“You eat the heel first?” asked Maurecia.
“So, what’s wrong with that?” asked Deedee.
“It’s gross!” said Ron. “You’re supposed to start with the toes!”
“Who says?”
“It’s just how it’s done,” said Joy. “Ask anyone.”
“You don’t know everything!” Deedee said angrily as she shook her fork at her friends.
A bit of sauce dropped on her paper.
“Now look what you did!” she accused them.
“You did it to yourself,” said Joy.
Deedee tried to wipe it up with her napkin, but that only made it worse. “Now I have to start all over!” she complained.
Deedee remained in the cafeteria long after her friends left to go play. She still had one question to answer, and one last toe to eat.
It didn’t seem fair that her friends were outside playing, while she was stuck inside.
“Stupid Ron,” she muttered. “Stupid Maurecia. Stupid Joy. They’re the ones with stinky feet!”
When at last she finished, she put her dishes in the dish tray, and dumped her trash. She hurried out of the lunchroom, and down the stairs.
Once outside, she saw them playing three-square, and wasn’t sure if she even wanted to join them.
Suddenly, her face filled with horror. “Oh, no!” she called out, and then pulled her hair with both hands.
She didn’t have her homework, or her history book! She turned and ran back into the building.
Miss Mush and Mr. Pepperadder were busy wiping the counter with dishrags when Deedee came rushing up them.
“Hi, Deedee, did you want seconds?” Miss Mush asked hopefully. “We put everything away, but I’d be happy to heat up another plate.”
Out of breath, Deedee explained about her book and homework.
Neither Miss Mush nor Mr. Pepperadder remembered seeing it.
“And I’ve already dumped all the trash,” said Mr. Pepperadder.
There were four large dumpsters in the back of Wayside School. A pair of feet was sticking up out of one of them.
Upside down, buried in the trash, Deedee tried to read every wrinkled and soggy piece of paper as she dug through half-eaten feetballs, strands of spaghetti, drippy milk cartons, apple cores, pickle slices, and who-knows-what-else?
she cried.
Then, just when all hope seemed lost, a noise came from somewhere deep inside the dumpster next to hers.
called Ron.
Rustling sounds could be heard from inside the other two dumpsters, as well.
cheered Maurecia.
shouted Joy.