Chapter Two
Late Jake
The first person to greet Kate at school the next morning was Violet. She cornered Kate near the coat hooks.
âAre you having a party this year?â Violet asked, brushing her long blonde hair. Violet was always brushing her hair. Before Kate could answer, Violet burbled on. âMy party is in November and itâs going to be amazing. My momâs hiring the best magician in town, Magic Merlin. Sheâs ordering a three-tiered birthday cake from Cake Delight, the best bakery in the world. And wait till you see the gorgeous dress Iâm getting from
Fun Frocks, that new store that sells the cutest stuff. Oh, thereâs Lila. Gotta go.â
And with that, Violet buzzed off to brag about her amazing birthday party to Lila.
Kate was glad she didnât have to discuss her party with Violet. She wasnât having Magic Merlin entertain at her party. She and her mom were baking her birthday cake together. And she hated dresses, so she wasnât going to wear one, even on her birthday. But she was going to wear great socks. They were red and black stripes. Perfect for a pirate.
Maybe sheâd even wear her red shirt and black pants and pull her straight brown hair back into a ponytail. Maybe sheâd cover her eye with a black patch and borrow her momâs red scarf to wear as a sash. Maybe sheâd have a pirate party!
Kate was so busy dreaming about her party that she didnât hear the first bell ring.
âKate, hurry!â called Jake, zooming past her into his seat.
Kate raced into her seat just as the second bell clanged.
âPhew! I was almost late. My alarm clock forgot to ring,â said Jake.
Kate laughed. âYour alarm clock canât forget. Itâs not alive,â she said.
âIt is alive,â said Jake with a straight face. âIt wants me to be late.â
âOh sure,â said Kate.
Jake was famous for being late. He was also famous for his reasons for being late. Last year in grade one, he told the teacher that he was late because his goldfish died. The trouble was that Jake didnât have a goldfish.
The real problem was that Jake loved to sleep in the morning. His mother said that waking him up was like trying to wake up a rock. Jake didnât hear her say, âGood morning.â He didnât hear her say, âGet up, Jake.â He didnât even hear her shout, âHurry! Itâs late, Jake!â
Last week his mother bought him an alarm clock, but that didnât seem to be helping much either.
This morning, Jake wasnât the only one who was late. Mr. Bolin, their new teacher, dashed into the room five minutes after the bell.
âSorry, class,â he said, huffing and puffing. âMy alarm clock didnât go off this morning. I donât understand it. Iâm sure I set it last night.â
Jake nudged Kate in the arm. âSee,â he said. âHis alarm clock is alive too.â
Chapter Three
Pirate Plans
At recess, Violet skipped over to Kate.
âI hear youâre having a birthday party soon. Are you having clowns? Clowns are so much fun,â said Violet.
âNo,â said Kate.
âOh,â said Violet, turning her nose up. âThen what ARE you doing at your party?â
âWell...I...â Kate began.
Before Kate could finish her sentence, Violet turned her back and shouted, âHey Lila. Wait up!â Then she ran off.
Kate plunked down on a swing and pumped.
Violet made her so mad. She always asked questions and never waited for answers.
Up. Down. Up. Down. Kate bent her knees and arms. The swing flew higher and higher.
Where was Jake? Heâd gone to the bathroom before recess, but he promised heâd meet her at the swings.
âHey, Kate MâMate,â rumbled a voice. It was Jake. He was standing behind her and pushing her swing! Kate didnât dare turn around to look at him. She knew sheâd fall off the swing if