The Valentine Swap
Mary Miller pulled a red box covered with pink hearts from her closet. Inside were unused valentines left over from last year. One by one, Mary reached in, took out a valentine, and wrote a name on it.
On the last one, she carefully printed “To Mrs. Cook from Mary Miller.” She didn’t notice a very small valentine stuck to the bottom of it.
At school, Mary put valentines into her friends’ bags. The tiny valentine slipped from her hand and landed in a bag that said Cooper Hooper. Cooper Hooper’s bag was covered with black squiggles and decorated with spider stickers.
“OK, everyone, time for a story,” said Mrs. Cook. She sat in a chair and opened a book. The students gathered around.
Sara Wu sat beside Cooper. He was whistling. “Be quiet, Cooper,” Sara whispered. “I can’t hear the story.”
Later, at the water fountain, Jenny Johnson said, “Cooper, stop pushing.”
In music class, Cathy Clark said, “Cooper, give me back those drumsticks.”
All morning, Mrs. Cook said, “Cooper Hooper, stop that!”
When the recess bell rang, everyone ran to look in their valentine bags.
“Valentines are for babies,” said Cooper. He knew he wouldn’t get a single valentine. It would be just like last year. He grabbed his bag and slowly peeked inside.
Cooper saw the little red heart. He couldn’t believe his eyes.
It must be from Sara Wu, he thought. She was the last one to give out valentines. Cooper went over and gave Sara a chocolate-chip cookie from his lunch. “Thanks, Cooper,” said Sara. He’s not so bad after all, she thought. She gave him a marshmallow heart.
After recess, Mrs. Cook collected everyone’s homework. She accidentally picked up the valentine from Cooper’s desk.
She found it under Linda Begay’s notebook. This must be from Linda, she thought. She had helped Linda with her math every day after school. Mrs. Cook put the red heart on top of some library books on her desk and walked over to Linda.
“Thank you, Linda,” said Mrs. Cook. She gave Linda a shiny red ruler with hearts on it.
Then she announced to the class, “Library time.”
Brenda Bloom was the student helper for the day. She piled everyone’s library books, including Mrs. Cook’s, into the return box. As she carried the heavy box down the hall, it slid from her hands. The books scattered on the floor. Mark Moon, who was behind her, stopped and helped her put them back in the box.
In the library, Brenda found the little valentine stuck in a hockey book. It must be from Mark Moon, she thought. She had helped him clean up a paint spill in art class yesterday.
Brenda picked up a bookmark the librarian had given her for helping in the library. She gave it to Mark. “Thanks,” she said.
She pinned the valentine to the hall bulletin board under the “I Love Reading” sign.
The day after Valentine’s Day, Mary Miller saw the valentine on the floor. “This little valentine needs a home,” she said. “I’ll save it for next year. I’m sure it will make someone happy.”
