Authors: Nancy Krulik
Karate Katie (4 page)
Chapter 6
At the end of the school day, the kids in class 4A went home feeling awful. They had lost the soccer game at recess . . . badly. The score was seven to one. Everyone was blaming Kevin.
But Kevin didn’t care. He stood on the steps of the school kicking his legs out, pretending to break wooden boards.
“You should be practicing catching soccer balls,” Andrew told him. “That would have helped us today.”
Kevin ignored him.
“I think Kevin’s a secret weapon,” Kadeem said.
“Are you nuts?” George asked. “We lost because of him.”
“I meant he was a secret weapon for the
other
team!” Kadeem explained.
other
team!” Kadeem explained.
The other kids all laughed. Even Katie. Usually she hated it when her friends made fun of someone. But Kevin deserved it. He’d really let his team down . . . again.
Just then, Becky Stern, Jeremy Fox, and Jessica Haynes walked out of the school. They did not look sad. Why should they?
Their
class had won the soccer game.
Their
class had won the soccer game.
“Where’s Suzanne?” Katie asked Jessica. Usually, Jessica and Suzanne left school together.
“She went home after recess,” Jessica explained. “She was coughing a lot. Ms. Sweet sent her to the nurse’s office.”
“Her mom picked her up and took her to the doctor,” Becky continued.
“I hope she’s not very sick. Maybe he can give her some medicine to bring her voice back,” Emma W. suggested.
Katie doubted that. She was pretty sure the problem Suzanne had wasn’t something that could be cured by a doctor.
“You’re awfully quiet tonight,” Mrs. Carew said to Katie at dinnertime.
Katie shrugged and picked at the vegetarian lasagna on her plate. “I don’t have anything to say.”
“Did anything bad happen at school?” her mom asked.
“We lost a soccer game to class 4B,” Katie told her.
“Is that all?” Katie’s dad asked. “When I was in school, my team always lost. It never stopped me from eating.”
Losing a soccer game wouldn’t really keep Katie from eating, either. Actually, it was Suzanne that Katie was so upset about.
Brrring.
Just then the phone rang.
Just then the phone rang.
“I’ll get it,” Katie said. She leaped up from the table so fast, she almost tripped over Pepper, who had been sitting at her feet.
Mrs. Carew shook her head. “No. I’ll get it. You keep eating.”
Katie sat down and placed a forkful of lasagna in her mouth. Then she reached down and slipped a slippery lasagna noodle into Pepper’s mouth. The grateful cocker spaniel chewed it up in no time.
“Oh, that’s a shame,” Katie heard her mother say. “Is Suzanne okay about it?”
Katie gulped. It must be Suzanne’s mother on the phone. What awful news was she telling her? Was it that the doctor had said Suzanne would never speak again? That wasn’t news. Katie already knew that.
“That was Mrs. Lock,” Mrs. Carew told Katie as she sat back down at the dinner table. “Suzanne just got back from the doctor’s office. She has another sore throat. And she can’t talk, either.”
“I know,” Katie said. “She went home right after recess. It’s awful. George made that wish and ...”
“George?” Mrs. Carew asked. “What does he have to do with anything?”
“Well, he made a wish that Suzanne would shut up and . . .” Katie began.
Mrs. Carew shook her head. “Katie, I assure you, this has nothing to do with an argument between Suzanne and George,” she said. “Suzanne has a sore throat because her tonsils are infected. She’s going to have an operation to have her tonsils taken out.”
“Her tonsils?” Katie asked.
“Yes,” Mrs. Carew said. “The doctor is operating tomorrow morning. She’ll be in a little pain for a while, but then she’ll be good as new.”
“Suzanne’s going to have an operation?” Katie asked. She was so relieved. “That’s great!”
Her parents looked at her strangely.
“Great?” Mr. Carew asked, surprised.
Oops.
“I mean, it’s great that she’ll be able to talk again after her tonsils come out,” Katie said. “You know how Suzanne loves to talk.”
“Almost as much as I love to eat,” Mr. Carew laughed. “Can I have some more lasagna, please?”
Katie giggled. Then she took a big bite of her own lasagna. Suddenly, she was hungry, too.
Chapter 7
“Pass five basil leaves, please,” Becky Stern said.
“Here you go,” Mandy Banks replied as she passed a bowl of fresh basil leaves across the counter in Katie’s kitchen.
“Mmm . . .” Katie’s mother sniffed at the air as she stirred the tomato sauce that was cooking in a pot on the stove. “I’m so glad you kids formed a cooking club. My house always smells so good on Saturdays.”
“And
we
always eat well on Saturdays,” George told her. “This tomato sauce is going to be awesome!”
we
always eat well on Saturdays,” George told her. “This tomato sauce is going to be awesome!”
“I know,” Katie said. She looked down at her cookbook. “We need to grind some fresh pepper.”
Woof! Woof!
Katie’s dog barked at the sound of his name.
Katie’s dog barked at the sound of his name.
“No, silly,” Katie giggled. “Not you.”
“I can’t believe Kevin is missing the cooking club meeting when we’re making tomato sauce,” Emma W. said as she peeled the skin from a juicy red tomato.
“He’s probably practicing karate today,” Jeremy said. “Karate’s more important to him than anything.”
“Even
tomatoes
?” Emma asked. She didn’t sound so sure. Kevin loved tomatoes.
tomatoes
?” Emma asked. She didn’t sound so sure. Kevin loved tomatoes.
“Maybe Kevin just didn’t want to be around us,” Katie said quietly.
“Oh, come on.
We’re
the ones who don’t want to be around
him
,” George replied.
We’re
the ones who don’t want to be around
him
,” George replied.
“That’s what I mean,” Katie told him.
“Huh?” George asked.
“We were all kind of rotten to Kevin yesterday,” Katie admitted.
“No way. He was rotten to us! He made us lose the soccer game! And he made me lose the relay race,” George insisted.
Katie knew that it was George’s loose shoelace that had made him lose that race. She also knew that having a different goalie wouldn’t make a soccer team lose by six points. But she wasn’t going to tell George that. He’d just argue with her about it anyway.
“Maybe we were
all
wrong,” Katie said finally.
all
wrong,” Katie said finally.
“We were kind of mean,” Emma W. agreed.
“I guess we didn’t have to keep calling him Karate Kevin,” Jeremy added.
“He didn’t have to keep bragging about being so strong,” George argued back.
“Or being better than everyone else in his karate class,” Becky said.
“No, he didn’t. But we’ve all bragged before,” Katie said. She turned to Becky. “Do you remember when you learned to do that backflip in gymnastics class? You talked about that for weeks.”
Becky blushed. “Well, how about that time you taught Pepper how to roll over? All you kept saying was how smart your dog was.”
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Katie agreed. “We all brag sometimes.”
“Maybe I’ll stop by that tournament after my soccer game tomorrow,” Jeremy said slowly. “You know, to cheer Kevin on.”
“I think I’ll go, too,” Becky said quickly. “I could meet you there, Jeremy. We can sit together.”
Jeremy blushed.
Katie sighed. Poor Jeremy. Becky was always embarrassing him. She had a huge crush on Jeremy. But Katie knew he didn’t like Becky . . . at least not
that
way.
that
way.
“We should all go,” Katie said.
“Not me,” George insisted.
“Come on, George. He’s your best friend,” Katie reminded him.
“Not anymore,” George told her.
“We’re all going to be there,” Katie told George. “If you don’t go, there won’t be anyone around for you to hang out with anyway.”
“Fine!” George finally said. “I’ll go. But only to see him lose.”
“Whatever,” Katie said with a sigh. “Just as long as you are there.”
Chapter 8
It was hot and stuffy inside the karate gym. By the time Katie got there, a lot of her friends were already seated in the bleachers that surrounded the orangey-brown hardwood floor where the tournament was taking place.
“Here, Katie, I saved a seat for you,” Emma W. shouted out. She scooted over a bit so Katie could sit between her and Jeremy.
Becky was seated on Jeremy’s other side. Farther down the row were George, Andrew, and Manny.
“Sorry I’m late,” Katie said. “My mom was busy talking to Mrs. Lock. I had to wait a while until she got off the phone before we could drive over here.”
“I was really surprised when you told me she was getting her tonsils out,” Emma told Katie. “How is she feeling?”
“Better, I guess,” Katie replied. “She still can’t talk, but her parents bought her a pair of purple glow-in-the-dark pajamas to wear in the hospital. That made her pretty happy.”
“Hey, check it out!” Jeremy interrupted. “The grown-up black belts are putting on a show before the tournament begins.”
“KEEYAH!”
A shout rang out through the gym. A man in a karate uniform with a black belt raised up his arm slowly and then quickly brought his hand down onto a pile of cement blocks.
A shout rang out through the gym. A man in a karate uniform with a black belt raised up his arm slowly and then quickly brought his hand down onto a pile of cement blocks.
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