Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja (a hilarious adventure for children ages 9-12)

Diary
of a 6
^th
Grade Ninja

By Marcus Emerson, Noah Child,
and Sal Hunter

Text copyright ©
2012 by Emerson Publishing House.

Illustrations
copyright © David Lee. All Rights Reserved.

For my kids…

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places,
and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or
dead, is coincidental.

All Rights Reserved. In accordance with the U.S.
Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any
part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy
and theft of the author’s intellectual property. Thank you for your support of
the author’s rights.

Emerson Publishing House

Oh, the life of being a ninja. I know what you’re thinking
– it’s an awesome life filled with secrets, crazy ninja moves, and
running on the tops of trees. Well, you’re right. I’m not
gonna
lie to you – it’s an absolutely
fantastic
life.

But it wasn’t always that way.

This might surprise you, but ninjas are often seen as the
bad
guys. I know, right? I had no idea either until I became one. Though looking
back, I should’ve seen the signs early on. You know what they say –
hindsight is 20/20.

So this is my story – my diary…
er
,
my
chronicle
. I feel as though it has to be told for others to read so
they can learn about the events at Buchanan School. History has to be studied
and learned from or else it’s destined to repeat itself. And that’s something I
cannot allow.

My name is Chase Cooper, and I’m eleven years old.

I’m the kind of kid that likes to read comic books and watch
old horror movies with my dad. If you were to see me walking down the street,
you’d try your best not to bump into me, but only because I’m
sorta
scrawny. I see all these
articles online with titles about losing weight and getting rid of unwanted
body fat, and my jaw just drops because I can’t gain weight to save my life!
I’ve started working out with my dad when he gets home from work, but it’s hard
to keep up with him.

All this to say that if you saw me, the last thing you’d
think was “dangerous ninja.”

I’m not the most popular kid in school, that’s for sure.
I’ve never had a girlfriend, and I’ve never played sports outside of gym class.
That’s not true – I was on a soccer team in third grade, but after a shin
guard to the face and a broken nose, I quit.

So I’m scrawny and unpopular. What else can I apply to those
two traits for a completely wretched experience?
The
start
of school.
But wait! Let’s multiply that by a million – I’m also
the
new
kid at this particular school.

My parents decided to move across town over the summer so we
could live in a slightly larger house. I mean, really? How selfish is
that
?
A bigger house, but social death for me! Being in a new district means an
entire herd of new students that I don’t know.

Well, that’s not entirely true either. I know Zoe. She’s the
same age as me, but doesn’t really count because she’s my cousin.

Luckily, we had the same gym class together. She was
surprised to see me on that first day. I remember it well – it was a
Monday, and the day I caught my first glimpse of the ninjas at Buchanan.

“Chase?” Zoe asked. She was wearing gym shorts and a tank top
with the school’s mascot on it.

“Hey, Zoe,” I said.

She looked surprised. “It
is
you! What’re you doing
here
?”

Going to school, dummy. That’s what I
wanted
to say,
but decided against it. “My parents moved to this side of town so I go to
school here now.”

Zoe laughed. “That’s so cool! My own cousin in the same
school as me! What fun we’ll have!”

I looked at her silky hair and perfect skin. She kind of
looked like one of those models on teenybopper magazines. Yeah, there was no
way she’d keep herself affiliated with the likes of me, but I gave her the
benefit of the doubt. “Uh-huh, it’ll be great,” I sighed.

The coach, Mr. Cooper, was at the front of the gymnasium
checking off students he knew. He walked up to the rest and asked for their
names and grade. Finally, he approached Zoe and me.

“Good morning, Zoe,” Mr. Cooper said as he scraped a
checkmark into the attendance list. Then he looked at me. “And what’s your
name?”

Zoe answered for me. “This is Chase Cooper. He’s my cousin,”
she said with a smile.

“Good to have you here,” said Mr. Cooper. Then he pointed at
Zoe. “She’s a good kid to have as a cousin. It’s the start of school, but I’ve
already seen her on several try-out lists. You’ll do good to follow her lead.”

I faked a smile. “Sure.”

As Mr. Cooper walked away, Zoe continued speaking. “Why
didn’t you tell me you were starting at this school?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “We don’t really talk that much,
and it never came up in conversation. We hardly ever see each other.”

Zoe crinkled her nose. “We see each other
every weekend
.
Our families have Sunday brunch together at the park!”

I couldn’t argue with her. “It’s just a little
embarrassing.”

“You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Starting a new
school might be weird, but it’s not like you have the ability to control a
situation like that,” she said.

I didn’t want to tell her I was embarrassed and scared of
being the new kid. That making friends isn’t a strength of mine, and I’m
destined to be that kid who walks swiftly through the hallways, clutching my
backpack straps and staring at the floor, hoping I don’t make eye contact with
someone with anger management issues. So I didn’t say any of that. “You’re
right. I think it’s just the first day jitters,
y’know
?”

Zoe’s eyes sparkled. She didn’t have a clue. “Welcome to the
club. We’ve
all
got the first day jitters. My dad always says the pool
is coldest when you first touch the water so the best thing to do is dive right
in.”

I wasn’t sure what my cousin was trying to say. So I replied
with, “Wise words.”

Zoe looked off to her left and noticed a boy standing alone.
“That’s Wyatt. He’s never really talked to anyone here. He keeps to
himself
– always has. Which is why he probably doesn’t
have any friends.”

Wyatt was short. He had wavy black hair and a pale
complexion that would make a vampire jealous. He kind of looked like a
porcelain doll. “Has anyone tried to be
his
friend?”

“Actually, yes.
I
tried talking to him last year, but
he wouldn’t hear any of it,” she sighed. “He was a
jerk
to me.”

“Why are you telling me this?” I asked.

Zoe glanced at me. “Because I don’t want you to be like
him.”

I tightened a smile. When I looked back at Wyatt, he was
gone.

“So have you raised any money yet for the food drive?” Zoe
asked out of nowhere.

“Food drive?” I asked. “I haven’t heard of anything about
that.”

“They sent a pamphlet to all of the student’s houses last
week,” she said. “Oh, that’s right… you just moved into your new place, didn’t
you?”

I nodded.

“Well, it’s probably somewhere at your house. We’re supposed
to raise money by selling fruit or something. I’m already up to ten boxes
sold.”

“Is there a prize or anything?” I asked. Normally these
kinds of things had cool prizes – ray guns and little helicopters and
stuff.

“Not a prize for one person, but if the school collectively
raises over ten grand, we get to take a trip the week before school is out.”

“Where to?”

Zoe shrugged her shoulders. “Does it matter? Anything to get
out of school for a day.”

I smiled at my cousin. She was actually a little cooler than
I thought.

Mr. Cooper opened the side door to the gymnasium. Thank
goodness too because Zoe’s conversation was making me feel a little edgy. He
stepped outside and held the door open with his foot, ushering the rest of us
to exit the gym for some “productive activity” outside. Great, just what I
needed. Exercise.

Outside, the students were given a few different options.
Being the first day of school, Mr. Cooper apparently thought the best thing to
do was take it lightly and allow kids to choose what sport they wanted to play.
Some played football. Only a couple played basketball. The rest of them, like
me, chose to walk laps around the track. It was the easiest option that didn’t
require choosing teams or working up a sweat.

I could tell Zoe wanted to play football with a few of her
friends, but decided to walk the track by my side. It wasn’t a huge sacrifice
for her, but I appreciated it. A little goes a long way with me.

“So what do you want to know?” she asked.

I didn’t understand her question. “What do you mean?”

“About this school. What do you want to know about this
school? I imagine most schools are the same, but there’s
gotta
be a
couple
differences here and there.
What’d you do at your old school?”

I thought about it for a moment. “I didn’t do much. I was in
the art club, but that’s about it.”

“That’s fun,” Zoe said as she started skipping along the
track.

Zoe reminded me of my sister, Lucy, who was also somewhere
in the building, adjusting to life as a new student. To be fair, it was far
easier for her since she was in third grade. Most third graders barely even
know they exist. They haven’t become “self aware” yet – like artificial
intelligence that hasn’t realized it has an identity.

Zoe spoke in an excited manner, which was surprisingly
contagious. “There’s a
ton
of stuff to do here. Not a lot of schools
have as much as us. Buchanan actually prides itself on how huge of a selection
we have.
There’s
all kinds of sports teams, different
groups, and a bunch of random clubs you can join. I’m sure there’s an art club
somewhere around here. I’ll help you find it.”