I stretched my legs as I strolled past the cafeteria. There was quite a racket in the cafeteria that morning, as it happened. The custodian was opening all the tables back up for lunch, and because it was such a big room, it echoed around the school.  A whiff of chicken floated my way on a stray breeze that managed to escape from one of the many rooms. Today there will be chicken patty on a bun, my personal favorite lunch. Today there will also be a morning meeting, which is usually the most eventful thing to happen upon arrival, and what we were currently heading towards.

 It wasn't the funnest thing to do, but it gave us a sense that we would do something special today that we wouldn't do again for a month, so we were mildly excited for the meeting. As we all filed into the cavernous gym, I glanced around. The seating arrangements were likewise.

 The younger kids were shorter, so they got the best seats, the ones that were right at the front, and it would be my first year in the back. As the year went on, however, I got used to it. The gym got split in quarters, with a mid-sized aisle in the center. In top left were the youngest kids, the second graders. Across the aisle, to their right was the third graders, who still got front row seats. Behind the second graders were the fourth graders, the grade I was currently in. Behind the third graders were the fifth graders, the grade I would be next year.

When all the classes were present they started the meeting with the school lunch and daily announcements. Next we sang the pledge while looking at a huge flag that hung in front of the third graders. The flag was double the height of our tallest teachers. Then they would reveal the topics for the meeting. However, only one topic really seemed unusual to me. 

It was a program called Bikes for Books ™    . This program helped kids get bikes by reading books. If you read five books you could get a ticket, which you put in a jar. At the next morning meeting, in a month, they would draw a winner for the bike. However you can only get 7 tickets, so you can't just overflow the jar with tickets. I didn't really think I would win a bike. After all, it's the whole school that's competing in it. The chances are probably right around 1 in 54.9 students, which is better odds than I thought at the time. However, even with the good odds that's still only one kid in 2 and a half classes. Since I never won these kinds of things, I didn't think much of it.

Maybe that's why, by the end of the month, I only had 3 tickets instead of maxing out at seven. So when I walked into that gym I wasn't feeling very confident about the program.

No, I was just sleepy and wanted, more than anything, to get back to the classroom. ( The gym is also usually the most humid room in the school. Go figure). But, despite all that, you still had to admire the strange beauty of hundreds of kids pouring into the tan gym, and the sound of thousands of feet hitting the dusty floor echoed like thunder around me. But it was then that I saw it.

Seven glittering mountain bikes stood out like lions in the arctic, shimmering in the light. That was the moment when I truly felt remorse for not getting more tickets. My friend nudged me.

 " Hey, Kale. Is that your dad over there?"

I glanced over my shoulder in the direction he was pointing.

"Where is he?" I asked, for I had never been good at spotting things after another person saw it.

"Over there,  next to the guy in the Navy  jacket." 

I still couldn't find him. " Oh that guy? Nah," I pretended to spot him. "He's way too stern looking. And his hair is too dark."

At last, It was time for the meeting and as the last class sat down, a silence fell over the Gym. After a couple of announcements, we finally got to the Bikes. "As you may have noticed, we have a couple bikes from Bikes For Books.  And I will now announce the winners." Great. They already drew the winners, so I don't even get to hope. "Alex Shauther, Molly Brown,..." The list seemed to go on forever although it was only six names. " And finally," At this the principal glanced up. "Kale Hansen." 

Shellshocked.

I just sat there as they awarded the bikes to the other six winners and looked around for the seventh winner. At least that's what would have happened if my friend hadn't pushed me into the aisle. (Thanks for pushing me into the aisle!) Dazed, I walked up to get the bike. I took a picture then headed back to class. I wondered what they would do with the bike afterward, and how they would get it to my house.

At least, I wondered until after dismissal. I filled my mom in on the meeting (or so I thought) and asked her what they did with the bikes after I went back to class. " Oh Kale," My Mom replied. "Dad picked the bike up. We got a call about it a couple weeks ago." I spent the rest of the grade knowing that my friend was right all along.