Green Gravy Read Online Free Page B

took a bite.
    The kids watched. They leaned toward him.
    Dee Dee moved over to their table. She wanted to see what was going on.
    â€œHow’s it taste now ?” teased Carly.
    â€œGreen gravy not bad,” Jimmy said.
    He took another bite.
    Dee Dee said, “I can’t believe he’s eating it.”
    â€œGreen gravy good stuff,” Jimmy said.“I not Irish, but I eat green gravy!”
    Miss Hartman’s kids chanted, “Green gravy . . . green gravy . . .”
    Across the cafeteria, Abby and her friends were staring.
    Carly didn’t mind.
    She went around and squeezed green icing on pickles, Jell-O, and spinach. She squeezed it on lettuce and green pears.
    It was a “double dabble” lunchtime. That’s exactly what Abby would say.
    Jason Birchall came running over. “Hey, don’t use it all,” he hollered.
    â€œThanks for the big squeeze,” Carly said. She gave him the smashed-up tube. “You made my green wish come true.”
    Jason jigged around and acted silly. Then he trailed a string of icing onto his tongue.
    Now all the kids were looking at Jason.
    The lunchroom teacher blew a whistle.
    Yikes. Carly hurried to sit down.
    â€œQuiet!” the teacher called.
    Everyone tried to settle down. It wasn’t easy.
    The kids at Jimmy’s table were holding in the giggles.
    The kids at Abby’s table were tasting Jason’s icing.
    Carly was having too much fun.
    She forgot all about the Lunch Rule.

ELEVEN
    Carly carried her shoe box to Miss Hartman’s desk.
    She set down her bag of green cookies.
    The teacher said, “There are fifteen stars beside Carly’s name. She has earned the good citizenship award.”
    Carly took a deep breath. She hoped she hadn’t let her teacher down. Or her classmates.
    â€œEveryone listen carefully,” said Miss Hartman. She nodded for Carly to begin.
    â€œMy name is Carly Anne Hunter,” Carly said. “My middle name is always spelled with an ‘e’ on the end. I was born seven years ago. And I’m Irish on my mother’s side.”
    She showed a picture of a fluffy white puppy. “This is Snow White. She’s the color of clean snow.”
    Next, Carly held up a drawing of her duck. “This is Quacker,” she said. “Her brother’s name is Jack. Quacker and Jack are brother and sister.”
    The girls giggled.
    The boys tried not to.
    Someone asked, “Do your ducks fight?”
    Carly nodded her head. “Like cats and dogs,” she said.
    She was ready to talk about her favorite foods. “I like sweets best.” The clover cookies got passed around.
    She noticed that Jimmy took two.
    At last, she showed her family picture. “This is the whole Hunter family,” she said.
    She pointed to each person, startingwith her parents. “My father’s English and my mother’s Irish. But they learned to like Korean food in four months.”
    Next she pointed to Abby. “This is my big sister. She’s the president of the Cul-de-sac Kids. It’s a club. Abby makes up words like ‘double dabble.’”
    Carly pointed to a tall, skinny boy. “Shawn’s nine years old. He plays soccer and the violin. His Korean name is Li Sung Jin, and he’s my adopted big brother. Snow White is really his pet.”
    She picked up the dog’s picture again.
    Miss Hartman asked a question. “Is Snow White a Shih Tzu dog?”
    â€œYes,” Carly answered. “Her doggie family tree goes back to ancient China.”
    â€œDo you know what Shih Tzu means?” asked the teacher.
    â€œMy father told me,” Carly said. “It means Lion Dog. These pets were watchdogs in the Chinese royal courts.”
    â€œWow,” someone whispered.
    â€œCool,” someone else said.
    Carly spoke up. “But better than all that is someone in this class. Someone very special.” She pointed to