Check it out. Zoe Bent is a big liar. She makes up so many stories that none of the kids in her class believe anything she says anymore. But the other kids all have amazing real stories to tell, and Zoe knows that when you’re nobody special, the truth needs a little help -- sometimes a lot of help! Every Wednesday at school, our class had "Sharing."
Jerry Paradise always went first. Not because it was a rule, but because he had a mouth bigger than the Grand Canyon.
"My dad called from Japan last night," he blabbed. "Of course, it wasn’t night there. It was breakfast time. He says it’s the coolest place in the whole world. They have trains that go as fast as airplanes. And nobody shakes hands -- they bow. And they eat everything with chopsticks -- even spaghetti! Yesterday my dad had sushi for dinner. Guess what that is -- raw fish!"
"Yeccch!" chorused half the class.
I raised my hand. "Mrs. Moore, this isn’t fair. How come I get in trouble for lying, but it’s okay for Jerry? I mean, raw fish! Give me a break."
"Sushi is considered a delicacy in Japan," Mrs. Moore told me. "And many people enjoy it in our country as well."
"Yeah, right," I snorted with a laugh. "Like who?"
The teacher fixed me with a hard stare. "Like me."
Jerry smiled his nasty I-told-you-so smile. "See? Look who’s making fun of me. The biggest liar in the universe!"
I’ll bet my face was bright red. "I am not, and I can prove it. My dad is going to buy film, so I’ll have a picture of my eagle’s nest really, really soon."
I thought the class would be impressed. Instead, they started flapping their arms at me again.
"Liar, liar, pants on fire!" shouted Jerry.
I felt sick. How come I could never seem to do or say the right thing?