CHAPTER 1
The Fake Holiday
“D o you know what day it is next week?” asked Molly Duff.
“Sure, I know,” said Sonny Stone. “It’s Sunday. That’s a day next week!”
“And Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday!” said Tracy Barnes, laughing.
“And Thursday and Friday and Saturday!” said Tim Noon. “Those are all days that come next week!”
The Pee Wees were on their way to their meeting at Mrs. Peters’s house. She was their leader. They were early, so they saton a park bench in the sun because spring felt so good. The snow was gone and they were all eager for summer, when they could ride bikes and go to the beach and eat Popsicles.
“That’s not what I mean,” said Molly. “There’s a holiday next week.”
“What holiday?” asked Rachel Myers. “There’s no holiday. Christmas is over and it’s not the Fourth of July yet.”
“You mean Easter, I’ll bet,” said Kevin Moe.
Molly liked Kevin. He and Jody George were her two favorites of the boys in Troop 23. Jody was handicapped and had a wheelchair Molly loved to ride in. She even wished she had one of her own.
Jody was away on a spring trip with his parents in Florida. His family did a lot of traveling. But Kevin was here, and Molly was almost ready to say Easter
was
the holiday she meant. But she couldn’t lie. Even though no one would know.
She shook her head and said, “No, it’s April Fools’ Day.”
Roger White groaned. “That’s no holiday!” he said. “Where do you see ads that say ‘Celebrate April Fools’ with us,’ or ‘Give your mom a tulip plant for April Fools’ Day’?”
The Pee Wees all seemed to agree with Roger.
“We don’t get the day off from school,” said Rachel.
“And they don’t even make cards that say ‘Happy April Fools’ Day,’ ” said Patty Baker. “I never saw them, anyway. It must be kind of like a fake holiday.”
“If it were a real holiday,” said Lisa Ronning, “Mrs. Peters would have a Pee Wee party for us. And what would sheput on a cake? What does an April Fool look like?”
Kenny Baker nodded. “On the Fourth of July you can have red-white-and-blue frosting. And on Christmas you have red and green, and on Easter you have candy eggs and rabbits. But there’s nothing you can put on an April Fools’ cake. No way. April Fools’ is not a holiday.”
The Pee Wees looked bored and disgusted with Molly’s idea. They began to talk about other things, like the ice rink that had melted and the crabby new teacher in second grade.
“I think April Fools’
is
a holiday,” said Molly’s best friend, Mary Beth Kelly.
It felt good to Molly to have at least one person who agreed with her. But maybe Mary Beth was just being loyal. Maybe she felt sorry for Molly. Maybe she really believed it was a silly idea but didn’t wantto hurt her best friend’s feelings. Molly
hated
pity.
“I mean, it’s on the calendar, you know. My calendar says ‘April Fools’ Day,’ as big as life. If that’s not proof, I don’t know what is.”
But Molly did not need proof. She
knew
she was right.
“It doesn’t matter if the others don’t celebrate,” Mary Beth added. “You and I can. What should we do?”
“Well, the way people celebrate is to play tricks on each other,” said Molly. “I think we should think of a good one to play on Roger.”
Roger White was the meanest Pee Wee in Troop 23. He was always tripping people or hitting them, or showing off. On a recent farm visit, he had pushed Tracy into the muddy pigpen.
The girls looked at him. He was dangling a rubber spider down the neck of Sonny’s T-shirt. Sonny was screaming.
“He deserves a good trick,” said Mary Beth. “Let’s think of something spectacular!”
“He’ll do something mean to get back at us, though,” said Molly.
“Not if he doesn’t know who did it,” said Mary Beth. “Where can we find some tricks to play? Do you think there’s a book of April Fools’ tricks?”
“I think we can make
The Fake Holiday
“D o you know what day it is next week?” asked Molly Duff.
“Sure, I know,” said Sonny Stone. “It’s Sunday. That’s a day next week!”
“And Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday!” said Tracy Barnes, laughing.
“And Thursday and Friday and Saturday!” said Tim Noon. “Those are all days that come next week!”
The Pee Wees were on their way to their meeting at Mrs. Peters’s house. She was their leader. They were early, so they saton a park bench in the sun because spring felt so good. The snow was gone and they were all eager for summer, when they could ride bikes and go to the beach and eat Popsicles.
“That’s not what I mean,” said Molly. “There’s a holiday next week.”
“What holiday?” asked Rachel Myers. “There’s no holiday. Christmas is over and it’s not the Fourth of July yet.”
“You mean Easter, I’ll bet,” said Kevin Moe.
Molly liked Kevin. He and Jody George were her two favorites of the boys in Troop 23. Jody was handicapped and had a wheelchair Molly loved to ride in. She even wished she had one of her own.
Jody was away on a spring trip with his parents in Florida. His family did a lot of traveling. But Kevin was here, and Molly was almost ready to say Easter
was
the holiday she meant. But she couldn’t lie. Even though no one would know.
She shook her head and said, “No, it’s April Fools’ Day.”
Roger White groaned. “That’s no holiday!” he said. “Where do you see ads that say ‘Celebrate April Fools’ with us,’ or ‘Give your mom a tulip plant for April Fools’ Day’?”
The Pee Wees all seemed to agree with Roger.
“We don’t get the day off from school,” said Rachel.
“And they don’t even make cards that say ‘Happy April Fools’ Day,’ ” said Patty Baker. “I never saw them, anyway. It must be kind of like a fake holiday.”
“If it were a real holiday,” said Lisa Ronning, “Mrs. Peters would have a Pee Wee party for us. And what would sheput on a cake? What does an April Fool look like?”
Kenny Baker nodded. “On the Fourth of July you can have red-white-and-blue frosting. And on Christmas you have red and green, and on Easter you have candy eggs and rabbits. But there’s nothing you can put on an April Fools’ cake. No way. April Fools’ is not a holiday.”
The Pee Wees looked bored and disgusted with Molly’s idea. They began to talk about other things, like the ice rink that had melted and the crabby new teacher in second grade.
“I think April Fools’
is
a holiday,” said Molly’s best friend, Mary Beth Kelly.
It felt good to Molly to have at least one person who agreed with her. But maybe Mary Beth was just being loyal. Maybe she felt sorry for Molly. Maybe she really believed it was a silly idea but didn’t wantto hurt her best friend’s feelings. Molly
hated
pity.
“I mean, it’s on the calendar, you know. My calendar says ‘April Fools’ Day,’ as big as life. If that’s not proof, I don’t know what is.”
But Molly did not need proof. She
knew
she was right.
“It doesn’t matter if the others don’t celebrate,” Mary Beth added. “You and I can. What should we do?”
“Well, the way people celebrate is to play tricks on each other,” said Molly. “I think we should think of a good one to play on Roger.”
Roger White was the meanest Pee Wee in Troop 23. He was always tripping people or hitting them, or showing off. On a recent farm visit, he had pushed Tracy into the muddy pigpen.
The girls looked at him. He was dangling a rubber spider down the neck of Sonny’s T-shirt. Sonny was screaming.
“He deserves a good trick,” said Mary Beth. “Let’s think of something spectacular!”
“He’ll do something mean to get back at us, though,” said Molly.
“Not if he doesn’t know who did it,” said Mary Beth. “Where can we find some tricks to play? Do you think there’s a book of April Fools’ tricks?”
“I think we can make
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