The Upside-Down Day (2 page)

Jason watched Honey guide Ellen forward. “How will the dog know when to cross the street?” he asked.

“She's trained to listen for cars,” Dunkum said. “Just watch when we get to the curb.”

Abby's sister, Carly, suddenly dropped her show-and-tell. It was a giant green lizard puppet with a long tail.

Honey began barking loudly.

Ellen frowned and stopped walking.
“What's wrong with Honey?” She tightened her hold on the harness.

“It's OK, Ellen,” said Dunkum. “It's just Carly's ugly puppet.”

“She's
not
ugly!” shouted Carly.

Dunkum chuckled. “It's a
she
?”

“God made girl lizards, too,” Carly said, grinning.

“You're right,” said Dunkum. “I forgot.” He circled the girls, bouncing the ball.

The Cul-de-sac Kids laughed as they reached the end of the block.

Honey led Ellen to the curb. They waited for a moment. A car passed by slowly, and Honey stepped back. Ellen did, too.

Soon it was safe. The dog guided Ellen across the street to school.

“Wow,” said Carly and Dee Dee.

“Honey's cool,” said Eric.

Dunkum's mother took Ellen and her dog to the school office. The kids yelled their good-byes. They promised to meet at recess.

“Two things will be exciting this week,”
Abby said. “One is School Spirit Day. The second thing is having a dog for a classmate.”

“No kidding,” said Stacy. Her eyes were bright.

Abby could hardly wait for school to start!

TWO

Miss Hershey was seating a girl with red pigtails.

“Looks like we have
another
new girl,” Abby said. She tried not to stare.

Stacy opened her desk behind Abby's.

Abby watched her friend dig through her desk. “What are you looking for?” she asked.

“A piece of paper,” Stacy muttered. She closed her desk quickly.

Abby ripped a page from her notebook. “Here.” She gave the paper to Stacy.

Stacy began to draw a secret message for the new girl. The letters and numbers
spelled out something special.

Well + come 2 R Class

“Will you take this to the new girl?” she asked.

“
You
take it. Don't be shy,” Abby said. She pushed the note back into Stacy's hand.

Stacy wrinkled her face. Then she crept across the room. She slid the note onto the new girl's desk. And she hurried back to her own desk.

Abby and Stacy watched the new girl open the note. She gave them a creepy smile.

Stacy smiled back. Abby didn't know whether to smile or frown.

Jason plopped down on Abby's desk. “Hey, look at that. The new girl's got red pigtails.”

“So what?” said Abby.

“Don't you see? Her hair's too short for pigtails,” Jason joked. “They stick straight out.”

“Be nice,” Abby said. “She's new. Besides,
we should treat others the way
we
want to be treated.”

Jason crossed his eyes and scrunched up his face.

Rrrinng!
The last bell before school started.

Miss Hershey's students scrambled to their seats. She called roll. Then she asked the new girl to stand and say her name.

“I'm Leslie Groff,” said the girl. She sat down real fast.

Abby thought Leslie must surely be in the wrong class. Leslie was way too short for their grade.

After spelling class, Ellen and her guide dog showed up.

Miss Hershey assigned a desk to Ellen in the back of the room. Honey could stretch out there.

Abby couldn't help staring at Honey. Her classmates kept looking at the beautiful dog, too.

“Students, please face the front,” Miss
Hershey said several times during math.

When it was time for reading, Leslie Groff sat beside Abby. Halfway through the story, she whispered, “I have a secret.”

Abby looked at her. “A secret? What is it?”

“Can't tell,” she whispered.

“Then let me guess,” Abby said.

“You'll never guess in a trillion and one years.”

A mystery! Abby was ready for the challenge. Her mind was racing. She
had
to solve it . . . whatever the mystery was!

At recess, Abby played with the other Cul-de-sac Kids. They gathered near the slide and took turns petting Honey. Abby asked, “What could Leslie's secret be?”

Dunkum had an idea. “Maybe she's a cousin to Anne of Green Gables.
She
had red hair, too.”

They cracked up, laughing.

“Leslie looks like a second grader to me. She probably skipped a grade,” said Eric.

“I think so, too!” said Abby. “That's got to be her secret.”

Ellen sat on the end of the slide. Honey was licking her hand. “Where's Leslie now?” Ellen asked.

“She stayed inside with Miss Hershey,” Jason said. Then he doubled over, laughing hard. “Leslie's short, skinny pigtails match her legs!”

Abby didn't think it was funny. “Jason, what about the Golden Rule?”

“That's right,” said Dunkum. “Besides, some kids can't help being skinny.”

“And some kids can't help being
girls
!” joked Jason.

“Come on, Jason, let's play ball,” Dunkum suggested. “The girls are gonna clobber you!”

Eric smiled at Abby. “Jason didn't really mean it, you know.” He ran off to join the boys.

Ellen giggled. “Uh-oh, Abby. Eric
likes
you.”

“Why do you think that?” asked Abby.

“I just do,” said Ellen.

The recess bell rang.

On the way inside, Ellen promised to show Abby and Stacy her Braille machine. “It makes little dots stick up off the paper. I can feel each dot with my fingers,” Ellen explained. “That's how I read.”

“It's like a secret code,” Abby said. “Which reminds me of Leslie Groff. I
have
to figure out her secret!”

THREE

The next day, Abby's father woke her. “Hurry, Abby. You overslept!”

She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. “Wha-at?”

“Fifteen minutes before breakfast,” her father said. “Hurry, you'll be late for school!”

Abby tossed off the covers. She threw on a blouse and pants. She swished a toothbrush over her teeth and brushed her hair. Grabbing
Mystery History
, she was off to breakfast.

But the kitchen was empty.

“Daddy?”

“I'm in here,” he called from his study.

“Where
is
everybody?” she asked.

He looked at his watch. “Well, my goodness! It's only six o'clock.”

“Da-a-ddy!” Abby squealed. “You tricked me.”

He gave her a bear hug. “Happy School Spirit Day, honey.”

“You're getting me ready for the fun at school, right?”

Her father winked, wearing a big smile.

Then Abby had an idea.

She tiptoed to her sister's room. “Psst, Carly!”

Carly rolled over in bed. She rubbed her eyes and stretched.

Abby tried to sound serious. “If you don't hurry, you'll be late for school.”

Carly looked at her big sister already dressed for school. She jumped out of bed. Her foot stuck in the covers. Carly rolled, falling to the floor.
Thud!

“Here, I'll help you.” Abby untangled the covers for Carly. She pulled her foot
out, too. All the while, she tried not to burst out laughing.

While her sister hurried to the bathroom, Abby hid behind the bedroom door. Soon she heard Carly rush off to the kitchen.

Things were very quiet. But only for a moment.

“Abby!” wailed Carly. “No one's up! What's going on?”

Abby inched out of hiding. “Happy School Spirit Day!” she said.

“But this isn't school,” Carly said. “This is our home.” So she crawled back into her unmade bed. “You'll be sorry for this,” she grumbled.

“Aw, don't be mad,” said Abby. “Now you'll have time to make your bed and pick up your room.
Before
school starts.”

“Hey, you're not the boss!” said Carly. She threw her pillow at Abby.

Abby ran to her own room and slammed the door. Carly chased her. She pounded on Abby's door.

“What's all the racket?” Mother called sleepily.

Abby tried not to giggle. She secretly blamed Carly for all the noise.

“Please tell your sister to be quieter,” Mother said.

“I will,” Abby called back with a grin.

At school, Miss Hershey was wearing a purple suit. Her jacket was on backward. Her earrings were clipped on backward, too. Even the day's schedule was written on the chalkboard backward.

Abby looked hard at the jumbled words.
Hoo-ray!
Reading class was first.

“Happy School Spirit Day,” Miss Hershey told the class. “For several months now, we've been reading mysteries. All of you are learning to gather clues.” She made her voice sound a little sneaky. “So . . . pay very close attention. You never know where a mystery might pop up.”

Abby wondered about Leslie Groff's secret. Before class, Leslie had dropped a
note on Abby's desk. Abby pulled it out and read it again. It was in a code, with pictures and words mixed up.

“Class, we're having art first today,” their teacher said.

Jason raised his hand. “I don't get it. The schedule says reading class is first.”

Miss Hershey nodded. “Just remember—anything can happen today.” There was that mystery sound in her voice again.

Abby was all ears. She listened carefully when Miss Hershey assigned them to tables.

She hid her book under the table during art. She couldn't wait to read the last chapter of
Mystery History
.

Leslie sat on the other side of the table. “What are you doing?” she asked.

Abby held up the book. “I'm going to guess your secret.
This
will help me.”

“Do you really think so?” asked Leslie. She had a funny look in her eyes.