Belle Teal Read Online Free PDF Page A

continue to observe her up close. And to be able to look at all the things on her desk — to see if she has a rubber-band ball, to see what condition her eraser is in (probably not chewed on like mine), or if maybe she has any interesting trinkets.
    Little Boss, Chas, and Vernon have been separated, and now only Chas is in the back row. Miss Casey has placed Darryl in the seat where Clarice just was, right up against the front of her desk. He’s in between Vanessa, whose desk is on the end by the windows, and Mae Bender, who’s in the seat I wanted. A full row separates him from Little Boss and Vernon, and two rows separate him from Chas. I decide Miss Casey has been studying us very hard and is smart in addition to being beautiful and smelling good.
    Now I am watching Vanessa, who has slid her chair as far away from Darryl as possible (I guess she knows better than to move her desk, like Little Boss did), and again I’m remembering Mama saying to be nice to the colored children. That Vanessa, she certainly is one for judging. I’m beginning to think her insides aren’t so different from Chas’s and Vernon’s insides, even though their outsides are mighty different. Mama’s words make more and more sense.
    â€œGirls and boys,” says Miss Casey, breaking into my thoughts, “we have two new students in our class this year. Their names are Vanessa Mathers and Darryl Craig. I want you to make them feel at home. And Vanessa and Darryl, I’d like you to come up here and tell us a few things about yourselves. Who will go first?”
    Vanessa shoots her arm in the air and wiggles her fingers around.
    Miss Casey looks at Darryl, but he is sitting with his hands folded on top of his desk, staring at the blackboard. “Very well. Vanessa . . .” she says, pointing to a spot under the American flag.
    Vanessa slides out of her seat like a graceful swan and stands before us. Miss Casey stands next to her and puts her arm around her, which makes me jealous. “Bonjour, mes amis,” begins Vanessa, looking out at our class. “In case you don’t know, that’s French. French for ‘Hello, my friends.’”
    â€œWho does she think she is? The queen?” whispers Junie Partridge, who is sitting next to me.
    Vanessa waves one hand in the air, queen-like, and says, “I hail from Mechanicsville. I lived my entire life there. I have a younger brother named . . .”
    â€œPrince Heraldium,” Junie supplies in a whisper only I can hear.
    â€œ. . . Joseph Crew Mathers, and my full name is Vanessa Amy Wynona Mathers. I am named for my beautiful mama. My daddy manages the grain company in Mechanicsville. It is a very important job. We hope to be happy here in the little town of Coker Creek. I am sure I am going to enjoy being a student at Coker Creek Elementary. Merci beaucoup. And s’il vous plaît, feel free to sit with me for dejeuner this afternoon.”
    â€œThank you, Vanessa,” says Miss Casey. She looks out at the rest of us and I suddenly feel small and plain. “Does anyone have any questions for Vanessa?”
    I imagine that I have eyes in the back of my head and they are looking at Clarice in the row behind me, sending her a message about stuck-up Frenchspeaking goody-goodies with fancy names and airs. I don’t turn around, though. I am determined to get off on the right foot in fifth grade. But how I wish I could speak French in order to impress Miss Casey.
    I can’t tell, though, if Miss Casey is impressed with the French words. She is simply waiting for somebody to ask a question.
    Mae Bender’s arm flies up. “Where did you learn to speak French? Have you been to France?”
    â€œTo Paris.”
    Well.
    â€œTwice,” adds Vanessa.
    My land.
    I think that she really does sound like the queen. Queen Vanessa. Her Royal Highness. HRH Vanessa Mathers.
    Next, puny little Stephen Haines puts his hand up.