.
“Well, there’s one little thing you don’t know about me,” said Wendy.
His hand bumped into it. “What’s this thing?” he asked.
“That’s what I was going to tell you about, dear,” said Wendy.
Xavier parted Wendy’s hair and looked at it. “It’s an ear!” he exclaimed.
“Yes, it is,” said Wendy. “Some people have two ears. I have three. Now that you know, if you still want to marry me, my answer is yes! Yes, sweetheart, yes!”
“I love you,” said Xavier. “That’s all that matters to me.”
That was what he said. But this is what he was thinking.
Oh, gross! You’re disgusting! I never want to touch you again! I can’t even stand to look at you! You tricked me, you freak! You monster!
And of course Wendy heard every word.
He stood up. “I’ll be right back, sweetheart. I bought you diamond earrings as an engagement present. I just need to run back to the jewelry store and buy one more.” He hurried out the door.
She never saw him again.
I’m sorry to say this story has a sad ending.
Xavier, thanks to Wendy, got over his shyness. He went out with lots of women but broke each one’s heart. He could never love any of them.
There was a hole in his heart. He was in love with Wendy Nogard, but he didn’t know it. And so he could never be happy.
Wendy became a bitter and evil person. She was unhappy, and she wanted everyone else to be unhappy too.
Whenever she heard someone thinking happy thoughts, she would listen closely and then do and say just the right thing to make the person feel rotten.
She hated children the most. Every time she passed a playground, she heard them laughing and having fun.
So she became a substitute teacher.
g
Chapter 24
Glum and Blah
Miss Nogard entered the classroom on the thirtieth story. She looked at all the bright and chipper faces. She knew by the end of the day they would no longer be bright and chipper.
They would be glum and blah.
She smiled at the class. “Good morning, everybody,” she said. “My name is Miss Nogard.”
She listened to their brains.
Calvin had spilled orange juice on his lap during breakfast and worried that someone might think he had gone to the bathroom in his pants.
Dana had gotten her hair cut yesterday, and she thought it was too short. She was afraid it made her look like a boy. She was especially sensitive to this because Dana was sometimes a boy’s name.
Jason was mad at his older brother, Justin. Justin was in high school. Justin always got good grades and was a star in everything he did. Compared to Justin, Jason felt like a loser. “What’s so great about high school?” he had asked this morning. “My school is higher than yours!”
D.J. had heard a song on the radio on his way to school. He hated the song! But it kept playing over and over again in his head.