"Hello, class." the teacher greeted the students in his classroom.
"Good morning, Mr. Simmons." the class droned back.
"I have a very special announcement for all of you," Mr. Simmons smiled. "There is an essay contest for each and every one of you 'special' little boys and girls and you could all win a special trip for the class!"
"Where's the trip, Mr. Simmons?" Phoebe Heyerdahl asked with a smile. "To the new science museum?"
"The Mr. Fudgey Factory?" Harold Berman guessed, hoping he was right.
"A basketball game uptown?" Gerald Johansson put in his guess.
"No, no," Mr. Simmons chuckled. "It's to the place known as San Lorenzo!"
The students sounded excited. It got Arnold's attention the most. Mike smiled, then looked to Arnold, wondering how he felt since he wasn't smiling or talking about it like the rest of them.
"What is it, Arnold?" Mike whispered to him.
"My parents went there and I was born there." Arnold replied quietly.
"I wish you all the best luck, remember, no matter if you win or lose, it's all about the fun in the end!" Mr. Simmons didn't seem to hear about Arnold and Mike's quiet conversation.
The class still smiled, but quieted down.
"Golly, can't say I ever been to this San Lorenzo place..." Stinky Peterson scratched his head. "Is it far from here?"
"Indeed, Stinky," Mr. Simmons showed his globe of the world to the country boy of the class. "Here we are in North America and San Lorenzo is all the way over in this continent in Central America, popular with Spain in Argentina."
"Willikers! And we could end up going there?" Stinky sounded very interested.
"Indeed, you just have the win the essay contest, so I decided to have that be your homework assignments if anyone is interested." Mr. Simmons declared.
Helga Pataki shrugged. "This should be interesting... Anything to get away from Big Bob and Miriam for a while..."
"I guess your sister is in town again?" Mike looked to the bully girl of class.
Helga snorted, rolling her eyes. "She just came by to say hello while she doesn't have to go back to school for another week, and of course, that just means I'm extra invisible at home."
Mike sighed, she sometimes sympathized with Helga, but some of the time, since she had never really been to the girl's house, that most of her family stories were exaggerated. "I just wish I had a sister..."
"Why don't you take her like Lila did?" Helga scoffed.
"Now, let's get started with today's lessons." Mr. Simmons proposed, making the entire class moan and groan.
After school, Mike, Gerald, and Arnold were walking to Sunset Arms, the boarding house where Arnold lived in with his grandparents.
"So, you guys thinkin' of entering that essay contest?" Gerald asked. "I think it's some ploy to get us to do extra work so we won't have time to play."
"Aw, come on, Gerald," Arnold coaxed. "It might be fun... Plus, I hope I win, I mean, the trip is to San Lorenzo. Ever since I found that map in my dad's journal last night, I wanted to go, but it was too expensive for Grandma and Grandpa."
"You're a bold kid, Arnold." Gerald commented.
"Speaking of which, I think I'd like to get started myself," Mike brought up. "I'll see you guys another time, okay?"
YOU ARE READING
The Jungle Story
AbenteuerMike tells her friends on the island about the biggest adventure she had before coming to the island and before she became a foreign exchange student of how she helped her old friend Arnold from PS 118 on the biggest thrill of his life after he disc...
