Lucy's Tricks and Treats Read online

  “I don’t get it,” Bobby said. “We looked in my cubby about three times.”

  Mrs. Quinn took Lucy in her arms. Now that she was higher, Lucy became more excited. Her nose quivered. But it wasn’t Bobby’s cubby that interested her. She tried to claw and wiggle her way up to the cubby above.

  “There’s nothing in that one,” Mrs. Lee said. “It’s too high for the kids to reach.”

  Lucy still pushed her nose in that direction.

  Mrs. Lee stuck her hand into the cubby and felt around. “It seems empty.”

  Mrs. Quinn was taller than Mrs. Lee. She reached her hand to the back of the cubby. “I think I found some buried treasure,” she said happily. She pulled out the bag with the pirate costume.

  When Bobby saw it, he was thrilled—and relieved.

  “How did it get up there?” a puzzled Mrs. Lee asked.

  “I tossed it up to my cubby on my way out during the fire alarm. Maybe I threw it too high,” Bobby said. Then he had another thought. “Or maybe it didn’t make the cubby at all, and one of the firefighters or the janitor picked it up from the floor and stuck it in there.”

  Meanwhile, Lucy couldn’t wait to get to the bag in Mrs. Quinn’s hand. She wiggled around. Let me at it!

  Everyone laughed.

  “Well, Lucy, looks like you’re going to be ready for Halloween after all,” Mrs. Lee said.

  “I don’t even know if Lucy should dress up as a pirate,” Bobby said.

  “Why not?” Mrs. Quinn asked. “After all this trouble?”

  Bobby smiled. “She ought to go as a detective!”

  Lucy was gone by the time Room 102 came back from lunch.

  “Did Lucy find the costume?” Candy asked as she went to her seat.

  Bobby smiled.

  “Class, I’d like your attention, please,” Mrs. Lee said. She leaned forward in her chair. “Some of you may have noticed that Jack is not here today.”

  A few of the kids nodded.

  “He is absent because he’s getting fitted for a new hearing aid. Jack had hearing problems before, so he was tested when he came to our school. It turns out his old aid wasn’t working very well.”

  Bobby remembered the times when it seemed as if Jack wasn’t paying attention to him. Maybe it was because Jack couldn’t hear him clearly.

  “Tomorrow,” Mrs. Lee went on, “when Jack returns, he might want to talk about his new hearing aid, and he might not. Let him take the lead. Just treat Jack the way you would want to be treated.” She smiled at the class. “That’s what we should always try to do in Room 102. Do you have any questions?”

  Marta raised her hand. “Will we be able to see Jack’s hearing aid?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” Mrs. Lee answered. “I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”

  “My aunt got a hearing aid, and she said it made her life a whole lot easier,” Dexter commented.

  “I imagine the same will be true for Jack,” Mrs. Lee told them.

  Bobby figured Jack wouldn’t want to say anything about a new hearing aid. Bobby knew he wouldn’t if it were him.

  Bobby turned out to be wrong. The next day, when Jack came to class, it was easy to see he wasn’t ashamed of his hearing aid. It was bright blue!

  Before the bell rang, Bobby watched Mrs. Lee talking to Jack. Bobby saw him nodding.

  When everyone was settled, Mrs. Lee said, “We’re going to change our schedule today. Let’s continue our show-and-tell that got interrupted by the fire alarm.”

  Mrs. Lee smiled at Jack. “I think Jack has something he would like to share with us.”

  A happy Jack marched to the front of the room.

  “So, I guess Mrs. Lee told you I just got a new hearing aid,” Jack began. “I was having trouble hearing unless it was really quiet or the person was speaking clearly. Yesterday, I got to take my new hearing aid home.”

  Jack’s hair still covered his ears. He pushed it back on one side so everyone could see. “The doctor asked me whether I wanted one that was skin color or something flashier.” Jack grinned. “I picked flashy.”

  A blue band was fitted around Jack’s ear. “Another part of the hearing aid is inside my ear,” Jack went on. “It’s going to be good to really hear what’s going on from now on.”

  Jack sat down. Everybody clapped.

  Now Bobby was happier than ever that he hadn’t said anything about Jack taking Lucy’s costume. You couldn’t accuse someone without real proof. He had learned that lesson for sure.

  Later that afternoon, the history groups met to talk about their projects. They were due the next day!

  “My report is done. So is my picture of Paul Revere,” Bobby said. “I’d like to work more on the horse. But it’s better than when I started.”

  “I memorized part of my poem, and I’ll read the rest,” Candy said. “Do you want to hear it?”

  “Uh, we can hear it tomorrow,” Bobby said politely.

  “I’m ready to talk about Paul Revere, the silversmith,” Jack said.

  “And I’ll be in my costume to talk about Paul Revere’s life,” Shawn said. Then he added, “Hey, I’m lucky.”

  “Why’s that?” Bobby asked.

  “Tomorrow’s Halloween! I’ll only have to change my clothes once!”

  Sure enough, the group gave their reports in the morning, but Shawn got to stay in his Paul Revere outfit all afternoon. Everyone else put on their costumes before last period.

  “Arrgh, matey! Walk the plank,” Bobby said to Candy once he had his pirate costume on, complete with the eye patch.

  “Well, if I do, I won’t get wet.” Candy had been so impressed with the firefighters during the alarm, she decided to dress up as one. She wore a red plastic raincoat with a thick black belt, a red plastic firefighter’s hat, and black boots. A length of rubber hose was curled up in her coat pocket.

  Bobby looked around the class. There were some pretty good costumes. Dexter was Spider-Man. Marta was a flower with colorful petals attached to her headband. Jack was a baseball player in a blue uniform that matched his hearing aid.

  Finally it was time for the parade to begin. All the classes would march around the school. They’d get to see each other’s costumes. Parents, grandparents, friends, and neighbors came to watch the parade, too.

  Bobby was happy the day was sunny and not too cold. Having to wear a coat over a Halloween costume was the worst!

  “I know everyone is excited,” Mrs. Lee said with a smile. “But let’s try to stay in line as we march.”

  Lots of people were waiting outside. It seemed as if half the town had come to watch the Halloween parade.

  Bobby saw Mr. Davis standing with Shawn’s dad at the edge of the playground. He gave them both a big wave.

  Then Bobby heard a very familiar bark. He knew what that meant! Sure enough, he turned his head and saw Lucy with his mother.

  Lucy looked great! She was dressed in her pirate costume. Her shirt was on. Her boots were on. The pirate hat was atop her head.

  Some of the students saw Lucy in her costume. They nudged each other and pointed her out. Lucy sat up straighter.

  Then Lucy spotted Bobby. Mrs. Quinn held her leash tight. Lucy wanted to join that parade.

  “Later, Lucy,” Bobby called to her. “We’ll all go trick-or-treating. You, me, Shawn, and Candy.”

  Bobby noticed Jack right behind him. “Do you want to come with us, too?” he asked.

  Jack smiled. “Sure.”

  Lucy chose that moment to give a long howl. If you listened closely, it sounded like Haaallooweeen!

  “That’s right, Lucy,” Bobby said. “Happy Haaallooweeen!”

  Read all the books

  about Bobby and Lucy!

  Bobby’s mother smiled. “Now it’s time for your special present,” she said.

  His father said, “Close your eyes.”

  Bobby was glad to close his eyes. It would be easier to look surprised when he opened them.

  “Okay,
Bobby,” his father called, “you can look!”

  Bobby opened his eyes. He didn’t have to pretend to be surprised. Or happy. In his father’s arms was a puppy. The cutest, squirmiest little dog Bobby had ever seen.

  “Ben!” Shawn said. “What happened to Lucy?”

  “She … she ran away!” Ben said in a shaky voice.

  Bobby jumped up. “Ran away? Where?”

  “That way.” Ben was confused. He pointed in one direction. “Or maybe that way.” He pointed in the other direction.

  “Which way was it?” Shawn demanded.

  “I’m not sure.” Ben was almost crying. “But she was chasing a big orange C-A-T!”

  On the way out, a large, colorful poster taller than the boys caught Bobby’s eye.

  The poster had a drawing of different kinds of animals crowded together in front of a television camera. Across the top were the words WANTED: SPOKESPET FOR PET-O-RAMA! Under the picture of the animals it said, “Is your pet cute? Smart? Funny? Enter the Pet-O-Rama spokespet contest and your pet could be on TV!”

  Bobby read the poster carefully. Cute, smart, funny? That described Lucy! She could win the spokespet contest, easy!