Gotcha! Gotcha Back! (3 page)

Read Gotcha! Gotcha Back! Online

Authors: Nancy Krulik

BOOK: Gotcha! Gotcha Back!
3.71Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
“Who cares who did it? It was great!” Kevin chuckled. “Somebody really gotcha, Suzanne!”
“It
was
funny,” Jeremy Fox agreed. He turned to Suzanne. “You deserved it. You were being such a snob.”
“Yeah, well, you’re a
slob!”
Suzanne snapped back at him. She pointed to a big pizza-grease stain on Jeremy’s shirt.
Katie frowned. Suzanne was her best friend. But so was Jeremy. It made her sad that they didn’t like each other.
“Come on, Suzanne, chill out. It was just a joke,” Manny told her.
Suzanne shook her head. “No way. Jokes are funny. That wasn’t funny at all.”
George shook his head. “Wanna bet?” he asked her. “Everybody here thought it was hysterical. That joke definitely livened things up in this cafeteria. Didn’t it, Katie Kazoo?”
Katie turned away. She had to admit that it had been pretty funny. But she could never say that to Suzanne. Especially since it was Katie’s whoopee cushion. Suzanne would be really angry at Katie if she found out about that.
“You can deny it, George, but I know you put that whoopee cushion there,” Suzanne insisted. “And I’m going to get you back. Just you wait and see.”
George laughed even harder. “Ooooh,” he said as he pretended to shake and shiver. “I’m soooo scared!”
Chapter 5
Saturday was cold and rainy. But the kids in Katie’s cooking club didn’t mind. Saturday was the day they met at Katie’s house to try out new recipes. They were all nice and dry inside, making chocolate-covered bananas.
“Mmmm,” Becky Stern murmured as she took a bite of hers. “This is the yummiest!”
“I wish we’d made more,” George grumbled. “Mine’s all gone, and I’m still hungry.”
“Me too,” Jeremy agreed.
“You know what I feel like?” Kevin asked the others. “Pizza.”
“Funny, you don’t
look
like a pizza,” George joked.
But everyone agreed that a pizza sure would taste good. And before long, Katie, George, Jeremy, Suzanne, Miriam, Jessica, Kevin, Mandy, and Becky were all at the Cherrydale Mall, watching as Louie threw pizza dough high in the air.
“When the moon, hits your eye, like a big pizza pie ... ” Louie sang as he tossed the dough. Luckily the pizza didn’t hit Louie in the eye. He caught it with his hands instead.
“I really hate rain,” Jeremy groaned. “This is the third weekend in a row that my afternoon soccer game has been rained out.”
Becky wasn’t sad. She was smiling. “I’m glad it rained. I hardly ever see you on the weekends,” she told Jeremy.
Jeremy scowled.
Katie felt bad for Jeremy. Becky was always saying things like that to him. And Jeremy hated it when she did.
“All right!” George exclaimed happily. “Louie just put our pie in the oven. Half extra cheese and half mushroom!”
A few minutes later, Louie placed the steaming hot pizza on the table, and handed everyone a dish.
“Mmm ... extra cheesy!” George exclaimed as he grabbed for a slice.
“Here, George,” Suzanne said sweetly as she handed him the saltshaker. “I know how much you love salt on your pizza.”
Katie didn’t know how anyone could put salt on pizza. But George did. He loved salty foods.
“Gee, thanks, Suzanne,” George replied. He took the saltshaker from her. He started to turn it over onto his pizza, but stopped suddenly. Then he shook his head. “Unfortunately, I don’t like sugar on my pizza!”
“What?” Suzanne asked him.
“This saltshaker is filled with sugar,” George said, putting a little on his finger and tasting it. “Nice try, Suzanne, but that’s the oldest practical joke in the world.
I
would never fall for it.”
Suzanne sighed. “You’re pretty good, George.”
George shook his head. “No I’m not,” he disagreed. “I’m the best.”
“Okay,” Suzanne admitted. “You’re the best. And you know what? I’m not even mad at you anymore.” She held out her hand. “Let’s be friends again.”
“We’re not friends,” George told her. “Besides, you have a buzzer on your hand. And I’m not falling for that either.”
Suzanne frowned. She’d been caught ... again.
“Go, George!” Kevin exclaimed. “No one can pull a practical joke on you!”
George grinned and took a huge bite of his pizza.
“This cheese is getting all over my hands,” Miriam Chan said. “I’m going to get some more napkins.”
As Miriam walked over to the counter, Katie noticed George reaching across the table. But from where she was sitting she couldn’t see exactly what he was doing.
A moment later, Miriam came back to the table. She put the napkins in the center and sat down. Then she started to take a sip of her drink ...
“Oh, yuck!” she exclaimed. “There’s a fly in my water!” Miriam jumped up to get away from the bug. As she stood, she hit the edge of the table. The water spilled all over her jeans.
Kevin and George started laughing.
“Check it out,” Kevin exclaimed. “Miriam wet her pants!” He laughed even harder.
Mandy looked over at the ice and water that had spilled on the table. She picked up one of the cubes and examined it.
“This isn’t an ice cube,” she told Miriam. “It’s a piece of clear plastic with a fake bug in it. Somebody put it in your water to scare you.”
“And I know who,” Suzanne said. She stared right at George.
“Who, me?” George asked. “I was just sitting here, eating my pizza.” He gobbled down the last bite. “And I’m finished now. So I’m leaving.”
“Me too,” Kevin added. He stood up and followed behind his best friend.
“I know it was George who did that,” Suzanne said as the boys left. “I’m sure of it.
“I wish we could get him back for his dumb practical jokes,” Miriam said with a frown.
Mandy smiled. “Oh, I think we can,” she said mysteriously.
Katie gulped. She didn’t like the sound of that at all.
Chapter 6
“Can you believe Mr. Kane?” Suzanne exclaimed angrily as she and Katie stood on the school steps on Monday afternoon. “Why should we all have to miss recess just because George played another of his practical jokes on everyone?”
“Suzanne, you don’t know for sure it was George,” Katie said.
“Come on, Katie,” Suzanne argued. “Who else would put a piece of plastic throw-up in the salad bar at school?”
Katie frowned. The fake throw-up was actually hers. She was just lucky Suzanne hadn’t remembered that Katie had gotten it from her Secret Santa.
“Lots of people could have done it,” Katie said. “Anyone could buy plastic throw-up at the toy store.”
Suzanne shrugged. “I guess. But George is the only person in the world who would put it in the salad bar.”
Katie couldn’t argue with that. So she changed the subject instead. “You want to come over to my house and do homework?” she asked.
Suzanne shook her head. “Sorry. I have plans with Mandy today.”
Katie looked at her strangely. Suzanne and Mandy hardly ever hung out together.
“Oh,” she said slowly. “What are you guys doing?”
“Nothing special,” Suzanne said with a shrug.
Katie waited for Suzanne to ask her if she wanted to come, too.
Suzanne didn’t say a word.
Just then, Mandy came walking out of the school. “Hey, Suzanne. Hi, Katie.”
“Hi,” Katie replied.
“Are you ready?” Suzanne asked Mandy.
Mandy looked over at Katie. “Uh, sure,” she murmured. “I just ... um ... er ... I have to go back and get something out of my classroom first.”
“Oh, okay,” Suzanne said. “I’ll come with you.” She turned to Katie. “See you later,” she added.
“Yeah, later,” Katie answered as she watched the two girls head into the school building together.
There was something really suspicious about Suzanne and Mandy’s behavior. Katie couldn’t figure out what was going on, but she knew something was up.
There was only one way to find out what it was. Quickly, Katie hurried up the steps and back into the school.

Other books

Brazen (Brazen 1) by Maya Banks
I Am Max Lamm by Raphael Brous
Countess by Coincidence by Cheryl Bolen
Objects of Desire by Roberta Latow
The Purple Room by Mauro Casiraghi
Book of Days: A Novel by James L. Rubart