Vote for Suzanne Read online

  “Well, um, of course they do,” Mayor Fogelhymer stammered. “But a lot of you already have swings and things in your backyards.”

  “I don’t,” Katie shouted out.

  “Me neither,” Suzanne agreed.

  “I have a tire swing and a slide at my house,” Jessica said. “But I don’t have a vomit wheel.”

  The kids all started to laugh.

  Katie looked around the room. Not only was the mayor at her school, but a whole lot of reporters and cameramen were there, too. Mayor Fogelhymer’s visit to the local elementary school was a big news event. How cool was that?

  Mayor Fogelhymer didn’t seem to think his visit was too cool. In fact, he seemed kind of sorry he’d ever come to Cherrydale Elementary School.

  “Well, you have a wonderful playground here at school,” Mayor Fogelhymer said.

  “Don’t you like kids?” Emma W. asked the mayor.

  “Of course I do,” Mayor Fogelhymer assured her.

  “Then why do you want to put up a parking lot there now?” Zoe asked him.

  “You know, there are a lot of cars in Cherrydale,” the mayor told them.

  “There are a lot of kids, too!” Suzanne exclaimed.

  “Yeah!” Katie cheered along with the other fourth-graders.

  Mayor Fogelhymer took out a handkerchief and wiped away little beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead.

  The news photographers clicked pictures of the sweaty mayor.

  “Well, I have not made a final decision about the empty lot. So we may as well move on,” Mayor Fogelhymer told the kids. “Now, does anyone else have anything to ask about Election Day? After all, that’s what I came here to talk about.”

  None of the fourth-graders had any more questions for the mayor. But Ms. Sweet, the teacher in class 4B, did.

  “What made you want to run for mayor?” she asked.

  Mayor Fogelhymer smiled at her. “Now that’s the kind of question I like to answer. I wanted to be mayor of Cherrydale because I love this town and I care about the people who live here. I wanted to make things better for all of us. And I think I have.”

  “We’d be better off if we had a new playground,” Suzanne said in a loud whisper.

  Mayor Fogelhymer pretended not to hear. Instead, he smiled right into the cameras. “I want to be the one to keep the people of Cherrydale happy. Kids, I hope all of your parents will vote for me on Tuesday. That way I can be mayor for another four years!”

  Andy raised his hand.

  “Yes?” the mayor asked him.

  “Who are you running against?” he wondered.

  “A man named Sam Barth,” Mayor Fogelhymer told him. “It’s his first election. He has never held any public office. I don’t think he realizes how much work is involved in this job.”

  “Well, we’ll be able to ask him about that,” Mr. G. said. “He’s coming here tomorrow to talk to our students.”

  Mayor Fogelhymer frowned. He didn’t seem too happy about that.

  A few minutes later, the mayor said good-bye to the kids. As he walked out of the auditorium, the crowd of reporters and photographers followed.

  As soon as the mayor was gone, Mandy leaned over and said to Suzanne, “See, I told you so.”

  “He didn’t say for sure that there would be a parking lot there,” Suzanne insisted.

  “He didn’t say there would be a playground, either,” Mandy pointed out.

  “He didn’t really say anything,” Jeremy told the girls.

  Katie frowned. That was the truth. Mayor Fogelhymer’s visit had been very disappointing.

  “I don’t know why he didn’t just tell us that he would make the playground,” George said. “He said he wanted to make the people of Cherrydale happy. That would make me happy.”

  “Me too,” Suzanne said.

  “If I were mayor, I’d build a new playground,” Katie added.

  “You’d be a better mayor than Mayor Fogelhymer, Katie Kazoo,” George told her.

  “Well, maybe Katie will get the chance to find out just what kind of mayor she would be.” Mr. G. smiled mysteriously as he interrupted the kids’ conversation.

  Huh? Katie and her friends all looked curiously at the teacher.

  “We’re going to have our own election,” Mr. G. explained.

  “You’re going to be electing your own fourth-grade mayor,” Ms. Sweet added.

  Katie’s eyes opened wide. Now this was exciting!

  “Each class will nominate two people to run for mayor,” Mr. G. explained. “The four candidates will campaign for the rest of this week. School will be closed on Election Day. So, next Monday, we’ll have our Election Day.”

  Katie looked around the room at all of her classmates. By this time next week, one of them would be the mayor of the fourth grade.

  Who would it be?

  Chapter 4

  “Mom!” Katie screamed as she raced into the house after school. “You won’t believe it.”

  “What’s all the excitement about?” Mrs. Carew asked as she hurried to the front hall.

  “I’m running for mayor!” Katie squealed excitedly.

  Mrs. Carew looked confused.

  “Of the fourth grade,” Katie explained.

  “Oh,” Mrs. Carew said. “That is exciting.”

  “It sure is,” Katie agreed. “Andy Epstein is running, too. He’s the other nominee from class 4A. Each class has two nominees.”

  “Who’s been nominated from class 4B?” Katie’s mom asked her.

  Katie stopped for a minute and thought. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I was so excited to tell you that I didn’t wait around after school to ask.”

  Mrs. Carew laughed. “Well, I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough,” she said.

  “George and Emma W. are my campaign managers,” Katie told her mother. “They’re coming over after I get home from my Cooking Class. They promised to help me make posters and stuff.”

  “Great!” Katie’s mom replied. “We have lots of poster board, markers, and glitter glue in the basement.”

  “Perfect!” Katie exclaimed.

  Rrringg. Just then, the phone rang.

  “I’ll get it!” Katie shouted as she ran to pick up the telephone. “Hello.”

  “Hi, Katie. It’s me, Suzanne.”

  “Hi,” Katie said. “You won’t believe—”

  Suzanne didn’t let Katie finish her sentence. Instead, she asked, “You’re going to vote for me, right?”

  “Huh?” Katie asked, surprised.

  “For mayor,” Suzanne explained. “My class nominated me to run. And I know I can count on you to vote for me because we’re best friends.”

  Uh-oh. Katie’s eyes flew open wide.

  “Well, I really can’t vote for you, Suzanne,” Katie said slowly.

  “Why not?” Suzanne demanded. “I’d vote for you if you were running for mayor.”

  “I am running,” Katie explained.

  Suzanne was quiet for a minute. Then she said, “But you can’t run, Katie.”

  “Why not?” Katie asked her.

  “Well…it’s just that I don’t want you to get hurt,” Suzanne said.

  “Hurt?” Katie was confused.

  “You’re going to feel just awful when I win and you lose,” Suzanne said. “You’re my best friend. I want to protect you from that.”

  Suzanne was using her super-sweet voice. It was the one she used when she was saying something mean, but she wanted to sound nice. That voice always made Katie mad.

  “Who says you’ll win?” Katie asked her.

  “Don’t be silly,” Suzanne replied. “I’m the best candidate for mayor. No one will look better on posters and in photos than I do. I’m a model.”

  “You take modeling classes,” Katie corrected her. “And besides, what does that have to do with being mayor?”

  “You saw all the news photographers following Mayor Fogelhymer today,” Suzanne explained. “A mayor always has to be
ready for her close-up.”

  “A mayor has to be ready to help the people in her class,” Katie corrected Suzanne.

  “That too,” Suzanne muttered. “Anyway, run if you want to. Just don’t come crying to me when you lose.”

  “Whatever,” Katie said with a sigh. “May the best fourth-grader win.”

  “Oh, I will,” Suzanne said.

  Katie frowned as she hung up the phone. Suzanne had been really awful to her. And Katie had a feeling she wasn’t finished being mean, either. Still, Katie wasn’t going to give up.

  Suzanne doesn’t scare me, she thought. Well, not that much, anyway.

  Chapter 5

  Katie arrived at school on Thursday morning with her campaign posters. She walked into the school cafeteria and began hanging them on the walls.

  Katie’s posters were all really nice. She, Emma W., and George had worked on them for a long time last night. They were colorful and glittery. And each one had a different saying.

  The poster George had made had a big photo of Katie glued to it. Under her picture he had written, VOTE FOR KATIE KAZOO! SHE’LL WORK FOR YOU!

  Emma W.’s had a big clock on it. It said, IT’S KATIE TIME!

  Katie had drawn a picture of Pepper, her cocker spaniel, on a poster. Then she had written, THIS DOG’S BEST FRIEND ISYOURBEST FRIEND. VOTE KATIE FOR MAYOR!

  Manny Gonzalez was already in the cafeteria hanging his posters when Katie arrived. He was the other nominee from Suzanne’s class.

  Manny’s posters were kind of cool. He’d used his computer to print out pictures of his head on Mayor Fogelhymer’s body. Then he had written, THE FUTURE MAYOR.

  “Hi, Katie,” Manny greeted her. “I didn’t know you were running for mayor.”

  Katie nodded. “Our class picked Andy and me.”

  “Suzanne is the other person running from our class,” Manny said.

  “I heard,” Katie said with a frown. She taped one of her posters to the wall.

  A moment later, Andy walked into the cafeteria. He only had one poster. But it was huge. Andy had used a whole roll of white wrapping paper for his poster. On the paper, he had written, A IS FOR ACTION. A IS FOR ACHIEVEMENT. A IS FOR ANDREW. GET STRAIGHT AS. VOTE FOR ANDREW!

  Katie had to admit that was kind of cool.

  “I wonder where Suzanne is?” Manny said. “She hasn’t put up her posters yet.”

  Katie had been thinking the same thing. But she really didn’t want to see Suzanne. Not after their conversation last night.

  Still, there was no way Katie could avoid Suzanne forever. In fact, a few minutes later, she came storming into the cafeteria.

  “Katie! You are such a copycat!” Suzanne shouted angrily.

  “What are you talking about?” Katie asked her.

  “You put glitter on your posters!” Suzanne explained angrily.

  “So what?” Katie wondered.

  “Glitter is my thing!” Suzanne insisted. “I was going to put glitter all over my posters. You stole that idea!”

  “How could I have stolen your idea if I didn’t know you were doing that?” Katie pointed out.

  “You knew I would be putting glitter on my posters,” Suzanne went on. “I always wear glitter. Glitter earrings. Glitter pins. Glitter shirts. You hardly ever wear glitter.”

  Katie looked at Suzanne. Today, she was wearing a glitter clip in her hair and a blue and white glittery T-shirt. But that didn’t mean anything.

  “You don’t own glitter,” Katie told Suzanne firmly.

  Suzanne’s eyes closed into little angry slits.

  “Suzanne, aren’t you going to put up any posters?” Andy asked her.

  “Yeah, where are your posters, anyway?” Katie wondered.

  Suzanne shook her head. “I haven’t made my posters yet. I spent last night making something much better.”

  “What?” Katie asked her.

  “I’m not telling you,” Suzanne replied. “You’re the enemy.”

  Katie could feel salty tears welling up in her eyes. Just yesterday morning, Suzanne had been her best friend. Now she was calling Katie her enemy. And keeping secrets from her, too.

  Katie turned away so Suzanne couldn’t see her tears. If she did, Suzanne would probably say that Katie was too much of a crybaby to be mayor.

  Katie figured mayors didn’t cry.

  Not even fourth-grade mayors.

  Chapter 6

  By lunchtime, Suzanne’s secret was out.

  When the kids in class 4B arrived in the cafeteria, most of them were wearing huge red, white, and blue glittery buttons. The buttons said, LOCK ROCKS!

  Katie sighed. Her glittery posters didn’t seem so special anymore. Once again, Suzanne had managed to get everyone’s attention.

  And speaking of posters, Manny Gonzalez’s were no longer hanging on the cafeteria walls.

  “What happened to your posters?” Katie asked him.

  “I’m not running for fourth-grade mayor anymore,” Manny told her.

  “Why not?” Katie wondered.

  “I didn’t think I could win,” he told Katie.

  “Why not?” she repeated.

  “Well, Suzanne convinced me that she was a better candidate,” Manny explained. “So I’m going to help her now.”

  Katie looked curiously at Manny. “How did Suzanne convince you?” she asked.

  Manny looked down at the floor. “She kind of promised to get me a copy of Space Raiders if I decided not to run against her.”

  “Space Raiders?” Katie wondered. “That old computer game?”

  “It’s unbelievably awesome,” Manny replied. “They don’t make it anymore, so it’s almost impossible to get.”

  “Then how is Suzanne going to get it for you?” Katie wondered.

  Just then Suzanne walked over and stood next to Manny. “My dad has a copy of Space Raiders. I’m going to give it to Manny.”

  “Your father won’t let you give away his computer games,” Katie told Suzanne.

  “Sure he will,” Suzanne insisted. “He told me he’d do whatever he could to help me get elected.”

  Katie didn’t know what to say to that. So she just walked away and sat down next to George and Emma W. She wanted to be near people who were on her side.

  “Can you guys come over tonight and help me write my speech?” she asked them. “All the candidates have to give their speeches next Monday, and I want to be able to practice mine over the weekend.”

  “Sure, Katie,” Emma W. said. “I have some really good ideas.”

  George didn’t say anything.

  “How about you, George?” Katie asked him. “I could use some funny jokes in my speech.”

  George’s face turned beet red. “I…um…I…well, I can’t help you,” he stammered.

  “Why not?” Katie wondered.

  “Well, I kind of promised I would help Suzanne write her speech,” George admitted.

  “Suzanne?” Katie was very surprised. George and Suzanne weren’t friends at all. “I thought you were my campaign manager.”

  “I was,” George began. “But…”

  Just then, Suzanne came over and wrapped her arm around George’s shoulders.

  “Katie, I see you are talking to my new speechwriter,” she said.

  Katie couldn’t believe her ears. “George! Why would you want to help Suzanne with her speech?” she asked.

  “She promised to give me all of her Halloween candy if I did,” George explained.

  “Suzanne, that’s cheating!” Katie exclaimed.

  “No, it’s not. It’s politics.” Suzanne smiled and walked away.

  Katie wasn’t really sure what Suzanne meant by that. But if it was true, Katie was certain of one thing.

  Politics really stunk!

  After lunch, the kids all herded back into the auditorium. This time, Sam Barth had come to talk to the kids. There were reporters following him, too.

  Mayor Fogelhymer had seemed happy to have the reporters around
him—at least most of the time he was talking. But Sam Barth didn’t seem to like them at all. In fact, they seemed to make him kind of nervous. He was twirling a lock of hair around his finger. That was the same thing Katie did whenever she was nervous.

  Sam Barth was a lot younger than Mayor Fogelhymer. And he wasn’t wearing a suit like the mayor had been. He was wearing a pair of slacks and a button-down shirt with a tie.

  Mr. G. climbed the stairs to the stage and stood next to Sam Barth. The kids grew quiet and got ready to listen to their teacher.

  “Okay, dudes, as you know, in an election there are at least two candidates to choose from,” Mr. G. told them. “You’ve already heard from Mayor Fogelhymer. Now it’s time for you to hear what the other candidate for mayor has to say. It’s important for people to hear both candidates’ ideas before they vote. Does anyone have any questions for Mr. Barth?”

  A sea of hands shot up in the air. Suzanne stood up in her chair so Sam Barth could see her.

  Katie stood up, too. If Suzanne was going to get to ask a question, then she wanted to, too.

  “Ooh, ooh,” Suzanne called out. “Mr. Barth, I have a question.”

  “Me too,” Katie said.

  But Mr. Barth didn’t call on Katie or Suzanne. He pointed to Jeremy instead.

  Jeremy smiled and stood up to ask his question. “If you get to be mayor, will you put a parking garage or a playground in that empty lot?” he asked.

  Mr. Barth frowned. He went back to twirling his hair around his finger. “The empty lot?” he asked nervously.

  “Yeah,” Jeremy replied. “You know, the one near the arena?”

  “Oh, that lot,” Mr. Barth said. “Well, that’s a tough question. You see, there are a lot of things to think about. I would have to look at a lot of information and…”

  Katie sighed. Sam Barth wasn’t giving the kids a straight answer. He was just talking a lot and not saying anything—just like Mayor Fogelhymer.

  Was there any difference between them?

  Suzanne could tell the difference. And she’d already picked who she thought would be the winner.

  “Mayor Fogelhymer is going to win the election,” she told the kids as they left the school building that afternoon.