their time putting the chairs back to give
him a chance to get far away. When they entered the staircase,
though, there he was, leaning against the wall.
He straightened himself and stood in front of
them. “You clucks and that old buzzard ruined my art the first
time, and I’m not finished with you. I hear you got suspended and
didn’t like it. Well, I’m going to get you suspended again. And I’m
going to make sure this time that it’s your art that doesn’t
get a chance to win. I’ll be the one in the newspaper, not
you.”
“Come on, Emery.” Philip led Emery around
Johnny Visco, who gave him a shove with his shoulder when he went
by. Philip bumped into Emery and they both staggered down a few
steps as they hurried away.
~ * ~
“Now what?” said Emery as he and Philip
walked home after school.
“I don’t know,” Philip shrugged. “Maybe Mr.
Conway was right. Maybe we should try to get him first.”
“Oh, sure. Like we can. Mr. Conway tried to
get him and all he did was get us in trouble instead. Mr.
Greif and Ms. Trinetti lecturing us on the same day. That was
fun.”
“We’ll just have to be careful,” said Philip.
“At least it’s Friday and we don’t have to worry about school or
Johnny Visco for two days. Want to come over my house later?”
Emery said that he did and the two boys spent
a peaceful weekend.
~ * ~
But first thing Monday morning Philip and
Emery were astonished to find more M & Ms in their desks. Then
Philip found some pencils he didn’t recognize. Then a notebook that
wasn’t his. Two strange pencil cases were stuffed into the back
corner of the desk. And there was a quarter that certainly wasn’t
his. He looked at Emery.
Emery was digging under his desk, a confused
look on his face.
“Yes?” the boys heard their teacher say.
“Ms. Louis, I can’t find my stuff,” said
Peter, a boy who sat in the back of the room.
“What do you mean?” said Ms. Louis. “What
stuff?”
“My pencils and my notebook. And I left a
quarter in my desk and it’s not there.”
Philip’s stomach plunged. He understood right
away and shot his arm up into the air. “Ms. Louis. Ms. Louis.”
“Yes, Philip?”
“I think maybe when they cleaned the room
after school Friday a lot of stuff got maybe knocked on the floor,
and they didn’t know where to put it back. I have a lot of stuff in
my desk that isn’t mine.” He gave Emery a quick look.
“Uh, yeah. Me, too,” said Emery. “I’ve got
pencils and books and sharpeners and stuff. Not mine.”
“That’s peculiar,” said Ms. Louis. “Everyone
check your desks and see whether you have anything missing or
whether you have things that aren’t yours.”
When it was all straightened out, only Philip
and Emery had desks full of strange stuff.
“I’ll have to tell the cleaners to be more
careful,” said Ms. Louis and the morning went on.
~ * ~
“They would have said we stole all that
stuff,” said Emery as he and Philip settled down to eat their
lunch. “Johnny Visco got into the room and did that.”
“I know. I know. How can he sneak around so
much and nobody see him? Look, here he comes.”
Johnny Visco walked by. “Have a nice
morning?”
Philip and Emery watched as he took a place
at his own lunch table.
“Good thing you got that idea,” said Emery.
“Boy, we’d have been suspended for a month for stealing all of that
stuff.”
“Well, we weren’t,” said Philip, feeling
angrier and angrier as he thought about Johnny Visco. “Let’s go
back to Mr. Conway’s house after school today. Maybe he’ll have a
better idea than calling the principal.”
Emery moaned. “Oh, no.”
“Maybe he will,” said Philip. “If he doesn’t
then we better come up with an idea, because Johnny Visco
isn’t going to stop bothering us.”
“Oh, boy,” Emery moaned again, “if we have to
depend on Mr. Conway to save us, we might as well get suspended now
and get it over with.”
“Maybe not,” said
him a chance to get far away. When they entered the staircase,
though, there he was, leaning against the wall.
He straightened himself and stood in front of
them. “You clucks and that old buzzard ruined my art the first
time, and I’m not finished with you. I hear you got suspended and
didn’t like it. Well, I’m going to get you suspended again. And I’m
going to make sure this time that it’s your art that doesn’t
get a chance to win. I’ll be the one in the newspaper, not
you.”
“Come on, Emery.” Philip led Emery around
Johnny Visco, who gave him a shove with his shoulder when he went
by. Philip bumped into Emery and they both staggered down a few
steps as they hurried away.
~ * ~
“Now what?” said Emery as he and Philip
walked home after school.
“I don’t know,” Philip shrugged. “Maybe Mr.
Conway was right. Maybe we should try to get him first.”
“Oh, sure. Like we can. Mr. Conway tried to
get him and all he did was get us in trouble instead. Mr.
Greif and Ms. Trinetti lecturing us on the same day. That was
fun.”
“We’ll just have to be careful,” said Philip.
“At least it’s Friday and we don’t have to worry about school or
Johnny Visco for two days. Want to come over my house later?”
Emery said that he did and the two boys spent
a peaceful weekend.
~ * ~
But first thing Monday morning Philip and
Emery were astonished to find more M & Ms in their desks. Then
Philip found some pencils he didn’t recognize. Then a notebook that
wasn’t his. Two strange pencil cases were stuffed into the back
corner of the desk. And there was a quarter that certainly wasn’t
his. He looked at Emery.
Emery was digging under his desk, a confused
look on his face.
“Yes?” the boys heard their teacher say.
“Ms. Louis, I can’t find my stuff,” said
Peter, a boy who sat in the back of the room.
“What do you mean?” said Ms. Louis. “What
stuff?”
“My pencils and my notebook. And I left a
quarter in my desk and it’s not there.”
Philip’s stomach plunged. He understood right
away and shot his arm up into the air. “Ms. Louis. Ms. Louis.”
“Yes, Philip?”
“I think maybe when they cleaned the room
after school Friday a lot of stuff got maybe knocked on the floor,
and they didn’t know where to put it back. I have a lot of stuff in
my desk that isn’t mine.” He gave Emery a quick look.
“Uh, yeah. Me, too,” said Emery. “I’ve got
pencils and books and sharpeners and stuff. Not mine.”
“That’s peculiar,” said Ms. Louis. “Everyone
check your desks and see whether you have anything missing or
whether you have things that aren’t yours.”
When it was all straightened out, only Philip
and Emery had desks full of strange stuff.
“I’ll have to tell the cleaners to be more
careful,” said Ms. Louis and the morning went on.
~ * ~
“They would have said we stole all that
stuff,” said Emery as he and Philip settled down to eat their
lunch. “Johnny Visco got into the room and did that.”
“I know. I know. How can he sneak around so
much and nobody see him? Look, here he comes.”
Johnny Visco walked by. “Have a nice
morning?”
Philip and Emery watched as he took a place
at his own lunch table.
“Good thing you got that idea,” said Emery.
“Boy, we’d have been suspended for a month for stealing all of that
stuff.”
“Well, we weren’t,” said Philip, feeling
angrier and angrier as he thought about Johnny Visco. “Let’s go
back to Mr. Conway’s house after school today. Maybe he’ll have a
better idea than calling the principal.”
Emery moaned. “Oh, no.”
“Maybe he will,” said Philip. “If he doesn’t
then we better come up with an idea, because Johnny Visco
isn’t going to stop bothering us.”
“Oh, boy,” Emery moaned again, “if we have to
depend on Mr. Conway to save us, we might as well get suspended now
and get it over with.”
“Maybe not,” said
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