Mario’s Partner

By Joseph Crisalli

“Who can tell me what the three primary colors are?” Mr. Dinello, the art teacher, asked.

Mario rolled his eyes as Donna raised her hand.  He looked at his friend Andrea in the desk next to his.  She rolled her eyes, too. 

“Red, white and blue.”  Donna answered.

“Not quite right,”  Mr. Dinello smiled.

“What?”  Donna said, wrinkling up her nose.

Mr. Dinello still smiled patiently, “Red and blue are primary colors, Donna.  But, white isn’t.”

“Is, too!”  Donna whined.

Mario shifted in his desk chair uncomfortably.  Andrea frowned.  Neither of them liked Donna very much.  She was always so mean to everyone—even the teachers.

“No.”  Mr. Dinello said, still smiling.

“Then what are they?”  Donna asked rudely.

“Red, blue and yellow.”  Mario answered without raising his hand.

Andrea giggled as Mario’s cheeks turned bright red.

“That’s right, Mario.”  Mr. Dinello nodded.  “But, next time, raise your hand, please.”

“Show off!  Donna laughed.

“Not really,”  Mr. Dinello said loudly, his smile finally fading.  “Mario knew the correct answer.  That doesn’t make him a show off.”

“Teacher’s pet.”  Donna whispered.

“He is not.”  Andrea whispered back, defending her friend.

“All right,”  Mr. Dinello continued, “Let’s settle down.”  He paused for a minute to look at the class so they would know he was serious.  He then said, “As Mario told us, the three primary colors are red, blue and yellow.  Every other color in the world is made by mixing these three colors together.  For example, red and yellow.  When you mix red and yellow together, what do you get?”

“A big mess!”  Donna blurted out.

“Donna, please.”  Mr. Dinello said.  “Andrea, can you tell me?”

Andrea looked up, “Pink?”

Donna laughed, “You don’t know anything!”

“Donna!  That’s enough!”  Mr. Dinello scolded his student.  “It’s okay, Andrea.”

Andrea’s eyes filled with tears.  Mario looked at Donna angrily.

“Yellow and red make orange when mixed together.”  Mr. Dinello continued. 

“Everybody knows that!”  Donna laughed cruelly.

“Donna, can you please stay after class?  I’d like to talk to you.”  Mr. Dinello said sternly.

Donna smiled.  “Okay.”

Andrea and Mario looked at each other.  They both felt a little glad that Donna was going to get in trouble.  But, even as glad as he felt, Mario still felt a little sad, too.  He wished Donna could be a little nicer to people.  Maybe then, she wouldn’t get in trouble as much.

Mr. Dinello looked at the clock.  “Class is almost over.  So, here’s what we’re going to do.  Tonight, I want all of you to find something at home that you can bring in to class.  It can be anything that isn’t valuable.  You can bring a colorful sock, or a piece of fruit or a rubber ball.  You can bring a flower or a leaf or a rock.  Anything that you like.”

Mario thought about what he’d bring.  Maybe he’d bring a banana.

“And, tomorrow, we’ll work with partners.  You and your partner will trade objects and you’ll each paint a picture of what the other person brought.”

Andrea and Mario smiled at one another.  They both thought that would be fun.

“And here’s the interesting part.”  Mr. Dinello grinned.  “I’m going to give each of you only red, yellow and blue paint.  You’ll have to mix those three colors together to make the colors you’ll need to paint the picture.”

“Cool.”  Mario said to himself quietly.

Andrea nodded.  “Will you be my partner?”  She whispered to Mario.

Mario whispered back, “Yeah.”

“Now,”  Mr. Dinello continued.  “I’ll just assign your partners and then you can all go to lunch.”

Mario opened his eyes wide.  He didn’t know Mr. Dinello was going to assign the partners instead of letting them pick their own.  He hoped he’d get Andrea as his partner.

“Andrea,” Mr. Dinello said.  “You work with Iggy.”

Andrea sighed.  At least she’d get to work with her friend Iggy even though she wouldn’t get to work with Mario.

Mr. Dinello looked around the room and paired people up.  Soon, Mario began to realize that he and Donna were the only two people left.

Mario’s face began to feel hot.  He was going to have to work with Donna!

“And, Donna,” Mr. Dinello said.  “You and Mario will be partners.”

“Awwwww!”  Donna groaned.  “I have to work with the teacher’s pet!”

Then, the bell rang.

As they got up from their desks, Andrea patted Mario on the arm.  “I’m sorry that you have to work with the awful Donna.”

“Me, too.”  Mario said softly.

All the rest of the day, Mario did nothing but worry about having to work with Donna the next day.  He thought about it during lunch, during gym, during math class and on the bus ride home.

When Mario arrived home, his mama knew right away that something was bothering him.

“What is it, mijo?”  Mario’s mama asked.  “You look so sad.”

“Oh, mama.”  Mario answered, “I have to work on a school project with Donna!”

“Oh…”  Mario’s mama said.  She knew that Donna was not very nice to Mario.

“I don’t think I can do it.”  Mario said sadly as he sat down at the kitchen table.  “Would you call Mr. Dinello and ask him to give me a new partner?”

“No, mijo.”  Mario’s mama smiled, “I will not.”

“Huh?”  Mario grunted, surprised.

Why won’t Mario’s mother ask the teacher to assign her son a new partner?  She knows that Donna isn’t nice to Mario.  So, why would she think Mario should work with Donna?  Come back to find out in Mario’s Partner, Part II.