21 - Go Eat Worms! Read Online Free Page B

bedroom door opened, and Regina stepped out into the hall. She was
pulling her brown hair back into a ponytail.
    She stopped when she saw Todd at the top of the stairs. “So, how did it go
last night?” she asked him, grinning.
    “Fine,” he replied casually. He gave her an innocent, wide-eyed stare.
    Her grin faded. “Did you go to Patrick’s house? Did you talk to him about his
worm project?” she demanded, staring back at him, studying his face.
    Todd shook his head. “No. Danny and I decided to skip it. We just hung out at
Danny’s,” he lied.
    Her dark eyes seemed to dim. She bit her lower lip. Todd could see how
disappointed she was.
    He turned and made his way down the stairs, feeling a little better.
    You want to play jokes, Reggie? he thought.
    Okay. Fine.
    But now it’s my turn. My turn to play a mean joke.
    Todd smiled. He had already thought of a really good one.

 
 
10
     
     
    Todd hoisted the cardboard carton in both hands. His worm house was packed
carefully inside. It was heavier than he thought.
    “Where shall I put it?” he asked Mrs. Sanger, struggling to keep the heavy
carton from slipping out of his hands.
    “What? I can’t hear you!” The science teacher held a clipboard in one hand.
She cupped her other hand around her mouth as a megaphone.
    It was deafening in the gym as the kids all hurried to set up their science
projects in time for the expo. Excited voices competed with scraping chairs and
tables, the rattle of cartons being unpacked, and projects of all shapes and
sizes being assembled and set up.
    “What a crowd!” Todd exclaimed.
    “I can’t hear you!” Mrs. Sanger shouted. She pointed to a long table against
the wall. “I think your project goes there, Todd.”
    Todd started to say something. But he was interrupted by the crash of
shattering glass and a girl’s loud scream.
    “Was that the acid ?” Mrs. Sanger shouted, her eyes going wide with
horror. “Was that the acid?” She pushed past Todd and went tearing across the
gym, holding her clipboard in front of her like a shield.
    Todd watched a lot of kids gathering around the spot of the accident. Mrs.
Sanger burst into the circle, and everyone began talking at once.
    Around the vast gym, others ignored the excitement and continued feverishly
setting up their projects.
    The bleachers had been pulled down. Some parents and other kids from the
school were already seated, waiting to watch the expo and the judging of
projects.
    Groaning, Todd started to make his way through the crowded gym carrying the
carton. He had to stop and chuckle when he caught a glimpse of Regina and Beth.
    They had their enormous robin set up close to the bleachers. The head was the
right size now. They had managed to shave it down smoothly.
    But some of the tail feathers had gotten mashed. And they were working
frantically to smooth them out.
    What losers, Todd thought, grinning.
    There’s no way they’re going to win the computer.
    Turning away, he glimpsed Danny’s balloon solar system hanging on the back
wall. One of the balloons—the one closest to the sun—had already deflated.
    Pitiful, Todd thought, shaking his head. That’s just pitiful.
    He sighed. Poor Danny. I guess I should have let him share in my project.
    Todd lowered the carton onto the table reserved for him.
    “Ten minutes, everyone! Ten minutes!” Mrs. Sanger was shouting.
    No problem, Todd thought.
    He opened the carton and carefully lifted out the worm house. What a beauty!
he thought proudly.
    It looked like a perfect little house. Todd had polished the wood frame until
it glowed. And he had cleaned the glass until it was spotless.
    He set the worm house down carefully on the table and turned it so that the
glass side faced the audience in the bleachers. He gazed into it. He could see
the long, brown and purple worms crawling from room to room.
    He had packed the dirt in carefully. Then he had dropped in more than twenty
worms before sealing it