Out to Lunch Read Online Free Page A

We need to give those kids fresh fruits and vegetables, and there need to be more choices on the menu. I can understand why the kids treated the food like garbage. It is garbage. Now if I were in charge . . . ”
    That made Mr. Kane more angry than ever. “Well, you’re not in charge,” he told Lucille in a furious voice. “In fact, as of right now, you don’t even work here anymore!”
    Wow! Lucille had been fired! Now Katie felt really guilty. The food fight wasn’t Lucille’s fault. Katie wished she could run into Mr. Kane’s office and tell him that it was her fault, but she knew the principal wouldn’t believe her. A girl who turned into a lunch lady when a magical wind blew on her? Katie shook her head. Nobody would ever believe a story like that.
    Quickly, Katie hurried back to the cafeteria. The least she could do was help the other kids clean up.

Chapter 6
    That afternoon, Katie sat in her room with the door closed. She didn’t feel very much like going out to play. Even if she did feel like playing, there’d be no one to play with. Most of the kids from school were grounded because they’d been in the food fight.
    Still, Katie bet that none of the other kids felt as bad as she did. All they had lost was an afternoon of TV or a trip to the playground. Katie had made Lucille lose her job.
    Katie began to cry. As soon as he saw Katie’s tears, Pepper jumped up on the bed and sat beside her. He stuck out his big, red tongue and licked her face. But even a big, sloppy, wet, dog-kiss couldn’t cheer up Katie. She used the back of her hand to wipe Pepper’s slobber from her cheek. Pepper lifted his back paw and scratched at his floppy ear.
    Just then there was a knock at the door. “Katie, Suzanne is on the phone,” her mother said.
    Katie walked downstairs to the kitchen and picked up the phone. “Hi, Suzanne,” she said.
    “Hey,” Suzanne answered. “Where were you during the food fight today?”
    “I . . . um . . . er . . . I was in the bathroom,” Katie stammered. She hated lying to her friend, but she just couldn’t tell her what had really happened.
    “I can’t believe you missed the whole thing,” Suzanne continued. “It was amazing. Food was flying all over the place. I don’t think I’ll ever get the tomato juice off of my sweater. Kevin hit me in the back with a really squishy one!”
    “Did it hurt?” Katie asked her.
    “Nah,” Suzanne said. “It was too mushy to hurt. It just sort of slid down my back. Besides, I got Kevin back—big time! I poured a container of grape juice over his head! His whole face turned purple. He looked like a space alien.”

    Katie giggled, a little.
    “I don’t think it’s fair that Mrs. Derkman made you clean up with everyone else. You weren’t even there.” Suzanne continued. “It’s such a bummer that you were in the bathroom! Katie, you always miss the good stuff.”
    “I heard all about it, though,” Katie told Suzanne. “The whole school was talking about it when I got back to the cafeteria.”
    “But I’ll bet you don’t know what happened after the food fight,” Suzanne said.
    Katie smiled. Suzanne loved knowing things before anybody else did.
    “What?” Katie asked her.
    “Guess,” Suzanne answered.
    “Come on, Suzanne. Just tell me,” Katie urged.
    “Lucille the lunch lady got fired!” Suzanne exclaimed. “Mr. Kane told my mom when she came to pick me up. He said that he couldn’t let a lunch lady who acted like an eight-year-old work in the school.”
    Katie felt guilty all over again.
    “The weird thing was, Lucille was kinda acting like a kid,” Suzanne continued. “I heard she told Malcolm the food belonged in the garbage. She even threw a bunch of it.”
    “That wasn’t any reason to fire her,” Katie interrupted her. “The food is really gross. We should have healthier stuff to eat.”
    “I guess,” Suzanne agreed.
    “And you know what else?” Katie continued. “Lucille didn’t even really start