Wayside School Is Falling Down (Wayside School 2)

Allison screamed as loud as she could.

Mrs. Jewls didn’t hear her.

Allison faced the class. “Can’t anybody see me?” she asked.

Nobody answered her.

“Rondi?” shouted Allison. “Dana? Jason?

“This isn’t funny,” said Allison. “I know you’re all just pretending.” She stood right in front of Jason, leaned over his desk, and stared him straight in the eye. “I know you can see me,” she said. “You’re trying not to laugh.”

He stared right through her.

She stuck out her tongue at him.

He leaned forward, causing Allison’s tongue to lick his nose.

“Yuck!” she exclaimed, then wiped her tongue on her sleeve.

Mrs. Jewls began the morning lesson.

“Have you gone crazy?” shouted Allison. She ran out of the room and down to the class on the twenty-ninth story. “Come quick,” she said. “There’s something wrong with Mrs. Jewls’s class.”

No one heard her.

She slammed the door, then continued down the stairs to the class on the twenty-eighth floor. No one saw her there, either.

Tears streamed down her cheeks. Is the whole school playing a joke on me? she wondered. “It’s not funny!” she shouted as loud as she could.

She continued down the stairs, screaming anything that came to her head, hoping that someone, somewhere, would notice her.

“Fish for sale! Fresh fish! Fat fish! Get your fresh, fat fish!”

A tall, skinny lady with very short hair stepped out of one of the classrooms. “Sh!” she whispered. “This is a school, not a fish market!”

“You can hear me?” asked Allison. She was so happy, she wanted to hug her.

“Yes, I can hear you,” the woman said sternly. “My whole class can hear you. You’re making it impossible for us to get any work done.”

“I’m sorry,” said Allison. “But something’s wrong in Mrs. Jewls’s class.”

“You’d better come in here,” said the teacher.

Allison followed the teacher into her classroom.

“What’s your name?” the teacher asked her.

“Allison.”

“Boys and girls, this is Allison,” the teacher announced to her students. “She’ll be joining our class.”

“What?” said Allison. “But—”

“My name is Miss Zarves,” said the teacher. “Welcome to the nineteenth story.”

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Chapter 19 (second)