At last, we headed upstairs to Room 3B.
“We’ve been lucky twice now, Harry!” I said. “No more crazy stuff! Okay?”
“Okay!” Harry agreed.
I hoped he meant it. Being Harry’s partner was like walking on the edge of a cliff!
I had to keep a close watch at all times!
A Big Fat Cheater?
The next morning when I arrived at South School, there were five flagged event areas: jump roping, water brigade, bean bag toss, two-man relay, and tug-of-war.
Each had a colorful pennant. A big banner was hung from the second-floor windows. It said SOUTH SCHOOL FIELD DAY. Two events this year were in the new nature area. I couldn’t wait for those!
Our class started with the jump rope contest on the playground. Harry was wearing his T-shirt with a dozen spiders running across it. Mine had a big web on the front and the words SPEEDY SPIDERS on the back.
“Awesome shoes!” I said, admiring the big spider drawn on each of Harry’s sneakers.
“Thanks!” he answered. “Want me to make a spider on yours?”
“No. That would creep me out,” I said.
Harry just laughed.
The music teacher and our school nurse were waiting for us on the blacktop. Mr. Marks greeted us with a tune from Hello, Dolly!
“Hello, jumpers! Well, hello, jumpers . . .” he sang out. He was standing next to a huge pile of plastic jump ropes. “Please make your selection!”
I picked a chartreuse one. Harry took a red-and-white rope.
“The jumper who lasts the longest wins three points for his or her team!” Mr. Marks explained.
Mrs. Cherry got us started. “Okay, boys and girls, get your jump ropes ready. Make sure you have enough space.”
We all found a comfortable spot. I moved next to Mary where there was plenty of room.
“All set?” the nurse asked.
“YES!” everyone answered.
“GO!” she called out.
I started jumping. Each time I landed on my tiptoes, I quickly hopped again over my rope. I kept spinning my wrists around and around until I got into a rhythm. Dexter was in his own world, jumping to the tune of an Elvis song. I could hear him singing, “You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog . . .” softly to himself.
One minute later, eight people were sitting on the sidelines watching the jump rope contest.
My legs started to get tired, and my calves were tightening up. But I kept jumping!
Mary and Song Lee were in perfect unison. Sid and Ida were too. They were the varsity squad of jumpers!
After two very long minutes, Harry broke his silence. “Hey,” he called out, “did anyone hear the joke about the two cannonballs that got married?”
Mary answered right away. “That’s old, Harry Spooger! They had a little beebeeeeeee.” Then, as she glared at Harry, she lost sight of the rope and tripped up!
Boy, was Mary mad! She dragged her rope to the sidelines, mumbling, “Harry Spooger is a big fat cheater!”
I don’t think anyone else heard her.
“Hey, guys,” Harry continued, “I just made up a new one! Did you hear about the two baseballs that got married?”
“No,” Sid replied while his rope smacked the pavement with a steady beat. “What happened?”
“They went looking for a diamond!”
Sid started laughing, lost his rhythm, and stumbled over his rope. Sidney LaFleur was out!
Oh man, I wondered. Was it really true? Was Harry a big fat cheater? Suddenly, I toppled over my own rope just thinking about it!
Now I was out. I started to know how Sid must feel. I sat next to him. Harry’s jokes didn’t trip me up, though, my worrying did!
“Tough luck, Dougo!” Harry yelled.
Mr. Marks counted the people who were still jumping as he wheeled in an Igloo of bottled waters.
There were three jumpers left—Harry, Song Lee, and Ida.
Sidney was sitting next to Mary on the sidelines. They both were frowning.
“Have another riddle?” Ida asked Harry as she kept flipping the rope over her head.
Harry turned to answer, lost his footing, and went down to the ground.
Boy, did Mary and Sidney do silent cheers!
“Sorry,” Ida replied, and then she lost her steady beat and slipped up too.
“Game over! Super job, kids!” Mr. Marks called from the far sideline. “Song Lee is our champion. Ida is second, and Harry is third.”
The girls hugged each other.
Harry came right over. “I never thought I’d outlast Sid or Mary,” he said.
“Yeah,” I agreed, but I was uneasy about how he’d done it.
Sidney was furious. “I should have at least been third. Not you, Harry the canary!”
“Well, Sid the squid,” Harry replied calmly, “you have to concentrate.”
“You mean not pay attention to your stupid jokes!” Mary snapped. “I got robbed!”
“All’s fair in love and war, Mare,” Harry explained.
“Oh yeah?” Mary snarled. “Well, all’s fair in love and war for the other events too, Harry Spooger!” Then she stomped off!
Whoa, I thought. A war?
Mr. Marks waved us over. “It’s getting really warm, kids! Time for a break!” he shouted. He and Mrs. Cherry were passing out chilled water bottles in a shaded area.
I was glad for some relief! Everyone needed to cool off. As I gulped down some water, I knew I had to keep Harry from any more possible cheating! There would be an all-out war with Sid and Mary if I didn’t!
Water Brigade Washout
As we moved on to the second event, I tried to have positive thoughts. We were headed for South School’s new nature area. It was shaded and involved more water.
Mrs. Matalata, our art teacher, welcomed us to the water brigade event. She had a flowered scarf tied around her hair and was standing next to a big bucket of water.
“I love your T-shirts!” she exclaimed. “What great artists you are!” That put a smile on my face.
“Okay, kids! Let’s get started,” she said. “In this event, you have to walk across the field with a cup of water. One partner will line up here on my side; the other partner will line up at the other end of the field by Mrs. Michaelsen.”
We all waved to Mrs. Michaelsen, our librarian. It was fun to see her in a baseball cap.
Mrs. Matalata continued her instructions. “See how fast you can run over and back without spilling too much water. The first team to finish with no less than six ounces wins!”
Harry patted the water bottle that was hooked on to his belt loop. “I’ve come prepared, Dougo!” he said. “This will give us an advantage!”
And that’s when my eyeballs zeroed in on Harry’s water bottle. The top had a spray trigger! Oh no! I thought. Was he planning to squirt extra water into his cup when no one was looking?
As I walked over to the far side, I thought about what I could do.
By the time I got to Mrs. Michaelsen and her card table of filled water cups, I was freaking out. My palms were sweating so much I had to wipe them on my pant legs. When I looked again at my hands, they were shaking.
I took a full cup and went to the starting line. The water inside was beginning to swirl around and around. I could see the black line on the outside of the paper cup for six ounces. The water level was now above it.
When I glanced at my competition, Mary, ZuZu, and Ida were on either side of me. The kid with a doorknob T-shirt was raring to go!
“On your mark . . . ” Mrs. Michaelsen called out.
“Get set . . . ”
I had to stop Harry from cheating.
“GO!” Mrs. Michaelsen yelled.
Ida and Mary took off like me, walking fast, holding their cup of water
out in front of them. ZuZu ran ahead!
As I hurried across the field, my cup looked like it was attached to a milkshake machine. It shook constantly! Water began sloshing out!
I could hear Harry yelling, “Go! Go!”
By the time I was halfway over to him, ZuZu had already passed his cup to Dexter. I was sure Harry would squirt more water into our cup. The water level was below the black mark already! Now there was no way we could win.
Unless . . . Harry cheated!
Ida passed her cup to Sidney, who took off like a rocket. Mary gave hers to Song Lee. Song Lee walked swiftly but steady. By the time I got closer to Harry, I was so nervous, I lost my balance and tripped over my own feet! My paper cup landed in the dirt upside down while I did a belly flop onto the grass!
I felt like crying.
“Are you okay?” Harry asked as he dropped to his knees in front of me.
“I’m fine,” I groaned.
Harry offered his hand and helped me up. “We’ll win the next one,” he said. Then he squirted water in my face. “You need a refresher,” he added.
“Thanks,” I said as I wiped the dripping water off my cheeks.
Did I misjudge Harry? I thought.
Harry watched the rest of the race, and even congratulated the Dashing Doorknobs, who won the event. Dexter and ZuZu finished before them, but their cup had less than six ounces of water. Mary and Song Lee came in second.
“You just earned one point for good sportsmanship, Harry,” Mrs. Matalata said. “You didn’t complain about not getting a chance to do the water brigade. And you were very understanding to your partner.”
Harry flashed a toothy grin while Mary rolled her eyeballs.
“We’re going to win, Dougo!” Harry declared.
“We can!” I agreed. If Harry plays fair! I thought. I needed to show Harry that we could do that!
As soon as Song Lee and Mary checked the teacher’s clipboard, they started jumping!
“We’re in first place!” Mary bragged.
Sidney looked at Harry. “Your team and mine may be tied for third, but you’re going down, Harry, in the next event!”
Whoa, that didn’t sound good.
I knew I had to keep an eye on Sid and Harry. The war was about to begin.
Relay Revenge
Mr. Deltoid was waiting for us at the next event on the blacktop, where white chalked lanes ended at the fence.
“Welcome to the relay race, kids!” he said. “Listen up! The first person on your team will run up to the fence and back for a distance of one hundred yards. After you tag your partner’s hand, your partner will run up and back. Whichever team finishes first wins! The South School record for running two hundred yards is thirty-seven seconds. If you miss the fence, you must go back and touch it. Got it?”
“Got it!” lots of us answered.
I wasn’t happy about Sidney and Ida lining up next to us. Sid and Harry were not a good mix right now.
“You run first, Doug,” Harry said. “I want to be the anchorman.”
“Are you sure?” I replied. I noticed Sid was anchorman too. Leaving those two side by side bothered me.
“Definitely,” Harry insisted.
“On your mark,” the teacher yelled. I got ready to run.
“Get set!”
I faced the fence, wondering what Harry might be up to. Did he have a plan I didn’t know about?
“GO!”
I took off!
My eyes were looking straight ahead at that chain-link fence. The steel wire loops were sparking in the sun. I couldn’t wait to touch them so I could turn around and check on Harry!
I could hear him cheering. “WAY TO RUN, DOUGO!”
As I approached the fence, I came in sideways for a landing so that way I wouldn’t lose one second turning around.
Schwisssssssh!
I hit the chain-link fence and raced back toward the other direction. I could see Harry waiting for me at the finish line! I had to get to him before he did anything stupid to Sidney!
I could see my competition as they raced for the fence. ZuZu had a good lead in second place; Song Lee and Ida followed.
Halfway back, my eyes focused on Harry. His hand was waving at me as he waited for my tag. Sidney was kneeling down doing something.
Smack! I slapped his palm, and Harry took off!
Phew! What trouble could he get into now? I had given Harry a really good lead, and he was increasing it.
As I watched Harry accelerate, I noticed his left shoelaces were flapping up and down. I know his shoelaces had been tied before we started the race, so that could only mean . . .
Sidney LaFleur!
That rat! He untied Harry’s shoe!
Harry started to stumble, then looked at his feet and stopped in his tracks. Furiously, he started retying his left shoe. I counted the seconds it took him to do it.
One Mississippi . . .
Two Mississippi . . .
ZuZu tagged Dexter, who took off in his lane! Seconds later, Sidney followed.
Four Mississippi . . .
Dexter caught up with Harry, then whizzed by him.
Five Mississippi!
Six Mississippi! Dexter was almost at the fence.
Seven . . . Now Sid passed Harry.
At last, Harry lunged forward. His shoe was tied! He was a good fifteen yards behind Dexter, but he was gaining on Sid.
Suddenly, Mr. Deltoid called Dexter’s name. He had missed the fence! Dexter had to stop, turn around, and touch it again. What a break!
Harry easily passed Sid, then approached the fence sideways. He lost no time changing directions.
“GO, HARRY, GO!” I yelled.
Everybody was cheering for their partner except Ida.
Dexter was ten yards ahead of Harry, but Harry was gaining speed!
Then Dexter did what good runners never do. He turned around to see who was behind him.
Harry!
He was sprinting toward him! Sid was farther away.
It was going to be close! Very close!
I stepped aside to give Harry room. ZuZu did the same thing for Dexter.
Both boys shot across the finish line!
“TIE for first!” Mr. Deltoid yelled, and clicked his timer. “Forty-three seconds!”
Dexter and ZuZu high-fived.
Harry and I did a knuckle tap as Sid crossed the finish line.
Mr. Deltoid came over to congratulate us. “That was an amazing run! But next time tie your shoes better!”
Harry nodded. He never tattled on anyone. Not even Sid, who ended up placing second with Ida in the relay race.
“Well, Harry,” Mr. Deltoid said. “It was a great race, but you and Doug could have set a new record! That’s too bad.” He walked away, shaking his head.
When Sidney came over to us, Harry had a few words for him. “Wasn’t cool, Sid.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Sid agreed. “My . . . bad,” he said, still out of breath. “You could have cracked your skull in two. I’m . . . really sorry.”
I shot Sid a look.
Then Harry and I raced over to Mrs. Flaubert and her clipboard.
“We’re going to be Room 3B’s champs!” Harry said.
Mary folded her arms and glared at Harry. “We’ll see about that,” she grumbled. “We still have two events left! I may not be the fastest person in Room 3B, but I can sure hit a target with a bean bag!”
The war wasn’t over.
Tug-of-War Tumble
Well, the bean bag toss was a total disaster for us! None of the top-scoring teams earned a point! I was so nervous about the war, I missed all three targets. Harry threw his bags way too hard. They would have been home runs in baseball!
Mary was still talking about the
event as we headed over to the nature area.
“There I was,” she said, “ready to take a well-planned aim, and just as I toss my bean bag, Harry goes, ‘Kaff! Kaff! Kaff!’”
“Mare!” Harry laughed. “I got a tickle in my throat. Coughing is not a crime.”
“Well . . . both times, you got a coughing attack right when I began to throw! It messed me up!”
“Not the third time, Mare, I didn’t cough on your third try,” Harry added.
“Well, I was waiting for your cough, and that distracted me.”
“Your bean bag clung to the side of the board. Just missed the target again.”
Mary exhaled like a dragon.
I knew I had to keep an eagle eye on Harry. If we were going to win the last event, it had to be fair and square. No more shenanigans, as my grandma would say.
Mr. Skooghammer, our computer teacher, was waiting for us in the nature area. Since he was wearing shorts, we could see his hairy legs. His red beard and mustache made him the hairiest guy at South School. Although our principal, who was standing next to him, was hairy too, Mr. Cardini had his mustache turned up perfectly on both ends. His T-shirt had a picture of Italy on the front, and the five Olympic rings in blue, black, red, yellow, and green on the back.
“Buongiorno!” Mr. Cardini said. “Welcome to the tug-of-war event. Get a pair of garden gloves from Mr. Skooghammer so your hands won’t get rope burn.”
Harry squirted some water in his mouth, then in mine. “We want to be last,” he said. “Let’s get at the end of the line behind Ida and Sid.”
I nodded.
We all watched the principal tie a red handkerchief in the middle of the rope. Mr. Skooghammer placed orange cones two yards on either side of it.
“Whichever team pulls the red scarf past their cone wins!” Mr. Skooghammer explained. “You and your partner can earn three points together. Be sure you are on the same side as your partner, though.”
Horrible Harry and the Field Day Revenge! Page 2