Chess! I Love It I Love It I Love It!

Some of the second graders in Mrs. Zookey's class have a newinterest: chess. Vice principal Mr. E (and he is something of amystery) has started a chess club, and Richard, Ben, Ophelia, and Patrick are all members. As usual, Patrick is a nuisance, and so Richard isn't at all happy when Mr. E tells him that he and Patrick are alike. It's true that to become better chess players, both of them need to learn to concentrate and to plan ahead. And Richard is determined to get better at chess, even if it means putting up with Patrick's shenanigans.With on-target themes like competition, teamwork, and loyalty,plus a dash of magic and a generous helping of chess facts, thisnew Table Two adventure is the kind of lively, funny school story that only Jamie Gilson can tell.

One Yucky "Owwwww!" Patrick cried. He grabbed his arm and rolled under the playground slide. "You made me fall! You're gonna get it, Richard! Owwwwwww!" he went, louder. But he was faking. I could tell. I jumped off the swing. "You saw me pumping," I told him. "You ran right in front of my feet. On purpose!" "Did not!" he said. "Did, too!" I said right back. "You will definitely get it," he told me. "You cracked my elbow! See?" He stood up and showed me his arm. It was a little tiny bit red. The first bell rang. All the kids on the playground headed inside. Patrick was hugging his arm like it would fall off. Now he was limping. "I'm gonna tell," he said. Patrick likes getting kids in trouble, especially me. "I'll tell Mr. E and he'll get you. Big time." Mr. E is vice principal at Sumac School. If you do something bad-like if you sneak a worm in somebody's lunch or, maybe, crack a kid's elbow-you get sent to Mr. E. I've never been sent to Mr. E's office. Patrick has. Patrick is trouble. He's been in Mr. E's office three times. He always comes back smiling. He can talk his way out of trouble. That's why I was scared. What if Mr. E really believed I'd messed up Patrick's elbow? I followed Patrick. I hoped he wouldn't, but he headed for Mr. E's office. The door was open. Two third graders raced past us. We had to jump out of their way. "Freeze!" a voice behind us shouted. I froze. Patrick froze. All the kids in the hall froze. The voice was huge. It belonged to Mr. E. "We. Do. Not. Run. In. The. Hall." the voice went, slow and quiet. "It is clearly dangerous." Nobody made a sound. "Will the two boys who sped past my door come here. Now. Everyone else," he went on, "continue as you were." We unfroze and watched the two kids shuffle back toward Mr. E's office. I was glad I wasn't them. Patrick hugged his arm again. "You just wait," he whispered. We walked very slowly down the hall. Patrick had stopped limping. I waved to some kids in the other second-grade classroom. Then I threw my jacket in my locker. Just as the last bell rang, we headed into Mrs. Zookey's room. She's our teacher. Patrick sat right down at Table Three. I sit at Table Two. When I walked past, he stuck out his foot and tried to trip me. He tries that a lot, but he never gets me. I always hop over it. All through the Pledge and lunch count he held his arm. Then it was time for Yummys and Yuckys. We do them every Monday. If Mrs. Zookey calls on you and you tell a good thing, that's a Yummy. A bad thing is a Yucky. Patrick leaned his chair back toward me. "Watch this," he said. He raised his good arm high. "Me! Me! Me first!" he called. "I've got a Yucky." He looked straight at me. "I've got a terrible, stinky, awful Yucky!" "No, Mrs. Zookey, me!" said Dawn Marie. She raised her arm higher than Patrick's. But Mrs. Zookey went first. "Here's a sweet-smelling Yummy." She held up a bunch of big red roses. "All this month, we'll be learning about flowers. I expect you can smell these from here." She smiled, like that was the all-time best Yummy. When Mrs. Zookey looked away, Patrick held his nose. "Flowers are for girls," he whispered. Some kids leaned toward the roses. I sniffed. Smelled good to me. My friend Ben sits next to me at Table Two