Ann Martin - Jessi's Babysitter

"Okay."

"Now get ready. Stand back!"

Jackie ran to the edge of the driveway. I lit a match, tossed it in the can, and ran. I turned around just in time to see ash spewing from the can and running down the sides. It was very realistic.

"Awesome!" exclaimed Jackie.

"It worked!" I cried.

Jackie ran to the can, but I stopped him. "Don't touch anything! The chemicals might burn your hands."

We turned on the hose, cleaned out the can, and sprayed the ash down the driveway and into a sewer.

"Now," I said to Jackie, "it is time to begin final preparation of your project."

"Final preparation?" squeaked Jackie. "I thought we were done."

"Oh, no," I told him as we walked back into the house. "We have to figure out how you're going to present your project. It needs a name. And you have to be able to tell the judges about it, not just have someone toss the match in and let the volcano erupt. How are you going to demonstrate your project?"

"Well," said Jackie, sounding sort of mixed up, "I'm not sure."

"All right. First, let's make a sign to label your volcano. What do you want to call your project?"

"I want to call it 'My Volcano,' " said Jackie.

I shook my head.

"The volcano? A volcano?"

"No, no, no. It has to be much catchier," I told him.

We stood over the volcano in its glass box. "How about 'Welcome to the World of Volcanic Activity'?" I suggested proudly.

"Okay," agreed Jackie.

"You make the sign to hang in front of the

volcano," I said. I handed Jackie a piece of paper and a Magic Marker.

Jackie worked laboriously for fifteen minutes. Then he proudly held up a sign that looked like this:

-Va th*. \j

"Jackie! No!" I exclaimed. "You've at least got to spell things right. You can't hang up a sign like that."

"But these are hard words. You have to help

me."

"After all the studying we've done, you should know how to spell 'volcanic' and 'activity/ " I said. "Here, I'll make the sign." .

Jackie stared at the ground. And I thought, Boy, I have to do all the work. 1 even have to make the sign.

This is what I made:

"There. Now that's a sign/' I told Jackie. I set it near his project. "What do you think of it?"

"Nice," he mumbled.

"Now, on to the next thing/' I said enthusiastically.

"What next thing?" cried Jackie.

"We're heading over to Stoneybrook Elementary to see where the science fair will be held. We've got to stake out the best spot for your project. Mal told me the judges walk around the all-purpose room in a circle, starting at the front. I think your project should be one of the last they see. That way, they'll remember it when they're judging. Plus, they'll be really impressed after all the goofy stuff they've looked at, like Barbie dolls on the moon."

Jackie didn't even ask what I was talking about. He just put on the sweater I handed him and followed me out the back door and along the streets to the school.

"I hope the teachers are getting the room ready for the fair," I said as we neared Stoneybrook Elementary.

"They are," said Jackie. "The room was closed today."

"Good," I replied.

Jackie led me around to the back of the

school, and we peered through the windows of the all-purpose room.

"There're Mr. Peterson and Ms. Handy. They're the janitors," said Jackie. "It looks like they're putting desks in a big circle."

"I see a banner," I pointed out. "Look over the stage. Pretty nice, huh?"

Stretched from one end of the room to the other was a long paper banner that read: STON-

EYBROOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SCIENCE FAIR.

Jackie began to look excited. "And they're putting up pictures of dinosaurs and planets and birds and — and euen/thing on the walls!"

"Yeah!" I agreed. "Now let's see. What would be the best desk for you?" I looked and looked and finally decided on one. "That desk. Over there," I said, pointing. "It must be at the end of the judges' rounds. We've got to get here early, Jackie, so you can set up your project on that desk."

Jackie nodded distractedly, still looking in awe at the decorations. "The fair is a big deal, isn't it?" he said. "I never went to it before."

"It sure is a big deal. Think how you'll feel when you win. I wonder what your prize will be?"

"I don't care," said Jackie. "I just want to have the best project here. Then I can show lan and John and Danny and all those mean

guys in my class that I can do something really good. I bet they never built a volcano."

"Probably not," I agreed.

We began to walk home. "Okay," I said. "Last thing. You've got two days to memorize what you're going to tell the judges about your project."

Jackie straightened his shoulders. "I'm going to say, This is my volcano. I built it myself. You light the chemicals and the ash goes phoo, phoo, PHEW out of the can!' "

"Oh, no, you're not. Jackie, this is a science fair. You've got to explain how a volcano works. Remember the kinds of rocks we built our volcano on? Remember their names?"

"Iggus, morphus, and sedentary?"

I sighed. "Almost. Igneous, raetamorphzc, and sedimentary."

Jackie repeated the words fairly well.

"Okay, now what you want to say is that igneous rocks are born from fire, the molten rock that lies several miles below the surface of our earth. Above them are metamorphic rocks that have been changed by the heat..."

I finished my speech before we reached the Rodowskys'. I made Jackie start to memorize it. He wasn't bad. He stumbled on words a few times but he learned quickly.

When we'd been home for about twenty minutes, Jackie could spout off, "Igneous rocks are born from fire, the molten rock that lies several miles below the surface of the earth."

Awhile later, the speech was memorized.

"All right, hand signals."

"Hand signals?!"

"Yes."

"You mean like when I'm on my bike and I'm turning left and I stick out my left hand?"

"No. I guess I meant to say 'hand gestures.' "

"To impress the judges?"

Like I said, Jackie is a fast learner. "You got it," I told him. "See, I think you should even have a pointer. When you say, 'igneous rocks/ point to the bottom layer of Plasticine. When you say, 'metamorphic rocks/ point to the next layer, and so forth. Also, just as the chemicals are about to be lit — throw your hands in the air and say, 'the miracle of a volcano comes to life before our very eyes.' Then give your speech."

Jackie was grinning. He was going to get to put on a show.

"This'll be fun," he said, showing almost as much enthusiasm as when we'd set off the volcano on the driveway.

When Mrs. Rodowsky, Archie, and Shea came home, Jackie gleefully demonstrated his entire project — pointers, hand gestures, and all. I was late leaving for home, but I didn't mind. I was glad to see Jackie so happy.

Chapter 12.

I might not have minded that I left the Rodowskys' a little late, but Aunt Dictator sure did. She met me at our front door. I mean, she was just standing there waiting for me, arms crossed, mouth grim.

"You're late," she said.

(I was ten minutes late.) "I know, I'm sorry. Jackie was so excited about his volcano that I wanted — "

"When I am in charge," Aunt Cecelia interrupted me (When isn't she in charge? I wondered), "you follow my rules. You are responsible to me. You must call me if you are going to be late. Is that understood? You must be responsible. And part of being responsible is letting people know where you are."

Sheesh, I thought. If I'd known I was going to be half an hour late, of course I would have called. But ten minutes? Mama and Daddy don't worry if I'm ten minutes late. They don't

stand at doors with mental stopwatches going.

Aunt Cecelia had closed the door behind me and we were facing each other in the foyer.