whenever the flowers aren’t rehearsing,

but we always stop talking when

the Queen of Hearts starts to sing.

At our lunch table, Zari is the quietest one.

(Zoey and I are pretty quiet, too.

Veronica usually does most of the talking,

and Lizard does the second most,

because after Veronica says something,

Lizard has to tell her why she’s wrong about it.)

But in the play, the Queen of Hearts is not quiet.

She bosses everyone around all the time,

and if they don’t do exactly

what they are supposed to do,

she shouts, “Off with their heads!”

Even though I’m doing an okay job as a mean flower,

I don’t think I’m ever mean in real life.

Even though Zari is doing a fabulous job as the queen,

I don’t think she would ever boss people around

in real life, either.

But then she shrieks, “Off with their heads!”

and does such an amazing job

that I wonder if in real life

she might secretly want to cut off

just a few people’s heads

just a little tiny bit.

Morning Announcements

Ms. Fletcher arranged for there to be

a mention of that afternoon’s club meeting

in the morning announcements on Wednesday.

After announcements about the boys’ soccer game

and the girls’ volleyball game,

the principal starts to read the thing

Lizard and I wrote out for him to say.

It’s pretty much the same thing we wrote

on the fifty full-color posters

hanging on all the school walls.

But we had forgotten to write out

how to pronounce Guernésiais,

because that wasn’t something we needed

to put on the posters.

So Mr. Norcross reads:

“Come to the first meeting of the Save—

of the Save—

GWER—Is it GWER? Or GERR?

I think its GWER—

of the Save GWER-NESS-EE-ACE Club

this afternoon in Room 203!”

Then he reads the part

about how it’s a dying language,

and everybody should come to help save it.

He finishes by saying,

“I guess I’d better come to the meeting

so I can learn how to pronounce its name!

Ha-ha! Ha-ha!”

Mr. Norcross thinks he’s very funny.

But he’s not.

Still, when the principal makes an announcement

about your club over the PA system

for the whole school to hear,

it sounds like a real club

that’s really going to happen,

for a real language

(with a hard-to-pronounce name)

that’s really going to be saved.

What We Have at the First Meeting of the Save Guernésiais Club

Grape juice.

Laughing Cow cheese.

Ritz crackers to spread the cheese on.

Cheese spreaders with cows on the handles.

A cow tablecloth on the table.

Paper plates and paper cups with cows on them.

(Lizard’s mom had some.)

Paper napkins with cows on them.

(Lizard’s mom had some of those, too.)

Two cofounders of the club: Lizard and me.