That was true. Ever since the Cloud of Doom appeared, everyone’s fingernails and toenails had been growing a lot faster. They had to be clipped three or four times a week.
The number on the board was now 19,457.
“Someday, the Cloud of Doom will be gone,” said Mrs. Jewls. “And the world will be a much better place, even better than before the cloud. Colors will be more colorful. Music will be more musical. Even Miss Mush’s food will taste good. The bigger the storm, the brighter the rainbow.”
At that moment, a crack of thunder shook the classroom, and then the lights went out.
The children screamed. They weren’t scared. They just liked screaming in the dark.
Mrs. Jewls lit a candle, and everyone settled down. “Now, shall we continue with our spelling?”
Jenny raised her hand and suggested, “Hope.”
“Excellent word,” said Mrs. Jewls.
She held her candle in one hand, and the chalk in the other. She said the letters out loud as she wrote them on the blackboard.
“H-o-p-e.”
12
Mrs. Surlaw
The library was on the seventh floor. Mrs. Surlaw was the librarian.
A giant stuffed walrus sat next to her desk. The walrus was bigger than most of the kids in the school, and a couple of the teachers too.
Kindergarteners often got scared the first time they saw Mrs. Surlaw’s walrus. When they dared touch one of its giant tusks, however, they discovered it was soft as a pillow.
There were lots of rules in the library. No eating, no drinking, no yelling, no somersaults, and no hugging the walrus until after you checked out a book.
Mrs. Surlaw wheeled her book cart along a row of bookcases. She picked up a book, turned to the last page, and then put it on the shelf where it belonged. She took another book, checked its last page, and put that one in its proper place as well.
She heard the rumble of feet on the stairs, and the chirps and shrieks of young voices. This was followed by shushing sounds.
Mrs. Jewls’s class politely entered the library. They were scared of Mrs. Surlaw.
While the two adults greeted each other, the children scurried to different parts of the library. They had only fifteen minutes to choose and check out a book.
“Have you read The Pig, the Princess, and the Potato?” Leslie asked Jenny.
“Is it good?”
“Only the best book ever!”
Mrs. Surlaw smiled when she heard that. The only thing she loved more than books were children who loved books. She may have seemed severe on the outside, but inside, her heart was soft as a pillow.
Some libraries have separate areas for fiction and nonfiction. Mrs. Surlaw didn’t believe in that sort of thing. After all, who was she to decide what was true and what wasn’t?
She also didn’t believe in alphabetical order.
Her books were organized by number of pages. Skinny books were at one end of the library, and the fat ones were at the opposite end.
Along the shelves were number markers: 10, 20, 30 . . . all the way to 1,000. If someone in Mrs. Jewls’s class wanted to read this book, he or she could find it between the 180 and 190 markers.
Joy was looking through the books between the 40 and 50 markers. She had already read every book in the library with fewer than forty pages.
Allison liked long novels. She was looking through the ones that were between 230 and 240 pages.
Jason stood behind her, watching.
At last, Allison chose her book. It had 232 pages.
Jason took the one next to it, with 233 pages.
Allison scowled at him. She put her book back, and then chose one farther down the shelf, with 238 pages.
Jason put his book back too. He took one with 239 pages.
Allison pretended not to notice, even though she was burning inside. She looked at her book. “I think I already read this,” she said aloud. She returned it to the shelf. “La-di-da,” she said. “What book do I want to read?”
Suddenly she dashed to the end of the aisle, and around a corner.
Jason had trouble squeezing his book back into place. By the time he did, he couldn’t see Allison anywhere.
He went from one end of the library to the other, searching between the aisles. When he finally saw her, she was hugging the walrus. That meant she had already checked out her book.
He went to her. “Hey, Allison,” he said. “Can I see your book?”
“No,” she replied.
“How many pages?” he asked.
“I’m not telling you.”
“More than three hundred?”
“Maybe.”
“No way,” he said. “Even you wouldn’t read a book with more than three hundred pages.”
Allison shrugged.
“More than three hundred and fifty?” he asked.
“Maybe.”
“Five hundred?”
“Maybe.”
“Just tell me the title.”
“No!”
“I’m just trying to help you,” he explained. “Maybe I’ve already read it. I could tell you if it’s any good. You don’t want to read a five-hundred-page book if it’s boring, or has a bunch of kissing in it.”
Rondi finished checking out her book, and then hugged the walrus too.
“Let’s go, Rondi,” said Allison.
Jason watched the two girls leave the library.
He went to Mrs. Surlaw. “How many pages in Allison’s book?” he asked.
“I’m sorry, Jason,” the librarian told him. “That is confidential information.”
Jason sighed.
He returned to the bookshelves, wondering if Allison really chose a book with five hundred pages. It seemed impossible. Nobody could read a book that long, even if it had big print and short chapters.
Still he couldn’t be sure. Just to be safe, he chose a book with 510 pages. There was no way Allison chose a longer book than that! He started to bring it to Mrs. Surlaw.
But what if she did?
He put the book back, then found one with 573 pages. She couldn’t have chosen a book with more pages than that!
Again, he started to Mrs. Surlaw’s desk.
But what if she did?
He returned the book to its place on the shelf, and then chose one with 611 pages. A moment later he returned it.
No matter which book he chose, the same question kept returning.
But what if she did?
Finally, Jason chose the last book, on the last shelf, at the very end of the library. He had to hold it with both hands as he lugged it to the checkout desk.
The number on its last page was 999. The book made a loud thud as he plopped it down on the desk.
“Excellent choice, Jason!” Mrs. Surlaw said when she saw the book. “I know you will enjoy reading it.”
Reading it? He couldn’t even carry it.
Jason hugged the walrus.
13
Umbrella
Sharie liked walking in the rain. She liked stomping through puddles in her yellow rain boots. Most of all, she loved her umbrella, even if it did get heavy after a while.
Her umbrella was purple with green stripes. Or maybe it was green with purple stripes. She couldn’t be sure. The whole thing was covered with yellow polka dots of various sizes.
She liked listening to the raindrops bounce off of it. The harder it rained, the better the sound. She liked the feel of the smooth, curved wooden handle.