Thank You, Lucky Stars

Chapter One I could hardly believe it was here: the First Day of Fifth Grade. The sun was shining through my window, birds sang a hallelujah chorus, and I could feel a case of the heebie-jeebies coming on. That's when my whole body tickles and I jerk around like I've just heard the funniest joke in the world. I even made up a poem. The fifth grade is Too great To even contemplate. Thank you, Lucky Stars, my best friend, Betsy, and I would be in the same classfor the first time ever. And the event I'd been looking forward to since kindergarten would finally happenBetsy Jane O'Malley and me, Ally Theresa Miller, would star in the Annual Fifth-Grade Talent Show. We were going to sing "Bridge over Troubled Water," and I was counting on getting a standing ovation. I leapt onto my bed and heebie-jeebied, careful not to bounce too loudly because if my mother caught me she'd act like I'd just set fire to the whole state of New Jersey. Just then my mom called, "Hurry up, Ally! You don't want to be late," so I jumped down and put on my new pink leggings and butterfly jersey. Betsy had the exact same outfit, and we were wearing them together for the first day. First days are the best. Everything is new. Besides your clothes, there's the new teacher, your books, the classroom and where you sit. Everything begins all over, freshnothing is ruined yet. Before I ran to breakfast, I brushed my hair into a ponytail and fastened it with my new rhinestone clip. The clip was identical to Betsy's, of course. Both Betsy and I have honey-brown hair and blue eyes. My hair is thicker and wavy, kind of like a horse's tail, plus I'm taller and skinnier than Betsy. But we're so alike that I figured as soon as our teacher, Mrs. Joy, saw us, she'd probably say, "Are you two twins?" I had a feeling I'd be Mrs. Joy's pet. I'd collect everyone's homework and be the one chosen to answer the principal's phone during lunch on the days her secretary went home early. I hoped I'd like Mrs. Joy as much as I'd liked Ms. Brady, my favorite teacher, from the third grade. Ms. Brady moved to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, where she said deer walk right up to your porch. We live in New Jersey. There is such a thing as Jersey cows, which I think are supposed to come from here. But if a cow walked up to somebody's porch on my block, Mr. Winters would probably just shoot it like he shoots those poor pigeons for sitting on his drainpipe. I gobbled down my breakfast, called out, "Bye, guys!" to my parents, and ran all the way to the bus stop. As soon as I got there, that pest Artie Kaminsky, who has annoyed me since the first grade, called out, "Here comes Ally-oop, the Poop." When Artie acts like a two-year-old and chases me with worms, I run away. When he calls me dumb names, I ignore him. So instead of shouting, "Shut up, you turd ball!" I pretended I'd just had an operation on my eardrums and couldn't hear a word he'd said. I stared up the hill at Betsy's house, wishing she'd hurry up. When I saw her walk over in a jeans skirt instead of our outfit, my jaw dropped to the sidewalk. "Why are you wearing that?" I practically yelled. I didn't even say hi. "Wanted to." She shrugged, then smiled at someone behind me. I heard "Hey, Bets," and turned to see Mona Montagne, our sworn enemy, wearing the same skirt. "I can't believe you!" My heart was hammering so hard you coulDonofrio, Beverly is the author of 'Thank You, Lucky Stars' with ISBN 9780375839641 and ISBN 037583964X.