Lucy's Tricks and Treats Read online

  “She looks adorable,” Mrs. Quinn agreed.

  Mr. Quinn took a quick shot of Lucy. “Bobby, get in the picture,” he directed.

  Lucy, however, was bored with posing. She flopped down on the rug and sniffed at her shirt.

  “You’d better take the costume off,” Mrs. Quinn said. “We want it to be in good shape for Halloween.”

  Bobby started to take off Lucy’s costume. She wasn’t happy about it. She scampered away when Bobby tried to remove the hat. He was so busy chasing her, he barely heard the doorbell ring.

  “Oh, hello, Candy,” Mrs. Quinn said. “And you have Butch with you.” His mother didn’t sound too happy about that.

  “Hi, Mrs. Q.,” Candy said, stepping into the hall. “Did you know the high school is selling pumpkins in the park? They are. It’s to raise money, I guess. I’m not sure what for. We thought maybe Bobby and Lucy would like to check it out. It’s only two blocks away. We could go to Shawn’s and see if he wants to come with. Of course, he probably can’t bring Twitch. Because Twitch is a mouse, after all—”

  “Yes, I know, Candy,” Mrs. Quinn said. “Why don’t you come in?”

  Bobby carried Lucy into the hallway. He had gotten her boots off, but she still wore her hat and shirt.

  Candy stared. “Oh gosh. That’s so cute. Lucy is a pirate! That’s the cutest thing I ever saw. Was that your surprise?”

  “Yep,” Bobby answered happily.

  “That’s a great surprise,” Candy said.

  Bobby took off Lucy’s hat. “Yeah, now we’re both going to be pirates.”

  “I might be a ballerina,” Candy told everyone. “Butch, would you like to be a ballerina, too?”

  Butch gave himself a shake. Maybe it was his version of dancing.

  Bobby put Lucy down. He took off her shirt. “I thought you were going to be a witch,” he said.

  “I still might be,” Candy said. “Or a superhero. Or—”

  Mrs. Quinn said, “Bobby, Candy is going to the park. There’s a pumpkin sale.”

  “Pick out a couple of pumpkins for jack-o’-lanterns,” Mr. Quinn said. “I’ll join you soon and help you bring them back.”

  Candy and Bobby and Butch and Lucy headed outside. They stopped at Shawn’s house. He wasn’t home, so they continued the few short blocks to the small park. Usually it was pretty quiet. Today it was full of people, noise—and pumpkins! Lots of pumpkins.

  A banner made of a sheet was hung between two poles. It said, SUPPORT THE DRAGONS! BUY A PUMPKIN!

  The Dragons were the high school football team.

  Two big haystacks were beside the poles. On top of the haystacks sat carved jack-o’-lanterns. One was smiling. One was frowning. Each was lit up by a small flashlight inside. That made the smiling jack-o’-lantern look scary. And the frowning one even scarier!

  Butch took one look, turned tail, and ran, pulling Candy along with him.

  “I better follow him,” Candy called.

  “I don’t think you have a choice,” Bobby said to her back.

  Lucy didn’t run. She just stood and stared at the jack-o’-lanterns. For a minute, she was as still as a statue. Then she raised her nose and let out the longest howl Bobby had ever heard.

  “Howww​wwwww​wwwww​wwwl!”

  This wasn’t Lucy’s usual howl. This was a long, creepy howl. Bobby thought a werewolf might have a howl just like that.

  Bobby gave Lucy’s leash a tug. Lucy stuck her nose in the air again.

  But before she began another howl, a firm voice said, “Lucy, sit!”

  Bobby turned around. Lucy turned around, too. It was Coach Morris. He was Bobby’s soccer coach. He was also Lucy’s obedience trainer. As soon as Lucy heard Coach Morris’s voice, she sat down, panting a little.

  “Good dog,” Coach Morris said. He gave Lucy a pat and said, “I’m glad to see she remembers me.”

  “Yes, sir, she does,” Bobby said. Coach Morris was pretty hard to forget.

  Bobby was about to look for Candy and Butch when he spotted his dad pulling Bobby’s old red wagon.

  “Hey, Dad,” Bobby said, “is that to haul the pumpkins home in?”

  “Yep,” said Mr. Quinn. “Why don’t I take Lucy, and you take the wagon. Get two good-size pumpkins.”

  “Okay,” Bobby said, exchanging Lucy for the wagon. The park wasn’t very large. He was sure he’d find Candy. Maybe she wanted to haul her pumpkins home in the wagon, too.

  But when he spotted Candy and explained about the wagon, she shook her head. She looked glum.

  “What’s wrong?” Bobby asked.

  “They’re selling popcorn over there, so I bought some,” Candy said. “I put the bag down for a minute. Butch got into it and ate it all. Popcorn is definitely not good for dogs. You know what came next.”

  Bobby nodded. He had seen Butch eat things he shouldn’t have.

  “I’m going to take him home. He’s got some barfing medicine there.”

  Bobby pulled the wagon to the pumpkin patch and picked out two pumpkins. One was round and fat. The other was skinnier and had a curly stem. He put them in the wagon. Then he noticed several kids standing around a huge pumpkin. It was the biggest pumpkin Bobby had ever seen. The sign next to it said, POLK COUNTY’S BIGGEST PUMPKIN.

  As he got closer to the pumpkin, Bobby recognized one of the boys looking at it. His name was Jack, and he had just joined the third grade two weeks ago. He had long, shaggy brown hair that covered his ears. He kept to himself and didn’t smile much.

  Bobby was still shy. He didn’t want to go up to the new kid and say hello. But he remembered what it was like before he met Shawn and Candy. Before he had friends.

  He walked up behind the boy. “Hi, Jack,” he said.

  The boy didn’t bother turning around.

  “Uh, hi, Jack,” Bobby said a little louder.

  This time Jack turned and looked at him.

  “Hi,” Bobby said for the third time. He could feel his face turning red.

  “Hi,” Jack said. But instead of staying to talk, he walked away.

  Bobby frowned. He wasn’t expecting that.

  Then Bobby heard several long barks. It sounded like Lucy’s bark. He looked around. Sure enough, there was Lucy, lying in the patch of pumpkins. Her legs were stretched out in front of her. She looked very comfortable.

  Mr. Quinn was tugging on Lucy’s leash. “Come on, Lucy. Get up.”

  Lucy gave another happy bark. She didn’t move, however.

  Bobby pulled the wagon over to Lucy. She looked up at him and wagged her tail.

  “Lucy, up!” Bobby said in a firm voice. He took the leash from his father’s hand. Then he gave it a sharp tug. “Up!”

  Lucy got up. She shook herself a little. She was ready to move on.

  “How did you do that?” Mr. Quinn asked. “I pretended I was Coach Morris,” Bobby said. “He can get Lucy to do anything.”

  Mr. Quinn looked down at Lucy, now walking along quite contentedly. He smiled at Bobby. “It looks like you can, too.”

  Bobby was supposed to take Lucy out in the morning before school. Sometimes he slept late. Sometimes he couldn’t find his books. Most of the time, though, he and Lucy took a short walk.

  Today, he smelled something good when he went downstairs. His father was drinking his coffee and his mother was frying bacon.

  Lucy thought the bacon smelled good, too. She looked hungrily at the sizzling pan.

  Mrs. Quinn checked her watch. “I’ll have this on the table when you get back, Bobby.”

  Usually, Lucy got excited when she saw her leash come out. This time she wasn’t sure whether to go or to keep hoping for some bacon.

  But once outside, Lucy seemed eager to enjoy the crisp fall air. She did her business, and then she and Bobby took a quick walk to the end of the block.

  Mr. Davis was out picking up his newspaper.

  “Hey, Bobby. Hey, Lucy,” he said. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve got some things for you. T
hey’re right here in the front hall.”

  When Mr. Davis came back, he was holding a book—and something else—in his hands.

  The book was Treasure Island. On the cover were several scary-looking pirates. One had a black beard and a wooden leg. Another had a long scar down his face. And one of them was wearing an eye patch.

  “Cool!” Bobby exclaimed as he took the book.

  Then Mr. Davis handed Bobby the black eye patch he’d promised him.

  “Really cool!” Bobby told Mr. Davis. He hoped he’d look every bit as frightening on Halloween as these pirates.

  When he got home, Bobby wolfed down his bacon and toast. Lucy had one of her fake-bacon treats. He was in a hurry to meet Shawn and tell him about the eye patch.

  When they got to school, they saw Candy and their friend Dexter waiting for the bell to ring.

  A boy with shaggy brown hair walked by them.

  “That guy Jack is weird,” Dexter said.

  Bobby thought about seeing Jack at the pumpkin sale. It wasn’t that long ago that Bobby hadn’t talked much, either. He hadn’t looked people in the eye. Maybe Jack was just shy.

  “We should probably give him a chance,” Bobby said.

  Shawn looked at Bobby. “Probably,” Shawn agreed.

  “I’ll give him a chance,” Candy said with a shrug. “Everybody’s a little weird. Some people think I talk too much.”

  When the bell rang, all the students hurried inside.

  Room 102 was Bobby’s room. It was painted bright yellow. Mrs. Lee, their teacher, had hung up lots of posters. Some of them were about books. Some of them were about different countries. Bobby liked the room’s cheerful, cluttered look.

  Bobby put his jacket and backpack in his cubby. He pulled his books out of the bag. Bobby also grabbed his special pencil. It had an eraser in the shape of a bear’s head. His grandparents had visited Yellowstone National Park and had sent it to him as a present.

  Bobby settled into his seat. Mrs. Lee was writing on the blackboard. She was a good teacher, but Bobby liked some subjects better than others. He enjoyed reading and math. Science was usually interesting. He wasn’t very good at spelling. His best subjects were art and history.

  Mrs. Lee had told them at the start of the year that she would be teaching them American history. Bobby was looking forward to learning about the pioneers. There was a real pioneer cabin in their town. The third grade would make a special visit to it in the spring.

  Right now the class was studying colonial history. They were learning about the beginnings of the United States of America.

  Mrs. Lee looked around the class. “You know that this semester we are going to do a lot of oral reports.”

  Bobby rubbed the bear head on his pencil. He wasn’t as shy as he used to be. But getting up in front of the class and speaking? Ugh!

  “I’m going to divide you into small groups,” Mrs. Lee told the class. “I will give each group a person from colonial history. Then you will decide how to introduce this person to our class.”

  Mrs. Lee put together groups of four. Bobby was happy that two of the people in his group were Shawn and Candy. The fourth student was Jack.

  Oh well, Bobby thought. Maybe this will be a chance to get to know him better.

  But when they were seated in a circle in a corner of the classroom, it didn’t seem as if Jack was interested in getting to know them at all. He pulled a small video game from his pocket and began playing.

  “What have you got there?” Candy asked.

  Jack did not look up from his game.

  “Cool game?” Candy tried again.

  Nothing.

  Shawn and Bobby looked at each other. Jack didn’t seem shy. He seemed rude.

  Mrs. Lee walked over to their group. She frowned a little when she saw Jack playing. She touched him on the shoulder. He looked up at her and shoved the game into his pocket.

  “Your person is colonial hero Paul Revere,” Mrs. Lee said.

  “Paul Revere,” Shawn said. “He was the one who rode his horse near Boston telling the people the British were coming.”

  “There’s a poem about it,” Candy said. “My dad read it to me when I told him we’re studying colonial history. My dad’s a very good reader,” she informed them. “I think he wanted to be an actor. Of course, now he’s a dentist—”

  “That’s nice, Candy,” Mrs. Lee said. “I’ll leave you to get started.”

  Bobby, Shawn, and Candy began talking about their report. They thought of different ways to introduce Paul Revere. Jack didn’t say much.

  “Okay,” Bobby said at last. “Shawn, you’ll give a report on Paul Revere’s life.”

  “Yeah, and I’m going to dress up like him, too,” Shawn said.

  “I’m going to read that poem,” Candy said. “I remember the beginning. ‘Listen, my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere.…’ ”

  She said it so loudly that all the other groups turned to look at her.

  Even Jack smiled.

  “I’m going to draw a picture of Paul Revere. And I’ll talk about the Revolutionary War,” Bobby said. Now he turned to Jack. “What are you going to do?”

  Jack shrugged. “Not sure,” he muttered.

  Bobby, Shawn, and Candy looked at each other.

  “Well, you should come up with something pretty soon,” Candy said. “I mean, you wouldn’t want to get a bad grade.”

  Jack shrugged again.

  Mrs. Lee clapped her hands. “All right, children, back to your desks. Your projects will be due in one week. Each group will present them to the class.”

  Bobby felt his stomach twist in a little knot. At least drawing the picture would be fun.

  Bobby was back at his desk when he noticed something. His pencil with the bear-head eraser was gone.

  He looked around. He looked inside his desk. Then he remembered he’d had it while talking about Paul Revere.

  The class was doing silent reading. Bobby went up to Mrs. Lee and asked if he could look for his pencil in the corner. She nodded.

  The pencil wasn’t there.

  Then something caught his eye. A pencil with a bear-head eraser. And it was sitting on Jack’s desk.

  Bobby walked over to Jack. He stood there nervously for a few seconds. Finally he said softly, “Jack, that pencil is mine.”

  Jack acted as if he didn’t hear him.

  Bobby put his hand on the desk. That made Jack look up.

  “This is my pencil.” He tried to say it a little more firmly.

  Jack looked surprised. “Oh, I found it on the floor.” He pushed it toward Bobby.

  “Thank you,” Bobby said. He went back to his desk. He took a big breath and put the pencil away.

  He was sure glad that Jack hadn’t argued with him about the pencil. That would have been almost as bad as not finding the pencil at all.

  Bobby loved to draw. But he wasn’t enjoying drawing today. He had finished his picture of Paul Revere on his horse. Paul Revere was easy to draw.

  The horse? Not so much.

  Bobby looked at the picture. His horse was too fat. Its legs were too short. It looked like a stuffed animal Bobby had when he was little. That stuffie had been through the washing machine so many times it was hard to tell just what kind of animal it was.

  Lucy came prancing into the family room. She looked up at Bobby and barked. She was ready to play.

  And Bobby was ready to make this picture disappear. He crumpled it into a ball and threw it on the floor.

  Lucy was surprised. But she picked up the ball with her teeth. Then she dumped it on the couch next to Bobby.

  Bobby shook his head. “I’m trying to get rid of it, Lucy.”

  He threw the paper across the room. Lucy ran after it. She didn’t care if it was a bad picture. It made a good ball!

  “Bobby, Shawn is here,” Mrs. Quinn called from the hallway. “At least I think it’s Shawn.”

  What does that mean? Bobby
wondered. In a moment, he understood.

  Shawn came into the room. He was wearing long socks, short pants, a white shirt, and a white wig with a small tail. He was dressed as a colonial man.

  Bobby jumped off the couch. “What a great costume!”

  Shawn beamed. He pointed at the pieces of his outfit. “My sister Sara’s old Bermuda shorts and kneesocks. One of my shirts. A vest from a suit I wore to my cousin’s wedding.”

  “But the wig! How did you make that?” Bobby asked.

  “Sara helped,” Shawn said. “She’s good at crafts.”

  Shawn pulled the wig off his head. He showed Bobby how the cotton balls were glued together and attached to a small beanie-like cap.

  “Cool,” Bobby said.

  “I’m going to wear it for our report. And I decided I’m going to wear it for Halloween, too,” Shawn told him. He placed the wig on the coffee table.

  “How’s your report coming?” Bobby asked.

  “Pretty good. I’m almost done,” Shawn said. “What about you?”

  Bobby shook his head. “I can’t get Paul Revere’s horse right.” He found the balled-up picture and smoothed it out so Shawn could see it. He liked drawing, too.

  “Horses are hard to draw,” Shawn said. “You know, I took a book out of the library that showed how to draw all kinds of animals. I don’t remember the name, but just ask the librarian. She knows everything.”

  Bobby perked up. “That’s a good idea!”

  At dinner, Bobby said, “There’s a book I need at the library. It’s about drawing animals.” He explained about Paul Revere’s horse.

  “We can go tonight,” Mr. Quinn said.

  “It will be a good walk for Lucy,” Mrs. Quinn added.

  It was a dark, chilly night. Bobby was glad that the library was only a few blocks away.

  “Look, Dad,” Bobby said. “Some people have already decorated their houses for Halloween.”

  Mr. Quinn nodded. “A couple of our neighbors have gone all out.”

  Bobby pointed to a brick house across the street. On the porch, next to a carved pumpkin, was a ghost made from a sheet attached to a pole. It was bigger than Bobby. Every so often, it said, “Boo!”