Pig City by Louis Sachar

ceased.
    They all got up to answer it.
    Nathan and Aaron stood on the other side of the door.
    â€œHi,” said Nathan.
    â€œHi,” said Allison.
    â€œHi,” said Laura.
    â€œHi,” said Aaron.
    â€œHi,” said Tiffany.
    â€œHi,” Nathan said again.
    â€œC’mon, let’s go,” said Laura. She, Tiffany, and Allison stepped outside. Aaron and Nathan stepped inside. They crashed in the middle.
    â€œThis way,” said Laura. She led them around the side of the house to the backyard, then into the clubhouse. Nathan was first. They told Aaron to wait outside.
    â€œWowie zowie,” said Nathan as he looked around the Dog House. He sat on the bed.
    Tiffany sat next to him. Her right leg and Nathan’s left leg were less than an inch apart. Laura sat in the swinging chair, and Allison was on the giant purple bean bag.
    â€œWe’re about to tell you a secret,” said Laura. “You must never repeat any of it to anybody.”
    â€œI won’t,” he said. “Cross my liver.” He made an X over his left side where his liver was, or at least where Laura thought it was. She didn’t know for sure.
    â€œWe need insurance,” said Allison.
    â€œYou mean like life insurance?”
    â€œYou have to write a nasty letter to Mr. Doyle,” said Tiffany. “We’ll tell you what you have to write.”
    â€œThen, if you break your vow of secrecy,” said Allison, “we’ll give him your letter.”
    â€œHey, that’s neat,” said Nathan. “That’s clever.”
    They gave him a piece of paper and a pen. He leaned over and wrote on the top of the coffee table as the three girls dictated to him.
    â€œDear Mr. Doyle,” Allison began.
    Dear Mr. Doyle
, wrote Nathan.
    â€œYou stink,” said Laura.
    You stink
, he wrote.
    They made it up as they went along.
    â€œYou are the most ugliest teacher in the school!” said Tiffany.
    â€œYou’re too stupid to be a teacher!” said Laura.
    â€œAnd you have bad breath,” said Allison.
    â€œWait, not so fast,” said Nathan, as he furiously tried to keep up. “‘Have bad breath.’ Go on.”
    â€œI hate you,” said Laura. She waited for him to finish. “Then sign it, ‘Sincerely, Nathan.’”
    Nathan finished the letter. Laura read it over, then gave it to Allison. She put it in the treasure chest.
    Nathan’s and Tiffany’s legs were now touching, but they each pretended not to notice.
    â€œWelcome to Pig City,” said Laura, nose and fist together.
    Nathan returned the salute. “I’m proud to be a member of such a fine organization,” he said.
    Aaron was next.
    Between the time Nathan left and Aaron entered, Tiffany and Allison switched positions. Allison was on the bed. Tiffany was on the beans.
    Aaron sat next to Allison. He wore brown slacks and hard shoes. His shirt looked freshly ironed. His hair was neatly combed. You could tell just by looking at Aaron that he always wore clean underwear, too.
    â€œI thought clubs were illegal,” he said.
    â€œWhat club?” asked Allison.
    â€œI don’t know anything about a club,” said Tiffany.
    Aaron smiled. “I don’t know anything about a club, either.”
    Allison smiled at him.
    For his insurance, he had to sing a song into the tape recorder.
    It had three verses. Each girl had written a different verse. Allison handed him a piece of paper with all the words. “You have to sing this,” she said. “Then if you tell anybody what we tell you, we’ll play the tape for the whole school, over the PA system.”
    â€œIt’s to the tune of ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb,’” said Tiffany.
    Aaron looked it over. “Okay, I’m ready,” he said. He put the paper down. He had it memorized.
    Laura handed Aaron the microphone, turned her cassette player to record, and signaled for him to