Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom (Wayside School 4)

“And one of Deedee’s legs is shorter than the other,” said Maurecia.

Deedee smiled. “Just lucky I guess,” she admitted.

They locked thumbs and pinkies and shouted, “Unbreakable!”

Maurecia glanced up at the Cloud of Doom, then followed her friends into the school building.

“I hope everyone’s ready,” Mrs. Jewls greeted her class. “You just need to remember everything you’ve ever learned in your whole life.”

The children looked nervously around.

The test would last three days. Each day would have several minor tests, and one Major Event. On day one, the Major Event was a spelling bee.

“You mean we have to spell the words out loud?” asked Joy.

“That’s how a spelling bee works,” said Mrs. Jewls.

Joy did a lot better when she could write the words. She was a master of fudge-squiggles. If she didn’t know the letter, she made a fudge-squiggle that could have been any number of letters. Mrs. Jewls always gave her the benefit of the doubt.

All the children stood along the wall as they waited for their turns. If they missed a word, they would have to sit down.

Mac couldn’t spell curious. Leslie missed squawked. Jason went out on confidential.

“Dilly-dally,” said Mrs. Jewls.

“Dilly-dally,” Todd repeated. He got every letter right, but left out the hyphen.

“It’s not even a letter,” he protested, when Mrs. Jewls told him to sit down.

Jenny missed skateboard.

Joy was next.

“Helicopter,” said Mrs. Jewls.

“Helicopter,” Joy repeated. “H-e-l—” She was stuck. She didn’t know if there was one or two l’s, and she didn’t know if the letter after that was an e or an i. If she could have written it, she could have made the perfect fudge-squiggles to cover all the possibilities.

She returned to her seat.

Deedee was eliminated on eliminated. A short leg didn’t help with spelling.

After a while, only three students remained: John, Ron, and Maurecia.

“Spectacle,” said Mrs. Jewls.

“Spectacle,” John repeated. “S-k-e-p-t-i-c-a-l.”

Only Ron and Maurecia remained.

“Orchestra,” said Mrs. Jewls.

Murmurs could be heard around the room. Nobody thought Ron could do it.

“Orchestra,” Ron repeated, and then spelled it perfectly.

“Vacuum,” said Mrs. Jewls.

Maurecia wasn’t sure if there were two c’s and one u, or two u’s and one c, but she guessed right.