by Mike Thaler
#20
20
®
BLACK LAGOON
SCHOOL PLAY
T HE
FROM THE
®
THE
SCHOOL PLAY
FROM THE
BLACK LAGOON
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The Black Lagoon
by Mike Thaler
Illustrated by Jared Lee
SCHOLASTIC INC.
New York Toronto London Auckland
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®
THE
SCHOOL PLAY
FROM THE
BLACK LAGOON
To my beautiful wife, Patty,
my right hand
and all my heart.
—M.T.
To classmate Teresa (Nelson) Fratus.
—J.L.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted,
downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into
any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means,
whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without
the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding
permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department,
557 Broadway, New York,NY 10012.
e-ISBN 978-0-545-50584-0
Text copyright © 2011 by Mike Thaler
Illustrations copyright © 2011 by Jared D. Lee Studio, Inc.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc.
scholastic and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks
of Scholastic Inc. black lagoon is a registered trademark of Mike Thaler and
Jared D. Lee Studio, Inc. All rights reserved. Lexile is a registered trademark
of MetaMetrics, Inc.
First printing, October 2011
Contents
Chapter 1: The Fall of Hubie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Chapter 2: It’s Curtains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Chapter 3: Star Trek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Chapter 4: Show Buzz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Chapter 5: The Play’s the Thing . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Chapter 6: Stage Fright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Chapter 7: Head Over Heals in Love . . . . . . . . . 26
Chapter 8: Straight from the Horse’s Mouth . . . . . 34
Chapter 9: Pie Are Scared . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Chapter 10: Play Ball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Chapter 11: Re-horsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Chapter 12: Blunder and Lightning . . . . . . . . . . 58
Chapter 13: All’s Well That Ends Well . . . . . . . . 62
6
7
CHAPTER 1
the fall of hubie
It’s the beginning of October,
and Mrs. Green announces that
our class is going to put on a fall
play. Everyone has to try out for
it. If I’m picked for a part, it will
be my downfall.
I can’t act at all. I’ll forget my
lines. I’ll forget my cues. If I’m
lucky—I’ll forget to show up.
8
9
CHAPTER 2
it’s curtains
My mom took me to a play
once. It was called Omelet. It was
written by a guy named Will-Ham
Shake-A-Spear.
10
11
It was about Prince Omelet—
he was a good egg. He had
a pretty nice mom—the queen—
and a really mean stepdad—the
step-king. They talked a lot and
then everyone started fighting
each other with long swords. The
play was over when there was no
one left except the audience.
13
CHAPTER 3
Star Trek
All the other kids are very
excited. The play is The Legend
of Sleepy Hollow. Eric wants to be
the star. Penny wants to be the
starlet. I just want to be in the
audience. It’s the safest place.
Mrs. Green says tryouts are
tomorrow after school. I will try
to stay out.
14
15
CHAPTER 4
Show Buzz
The school bus is a school buzz.
Everyone is excited about the
play. I just look out the window.
I feel like a leaf. I’ll turn red with
embarrassment just before I fall.
16
17
Then I have a daydream.
Tomorrow I’ll get picked for the
leading part. Everyone will want
my autograph. I’ll go to Hollywood
and get a Ferrari. I’ll be on the
cover of People magazine. Hey,
this isn’t bad after all. It’s too bad
you can’t skip the tryouts and just
be a star.
18
19
CHAPTER 5
the Play’s the thing
Mom is excited about the play,
too. She says she used to do a
little acting. She told me it’s fun
and she hopes I get a role. I don’t
want a roll or a bagel.
20
I go to my room. I better
practice just in case. I close
my door and go to the mirror.
I practice expressions: anger,
joy, sadness, surprise, fear. Fear
comes out the best, because I’m
really afraid I’ll get a part.
21
CHAPTER 6
StaGe fright
That night I have a dream. I
step out onstage. The lights are
so bright I can’t see the audience,
but I hear them breathing. I’ve
got butterflies in my stomach
and glue on my tongue. Each foot
weighs one thousand pounds and
I have to go to the bathroom.
22
Suddenly, I’m in the audience
looking up at me on the stage.
Everyone begins to boo and
throw vegetables. I throw a
tomato at myself.
I wake up ducking.
24
25
CHAPTER 7
head over heals
in love
The next day on the school bus
everyone’s still talking about the
play.
“I read it last night,” says Eric.
“What’s it about?” I ask.
“Well, it’s sort of a love story,”
says Eric.
26
“Ick,” I say
“But it’s more of a ghost story,”
he quickly adds.
“Great,” I say. “Who wrote it?”
“Some guy named Irving
Washington.”
“Don’t you mean Washington
Irving?” interrupted Penny.
“Whatever. Anyway, it’s about
a schoolteacher named Ichabod
Crane.”
27
“What subject did he teach?”
asks Randy.
“He taught all the subjects—it
was a one-room schoolhouse.”
“Did it have a cafeteria?” asks
Penny.
“I don’t think so,” says Eric. “It
was a long time ago.”
“Didn’t the kids eat back then?”
asks Penny
28
“They brought their lunches.
Anyway, Ichabod loved to eat. He
would go home with the students
whose moms were the best
cooks,” explains Eric.
“Was he fat?” asks Freddy.
“No, he was very thin. Anyway,
one day he was invited over by
a very rich farmer who had a
beautiful daughter.”
“That’s the part I’ll play!”
exclaims Penny.
31
“Where do the ghosts come
in?” I ask.
“The story is full of ghosts, but
the scariest one is . ..”
“We’re here!” shouts T-Rex.
“Everybody out!”
32
33
CHAPTER 8
straight from the
horse’s mouth
In the library, Mrs. Beamster
tells us the rest of the story.
“In Sleepy Hollow, there were
ghosts that haunted every house,
every tree, every rock, and every
bridge. But the scariest of all was
the Headless Horseman.”
“Was he part of the Head Start
program?” I ask.
34
“He was a soldier in the
Revolutionary War whose head
had been shot off by a cannon-
ball. Every night he’d ride out on
his big black horse looking for
his head.”
37
“How could he look for his
head if he didn’t have a head?”
“He had a GPS. Anyway,
Ichabod believed all the scary
stories but he had fallen in love
with Katrina, the rich farmer’s
daughter. So he visited her every
day after school to give her
singing lessons. But Katrina had
a boyfriend, Brom Bones, who
quickly became jealous. Brom
was a practical joker.”
38
“I’ll play Brom Bones,” says
Eric.
“You want to play trombones?”
I ask.
“You’re not funny,”growls Eric.
40
“Anyway, one night Ichabod
was riding home on his old horse,
Gunpowder, when he heard
thundering hoofbeats behind
him. He looked back and his
blood turned cold.”
41
“What did he see?” we all
yelled.
Just then the bell rang ending
library period. It was time for
lunch.
42
43
CHAPTER 9
pie are scared
There was pumpkin pie for
lunch.
“That’s what he saw,” said Eric,
pointing to the pie.
“He saw a piece of pie?” I ask.
44
“No, he saw a headless rider
thundering down on him.”
45
“Was he holding a piece of pie?”
“No, he was holding his head.”
“You mean he finally found it?”
“Well, not exactly. It wasn’t
really his head—it was a pumpkin
and it wasn’t really a ghost. It was
Brom Bones trying to scare his
rival away.”
46
“Did it work?”
“It sure did. Brom married
Katrina, and Ichabod was never
seen around Sleepy Hollow
again. Are you going to eat your
pie, Hubie?”
47
CHAPTER 10
Play Ball
Well, it’s three o’clock—time
for tryouts. All the kids are
excited. Mrs. Green is excited.
It’s the glamour of show biz.
I’m not excited. I just want to go
home.
48
49
“I want to be Brom Bones!”
shouts out Eric.
“You got it,” says Mrs. Green.
“I want to play Katrina,” says
Penny, fluttering her eyelashes.
“Oh, no,” says Eric.
“You got it,” says Mrs. Green.
50
51
“Okay, but I’m not going to kiss
her,” insists Eric.
“I’ll be Ichabod Crane,” says
Randy.
“Good choice,” says Mrs.
Green.
Soon all the parts are gone.
“I’m sorry, Hubie,” says Mrs.
Green. “You didn’t get a part.”
“It’s okay,” I say.
Mrs. Green looks at me.
52
“Oh, wait a minute,” she says.
“There’s one part left!”
“Wh-what’s that?” I stutter.
“The Headless Horseman.”
Mrs. Green smiles.
53
54
CHAPTER 11
re-horsing
So I have a part. But it’s not so
bad. I’m all covered up and have
only one line: “Boo!” I can’t mess
up too badly.
55
When I get home, I go into my
room and rehearse my line.
“Boo!”
“BOO!”
“BOOOOO!”
“Don’t cry, Hubie!”
“I’m not crying, Mom. I’m
practicing my line.”
56
57
CHAPTER 12
blunder and
lightning
The night of the big play has
come. The audience is filing in.
They strap a cardboard horse to
me and cover me with a black
cloth. Then they hand me a jack-
o’-lantern. I’m supposed to chase
Randy around the stage and
throw it at him.
; 58
59
60
The auditorium lights go out,
the stage lights go on, and the
curtain goes up. But I can’t see
too much. At my big moment,
they lead me to the stage and
push me out. I say, “Boo!” and
gallop around the stage. Randy is
frightened, and I chase him. He
has a head start.
61
I say, “Boo!” again and throw
the pumpkin at him. Randy ducks,
and the pumpkin flies out into the
audience and hits Mr. Bender,
the principal, in the head. The
curtain goes down along with Mr.
Bender.
CHAPTER 13
all’s well that
ends well
Mr. Bender was a good sport,
and we all came out and bowed.
Everyone applauded. After the
play, Mrs. Green took us out for
pizza. Mr. Bender asked me for
62
my autograph. Show business is
not so bad after all. I might even
try out for the play next year. I
hope it’s Jaws. I’d be a great shark.
63
64
Break a leg?!?