I've decided to combine the 'April Showers' and 'May Flowers' stories I had planned, bringing them together for one big story for part 4 of the Third Grade Arc! ROLL IT!

It's late April at John Trystate Elementary. So far, it has rained every day this week. That means no recess and when there's no recess, everyone's holed up in either the school gym, the cafeteria or the auditorium, where they face off against the strictest teacher ever - 5th grade teacher Mr. Christian Decker.

Mr. Decker was a tall, Marine of a man, standing at 6'1. He was the brother of middle school crossing guard Elliot Decker and he didn't take any kind of crud from anyone. He also had a reputation of ruling the school with an iron fist whenever he got the chance.

Everyone was down-trodden, broken, asleep on the floor, until...a drop of water hit Milo's face.

"Hey...it's just water!" Milo called out, taking off his sweater vest, socks and shoes.

"What in the name of Antonio Banderas are you doing, Milo?" Amanda asked.

"What I should've done a long time ago...I'm going outside!"

"What's happening?" Melissa asked.

"Your friend has gone insane!" Mort freaked.

"Listen, you guys. All these years, the adults have been telling us to stay in one place or another. When we were small, they made us stay in the playpen. When we were little, they made us stay on the mat and now they're making us stay in here! But why?"

"Uh, because it's raining?" Mort responded, questioning Milo.

"It's just water, Mort! You go swimming in it, don't ya? You take baths in it, don't ya? I for one am not gonna let a little water wreck my recess! Now who's with me?"

"I'd follow you anywhere, Milo!" Melissa chimed in, taking off her jacket, socks and sneakers.

"Same here!" Chad added, doing the same.

"We're with you, Milo!" Mort responded as he, Lydia and Joni mimicked Melissa and Chad's actions.

"How about the rest of you?"

"Gee, Milo...I don't know," Bradley responded.

"Yeah, we could get into a lot of trouble..." Amanda added.

"Well, if you guys change your minds, you know where to find us."

And with that - Milo, Melissa, Chad, Mort, Lydia and Joni set out on their quest to get out and enjoy their recess in the rain. They crawled past Mr. Decker and made it through the doors into the playground.

"THEY'RE CRAZY!" Bradley called out.

"Or are we the crazy ones?" Amanda asked.

"It's puddle time..." Milo said to his group as they started playing in the rain. Mr. Decker tried to stop them, but it was too little, too late as the other kids joined them.

"NO! I was so close! THEY WERE ALMOST MINE!" Mr. Decker called out in defeat as the bell rang.

"You guys actually did it! You played in the rain!" Bradley cheered.

"What was it like?" Amanda asked.

"It was a recess for the ages..." Mort mused.

"We won, you guys...and nothing will ever keep us from enjoying our recess again," Milo said to his group...right as they all caught colds from their endeavor.

We flash forward to mid-May, 5 weeks before the end of the 2011-2012 school year. This time, it was a nice, bright, Spring day. On days like this, Mr. Mosley likes to take the class outside. This time, they were learning about plants and how with the right care, a garden can look as beautiful as the school lawn. Where's Milo, you may ask? Well, he's out looking for something for Melissa...a certain flower.

"Where is it? Where is that flower?" Milo asked himself as he scoured the school grounds, only to be met by Mr. Mosley.

"Whatcha looking for, Milo?"

"A special flower for Melissa...I think it's called a carnation..."

"Hmm...I think I saw some growing out behind the swing set. Come along, I'll show you."

Milo smiled as he walked with Mr. Mosley to the very back of the school grounds, right behind the swing set. It was there that they found a field full of carnations.

"They're perfect, Mr. Mosley!" Milo said as he picked one and clipped off the flower, turning it into a hair clip for Melissa. "There's Melissa!"

"Go to her, Milo..."

"Melissa!" Milo called out Mr. Mosley set up the picnic. During said picnic, as Milo and Melissa ate, Milo gave Melissa the carnation hair clip. "For you, Melissa..."

"Oh my gosh, Milo! It's beautiful!" Melissa gushed.

"Want me to put it in your hair?"

"Of course, Milo!"

Milo smiled as he got behind Melissa and clipped the flower onto Melissa's hair.

"What do you think, Milo?"

"It looks great, Melissa!"

"Thanks, Milo!"

Melissa hugged Milo, making him smile as he took in the strawberry scent of Melissa's hair. If 3rd grade was like this, just imagine how 4th grade was gonna go!

Just one more part to go before we head to 4th grade! SEE YA THEN! Remember...

IT'S MILO'S WORLD AND WE'RE ALL LIVING IN IT!