9/6/06—Mrs. Gabrielson, my Spanish teacher, has struck again! It's the first week of school, and she's already giving us a project. We have to make a map of all the major buildings in town and label them in Spanish! Ahhh!

9/7/06—Today, I tried telling Mrs. Gabrielson I was allergic to Spanish so I could get out of the class. She didn't buy it. I guess I'll just have to do the project. I wonder if Connie knows Spanish.

9/8/06—After school I asked Connie if she knew Spanish. She does! With her help, I finished the project in no time. I asked her how she got so good at speaking Spanish.

“It's because of Mrs. Gabrielson,” she said.

“Mrs. Gabrielson?!”

“Yeah, all that work she gave us really helped me learn the language. My 8th- and 9th-grade Spanish classes were a breeze, thanks to her.”

9/12/06—You guys will not believe what happened today. Remember Alejandro who said, “donedasta latenda dayropa?” Well, he was actually saying, “Donde esta la tienda de ropa?” which means, “Where is the clothing store?” Thanks to the Spanish map project, I knew just what to say. I also learned that Alejandro means Alex in Spanish. We have the same name! Connie was right. Some of the biggest challenges produce the greatest rewards. But I guess Mrs. Gabrielson knew that all along.

—A.J. out!