Gotcha! Gotcha Back! (7 page)

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Authors: Nancy Krulik

BOOK: Gotcha! Gotcha Back!
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Chapter 14
On Monday morning, Katie, George, and Mandy all got to school early. They wanted to make sure they were the first ones inside their classroom. That way, they could hand copies of their new magazine to each of their classmates as they walked into the room.
Katie, George, and Mandy were very proud of their work. They had spent all weekend working together at Katie’s house making the magazine.
“4A
Funnies,”
Emma W. said as she read the title.
“It’s our new class joke magazine,” George told her. “It’s hilarious. I wrote a lot of it.”
“It looks very nice, too,” Mandy added.
“I
designed it.”
A few moments later, Mr. G. walked into the room. “Sorry I’m late, dudes,” he said. “I had a meeting with Mr. Kane.”
The teacher looked around. All the kids were sitting on their beanbag chairs, reading 4A Funnies.
“I thought we weren’t going to have a newspaper anymore,” Mr. G. reminded them.
“It’s not a newspaper,” Katie assured her teacher. “It’s a joke magazine. George, Mandy, and I made it this weekend.”
Mr. G. looked at Katie, George, and Mandy. “You guys did this all by yourselves?” he asked.
Katie nodded. “We used my computer.”
“There are no mean jokes in this, are there?” Mr. G. asked.
Katie shook her head.
“Look at the pictures of George and Mandy making funny faces,” Emma S. giggled. “George, you blew up your cheeks so big. You look like a balloon.”
George smiled proudly.
“Mandy’s touching her nose with her tongue,” Kadeem pointed out as he stared at the photos. “Pretty impressive.”
“This is hysterical!” Emma S. exclaimed. “Did you guys see the article on weird laws?”
“They’re all real laws,” George assured her.
“We found them in a book in the library,” Katie added. She smiled at Mr. G. She knew he would like that. Teachers always liked it when you did research.
“Listen to this one,” Andrew said. “In Massachusetts, it’s against the law to put tomatoes in clam chowder.”
“I could never live
there!”
Kevin exclaimed. “I love my tomatoes.”
“In Kentucky, there’s a law that says a person has to take a bath at least once a year!” Emma W. told the class.
“In the state of Colorado, if your cat goes outside loose it has to wear a tail light!” Kadeem read. He turned to Katie. “I’ll bet you’re glad Cherrydale doesn’t have a law like that for dogs!”
Everyone laughed as they pictured Katie’s cocker spaniel with a light on his stubby little brown tail.
“This magazine is awesome,” Kevin said. He looked over at Katie, George, and Mandy. “You guys totally rock!”
“Can we keep making 4A Funnies, Mr. G.?” Katie asked hopefully.
Mr. G. smiled. “How can I say no when you dudes are all having so much fun reading?”
“All right!” Katie pumped her fist in the air.
“Woo-hoo!” George shouted. He gave Mandy a high five.
“Can I help with the next issue?” Andrew asked Katie.
“Me too,” Kadeem added. “I could have my own column—‘Kadeem’s Craziest Jokes!’ ”
“There’s already a ‘George’s Jokes’ column,” George told him. “It’s on page three.”
Kadeem turned the page and read some of George’s riddles. “My jokes would be funnier than yours,” he told George.
“I doubt it,” George insisted.
“You can
both
have a joke column,” Katie interrupted the boys before they could have an argument. “It will be like having a joke-off in every issue!”
“Maybe I could draw a comic strip,” Emma W. suggested shyly. “I like to draw.”
“That would be really neat,” Mandy said.
Katie grinned. It was good to see everyone getting along ...
finally.
“We are so lucky,” Andrew said. “Everyone else just has a plain old class newspaper.”
“It was time for a change,” George said. “There haven’t been any changes in this school for a long time.”
Katie knew better. She thought about all the people she’d changed into in the past year—Mrs. Derkman, Emma W., Pepper, even George!
George was wrong. There
had
been plenty of changes in Cherrydale. But Katie was the only one who knew about them. And that was how it was going to stay!
Laughable Laws
Katie, George, and Mandy didn’t have enough room to put all the silly laws they found in the library into the first issue of 4A Funnies. But they didn’t want you to miss out on all the fun. So, here are a few more of their favorites.
 
In Virginia, the law says that chickens cannot lay eggs before 8:00 a.m., and must be done before 4:00 p.m.
In Massachusetts, no gorilla is allowed in the backseat of any car.
An Alaska law says that you can’t look at a moose from an airplane.
In North Dakota, it is illegal to lie down and fall asleep with your shoes and socks on.
You aren’t allowed to drive a buffalo through a street in Kansas.
In North Carolina, it is against the law for dogs and cats to fight.
In Ohio, it is illegal to fish for whales on Sundays.
In Arkansas, it is against the law to mispronounce the name of the state. (Just in case you visit there someday, remember, it’s pronounced AR-kan-saw!)

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