“Because I hate prune juice!” Jenny griped.
“Why are you late?” asked Mrs. Jewls.
“I can’t hear you,” said Jenny. “I better take off my helmet.” She took off her helmet.
“Take off your helmet,” said Mrs. Jewls.
“What?” asked Jenny.
“Why are you late?” asked Mrs. Jewls.
Jenny caught her breath. “What?” she asked. She couldn’t hear too well because she was still wearing the motorcycle helmet.
Mrs. Jewls looked up from the story she had been reading to the class. “You’re late,” she said.
She hopped off the bike in front of Wayside School and charged up the stairs. Her stomach was still going up and down as she opened the door to Mrs. Jewls’s room.
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sp; She put on her helmet; then her father drove her to school on the back of his motorcycle. It was a very bumpy ride.
“Put on your helmet,” said her father. “I’ll drive you to school on the back of my motorcycle.”
“I missed the bus,” Jenny grumbled.
“What are you doing home?” asked her mother.
She finally got it all down, then hurried as fast as she could to the bus stop. When she got there, the bus was just pulling away. She sighed, then turned around and ran all the way back home.
Her mother wouldn’t let her leave the breakfast table until she finished her prune juice. It took her forever. She hated prune juice more than anything in the world.
One day Jenny was late for school.
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Chapter 18
The Substitute
Benjamin couldn’t take it any longer. Today was the day he would finally tell Mrs. Jewls his real name. So what if nobody likes me? he thought. So what if I stop getting high marks?
“Hi, Mark,” said Jason.
“Hi, Mark,” said Stephen.
“Hi, hi,” he glumly replied, then started up the stairs.
“Hi, Mark,” said Bebe as he took his seat next to her. “Guess what? We have a substitute!”
“Yahoooo!” shouted Maurecia.
Everyone in Mrs. Jewls’s class loved it when they had substitute teachers. They loved playing mean and horrible tricks on them.
Benjamin frowned. He finally had the courage to tell Mrs. Jewls his real name. “Rats!” he said.