more music while everyone lined up toget a drink of water. This time I chose songs that people would justsing along to. I’m going to need at least fifteen minutes before I’mready to start dancing again. Luckily, there are so many people in theSAMPLE

MPR, it took about twenty minutes before everyone had gotten theirten second drink.But by then, we had run into yet another problem: no onewanted to dance anymore.“Does Funmaker John have any sleepy time music on hisplaylist?” Justin asked.“I think you mean lullaby music,” Sammy corrected Justin, yetagain.“You know what I mean,” Justin commented. “That’s just whatmy after school teacher calls it when she puts it on.”“What do you mean?” Paul asked.“When I first get to my after school classroom, my teacher hasthe lights off and soft music playing on her Bluetooth speaker. Shecalls it ‘sleepy time’ music. We’re allowed to put our heads downand rest our eyes. Some people even fall asleep,” Justin explained.“Oh, I get it!” Erick exclaimed. “We can put some sleepy timemusic and hope they fall asleep!”“We would have to do more than just play the music. Just causea lullaby is playing, doesn’t mean they’re going to fall asleep,”Sammy pointed out.“We could put the music on while playing Dead Fish!” Marcuschimed in.“What’s Dead Fish? I’ve never seen it on the list of RecessRevitalization Foundation approved activities,” Sammy said.SAMPLE

“It’s a game I used to play when Daniel and I were in day care.The ladies would tell us to lie on the ground like a dead fish. Andbecause dead fish don’t move, we couldn’t move. If we moved, wewere out,” Marcus told us.“I still don’t understand how that’s going to get everyone to fallasleep,” Sammy interrupted, pessimistically.“I wasn’t finished,” Marcus said, still sounding excited. “Wealso weren’t allowed to blink. ‘Dead fish don’t blink, so you mightas well close your eyes’ the ladies would say. And because we closedour eyes, we usually fell asleep!”“Now that sounds like a plan!” Justin said, motioning Marcusfor a high five.Marcus happily high fived Justin and then looked at Sammy forher approval. Sammy just stood there and then looked at me.“What?” I asked.“Well. Does Funmaker John have lullaby music on his playlistor not?” she asked.I scrolled and scrolled through the entire playlist, all sixty-seven songs, looking for some that might be good for sleepy timeand Dead Fish. Unfortunately, Funmaker John’s playlist is calledRandom Dance Party, not sleepy time music. Or lullaby music.Random Dance Party.“It was a great idea, guys,” I said, looking at Justin and Marcus.SAMPLE

“Well, there goes a great idea down the toilet. No punintended,” Justin remarked, doing his arm thing for like the tenthtime today.“There’s gotta be something else we can do!” Paul said,crossing his arms.Once again, we stood in a circle, staring at each other. Justhoping a great idea would pop into our mind or present itselfsomehow.“T.J.! Leo’s cheating at Superhero, Villain, Kryptonite!” a firstgrader whined, while tugging on my Future Funmaker shirt.“Say again,” I requested.I had been too deep in thought and didn’t hear the first part ofwhat he had said.“I said that Leo is cheating at Superhero, Villain, Kryptonite!”he whined, louder this time.“Did you guys Zim Zam Zoom?” I asked.“I don’t wanna Zim Zam Zoom!” he continued to whine,stomping his foot when he said ‘wanna’.“It’s the best way to solve a problem,” Marcus tried to help.“But I don’t wanna,” he refused, stomping his foot again tomake sure we understood how resolute he was.“Or you could just play with someone else,” Paul told him,putting his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “That’s what I do whensomeone won’t stop cheating.”SAMPLE

“Leo! I’m not playing with you anymore!” the boy shouted, ashe ran back to his group of friends.“How do you even cheat at Superhero, Villain, Kryptonite?”Justin asked.“It’s easy,” Erick answered. “You can take your time choosingyour position. You know. Just a little bit longer than your opponent.That way you always win. Or, you can just refuse to lose, even whenit’s clear that you’ve lost.”“Sounds like someone has used those hacks a few times ormore,” Paul commented.“More like people have tried to use those hacks on me,” Erickdefended.“Whatever you say,” Paul shot back, looking up while standingon his tippy toes and putting his hands behind his back.“I’ve got it!” I said, with excitement.“Got what?” Sammy asked.“We could play Heroes and Villains!” I shouted.“‘Heroes and Villains?’” she said, repeating me.“Yeah! That hasn’t been part of the recess rotation for over amonth!” I pointed out.“T.J.’s right!” Marcus agreed. “And it’s a game that onehundred people can play at the same time!”“T.J., you’re a genius!” Justin exclaimed.SAMPLE

“Thank the whiney kid,” I said, redirecting the credit. “If hehadn’t come to tattle on his friend, it would have never popped intomy mind.”“Well, thank you ‘whiney kid’,” Erick said.I shared our idea with the supervision aides. They agreed that itwas a great way to keep the first graders occupied. When they askedhow we would keep it organized, I told them that we could haveeveryone return to their original station. Then, the Future Funmakerwho was in charge of that station would oversee their own game ofHeroes and Villains.“I guess there’s a reason Mr. Martinez holds you in such highregard,” Mr. Farmer remarked, patting me on the back.“Thanks,” I said, “but it was a team effort.”I used the wireless microphone to once again announce whatwe would be doing next. And after everyone returned to theirstations, it didn’t take long for everyone to start playing Heroes andVillains. It also wasn’t much longer before our next problem arose.“T.J., I’m hungry,” a little girl told me, rubbing her stomach.Now that she mentions it, I hadn’t gotten a chance to eat mysnack. My trail mix and supplement shake were still inside myBatman lunchbox, which was still on top of the rolling closet wheremy tablet used to be. Usually, we get ten minutes between recessperiods to reset the equipment and eat our snacks. Oh, how I couldalmost taste the trail mix! But I can always save that for tomorrow. ISAMPLE

just hope that my shake is still cold. Like I said before, if it getswarm, it’s gross!“T.J.! I said I’m hungry!” she repeated, rubbing her stomachagain.I looked at the clock to see what time it was. Yup. Just as Ithought. It’s lunch time!SAMPLE

13 Are Those Helicopters?“We’ve been preparing lunch like normal,” Mrs. Sorroyan toldme. “Well, the food we could prepare, at least. Some of ourequipment runs on electricity, so we can’t use them. But some of ituses gas.”“So, we can have lunch?” I asked.“I don’t see why not. I’ll just have to keep track of everyonethe old-fashioned way, since my computer is down,” she answered.SAMPLE

So much for updated computer software!“Thanks. I’ll be right back,” I said.I’ve got to get the guys together. They can help me organize thefirst graders. And the supervision aides can help Mrs. S keep track ofeveryone who gets lunch.“Leaguers!” I called out as loud as I could, since everyone wasstill playing Heroes and Villains.It must have been loud enough, because here they come. Alongwith Mr. Farmer.“Mr. Farmer? What are you doing here?” Erick asked.“I heard T.J.’s assembly call,” Mr. Farmer answered.“‘Assembly call’?” Justin repeated.“You know. Like when Captain America tells the Avengers toassemble and they all come,” he explained.“Oh! ‘Assemble’-y call!” Justin exclaimed, as if a lightbulb inhis head had just lit up. “When you said ‘assembly’ I thought youmeant like an assembly we have for Student of the Month ortrimester awards or something.”“Where do you think the word ‘assembly’ comes from?”Sammy asked Justin. “The root word of ‘assembly’ is ‘assemble’,which means to gather together in one place.”And this is why I choose Sammy as a project partner wheneverI get the chance. Not only do I not have to worry that she won’t doher part of the project, I also get to learn a load of cool things. She’sSAMPLE

filled with fun facts. Because of Sammy, I was today years old whenI realized that the words assembly and assemble are actually related!Then again, I could just say that this is another great piece ofevidence that proves she’s an android prototype. Then again, maybe Ijust need to read more than I play.“Is there anything you don’t know?” Justin asked Sammy.“I still haven’t figured out why people use cotton swabs toclean the inner part of their ears. The earlobe I can understand. Butthe inner ear? It just doesn’t make any sense. I mean, it clearly statesthe dangers of doing so right on the packaging!” she answered,passionately, throwing her hands up in a Justin-like fashion.“O-kay,” Paul said.“How about telling us why you called this meeting, T.J,” Mr.Farmer suggested, getting us back on track.“It’s like this. Some of the kids are getting hungry. And eventhough their lunchtime isn’t for another fifteen minutes, Mrs. S saysthat she has lunches ready since kindergarten is supposed to be hereright now,” I told everyone.“But what about the kindergarteners? What are they going toeat?” Marcus asked.“They should be okay,” Sammy answered.“How can you say that?” Justin asked.Sammy sighed. I can’t blame her. If Justin hasn’t learned to justtrust her after everything that’s happened today, then that’s on him!SAMPLE

“You know the emergency bins we have in our classroom?”Sammy asked him slowly, as if talking to someone who doesn’tunderstand English.“Yeah,” he answered, not sure where she was going with this.“And you know how everyone had to bring a snack pack at thebeginning of the year?” she continued, in like fashion.“You mean when we had to write our name on a zip lock bagand fill it with juice and granola bars and stuff?” Justin asked.“Yes, Justin. Those snack packs,” Sammy confirmed.“But what about people who didn’t bring a snack pack?” Erickasked. “I know I never did.”“They’ll be okay,” Sammy answered.“Tell us why,” Justin said.I think he’s finally learning to just go with whatever Sammysays.“My dad’s on the PTA Board,” she started. “I was here afterschool when they were filling the emergency bins. We put first aidsupplies, enough water bottles for every student and teacher in theclass, extra snacks, as well as other necessary items. Even if firstgrade is the only grade to eat in the cafeteria today, all the othergrades should have enough food to keep them going for the rest ofthe day.”Like I said. Filled with fun facts!SAMPLE

“I can vouch for her,” Mr. Farmer said. “My wife volunteeredto help that day. She was amazed at how much thought andorganization went into making sure everyone would be taken care ofin a situation like this. There’s even a solution for those who have touse the restroom but can’t leave the classroom.”“And what solution is that!” Erick said.“Um. I’d rather not say before we eat,” he answered.“That doesn’t matter right now,” I refocused us. “All thatmatters, is feeding all these little people.”“So, what’s the plan?” Paul asked.I told the guys that I was going to have each of them lead aclassroom. You know. Stand in for their teacher. And one at a time,they would take a class through the lunch line. I asked Mr. Farmer ifhe and Ms. Hart could put down the tables and benches. He said theycould. He started to walk away, but I told him there was one moreimportant thing to do.“What’s that, T.J.?” he asked.“Mrs. S is going to need help keeping track of everyone who iseating, since her computer is still down,” I explained.“No worries, T.J. I’ll ask Mrs. Lender to help her,” he said.“Thanks,” I said, offering a handshake.Instead, Mr. Farmer put his hand in the middle of our huddle. Ilooked at him, and then at the guys, who were all smiling. I put myhand on top of Mr. Farmer’s, followed by the rest of the T.J. League.SAMPLE

“Alright, guys. ‘Lunchtime’ on three,” I directed. “One, two,three!”“Lunchtime!”Everyone went straight to work. Mr. Farmer informed Ms. Hartand Mrs. Lender of our plan. They immediately began to take downtables and benches. Marcus went to station one. Paul went to stationtwo. Justin went to station three and Sammy went to station four.Erick went to station five while I took my tablet and lowered themusic to zero volume. Then I grabbed the wireless microphone.“Mr. Thomas’ class, please line up at station one. Mrs. Brown’sclass, please line up at station two. Mrs. Lee’s class please line up atstation three. And Ms. Lund’s class, please line up at station four.”It didn’t take long for the supervision aides to get all the tablesand benches down. And although I had to repeat what classes had togo to which station a couple of times, getting all the first graders toline up didn’t take too long either. Before long, all of Mr. Thomas’class was eating lunch. And by the time half of Mrs. Brown’s classhad already taken a seat, the lights came back on. Once again, thewhole MPR erupted in cheers. And it didn’t take long for PrincipalMartinez’s voice to come over the speaker system. But it was still theold speaker system.“Teachers, staff, please excuse the interruption. As you mayhave noticed, the electricity has been restored. Unfortunately, theSAMPLE

phones are still down, along with the internet, so we will still becommunicating through the Classroom Communication App.“Even though the electricity is back, we are still asking forstudents and staff to stay in place. I will update you when the internetis back up. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. Youguys rock!”Guess we truly are on a lockdown. During his lastannouncement, he said we couldn’t use the hallway restroomsbecause they would be too dark. Even though the lights are back on,he’s still telling us to ‘stay in place’. Oh, well. I can’t focus on thatright now. I can only work on what’s in front of me at the moment.“T.J.,” Marcus said, tapping me on the shoulder and waking mefrom my mid-distance stare.“Huh? What?” I responded.“Now that the electricity’s back on, do you think we can turnon the video projector?” he asked.“Oh, yeah! Funmaker John keeps movies in a stage closet,” Isaid, turning around to get them.“You get the projector going. I’ll get a movie for us to watch,”Marcus told me.“Right,” I said, agreeing with his plan.Mr. Farmer must have noticed Marcus and me getting to work.“What do you need me to do?” he asked.SAMPLE

“Could you turn on the MPR speakers, so we’ll have soundwhen I start the movie?” I asked.“No problem,” he said, saluting me and going behind the stagecurtains where the electrical panel is.As soon as the projector started to warm up, Marcus returnedwith a movie. I put it into the DVD player and pushed play. Once thefirst graders realized what we were doing, they started to applaud.And the ones with their back to the screen turned around to see whatwas going on. When they heard the previews starting to play, theyjoined in the applause.By the time the previews ended, all of the first graders hadgotten their lunches. Some of them had even finished theirs. Mr.Farmer told me and the rest of the T.J. League to go ahead and eatlunch while he and the rest of the supervision aides took care of thetrash.“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Justin announced, turningaround, and heading straight for the lunch line.We each joined a table of first graders and began to enjoy ourfirst moments of rest since before recess had started. Over two hoursago. While we ate our lunch, most of the first graders watched themovie. Some put their heads down and fell asleep. I can’t blamethem. I would take a nap, too, if I could!When I finished my lunch, I got up to throw my trash away.SAMPLE

“I’ll get that for you,” Mr. Farmer said, making his way towardme.I handed him the plate and was going to sit back down when heplaced his hand on my shoulder and whispered in my ear.“Come with me.”I wasn’t sure why he wanted me to go with him, but the tone ofhis voice told me that it was important.“I can’t see,” a first grader said, motioning for me to move.I followed Mr. Farmer as he threw away my trash and headedfor the back of the MPR where Mrs. S was entering everyone whohad eaten lunch into her computer.“What is it?” I whispered, as Marcus gave me a ‘what’s up?’look.I shrugged my shoulders and gave him a ‘I have no idea’ lookback.“Do you hear that?” Mr. Farmer asked.“Hear what?” I asked.“Listen,” he ordered, pointing up while looking at the ceiling.I looked to where he was pointing and tried to listen for whathe wanted me to hear. It was a little difficult since the sound of themovie was distracting me, but after a moment or so, I think I heardwhat he was talking about.“Are those helicopters?” I asked, looking back at Mr. Farmer.SAMPLE

14 The School Bell“I think so,” Mr. Farmer answered.“What does that mean?” I asked.“I’m not entirely sure. But let’s just keep it to ourselves fornow,” he suggested.I nodded my head in agreement and went back to my table.Once I got there, Marcus gave me the same ‘what’s up?’ look. Onlythis time, it was more intense. I gave him a ‘don’t worry about it'SAMPLE

look, with matching hand motions. He shot back with a ‘really?’look that was also a bit of a ‘best friends don’t lie to each other’look.“Milkshakes,” I whispered slowly, enunciating the word as bigas I could since Marcus is three benches over.He gave me a ‘fine, but you owe me!’ look. Hopefully, thehelicopters really are nothing to worry about. Because aftereverything that’s already happened today, I’m not sure how muchmore I can take.I decided to focus all my attention on watching the movie.Nothing else. Just like the first graders. I mean, look at them. Theydon’t have a care in the world!Oh, to be little again. Only having to worry about whether ornot Batman would defeat whatever villain he was facing. Actually, Ididn’t even worry about that. I knew Batman would win in the end.But I still got butterflies whenever he battled someone.When the movie was about to end, Marcus got up and headedback to the stage closet. I got up to be ready to change the moviewhen it finished. Mr. Farmer stayed with the other supervision aidesat the back of the MPR and gave me a thumbs up when I looked athim.After changing the movie, Marcus and I went back to our seats.I was fully immersed in the movie, so I didn’t notice Sammy walkSAMPLE

over. When she tapped me on the shoulder, I nearly knocked the firstgrader next to me out of his seat.“Hey!” he exclaimed.“Sorry,” I apologized, catching him before he fell backward.I looked at Sammy who was motioning with her eyes and herhead for me to come with her to the back of the MPR. Here we goagain!“What is it?” I asked, feeling a little bit of déjà vu.“My dad just texted me,” she said, taking her phone out of herpocket.“Aren’t we supposed to keep those in Mrs. Whiston’s phonebasket? And aren’t they supposed to be off?” I asked.“Normally, I would agree, but you’re not the only one whochose to document their daily routine today. My dad emailed Mrs.Whiston yesterday, asking permission for me to use my phone torecord myself at school today,” she clarified.“Oh,” I said, in embarrassment.“Only I didn’t think that recording myself during the weeklyspelling test was that important,” she said, rolling her eyes.“It may not be important to you, but I’m on my way to myeighth perfect score in a row!” I exclaimed.As soon as Sammy gave me her ‘really?’ look, I realized howfoolish that probably sounded to her. She’s been getting perfectSAMPLE

scores on her spelling tests since the first grade! It was one of thereasons the teacher at her old school skipped her a grade.“As I was saying,” she began, “my dad just texted me.”“What did he say?” I asked.“He asked me if I was alright. When I told him that I was, butthat we had been stuck in the MPR since first recess, he told me tostay inside,” she explained.“Why?” I asked, intrigued.“He said that those helicopters outside— I know you heardthem,” she said, when I gave her my ‘I don’t know what you’retalking about’ look. “He said those helicopters are news copters. Hesaid that they’ve been looking for a man that escaped from the backof a police car. They don’t know exactly where he is, but they’re surehe’s in the area,” she continued.“Is he inside the school?” I asked.“They don’t know,” she answered. “But I suspect that it wasn’tthe weather that shut off the electricity and internet.”“What do you mean?”“It’s simple. Whenever a villain enters a compound, his firstactions are to take out all means of communication,” she remindedme.“You’re right,” I agreed.“I know. And since the computers run on electricity but thetablets and laptops can still communicate through wi-fi, he shut thatSAMPLE

down, too,” she continued.“But what about cell phones?” I asked.“He can’t control that unless he has access to the satellites or aphone jammer strong enough to cover the entire campus,” sheexpounded.“Are we safe?” I asked, genuinely concerned.“We should be. The MPR doors are fireproof and bulletproof.As long as we stay inside, we should be alright,” she ensured.There is no way I’m about to doubt how true that statement is.After all the facts and knowledge that Sammy spit out earlier, I thinkI’ll just trust her on this one. Wonder Woman would never put herfriends in danger. And just like Wonder Woman, there’s no waySammy would ever put her friends in danger.“Let’s keep this to ourselves,” Sammy suggested.“Maybe we should tell Mr. Farmer,” I suggested. “He has beenhelpful so far. He’s the one that told me about the helicopters.”Sammy gave me a ‘so, you’ve known all this time!’ look whileputting her hands on her hips.“Not to mention, he’s been staring at us this whole time,” Isaid, pointing toward him and the other supervision aides.“I guess that couldn’t hurt,” she consented.Sammy headed back to her seat while I filled in Mr. Farmer.Actually, I didn’t tell him something he didn’t already know. Itseems he’s subscribed to the local news station and newspaper, so heSAMPLE

gets notifications on his cell phone whenever something importanthappens in the neighborhood.“It’s okay, T.J. Everything will be alright,” he reassured mewith a smile. “The authorities are protecting the school. So, there’snothing to worry about.”I headed back to my table, but I sat at the end of the bench, sothat I could get up without distracting anyone or nearly knockinganyone out of their seat.After re-immersing myself back into the movie, I lost all trackof time. In the middle of a musical number that had most of the MPRsinging along, Principal Martinez’s voice once again rang throughoutthe room.“Good afternoon, everyone. Please excuse this interruption.The internet isn’t back up yet, but something more important is aboutto happen. In about five minutes, the school bell is about to ring. Iknow this would normally release you students to go home, but Ineed you to stay inside until further notice.“Students, I have sent a phone dialer and schoolwide email toall your parents letting them know that you will be staying afterschool. As soon as today’s special activity is over, I will send anotherphone dialer and schoolwide email notifying them that it’s time topick you up.“Teachers and staff, thank you for your cooperation during thistime. I have also notified the district and unions of the situation toSAMPLE

make sure you are fairly compensated. Mr. Ellis will input the extratime into your monthly profiles to accurately reflect your hours.“In the meantime, please stay in place. And remember, youguys rock!”Man. Compared to this, the district wide earthquake drill isnothing. Wait a second. Did he just say the school bell is about toring? Has that much time passed already?SAMPLE

15 Make It Stop!Principal Martinez’s announcement had an unexpectedoutcome. First graders started asking why they couldn’t leave whenthe bell rang. I took the wireless microphone connected to the MPRspeakers and told them not to worry. That they should just keepwatching the movie. But it didn’t work. Instead, they started whiningthat they wanted to go home. Some started crying. It got so loud, thatSAMPLE

the first graders that had fallen asleep were awakened from theirnaps. And then they added to the noise.I gave the T.J. League a head nod as they all stared at me fromtheir tables. They immediately came to the stage steps, followedclosely by the supervision aides. We huddled up in front of the stage.“What should we do?” Justin asked.“We could try another Random Dance Party,” he suggested. “Itworked the first time.”“Do it,” Sammy said.“I need to connect my tablet to the MPR speakers,” I said.“What’s wrong with the portable sound system?” Paul asked.“I put it away,” Mr. Farmer said, raising his hand.“That’s okay. I can just plug my tablet in using the auxiliarycord,” I said, pointing at the headphone jack on my tablet.“How much more juice do you got in that thing?” Justin asked.“Enough,” I said, confidently.I ran to the speaker and plugged in my tablet. It made a loudpopping sound that got everyone’s attention. I unlocked my tablet asquickly as I could. Luckily, it was still on the Recess RevitalizationFoundation app. All I had to do was click on Funmaker John’sRandom Dance Party playlist. I scrolled down to a song that I wassure would get everyone to stop whining and crying. Good ol’ BabyShark.SAMPLE

When the song started, the T.J. League and Supervision Aidesplaced themselves on the stage to lead in the dancing and singing. Istarted looking for another song to play since Baby Shark is barelytwo minutes long. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to find one,because once the words started playing, the whining and crying gotlouder!“It’s not working!” Justin shouted, pointing out the obvious.“Maybe a different movie!” Paul suggested.“But we’ve already seen all the movies that Funmaker Johnkeeps in the closet, thanks to all the rain this week,” Erick said. “Theone we were just watching was the last one!”“What about online?” Sammy asked.“But the internet is down!” Justin said, with a ‘duh’ look on hisface.But of course, Sammy was right, once again. She pointed at theceiling where the internet router was mounted. And sure enough, theblue light that meant it was working was lit.“I’ve already checked the connection on my phone,” she said,showing us her phone, “and it’s working.”“What movie should I put?” I asked.“Just go on YouTube,” Justin advised, looking at everyone.“We can put on some ‘Try Not to Laugh Challenge’ videos. Thatway everyone will be too busy laughing to cry.”“That sounds like a good idea,” I said.SAMPLE

I plugged the video adapter into my charging port while Mr.Farmer turned the video projector back on. We don’t have internet athome, so I handed my tablet to Justin so he could find some goodvideos, which didn’t take long. It seems he spends as much time onYouTube as I do writing and drawing comics.The first video got some people’s attention, but not enough. Hetried another one, but that one didn’t go so well, either. After histhird choice flopped, we decided to regroup at the front of the stage.“It didn’t work,” Justin said, frustrated.“Good job Sir Points Out the Obvious A Lot,” Sammy jabbed.“Hey!” Justin shot back.“Come on guys. We can’t turn on each other now. We’re goingto have to work together to get through this. You’ve overcome everyscenario I’ve ever given you when we play T.J. League. Just look atthis as another challenge,” I recommended.“Yeah, guys,” Marcus agreed. “We can do this!”“Yeah! We can’t give up now!” Paul chimed in.“I don’t care what we do. Just make it stop!” Sammy ordered,covering her ears.SAMPLE

16 An Unexpected SkillOver the next fifteen or twenty minutes, the T.J. League and thesupervision aides tried their best to calm everyone down.We tried cartoon videos. Music videos. Freeze dance. Fourcorners. Dead Fish. Ultimate Limbo. Replaying the recess games wehad played earlier. But nothing we tried worked, so we regrouped atthe front of the stage to think of something else.SAMPLE

We were still in our huddle, trying to come up with a solutionto our current problem, when Mrs. Lankershaim asked if she couldjoin us. We opened up our circle and let her in.For those of you who don’t know, Mrs. Lankershaim is one ofthe cafeteria ladies. She’s pretty cool. Ever since she dropped thattray of Sloppy Joe meat earlier this year, she makes sure to set aburger aside, with extra meat, just for me!“I’m not sure if you know this, but one of those first gradersout there is mine,” she said, pointing across the MPR.“I didn’t know that,” Justin admitted.“I did,” Sammy said.Justin didn’t say anything, he just made a ‘of course you did!’face while throwing his harms up, one more time. He hasn’t donethat in a couple of hours, so I guess he was due for another one.“I don’t know if this will work, but whenever my hijito ishaving a bad day, I sit him on my lap and sing him a lullaby,” shesaid.“But we can’t sit everyone on your lap so you can sing them alullaby,” Justin remarked. “And even if we did it one by one, itwould take forever!”“I don’t think that’s what she meant,” I observed, beforeSammy could make a comment.“I think she just wants to distract everyone so that they’ll stopwhining and crying,” Sammy followed.SAMPLE

“It couldn’t be worse than anything we’ve already tried,” Paulremarked.“But how will they be distracted if they can’t hear her?” Erickasked.Sammy held an imaginary microphone in her hand whilemaking a ‘are you guys still doubting me’ face.“Let’s give it try,” Mrs. Lender suggested.Mrs. Lankershaim left the huddle to get her son while I grabbedthe wireless microphone. When she returned and took a seat on thestage, I held the microphone to her mouth so that everyone couldhear. Man, I hope this works!“Buenas noches. Buenas noches. Duérmete. Duérmete. Cierralos ojos. Cierra los ojos. Duérmete. Duérmete,” she sang, whilelooking her son in the eyes and holding him close to her chest.Her lullaby hadn’t put him to sleep, but it did exactly what wehoped it would do. It distracted all of the first graders. They stoppedwhining and crying and had their attention on Mrs. Lankershaim.Some even came forward and sat in front of her, laying their headson the stage steps.Mr. Farmer, Ms. Hart and Mrs. Lender motioned for the otherkids to come forward and join them. The T.J. League all sat down onthe stage step next to me and Mrs. Lankershaim. She looked at meand I nodded my head for her to continue singing.“Duérmete mi niño. Duérmete mi amor,” she started to sing.SAMPLE

As she rocked her son side to side, the T.J. League swayed withher. Some of the first graders did, too.“She has an amazing voice,” Paul whispered, into my ear.“I know,” I agreed.“Este niño mío que nació de noche,” she continued to sing.As I looked across the room, I noticed some of the little onesstarting to nod off. Some of them had already fallen asleep. Imotioned for Sammy to grab the microphone, since she was sittingon the other side of Mrs. Lankershaim. After she took themicrophone, I got up to grab my tablet. I knew that Mrs.Lankershaim would eventually finish her song. And now that theinternet is back on, I can play some lullaby music when she’s done!By the time I got back to my spot, she was finishing her song.“Do you have another one?” I whispered.She nodded her head and continued to sing.“Arrorró mi niño, arrorró mi sol,” she sang, in her ever socalming voice.I opened my music app and searched ‘lullabies’. There were somany different songs! Instead of choosing one song, I just chose aplaylist that had three hours of lullabies.“Este niño lindo se quiere dormir,” Mrs. Lankershaim sang sosoftly she almost whispered.I got up and made sure to turn the auxiliary cord volume all theway down to zero. There is no way I want it to pop like earlier. NotSAMPLE

only would that ruin the mood, but I’m pretty sure that some, if notall, of the T.J. League would come for my head!After plugging my tablet in, I turned the volume on my tabletdown and turned the auxiliary cord level to the middle. Then, Iwaited for Mrs. Lankershaim to finish singing her song. When shebegan to slow down her singing, I knew she was about to finish.The guys turned around to look at me while I pressed play onmy tablet. I slowly raised the volume on my tablet so that the musicwouldn’t be too loud. I wanted to put the rest of the first graders tosleep. I did not want to wake them up!Once it was at a decent level, I rejoined everyone on the stagesteps. Almost all the first graders had fallen asleep by now. Somewere lying down on the floor. Some were using their friends aspillows. And some had fallen asleep sitting up! I don’t know howpeople can do that. Whenever I’ve tried it, I’ve always end up tiltingto one side and waking myself up.“They’re all so peaceful,” Justin said.“Yeah,” Marcus agreed.“Why do we ever have to grow up?” I asked.“They’re so much more tolerable this way,” Sammycommented.We all leaned forward and looked at her with our eyebrowswrinkled. She responded with a ‘What? It’s the truth!’ look on herface.SAMPLE

“If you ever decide to change jobs, you should add singinglullabies to your resumé,” I suggested to Mrs. Lankershaim.“Yeah,” Justin concurred. “Talk about an unexpected skill.”SAMPLE

17 You Are SafeBy the end of the third song on the playlist, only a handful offirst graders were still awake. When we told them that they couldtake a nap, they told us that they weren’t tired. I think they’reprobably the ones that had fallen asleep during the movie.Since they weren’t tired, we re-set up the Color CreationStation so that they could color while everyone else slept. Only thistime, we didn’t use the spinning wheel. We just let them color theSAMPLE

pages however they wanted. And guess what? Each person stillended up coloring theirs differently!While we were coloring, the MPR door near our table openedslowly. Principal Martinez hadn’t made an announcement releasingus from our rooms, so I got up to get a better look.Mr. Farmer grabbed my shoulders, from behind, before I couldeven make it past my table. When I turned around to look at him, hisfinger was over his mouth in the ‘shhh’ position. He then moved mebehind him and carefully stepped toward the slowly opening door.Before we got there, we were stopped in our tracks by a thin blackcord peeking through the crack in the door. It was about thethickness of a plastic straw. The ones for soda. Not for coffee or tea.Then another strange thing happened. Below the black cord, asmall white board appeared. ‘Is everyone safe?’ was written in black.Mr. Farmer and I looked at each other and then back at thewhiteboard while nodding our head.Next, the door opened wide enough to allow a person, dressedin all black, with a black mask, to enter. They were followed by adog wearing a S.W.A.T. dog suit. The officer motioned for us toremain silent and to come closer.“Are you guys being held hostage?” she asked.“No,” Mr. Farmer answered.“Is there anyone in here that shouldn’t be?” she continued tointerrogate.SAMPLE

“Not that I know of,” Mr. Farmer responded.“Okay. My name is Officer Redding, and this is Otis. Otis and Iare going to check the building to make sure that everyone is safe,”she informed us. “Is that lullaby music?”“Yes,” I answered. “Most of the first graders are asleep, butsome of them are coloring on the table just to our right.”“Okay. Go ahead and let them know that everything is okay,and that Otis is friendly. Once I’ve made a full sweep of the area anddetermined that everyone is safe, we will begin extractionprocedures,” she explained.“Yes, officer,” Mr. Farmer said.“Yes, ma’am,” I responded.Mr. Farmer and I turned around to see that the supervisionaides and some of the T.J. League had lined up, side by side, to seewhat was going on. Mr. Farmer motioned for the supervision aides tomove aside, and I motioned for Sammy, Justin and Erick to go to theColor Creation Station.After telling the first graders at the Color Creation Station thata friend of mine was coming in with her friend, Otis, I sat down andcontinued to color with them. The T.J. League all gave me a ‘what’sgoing on?’ look that I completely ignored.“Batman always protects his friends,” I said, in a calm andquiet voice, but loud enough for them to hear.SAMPLE

“Then that’s all I need to know,” Marcus said, grabbing acrayon to continue his Color Creation.It only took a few minutes for S.W.A.T. Officer Redding andOtis to check the entire MPR for any intruders. When she finished,she talked into her wrist and motioned for Mr. Farmer and me to joinher in the center of the MPR.“The area is clear,” she stated. “Right now, there is a group ofS.W.A.T. officers and a group of Sheriff officers waiting outside thekitchen door waiting to receive you. I need you to gather everyonetogether, in a single file line. Once we’re ready, I’ll open the doorand you’ll exit and get onto a bus.”“Why a bus?” I asked.“It’s protocol to transport civilians to an offsite location untilthe perpetrator is in custody,” she seemed to quote from a book.“But what about our parents?” I inquired.“Your principal has notified your legal guardians of thesituation and has relayed the pickup location. They should be therewaiting for you,” she finished, placing her left hand on her ear, as ifreceiving information from a superior officer.“Okay, T.J., let’s get everyone in a single file line,” Mr. Farmersaid.“If you say so. But if you think they were whiny earlier, justimagine how much whining there’s going to be when we wake themSAMPLE

up early from their nap. Sammy is not going to like this,” Icommented.With the help of the supervision aides and the cafeteria ladies,the T.J. League organized the four first grade classes into single filelines, as if we were waiting for their teachers to pick them up.Officer Redding spoke into her wrist one more time and motionedfor Paul’s line to follow her through the kitchen.Before the entire class had made it into the kitchen, shereturned, without Otis, and motioned for Justin’s line to follow. Nextcame Sammy’s line, followed by Marcus’ line. Erick and I followedMarcus’ line with the cafeteria ladies and supervision aides rightbehind us. Officer Redding was the final person to exit the MPR.When I finally got outside, I noticed that the rain had stopped.There were still dark clouds nearby, but the sky above us was clear.Wow. This is the first time I’ve seen a blue sky all week.When I looked back down, I saw that one bus was leaving theschool while the rest of us were boarding a second bus. Afterscanning the area, I noticed that there weren’t any other busesaround. I also didn’t see many cars parked in the parking lot. Otherthan police cars and S.W.A.T. cars, of course. Wait. Does that meanthat everyone else in the school has already gone home? Were we thelast ones to be rescued?As I made my way to the bus, it seemed like every S.W.A.T.and Sheriff’s officer was saying the same thing: “You are safe.”SAMPLE

18 Protect And ServeShortly after everyone finished boarding the bus, we weretaken to a nearby grocery store parking lot. It’s a pretty populargrocery store, but I’ve never seen this many cars in the parking lot!Except maybe the day before Thanksgiving.One by one, parents were allowed to approach the bus withsomething that would identify one of us as their child. It’s taking aSAMPLE

bit longer that I would prefer. Even though I’m not the last one offthe bus, it’s starting to feel like I will be.When I finally heard my name called, I walked past all theother kids who were still waiting to hear their name. Some of themwere quietly crying, while others looked out of their window fortheir parents. I felt bad for them. They’re only six and seven yearsold. I know if Xochitl were here, she would be whining and cryingfor our mom. Wait! What about Xochitl? Is she okay? Is she alreadyhome? I know she’s annoying and all, but she’s still my little sister! Iquickened my pace to the front of the bus so that I could find out.“Are you Tomas Espinosa, Jr.?” an officer asked me.“Yes, sir,” I responded.He took the picture my dad was holding and placed it next tomy face. After a quick glance, he handed the picture to my dad andmoved aside so I could pass.“Next!” he called, before I was even off the bus.With tears in his eyes and a smile of relief on his face, dadgrabbed me tightly and carried me to our car. I rested my head on hisshoulder and watched as more parents approached the bus and werereunited with their children. Each of them carried their child to theircar, just like dad is carrying me.When we finally reached the car, he held me close a fewmoments longer, and gave me one final squeeze before finallyputting me down.SAMPLE

“Where’s your backpack?” he asked.“In my classroom. We were stuck in the MPR all day,” I toldhim.“Okay. No worries. Let’s go home,” he said, shuffling my hairand smiling.After dad buckled me into my booster seat, he kissed me on topof my head, the way he does to Xochitl, and closed the door. Igrabbed one of the small pillows we keep in the back seat and put itagainst the window so I could rest my head. It didn’t take long forme to fall asleep after that. Hey. Can you blame me? It’s kind of beena long day, you know.◆ ◆ ◆When we finally got home, I was still asleep, so dad carefullyplaced my head back on his shoulder and carried me from the car, allthe way upstairs to my room. He then gently placed me on my bedand slowly removed my raincoat, rainboots, and glasses, so as not towake me. The next time I opened my eyes, was when mom gentlyshook me awake to tell me that dinner was ready. Since I don’t knowwhat time we got home, I’m not even sure how long I was asleep.But I’m definitely still tired. If she hadn’t woken me up, I probablywould have slept until tomorrow!As I sat up to get out of bed, I realized I was no longer wearingmy raincoat or rainboots. I looked around the room but didn’t seeSAMPLE

them anywhere. But that didn’t really matter. All that matters is whatI think I smell coming from downstairs. I hurried, as best as I could,down the stairs and into the kitchen where mom, dad and Xochitlwere waiting for me. Yes! Just what I thought I was smelling! What’sfor dinner, you ask? Sloppy Joes, fries and a hot fudge sundae! Well,for me anyways. Xochitl has chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheeseand a strawberry sundae. Basically, our two favorite dinners!Thankfully, before we started eating, mom and dad didn’t askany questions about what had happened at school today. Instead,mom took out the wooden trays that usually only dad uses. Youknow, the ones that moms serve dads on when they’re watching theirfavorite sports teams and don’t want to miss anything. Yeah, thosewooden trays.Instead of sitting at the kitchen table, like we usually do, we saton the couches in the living room. Dad even let me sit on hisrecliner! Mom then played an episode of Are You Smarter Than aFifth Grader that had recorded on our DVR earlier that day. SinceI’m in fifth grade, dad expects me to know all the answers as soon asthey’re posed. I keep reminding him that fifth grade isn’t over, sothere are still some things that I haven’t learned yet. Although, I amusually able to answer more questions than he can. But not as manyas mom.When we finished with dinner and dessert, I asked mom if Ihad to take a shower since I was still really tired. She said that itSAMPLE

would be okay to take one in the morning. It’s a good thing thattoday is Friday, because after everything that’s happened today, it’sgoing to take more than a short nap for me to fully recover.◆ ◆ ◆“Okay boys and girls. Time to present your Daily Routineprojects,” Mrs. Whiston said, on Monday, after recess.Last Monday, Mrs. Whiston had given us a type of assignmentthat she had never given before. She told us that we had to make aproject that told everyone about our daily routine. We could use anymedium we wanted to. Write a song. Make a video. Illustrate a story.Anything we wanted. Then we had to present it to the class. Wewould get seventy-five points for our project and twenty-five pointsfor our presentation.“Go ahead and get your projects as I get my deck of cards.”Everyone reached into their desks or walked to the back tableto get their projects prepared for their presentation. Everyone exceptfor me. I raised my hand.“Yes, T.J.,” Mrs. Whiston said, pointing at me.“I wasn’t able to finish my original project,” I said.“What do you mean? You had all last week and the weekend towork on it,” she reminded me.“I know, but with everything that happened on Friday, I left mytablet on the stage over the weekend,” I informed her.SAMPLE

“And,” she said, with a ‘go on, tell me more’ look on her face.“And I had been using my tablet to record parts of my day sothat I could make them into a video,” I continued.“Okay,” she said, with a hint of ‘are you done’ in her voice.“And since my tablet was at school all weekend, I wasn’t ableto finish my video,” I said.“Making a video was just one way you could have completedthis assignment,” Mrs. Whiston pointed out.“I know. I know,” I admitted. “Like I said, I wasn’t able tofinish my original project.”“So, you did finish your project,” she said, in a ‘why do I feellike there’s more to this story’ voice.“Sort of,” I said.“You either did, or you didn’t. There’s no ‘sort of’,” shedeclared.“Well, I kind of did something else instead,” I confessed.“What did you do?” Mrs. Whiston asked, raising her lefteyebrow.“Instead of documenting my daily routine, I kind ofdocumented my day this past Friday, when we were on lockdown,” Iclarified.“That wasn’t exactly the assignment,” she said.Then she crossed her arms, squinted her eyes and asked meanother question.SAMPLE

“If you didn’t have your tablet, what medium did you use todocument it?”“I made a full color comic book. It’s actually the first ever issuedocumenting the T.J. League!” I announced, holding it up proudlyfor everyone to see.I made sure to turn all the way around so that everyone in classcould get a good look at it.“And how does that document your daily routine?” Mrs.Whiston asked, bursting my elation bubble.“Well, since they play such an important role in my daily life, Ishared my daily routine through the eyes of everyone in the T.J.League,” I explained. “I started the comic book the same way I hadplanned to start my video, with me waking up at home and gettingready for school. I used the first-person narrative, like you taught us.Then, once I arrive at school, my daily routine is told through asecond-person narrative by someone in the T.J. League. Actually, thenarrative gets passed around by all of the members of the T.J. Leagueby the end of my daily routine. Until I return home, that is. Then Iused the third-person narrative to finish off the story. Book. Issue.”“Okay. I’m intrigued,” Mrs. Whiston acknowledged. “I’llaccept it. This time.”I smiled, as everyone in the class cheered, some asking whenthey would get a chance to read it.SAMPLE

When I was first trying to figure out how I was going todocument my daily routine, without my tablet, I must admit, I waspretty nervous. I knew that this was a big project and was beggingmom not to get mad at me if I lost points for not turning it in on time.Thankfully, as usual, mom knew the perfect solution.She pointed out how I’m always starting new comics, but that Ialso always leave them unfinished when I get an idea for a new story.She challenged me to make a comic book documenting my dailyroutine and commented that I would probably be the only personmaking one. She said that in order to turn it in for a grade, I wouldhave to finish it. She also ensured me that if Mrs. Whiston didn’taccept it, she would help me create the video I had originallyintended to turn in. Without getting punished for any lost points, ofcourse. Mom, you rock!◆ ◆ ◆“You made a comic book about us!” Justin said excitedly, as hetossed me the frisbee at lunch recess.“Yup,” was my short answer.“I can’t believe it!” Paul exclaimed.“When do we get to read it?” Erick asked.“I already did!” Marcus boasted.“What!” Justin yelled, looking at me with a ‘say it isn’t so’face.SAMPLE

“What? He lives right behind me, and I wanted to make sure Ididn’t leave anything out before I turned it in,” I explained.“Yeah right. You just wanted to make sure it was as good asyou thought it was,” Marcus said, in a ‘don’t lie’ voice.“That, too,” I chuckled.“So, as I said, when do we get to read it?” Erick repeated.“As soon as I get it back from Mrs. Whiston,” I answered.“Actually, we can read it before that,” Sammy corrected.“How?” Justin asked.Sammy closed her eyes, placed her hand on her forehead andshook her head, in a ‘do I always have to explain everything’ kind ofway.“Your tablet,” Sammy answered, taking her hand away fromher head.“His tablet?” Paul asked.“Mrs. Whiston has us—,” Sammy started.“Take pictures of our work!” Justin finished.Sammy threw her hands up with a ‘finally’ face to match.“Sammy, you’re a genius!” Justin shouted, running over andgiving her a side skwudge.“Thank, you,” Sammy said, awkwardly, with raised shoulders.That’s the first time Justin has ever given Sammy a hug. Ithink. And it’s definitely the first time he’s ever called her a genius.SAMPLE

“Every good comic book issue needs a good name,” Sammycommented, after Justin released his grip, of course. “What’d youname our inaugural issue?”“Well, the series is called ‘The T.J. League’ of course. And ourfirst issue is called ‘Protect and Serve’!” I answered.“All right!”“Dude!”“Let’s go!”I put my hand in front of me, looking everyone in the eye. Theyknew what that meant. One by one, they added their hands to mine.“We protect and serve all living things!”“The T.J. League reigns supreme!”SAMPLE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR"Mr. Angel" Ramirez"Mr. Angel" has been writing stories since hiselementary school days, and after MUCHencouragement from students, friends, andfamily, has decided to publish some of them forothers to enjoy. When he isn't writing, he can befound leading the Blueprint Youth Ministry atCalvary Chapel Into The Light, spending timewith his niece and nephews, or enjoying hisfavorite food: cookies!SAMPLE

BOOKS BY THIS AUTHORT.J.'S Adventures - Operation Full Control The T.J. League 'protects and serves all living things' and does it nearlyevery recess. That is until he came to the school. Now things have changedand no one is having fun. Well, except for Erick. Something must be done.Can the T.J. League get things back to the way they were? Join us and findout! Parental Guidance: Visits Topic of Strained FrienshipsT.J.'S Adventures - The Vociferous VillainThe T.J. League is enjoying being Future Funmakers and have successfullyaccomplished every mission that T.J.'s mind has been able to come up with,but their newest mission is from a new source: Principal Martinez. At first,the mission seems like it will be the easiest the League has ever accepted,but 'what kind of mission would it be if it didn't have a certain level ofdifficulty?' Parental Guidance: Visits Topic of Physical AbuseT.J.'S Adventures - The Nighttime NemesisT.J.'s scary bedtime story has been read by the entire fifth grade and theoutcome is probably not what Mr. Anderson or Mrs. Whiston were thinkingof when they assigned this free write. Bad dreams. Angry parents. Stuff likethat. And now something new has come to light. What ever will T.J. doSAMPLE

now? Parental Guidance: Visits Topic of Bed WettingT.J.'S Adventures - Operation Superhero SupportIt's almost Christmas, and the T.J. League, like everyone else, is preparingfor all the fun things that the season brings. Until Sammy noticessomething, that is. But it could be nothing. But then again, maybe it'ssomething. T.J. can't remember the last time Sammy was wrong. But thenagain, there's a first for everything. Right? Parental Guidance: Visits Topic of Women and Children's SheltersSAMPLE