The next day when he walked into class, everybody stared at him. They couldn’t see a tattoo.
“Did you get one?” asked Maurecia.
Calvin smiled. “Yep,” he said.
“Where is it?” asked Jason.
Dana gasped. “I know where!” she exc
laimed.
She and Jenny giggled.
“Well, what’d you get?” asked Todd.
“It was a real tough decision,” said Calvin. “I almost got a leopard fighting a snake. But then my dad told me to think about it. He said it was sort of like getting a second nose. You may think you want another nose, because that way if one nose gets stuffed up, you can breathe through the other nose. But then he asked me, ‘Calvin, do you really want two noses?’ ”
“Your father is very wise,” said Mrs. Jewls.
Calvin nodded. “That made me think,” he said. “I decided I didn’t want a snake and a leopard fighting on my body for the rest of my life. I suddenly knew exactly what I wanted.”
He pulled up his left pant leg. There was a small tattoo just above his ankle.
Everyone crowded around to look at it.
“A potato!” exclaimed Leslie. “How stupid!”
“That’s the worst tattoo in the world!” said Mac.
They all thought it was a dumb tattoo.
“Anything is better than a potato!” said Jason.
“It’s a pretty potato,” said Bebe, trying to be nice. “I wish I could draw potatoes that good.” But even Bebe thought it was a dumb tattoo.
“I like potatoes,” said Calvin.
“I would hope so,” said Mrs. Jewls.
Calvin could tell Mrs. Jewls didn’t like his tattoo either.
“I would have gotten an eagle,” said Deedee, “soaring across the sky!”
“Not me,” said Terrence. “I would have gotten a lion!”
“I would have gotten a kangaroo,” said Leslie.
All day everyone told Calvin what they would have gotten: a fire-breathing dragon, a lightning bolt, a creature from outer space.
None of them said they would have gotten a potato.
But Calvin knew better. He knew it was easy for his friends to say what they would have gotten, because they really hadn’t had to choose. He was the only one who really knew what it was like to pick a tattoo. Even Mrs. Jewls didn’t know that.
He looked at his potato. He smiled. It made him happy.
He was sure he had made the right choice.
At least he was pretty sure.