the rest of Lippyâs feathers go sailing into the air. I looked up. It was raining feathers in the room!
âUnnnhâ¦unnnnhâ¦â Feenman wiped the snot off his face with Crenchâs shirtsleeve. âBernieâthat birdâ¦heâs totally BALD!â
Crench picked up Lippy and used him as a handkerchief.
âPut him down,â I muttered. âHeâs had a bad enough day, hasnât he? Why does he have to wipe your nose?â
I frowned at the limp, scrawny, naked bird and shook my head sadly. âYouâre bad luck,â I said. âBad-Luck Lippy. You have to go. Or else Iâll never have good luck again.â
Feenman and Crench both gasped. âHeâll have to go? Do you mean it, Bernie?â Crench asked. âYouâre gonna get rid of him?â
I nodded. I had tears in my eyes. My stomach felt as tight as a knot. âWe have no choice,â I whispered. âMy poor pet parrotâhe has to go.â
Butâ¦where?
Chapter 11
G OOD N EWS , B AD N EWS
It broke my heartâbut what choice did I have?
I waited till all the kids were on their way to dinner in the Dining Hall. I couldnât eat. I was too upset.
I put Lippy into his cage and carried it to the side of the girlsâ dorm. I set the cage down in the grass next to the door.
I blew Lippy a kiss. âDonât worry,â I said. âA nice girl will adopt you and give you a good home.â
He was so cute. I almost changed my mind.
Butâ¦no way. I had to leave my bad luck behind.
I blew him another kiss, forced myself to turn awayâand ran all the way back to Rotten House.
âBernie? Bernieâcome here a minute.â Mrs. Heinie stopped me at the stairs.
Uh-oh. Was this good luck or bad?
âUhâ¦sorry, Mrs. H.,â I said. âNo time to talk right now. Iâm skipping dinner tonight. You know I like to study for at least six hours every night. Four hours just isnât enough. I want to learn, learn, learn!â
She rolled her eyes. âTell me another one,â she said. âBernie, I know Belzer does your homework for you every night.â
âNo way,â I said. âI do all the thinking. He just writes it down.â
âBernie, give me a break,â Mrs. Heinie said. âI just want to congratulate you. You did such a wonderful mopping job. I think you deserve an extra dessert tonight!â
Lippy was gone for only two minutesâand my luck was changing already!
I thanked Mrs. Heinie and hurried to the Dining Hall. On the way, I found a crisp dollar bill lying in the grass. More good luck! And two desserts waiting for me!
Could life get any better?
Later that night, I even found my spare set of glasses. I sat in my room watching Belzer do my homework. I looked up when I heard a knock at the door.
âYo, Bernie!â Angel Goodeboy walked inâcarrying the birdcage with Lippy inside it.
Angelâs blue eyes twinkled. âBernie, I found your parrot by the girlsâ dorm,â he said. âI rescued him for you. Pleaseâdonât thank me. I know how crazy you are about this bird!â
âButâbutââ I sputtered.
Angel giggled. Then he set the cage down and hurried away.
Another knock on the door. Mrs. Heinie poked her head in. âBy the way, Bernie,â she said. âYou did such a great cleaning job, I want you to mop thefloors every week !â
I let out a long groan. Bad luck. Bad luck for Bernie B.
Bad-Luck Lippy was back.
Chapter 12
B ERNIE THE H UMAN P RETZEL
The next morning, I heard thundering hoofbeats again as I headed across the Great Lawn to class. I tried to run, but Jennifer Ecch tackled me from behind and dropped me to the ground.
âGood morning, Sweet Cakes,â she said. She sat on my chest so I couldnât escape.
âDonât call me Sweet Cakes,â I said, spitting grass from between my teeth. âWhat do you want,