pieces, right? So I decided to try it on people. And I got a bunch of those Fourth of July balloons from the Piggly Wiggly and tied the strings to my belt loopsââ
âWhat did your mother say about this?â Ms. Simms asked. It wasnât interrupting when the teacher was the one doing it.
âShe likes it when Iâm not in the house. Says I need the fresh air. Anyway, so I got more and more balloons until I started to feel kind of lightâ¦â
But Gertie didnât want to hear any more. Royâs speech was good. Maybe too good. She was holding her shoe box to her chest and rocking it gently, when Ewan Buckley dared to interrupt.
âMy mom told me you broke your arm falling down the stairs,â Ewan said.
âNo interââ began Ms. Simms.
âYou hush your mouth!â said Roy at the same time.
The class gasped.
âRoy!â Ms. Simms leaped to her red high heels.
âIâm sorry! I wasnât talking to you, Ms. Simms.â Royâs face actually turned whiteâsomething Gertie had only read about in books. âI meant Ewan! Iââ
âRoy, sit down. Sit down right now.â
âI would never tell you to hush your mouth,â Roy said.
Gertie let out a breath she hadnât known she was holding. Roy was out of the running for best summer speech.
âGertrude Foy,â Ms. Simms called out.
Several people sniggered.
âItâs Gertie.â She stood up, walked to the front of the room, and faced the class. âIn this box,â she said without preamble, âis a frog.â
The class stopped sniggering.
Gertie set the box on the seat-stealerâs desk, and the new girl leaned back and cringed, like she was scared the frog would jump out and bite her head off.
âThis frog was completely and utterly dead,â Gertie told the class. âAnd in the name of science, I rushed him to my aunt Raeâs kitchen. And using only everyday kitchen tools, I brought him back to life. That makes himââshe tore off the shoe box lid, grabbed the frog under his armpits, and raised him over her headââa zombie frog.â
The frog was lifted high, and everyone turned their faces up to see himâhis long legs scrabbling against Gertieâs arms, his green-brown skin gleaming in the sunlight that streamed through the window.
âGosh heâs big,â Ewan said, and Ms. Simms was so stunned by the mega awesomeness of Zombie Frog that she forgot to tell Ewan not to interrupt.
âOne day,â said Gertie, âwhen I have a real laboratory, Iâll be bringing people back to life just like I was Dr. Frankenstein.â
âHe was exactly how dead?â asked Ewan.
It was all in the telling. â Utterly dead. As a doornail.â
Roy crossed his arms. â Howâd you bring him back?â
âTurkey baster.â
Roy frowned at the ceiling, thinking. Then he nodded.
âCan we see him?â asked Leo.
Gertie carried the frog around so that everyone could look straight into his resurrected eyeballs. When her classmates had appreciated him, she put Zombie Frog back in his box and snapped the rubber band around it.
âThank you, Gertie,â said Ms. Simms, and she wasnât giving anything away, but Gertie knew she had to be pleased.
Phase One was going to be an instant success.
After Gertie, Ella Jenkins talked about going to her grandmotherâs house, which wasnât nearly as good as a zombie frog.
And Juniorâs speech was painful to watch. âUmmm,â he said. âWell.â He chewed on his thumbnail and stared at his shoes for so long that the class started laughing again, which made his shoulders hunch.
âDid you go on vacation?â Ms. Simms asked.
Junior looked up. âLike the beach or wilderness camping?â
âExactly!â Ms. Simms smiled.
âNo,â said Junior, shaking his head. âNo, I didnât