فصل 14

CHAPTER 14

Boxed In and Boxed Out

Okay, my Fantasticos! As you know, today is Fantastico Friday, and we are going to end our day with a challenge. I’m going to break you up into groups. Each group will be given a shoe box wrapped in elastic bands—which you will not remove—with a mystery object inside. Your job is to guess what the mystery object is.

You can do anything to the box to figure it out except open it. There are four numbered boxes that will rotate from group to group. You have ten minutes with each box, so be sure that you write down your guesses. At the end, we’ll open them up to see what each object is. He claps once, loudly. Any questions?

Everyone looks excited. Most glance around the room, probably hoping they will be with Albert. He’ll get every answer right.

But I end up in a group with Max, Suki, Oliver, and Jessica. I briefly consider going to the nurse. Especially when I have to stare at all of Jessica’s friendship bracelets. I wonder if each bracelet is from a different friend. I glance down at my empty wrist.

Box number one is dropped on our table. Oliver grabs it and shakes it hard. Jessica folds her arms and rolls her eyes—her response to anything not done or said by Shay. I look across the room. Shay is in a group with Albert. She’s holding the box and talking. What a surprise.

Yeah, Max says, taking the box from Oliver. My turn.

I’m surprised when Suki speaks up first. Oliver. We all need a turn, so we must plan. Ten minutes and five of us. Two minutes each.

I think about the nurse again. I could lie on that comfortable bed and think. I’ve come up with some of my best sketchbook ideas pretending to be sick down there.

Max has been shaking the box. He throws it into the air once and catches it. Whatever’s inside is heavy, he says.

Oliver says, Maybe it’s a kangaroo.

Jessica looks at him in disgust.

Oliver shrinks. I was just kidding, he mumbles.

This makes me mad.

Max hands it to Jessica, who gives it a little shake and says, I think it’s a wooden block. Like maybe one of those alphabet blocks.

When will it be my turn again? Oliver asks.

Suki is taking some kind of notes or something. Looking up at the clock, she says, Oliver, you have twenty-five seconds of your time left only.

Oliver takes the box back and sniffs it and tries to hear something by pressing his ear to the top.

Mr. Daniels calls from the other side of the room, I love that, Oliver. Creative investigation!

While I wait for my turn, I wonder why Oliver always smells like graham crackers. Finally, I get the box and put it up to my ear and tilt it. Whatever is inside rolls rather than slides. It must be round. And Max is right about it being heavy.

I tilt it again with my palm on the side of the box. I think it’s a baseball, I say, handing it to Jessica.

She does the same test and surprises me by saying, I agree. Feels like a baseball.

Wait, I say, taking it back. I tilt it again quickly and the object hits the end hard, and then lightly. It bounces, I say. Would a baseball bounce? I ask, turning to Max.

Naw. I don’t think so. Maybe it’s rubber. Like a lacrosse ball.

After Suki tests the box, she writes down our answer.

Then we get the second box. The second item slides rather than rolls. I can tell because it doesn’t move if the box is tilted a little but, once tilted more, will move all at once. And I can feel it scraping along the bottom. It’s weird, but I can almost see it. It’s heavier than an alphabet block, but I think it is a shape with all flat sides.

Oliver tells me that it’s cool I’m so good at this. I forget to say thank you because I’m shocked. But then I also forget to be nervous, talking to everyone and feeling like . . . like I can do this as well as everyone else, and it is the best. The best feeling ever.

Suki hands the box to me. Your turn to go first.

The third box is harder, but I guess it’s in the shape of a Magic Marker but much bigger and heavier, as it slides one way and rolls the other.

I glance over at Albert, who is listening to Shay talk again. Keisha is doing the talking in her group, but she is making everyone laugh. I wish I knew what they were saying.

When Mr. Daniels delivers the fourth box, he stays.

While Max tries to figure out what’s inside, Jessica constantly compliments him on everything short of breathing. Max tells us that he thinks it’s something light because it doesn’t hit the sides hard.

When it is his turn, Oliver looks up at Mr. Daniels.

So, what do you think there, Oliver?

I can see Oliver wants to be right. He tilts and shakes and decides it’s a quarter. Mr. Daniels nods and pats him on the back. That’s an excellent guess, Oliver. Well done.

Am I right? Oliver asks.

You’ll have to wait and see. Mr. Daniels shrugs.

Can’t you just tell me now?

Sorry, bud.

Oliver seems disappointed. Then he looks up at me. Holding out the box, he says, Here, Ally. You’re the best at this.

Jessica’s face looks like if she let out all that pressure, she’d fly into the air like a rocket to the moon.

Ally? Mr. Daniels asks.

Huh? Uh, sorry. Sometimes when I think, I forget to talk.

He laughs a little.

I hold the box in front of me with the long side almost touching my stomach. I tilt the box front to back and then side to side. This doesn’t make sense.

What are you thinking, Ally? he asks.

Well, I begin, if I tilt it front to back, the object hits the long sides of the shoe box. But if I tilt it side to side, the object doesn’t hit the short sides.

In my mind, I see the object must be the size and shape of a magic wand. Because it moves a lot when tilted in one direction but not when tilted in the other.

What? Oliver asks.

It doesn’t make sense, I say. I look down at the box and shake it side to side hard. I can’t get the object to hit the sides of the box. The more I shake side to side, the more it hits the top and bottom of the box. Confusing.

I look up at Mr. Daniels and his half smile and scrunched eyebrows.

Waaaait a second. I smile. Would you trick us?

What do you mean, trick you?

I shake it again. Tilt it some more. The object hits some sides but not all sides. Did you tape it or tie it or something?

His eyes widen quick and he smiles. And then he laughs. He laughs loud, bending over and resting his hands on his knees, and then he swings his head to the side to look over at me. By this time, the whole class is watching him.

Wow, Ally Nickerson. That’s amazing. I have done this with over a hundred kids and no one—in all of those times—has ever been able to figure that out.

He reaches over and takes the box. Taking the elastic bands off, he opens the box to show us all what’s inside. It’s two glue sticks tied together with string, and then the ends of the string are taped to the sides of the box, leaving the glue sticks hanging in the middle.

He comes over and does something a teacher has never done even once in my whole life. He high-fives me.