Fourth-Grade Disasters by Claudia Mills Page B

top flaps of the box. Then, to Mason’s great astonishment, she lifted out a large stuffed animal. A large stuffed dragon. A faded, oversized stuffed dragon that looked exactly like Puff.
    It
was
Puff. But how could that be?
    “I found another Puff on eBay! You have no idea how relieved I was when I found it and they said they could overnight it to me. I came up with the live-mascot idea just in case Puff didn’t get here in time for the concert. And it turned out to be the perfect idea, didn’t it?”

    Mason couldn’t decide if he should feel enormously relieved for the third time that day—he did feel enormously relieved—or sad for the first Puff, gone forever, and now replaced by this look-alike copy. Everyone at Plainfield Elementary—from Mrs. Miller on down to the littlest kindergartners—would think this was the true lucky Puff who had served Plainfield Elementary faithfully for twenty years.
    Everyone except for Mason. And Nora.
    Another thought struck him. Was this
cheating
? Like Dunk’s copying of his Footie story?
    “Are you ever going to tell Mrs. Morengo what really happened?” Mason asked her.
    She paused, as if asking herself the same question. “You know, I think we should just file this one under the heading ‘all’s well that ends well.’ ”
    She was probably right.
    He hoped that in another two days he’d be able to file his first—and last?—Platters concert under that same heading.
    “I’m going right now to put Puff the Second up in my office, behind closed doors,” she said, even though Dog seemed much less interested in Puff the Secondthan he’d been in Puff the First. Maybe Puff’s head hadn’t been that tasty—or easy to digest—after all. Or maybe he was cured of chewing stuffed animals for good.
    Mason’s mother bustled away with Puff in her arms.
    While she was gone, Mason pondered a question of his own: should he tell her he was going to be the stage crew for the show, or leave it as a surprise, since she was the one who liked surprises?
    He voted for the surprise. He hoped she’d think it was a good surprise. As Nora had said, he’d still be in the concert. Well, sort of in the concert.
    He’d still be giving the Plainfield Platters a fair try. Well, sort of a fair try.
    But he wouldn’t be using his lovely voice, the voice that his teacher had praised, the voice that was worthy of voice lessons. He wouldn’t be standing up on the stage with Brody and the other Platters, singing with all his might about Puff, as his father filmed every second of the concert with his camcorder and his mother wiped proud tears from her eyes.
    Oh, if only he could file the Plainfield Platters forever under “done, done, done.”
    Brody wore his Puff costume for the Platters practice held the next morning, Thursday morning, on the stage in the gym. Mason’s mom had tried it on him the night before and made a few last-minute adjustments so it would fit him perfectly.
    The Thursday-morning practice was also Mason’s first time working as stage crew. Oh, the bliss of not being on those risers with the other singers! He thought he did a good job as lightning guy. It would be a much cooler special effect tomorrow evening, when the gym would be dark, rather than bright with the morning sunlight that was now streaming through the high windows.
    Mason caught Dunk staring at him, and sure enough, Dunk came up to Mason and Brody as soon as the practice was over.
    “Did Morengo kick you out?” he asked hopefully, walking beside them as they headed to class.
    Brody answered indignantly. “No! If she was going to kick out anybody, it would be
you
.”
    “Well, why aren’t you singing anymore, like a dumb lady opera singer? Why are you just turning the stupid lights on and off for two seconds?”

    “I’m the stage crew,” Mason said with what he hoped sounded like quiet dignity.
    Dunk guffawed. “Was that your idea or her idea?”
    It had been Nora’s idea, actually, but Mason