“One for me too,” said Calvin.
Mrs. Jewls slammed her hand on her desk. “Do you think paper clips grow on trees?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” said Calvin.
“I gave each one of you a paper clip at the beginning of the year. It was your responsibility to take care of it.” She opened her desk drawer, took out her paper clip box, and opened it. “There are only six left,” she said, shaking her head in dismay.
“Ooh, can I have one?” asked Joy. “I can’t find mine.”
Mrs. Jewls was too angry to reply. She moved to the front of the room. “You children are so spoiled,” she said. “Do you have any idea what it takes to make just one paper clip?”
She held up one of her last remaining paper clips. “Look at the perfect double loop. And the way it gleams in the light, almost like a mirror.”
Her anger seemed to melt away as she marveled at the magnificent metal masterpiece.
“It takes a lot of very talented people, and years of training and hard work,” she explained. “First, there’s the wire maker. Paper clip wire has to be just right, not too stiff, but not too wiggly either.
“Then there’s the wire polisher,” she continued. “That’s who gives the paper clip its special gleam. And the wire cutter, who cuts each wire to the precise length.
“And finally, and most important, the master bender. The bender carefully bends the wire into the perfect double loop.” She put her hand over her heart. “Sadly, in these rush-rush, hurry-hurry days, not too many young people study the art of paper clip bending. There are only a handful of master benders left in the whole world. And who knows, in ten or twenty years there might not be any. Everyone will have to switch to staples.”
“That is so sad,” said Dana.
Mrs. Jewls gave the paper clip to Dana. “Now don’t lose it!”
“I won’t!” Dana promised.
“Let me see,” said Bebe.
Dana proudly showed Bebe her new paper clip.
“It’s so beautiful!” said Bebe, admiring the double loops. “I never noticed before.”
“I’m going to be a paper clip bender when I grow up,” said Calvin.
Mrs. Jewls smiled at Calvin. She had never been more proud of a student.
5
Eric, Eric, and What’s-His-Name?
Oh, that’s right—Eric.
There are three Erics in Mrs. Jewls’s class: Eric Fry, Eric Bacon, and the other one—who everyone always forgets—Eric Ovens.
Eric Fry is strong and fast. He is usually the first one chosen when picking teams.
Eric Bacon is funny, clever, and just a little bit sneaky. Everyone in Mrs. Jewls’s class likes him, but no one completely trusts him.
Eric Ovens is kind, quiet, and 100 percent trustworthy. Sadly, that kind of person is often overlooked.
But not today, he thought as he sat at his desk, patiently waiting for Mrs. Jewls to finish taking attendance. Today would be his day of glory!
In his pocket was a plastic bag with eighty-three nail clippings!
Two numbers had been written on the blackboard: 71 and 2,677.
So far, the class had collected a total of 2,677 nail clippings. Seventy-one were the most brought in by any one kid.