by Donna Koppelman –
“Boys, we need to know,” said Mrs. Evans, the principal.
I could tell she meant it.
“It wasn’t one thing exactly,” Frankie began.
“It was more like, a series of events,” I said.
Frankie nodded.
Gibby looked miserable. “It’s all my fault.”
“No,” Frankie said, but he was being nice.
“Tell me—now,” Mrs. Evans said.
So we did.
“It all started when the bus was late and Gibby brought Herman, his hamster, outside to show the Parker girls,” I explained.
“Then I locked myself out of my house,” Gibby said.
“And the bus arrived,” Frankie explained. “So, of course, Herman had to come with us.”
“He snuck Herman in his book bag. We figured he could stay there all day,” I said.
“What else could I do?” Gibby asked.
“On the way, Herman chewed a hole in his book bag,” Frankie said. “So that was a problem.”
“We figured he was hungry,” Gibby said, “and Jon gave him some of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He gobbled it right up.”
“So we got to school late and rushed into class. Mrs. Poindexter was annoyed at us already, but Gibby realized…” I looked at him.
“Apparently peanut butter and jelly gives a hamster a pretty bad tummy ache,” Gibby said. “I had to take Herman to the bathroom immediately.” He wrinkled his nose. “It was bad.”
“But just as he flushed,” I continued, “Gibby dropped Herman into the toilet.”
Mrs. Evans gasped.
“Gibby started screaming. Of course, Mrs. Poindexter didn’t know about Herman, so we ran into the bathroom to check on him.”
“Gibby’s arm was stuck in the toilet,” Frankie said. “All the way at his elbow—he couldn’t move, and he wouldn’t stop yelling.”
“So I called Mrs. Poindexter,” I said. “And Gibby just kept screaming about Herman. Finally, we understood that he still had a hold of Herman.”
“But he couldn’t pull him out because his arm was stuck,” I said. “So I got the boys to start pulling.”
“But Gibby was afraid Herman would drown, and they couldn’t get his arm out fast enough, so with his other hand, he fiddled with the screws on the toilet,” Frankie said.
“Mrs. Poindexter didn’t understand, and we were all too scared to tell her.”
“Gibby unscrewed the pipe, and water started spraying everywhere,” I said.
“Gibby was screaming, water squirted everywhere, the Parker girls cried about Herman, and that was when it happened,” Frankie said.
“What? When what happened?” Mrs. Evans asked.
Frankie, Gibby, and I looked at each other. “She fainted,” we all said together.
“Mrs. Poindexter?” Mrs. Evans asked.
We nodded.
“Sarah ran for help, but I guess she was screaming like crazy because the hall monitor took her straight to the time out room. Only we didn’t know that until later. We thought help was coming.”
“Since water was spraying everywhere, James thought the fainted Mrs. Poindexter might drown, so he pulled her out of the bathroom, even though there were tons of kids in the way,” I said.
“A hero,” Gibby mumbled.
“Except someone accidentally stood on her dress,” Frankie said. “And part of it tore off.”
“Off?” Mrs. Evans asked.
“Yes, right around her knees,” he said. “Her dress turned into a miniskirt.”
“Then Karen grabbed Mrs. Poindexter’s cup of coffee right when Mrs. Poindexter sat up.”
“We went back into the bathroom where the boys pulled on Gibby. We tried to get the water to stop spraying and calm down the crying Parker girls.”
“After a sip of coffee, Mrs. Poindexter said, ‘Where’s the bottom of my skirt?’ We were kind of afraid to tell her, but James brought it to her. Sheila got the stapler.”
“It was a good idea,” Gibby said.
“So James tried to staple Mrs. Poindexter’s skirt back on, and suddenly, Gibby’s arm popped free. He flew across the bathroom and into the classroom. He landed on the floor, and his arm was all red,” Frankie said.
“Like a miracle, Herman still wiggled and kicked. Except Gibby let go when he hit the ground,” I said.
“I’m sorry,” Gibby said.
“By accident,” I added, “but Herman ran straight to Mrs. Poindexter. Mrs. Poindexter screamed as Herman ran across her legs, and James jerked and the stapler flew open, smacking Mrs. Poindexter on the forehead,” I said.
“And Herman disappeared into her desk,” Gibby said.
“The water from the bathroom seeped into the classroom, so we closed the bathroom door. The Parker girls shoved paper towels into the crack, but it didn’t hold.”
“We sent the girls to find Sarah and get help,” I said.
“I called Herman—tried to find him,” Gibby said. “I thought he might need resuscitation.”
Mrs. Evans rolled her eyes.
“Mrs. Poindexter had a bump on her head from the stapler, so James decided to go to the nurse’s office. In his rush, he slipped in the water and fell into the cubbies. It must have really hurt because he started yelling.”
“Broken arm,” Mrs. Evans said. “His mother called.”
I nodded. “Then the fire alarm went off and no one would listen to us. They just said, ‘Be calm and exit the building.’ Only we couldn’t leave Mrs. Poindexter and James. We didn’t know if it was a real fire or just a drill. Mrs. Poindexter had half a skirt and a goose egg on her forehead, and James wouldn’t let anyone near him.”
“So I yanked a curtain down from the window and wrapped it around Mrs. Poindexter’s shoulders. Firemen always do that on TV,” Frankie said.
“But she still told us to go without her. She stayed with James,” I explained.
“But then, we never made it outside because the bell rang for us to come back in,” Gibby said.
“Dr. Sampson walked with us,” I said.
“The superintendent of schools,” Mrs. Evans said with a funny look on her face.
“Yes, and he said he was here to observe Mrs. Poindexter,” Frankie added.
“We tried to stop him, but he walked right in the room with us,” I said.
“She stared up at him, and suddenly Herman ran out of the desk drawer and into her lap. Mrs. Poindexter screamed and jumped on her desk in a single bound. Mrs. Poindexter stood there with half a skirt, a blue lump on her head, and the bathroom door burst open from the water.”
“Mr. Sampson said, ‘I came to observe your class.’” I imitated his deep voice.
“And Mrs. Poindexter yelled above all the commotion,” Gibby sighed. “That there was no need because she quit.”
“And Mrs. Poindexter climbed off the desk in her mini dress and curtain cape. She put on a fresh coat of lipstick like she always does before she leaves the room. She picked up her coat, her purse, and her coffee cup, then she left.”
“Dr. Sampson followed her at first, and then he just stood on the sidewalk,” I said.
“We watched her drive away,” Gibby said. “She was a good teacher.”
Frankie and I nodded.
“Yes, she was,” Mrs. Evans said.
“So, uh, that’s why she quit,” I said.
Mrs. Evans stared out the window toward the teacher parking lot. Without even looking at us, she said, “Thank you, boys. You may go.”
Then Herman escaped from Gibby’s jacket and skittered across the floor.
“Gibby!” Frankie scolded.
But Mrs. Evans didn’t even flinch. She just pointed at the door.
I don’t know why, but we ran all the way home.
the end.
Question Time:
1. How did the incident at school start?
2. What happened in the bathroom?
3. What things happened to Mrs. Poindexter?
4. What did the boys do after they told their story?
——————————————————-
You can enjoy “Herman’s Horrible Day” and 30 other fantastic read-aloud stories inside Herman’s Horrible Day – Volume 4 in our Story-A-Day Literacy Initiative. The book is a collection of 31 stories (one for each day!) that promotes early childhood literacy through daily reading.
About the Collection
The Volume 4 collection featuring “Herman’s Horrible Day” contains 31 fun, adventurous stories written by professional children’s authors. From hamsters to hippos and mysteries to magic, this collection is filled with stories that will create lasting memories of quality reading time for kids.
Buy the book here: Physical Copy | Kindle version
About the Story-A-Day Literacy Initiative
Research shows that reading to your child every single day from birth is the single-most important thing a parent can do to ensure that child’s success in school and in life.
The knowonder! Story-A-Day Literacy initiative supports those parents who have made that commitment by giving them a new story every single day, by making it accessible, and by keeping it affordable.
Click here to learn more.
