Big Bad Beans by Beverly Lewis Page B

muttered.
    â€œToo bad, then.” Eric turned to go.
    The lump in his throat made Jason cough. “There’s just no way,” he said.

THREE
    Jason marched over to Abby’s the next day.
    He told her his plan to buy Eric’s mountain bike. And he told her about Eric’s deal—the rotten one.
    Abby shook her head. “Sounds like you need some quick money. I know just the thing—a recycling project.”
    â€œA what?” Jason asked.
    â€œYou know, a recycling project. Care for the earth and pick up some extra cash at the same time. I’ll call the Cul-de-sac Kids to help,” she said.
    â€œYa-hoo!” shouted Jason. “When do we start?”
    Abby sat on the porch step. “Tomorrow’s Saturday. Meet me in front of my house at eight.”
    â€œGotcha.” Jason raced home to count the money in his box. One more time.

    Saturday morning, Jason met Abby in front of her house.
    Dee Dee Winters and Abby’s little sister, Carly, pulled wagons. Stacy Henry wore her mother’s garden gloves.
    Dunkum Mifflin showed up with armloads of trash bags. Abby and Carly’s Korean brothers, Shawn and Jimmy, helped carry the bags.
    Jason smiled. He felt good having so many friends. Cul-de-sac Kid friends!
    Only Eric was missing.
    But Jason didn’t care. He’d show Eric all about good deals. He’d have the moneysoon. Maybe even today!
    â€œIf you buy Eric’s mountain bike, I’ll race you,” Dee Dee teased.
    â€œWe sure will!” Carly piped up.
    Jason pushed up his glasses. He had more important things on his mind than bike races. At least for now.
    Dunkum whistled with his fingers. “We’ll stop at every house in the cul-de-sac. Then all the houses up the street from the school. Abby, Stacy, and I will gather newspapers. Carly and Dee Dee can pull the glass bottles in the wagons. Jason, you, Shawn, and Jimmy can collect aluminum cans.” Dunkum gave Jason a handful of heavy-duty trash bags. “We’ll split the money evenly,” he said.
    â€œSuper good,” Jason said.
    Abby grinned. “Let’s go to Eric’s house first,” she suggested.
    â€œHoo-ray!” the kids agreed.
    â€œThis is a fun way to earn money,” Dee Dee said.
    Carly hurried to catch up with Dee Dee.
    Shawn and Jimmy Hunter chattered in Korean.
    Abby, Stacy and Dunkum told jokes.
    Jason jigged and jived.
    By lunchtime, the kids had gathered a mountain of recyclable items. Enough to fill Abby’s father’s van.
    Jason, Abby, and Dunkum rode along to the recycling center.
    On the way back, Jason counted his share of the money. Fifteen dollars and forty-eight cents worth of work.
    Yes! He ran across the street to Eric’s.
    No one was home.
    Phooey , he thought.
    Eager to buy the bike, Jason darted home. He went to his room and counted all his money. For the last time.
    Jason wanted to dance. There was plenty of money to buy Eric’s bike!

    At lunch, he ate fish and salad without fussing. But he nearly choked on the garbanzo beans. He excused himself every few minutes to see if Eric was home yet.
    His mom went to the kitchen for more herbal tea.
    His dad reached for the TV remote and turned on The Weather Channel.
    Quickly, Jason offered his last garbanzo bean to Muffle. The puppy chomped it right down.
    Ya-hoo!
    Jason didn’t bother to excuse himself from the table. He hurried off to his room.
    There he rooted through his junk drawer. Gotta have some strawberry bubble gum, he thought. Gotta, gotta!
    Just then he heard Eric’s grandpa drive up.
    â€œYes!” He grabbed his money and slammed the drawer. The bubble gum would just have to wait. Again.
    Eric’s grandpa was pulling into the garagewhen Jason arrived. Jason waited for Eric and his grandpa to get out of the car.
    â€œI’ve got the money,” Jason shouted, waving it in Eric’s face. “Even the extra five bucks!”
    Eric made a