The next morning I was so tired, I could hardly think straight. It had taken me hours to write that essay and I only stopped for a short while to eat Mom's

delicious dinner before I went right back to work. Dad was suspicious of course and he had good reason to be. But I didn't feel like explaining the whole thing

again. After all, the chances were extremely small that he'd believe me.

Wearily I gathered my school books and carefully placed the assignment and the letter in my notebook where nothing would happen to it. I dressed carefully in

my favorite shirt (the one with the colorful triangles) and brushed my hair.

When I came downstairs, Mom and Dad looked at me in disbelief.

"My, don't you look handsome!" Mom noted.

"Thanks, Mom."

"You got a date after school, boy?"

"No, Dad. I just wanted to look nice for school. That's not a crime, is it?"

"Of course not, Dobie. Your father just means that-."

"Look, I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. No, I don't have a date, but I just felt like dressing up for a change. Didn't you ever have the urge

to dress nice for school?"

"Not once and I'm proud of it!" Dad said.

Mom put her arms around Dad and smiled. "He's right, Dobie. But I fell in love with him anyway."

Dad grumbled but I could only laugh.

"That's right, I was a slob in high school and proud of it!" Dad said.

"You rang?"

I knew that voice without seeing the face. It was that of my good friend.

"Hey, Maynard."

"Like are you ready to go or did you want to go by yourself? You sure left in a hurry yesterday."

"I'm sorry about that. I had work to do."

"About that. I'm curious to know what this work is that you felt compelled to be in your room all night to work on it." Dad said.

"I'll tell you later. I have to go. Bye Dad. Bye Mom."

"Like bye!" Maynard called after them.

As anxious to get home yesterday, I was just as anxious to get to school; a fact that understandably confused Maynard. Heck it confused me as well. And

wouldn't you know it that the day moved as slow as molasses? It was a major struggle to get through my classes. And lunch was even worse, what with

Maynard and Zelda talking nonstop. I did my best to ignore them, but that proved to be an impossible feat. I was actually relieved when it was time to go to my

next class. It meant that the day was almost over and soon it would be time for Mr. Pomfritt's class.

Finally the time came and I stopped by the wash room to check my appearance. Now normally I didn't really care what I looked like (unless there was a girl at

stake), but today was different. Today I was going to prove my worth in front of Mr. Pomfritt and about fifteen other kids.

I arrived early; something I hardly ever did, and st down in my usual spot in the far left hand corner of the room. I couldn't help but smile as the class slowly

began to trickle in.

"Welcome, everyone!" Mr. Pomfritt was much too cheerful, but I didn't pay much attention. Perhaps he was just as happy as I.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Pomfritt." I recited, along with the rest of the class.

"Now yesterday before we left I was about to discuss the subject of Selfless Acts. Does anyone remember what a selfess act is?"

Zelda raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Gilroy?"

She stood and smiled. "A selfless act is doing something for others without expecting anything in return."

"That's correct. Does anyone have anything to add to that?"

I rose to my feet. "I do."

"Yes, Mr. Gillis?"

"Mr. Pomfritt, would it be all right if I read my essay? I spent all night working on it and as vain as this sounds, I'm proud of the result."

"That's not vain at all, Dobie. I'm anxious to hear it. I think we all are."

I retrieved my essay, but when I looked at the words, I realized that it didn't quite convey what I wanted to say. So I decided to risk getting a lower grade and

just ad lib.

"Well, it all started when Maynard and I were walking down the street. You see, my father had kicked us out of his store because Maynard had startled my

mother, causing her to break an entire case of tomato sauce."

The class erupted in laughter and I cast a glance at Maynard, hoping that he would forgive me for telling the entire class what he'd done. Fortunately he was too

busy drumming on his desk, so the chances are that he didn't even notice.

"Anyway-."

"Mr. Gillis, this is all fascinating but unfortunately we only have a limited amount of time. I'd like to hear the other essays as well during the class period."

"Yes, Mr. Pomfritt." I glanced at my paper and began to read. "I was resting my weary body on a bench when Maynard found a watch underneath. We considered

taking it to Mr. Arnold at the pawn shop and I couldn't help thinking about what we would do with the money. But then I started thinking about the owner."

"The owner, Mr. Gillis?"

"Yes, you see, it had an inscription on it the back."

"That's very nice."

"It's not just nice; it's wonderful. That watch didn't just belong to someone, it meant something to them. And that's when I knew that as much as I wanted the

money, I couldn't do it. I couldn't sell it just for my personal gain. It wasn't right."

"So what did you do with it?"

I smiled proudly. "I convinced Maynard to go with me to Harry's Pet Shop and we gave him the watch."

"As a gift?"

"No, Mr. Pomfritt. We convinced him to put up a flyer saying that he'd found the watch and that whomever wanted to claim it would have to come in and describe

it."

"I see. And then the person would give you a reward."

"Oh no. I didn't want a reward. You see-."

"I did!"

"Maynard!"

"You see, Mr. Pomfritt, I realized that the money didn't matter. What mattered was getting the watch back to the person who lost it."

"Well, Dobie, that's very admirable."

"Thank you, Mr. Pomfritt, but there's more."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, like a lot more!"

"I glanced at Maynard and smiled. "Maynard's right. There's more."

"Do tell."

"Yeah, like do tell!" Maynard said. "Like I want to know what happened!"

I couldn't help rolling my eyes at my friend. "Maynard, you know what happened! You were there!"

"Oh yeah…"

"Anyway, like I was saying, we found ourselves back at that same bench. Maynard went in to say hello to the animals, so while I was waiting, I found this letter,

which I'd like to read to you."

"I think we'd all like to hear it."

I unfolded the letter and began to read;

To whom it may concern:

When I walked into Harry's Pet Shop yesterday I was lower than low. All I wanted to do was see the cute kittens and puppies. They always worked in the past at

cheering me up. But lately I've been really upset and being that upset makes it hard to concentrate on school, which is a first for me.

Anyway, had it not been for the flyer posted in the window, I probably never would have gone into the pet shop in the first place. The kittens and puppies were

just a bonus. But imagine my surprise when I showed the owner the flyer and he showed me the pocket watch that someone had turned in.

I recognized it instantly. You see, my father gave me that watch for my birthday and said that it belonged to my grandfather. My grandmother had given it to

him as a wedding present. She even had it engraved with a clever saying. "I love you every second."

I promised my father I'd take good care of it, but unfortunately somewhere along the way I lost it. I've spent weeks and weeks wondering what happened to it,

afraid to tell my father. I just know that if I told him, he'd never trust me again. Imagine my relief and surprise of finding it again. The owner told me that

Someone turned it in after they found it under this bench. So I thought that leaving a note of thanks in the very place it was found would be the perfect spot.

I don't know if anyone will find this note, but if you're reading it right now I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have no idea how much

this means to me. If we ever meet in person, I promise to thank you profusely. But until then, please accept this token of gratitude.

Sincerely-

A very happy person."

"A very happy person."

The familiar voice caused me to turn in surprise. I saw Zelda standing beside her desk; tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Miss Gilroy, are you all right?"

She shook her head. "No, I don't think so. But it's no one's fault. It's mine. You see… I wrote that letter."

There was a collective gasp, but no one was more surprised than I.

"You wrote this letter? You mean-."

"Yes…." She reached into her pocket and my eyes widened when I saw the familiar object in her hand.

"Like, look Dobs, that's the watch! What's Zelda doing with it?"

"I'll explain it to you later, Maynard." I looked at Zelda and swallowed hard. "Zelda…"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Pomfritt. I have to go."

"Miss Gilroy…"

But she ran out of the room, leaving me completely and utterly astonished.