Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger (Wayside School 3)

Jason looked at the diploma hanging on the wall. Before his dentist got married, her name was Jane Smith.

His big mouth opened wider.

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Chapter 22

Jane Smith

“I found Jane Smith,” Jason told Stephen the next morning when he got to school.

“You better tell Deedee,” said Stephen.

They hurried across the playground.

A whistle blew. “No running!” ordered Mr. Louis, the Professional Playground Supervisor. “Now I want both of you to go back to the edge of the blacktop, and walk this time.”

The boys went back the way they came, then came back the way they went.

Deedee was sitting on a bench. She had been benched by Mr. Louis for excessive noisemaking.

“I found Jane Smith,” Jason whispered as he walked past her… .

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… Deedee and Jason entered the classroom together. Mrs. Drazil was seated behind her desk. As they passed in front of her, Deedee stopped and said, “Did you have a nice time at the dentist yesterday, Jason?”

“Yes, Deedee,” said Jason. “It was very nice.”

“I wonder if we have the same dentist,” said Deedee. “What is your dentist’s name?”

“Her name is Dr. Payne,” said Jason. “But that hasn’t always been her name.”

“It hasn’t?” asked Deedee.

“Oh, no,” said Jason. “Before she was married, her name was Jane Smith.”

“Jane Smith?” asked Deedee. “Is that spelled J-A-N-E S-M-I-T-H?”

“Yes, that’s how you spell Jane Smith,” said Jason. “But like I said, that’s not her name anymore. Her name is Dr. Payne. She works at the dentist office at 124 Garden Street.”

They took their seats… .

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… Late that afternoon Dr. Payne finished work and walked out of her office. It had been a good day. She had drilled twenty-five teeth.

She made sixty dollars for every tooth she drilled. Twenty-five times sixty dollars is $1,500. Not bad for a day’s work.

Of course, not all the teeth really had cavities, but how would any of her patients find out?

She got into her fancy silver-and-black sports car and drove away. She sang along with the radio.

She didn’t even notice the old beat-up green station wagon in her rearview mirror.

She lived in a mansion next to the lake. There was a stone wall around the house. She pressed a button in her car, and an iron gate opened. The gate closed behind her as she headed up the long and winding driveway.

A moment later the old green station wagon stopped and parked next to the gate. A woman got out, walked around to the back, and opened the tailgate. She pulled out a ladder. She set the ladder up against the wall.