Wayside School Is Falling Down (Wayside School 2)

“Louis!” exclaimed Joy. “Are you crazy? Let’s spend it. We can buy a skateboard, or a bicycle, or a horse, or a fancy car, or an airplane!”

“I like taking the bus,” said Maurecia.

“You could buy ice cream!” said Joy. “All the ice cream you ever want for the rest of your life.” She knew Maurecia loved ice cream more than anything else in the world.

Maurecia smiled as she thought about it. “No, I better show it to Louis. He’ll know what to do.”

“You’ll just get in trouble,” warned Joy. “Louis will think you robbed a bank. You’ll go to jail for the rest of your life.”

“Louis knows I’m not a bank robber,” said Maurecia.

“But what if the real bank robbers find out you have their money?” asked Joy. “They’ll come after you and murder you.”

“Oh, I didn’t think of that,” said Maurecia.

“You better give it to me,” said Joy.

“Louis will protect me,” said Maurecia. She walked across the playground.

Louis was talking to Terrence. He said, “If you ever tie Leslie’s pigtails to the tetherball pole again, I’ll—”

“Louis, look!” said Maurecia. She held the paper sack up to his face.

“No thank you, Maurecia, I’m not hungry,” said Louis.

“It’s not my lunch,” said Maurecia. “Look inside!”

Louis took the bag from her and looked inside.

“Very nice,” he said, then gave it back to her. “Now I want you to go untie Leslie and tell her—”

He suddenly stopped talking and blinked his eyes. He looked at Terrence, then at Maurecia, then at Terrence, then at Maurecia, and then at the paper sack. “Let me see that again,” he said.

Maurecia gave him the bag.

“Hey, what about me?” asked Terrence.

“Get lost, Jack Frost,” said Louis.

Terrence ran away.

“Did you rob a bank?” asked Louis.

“No, I found it in the bushes,” said Maurecia.

“I believe you,” said Louis. “We’ll have to put it in the lost and found.”

“I know,” sa

id Maurecia. “Whoever lost it is probably very sad.”

“But if no one claims it in two weeks, you can have it,” said Louis. He took the bag of money and headed to the office.

Joy was waiting for Louis at the door. “Hey, Louis,” she said. “I lost a bag full of money. Have you seen it?”

“Help!” Leslie screamed from the tetherball court.

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