Maybe Jassi was preparing all of us to be TV reporters Or politicians Or actors Because she was always having us research topics and do oral reports I guess she thought if we gave enough of these talks as kids we would grow up to be good public speakers So now the topic was animals The first one that popped into my head was my dog Blue a Basset Hound with a droopy face and three ears two regular ones and one small one My mom and I got him from a shelter and he turned out even better than we expected Smart Loyal A good sniffer And with extra sharp hearing He could tell when the mail carrier was coming from three houses away So if you had any mysteries to solve he was your guy I wondered whether Cooper would choose her dog Princess A Giant Poodle with reddish-brown fur who wore a rhinestone collar thanks to Cooper's little sister Her sister Ruby insisted on the sparkly collar even though Cooper was embarrassed by it So Cooper spiked Princess's hair and spray painted it the same color as her own Fair trade she said Before I got the chance to ask Cooper if she was going to pick Princess for her animal I realized Jassi was still talking I know many of you have pets she said But I'd 6
like you to choose an animal different from the ones you have at home It can be an animal other people have in their houses a wild animal or even one that has become extinct You want us to pick an animal that stinks asked Trip I said extinct said Jassi Can anyone tell Trip what that means Trip was a triplet one of three boys His brothers were in different classes They all looked alike Pudgy red-haired with black framed glasses sliding down their flat freckled noses Their real names were Oliver Oscar and Owen But they each wanted to be called Trip And since they were in different classes that's what we did Penny flapped her hand in the air She didn't even wait to be called on Extinct means there are no more animals of that type alive anywhere in the world All of those animals have died out Exactly said Jassi Can anyone think of an example Dinosaurs Cooper called out I thought that was brave of her After all someone called her a Coopersaurus in the note And that sounded like a dinosaur name to me 7
Yes said Jassi Dinosaurs are probably the most famous extinct species I looked at Cooper There were two small pink spots on her cheeks Was she feeling proud for knowing the answer Or embarrassed that someone called her a dinosaur Or both But Cooper's face didn't give her away She looked straight ahead At recess I asked her Do you want to talk about the note in your lunch box She shook her head I tried not to think about it either Cooper and I ran down a list of possible animals for our projects Starting with the letter A. Aardvark Anteater Black Widow Spider Cockroach Cougar Flying Squirrel Gorilla Rattlesnake 8
The next morning before we entered our classroom Cooper handed me another piece of paper Taped to my locker she said Coopersaurus Your brain is old and full of mold And really if the truth be told You better hold your head up high Point your snout up to the sky The reason you should be extinct Because your giant feet stink Cooper and I looked at each other Who wrote this she asked Trip mentioned stinky animals Do you think it's him 9
