Suddenly I was red-hot angry. The energy roared inside my head. It shot out at Big Douggie and shoved the big bear out of his seat.

"Wha---?" Big Douggie had this dumb look of disbelief as one foot slid forward, lifted up, stamped down. The other foot slid, lifted, stamped. Slide, lift, stamp. Slide, lift, stamp. Slowly, he shuffled down the aisle.

Big Douggie had turned into a dancing bear that didn't know how to dance.

The class went berserk. The kids laughed and screamed and pointed at Big Douggie. Mrs. Mattingly was horrified. "Douglas, get back in your seat this very minute!" she ordered.

But Big Douggie couldn't stop. He did his shuffling routine up one aisle and down another. The kids howled with glee. I watched Hildegarde. First she covered her mouth to hide her laughter, then she was laughing harder than anyone.

As quickly as it had begun, it was over. I was so wiped out, my head dropped to my desk. Big Douggie collapsed in his seat. But not for long. Mrs. Mattingly told him,

"Go straight to Mr. Faraday's office, Douglas. Explain to him how you disrupted the class. You can sit there for the rest of the morning!"

"I didn't do anything, Mrs. Mattingly," Big Douggie whined.

"You didn't do anything!" Mrs. Mattingly was furious.

"No." Big Douggie pointed a sausage finger at me. "It ws Rufus. He's a witch. Just like his mother."

©Copyright 2006-2007 Marilyn Levinson. All Rights Reserved.