Third-Grade Reporter Read online

  Contents

  Chapter 1: Welcome, Miss Snobby Pants

  Chapter 2: Say Cheese!

  Chapter 3: Lunch—and a Hunch

  Chapter 4: Trouble Strikes Again

  Chapter 5: Backpack Attack

  Chapter 6: Alice, Go Home!

  Chapter 7: Picture Perfect

  Chapter 8: Gotcha!

  1

  Welcome, Miss Snobby Pants

  Why would a grown-up want to come back to elementary school?” Nancy Drew’s best friend George Fayne asked.

  Nancy smiled at the sign on the school door. It read, Welcome Back, Alice Stone. Underneath was Alice’s old third-grade school picture.

  “Alice isn’t just any grown-up, George,” Nancy said. “She’s a reporter for Today’s Times, and she’s writing a whole article about our school.”

  Nancy was so excited she had hardly slept the night before. Alice Stone would be in Mrs. Reynolds’s class from Monday to Thursday. On Friday she would go back to Today’s Times to write her article.

  “Do you think Mrs. Reynolds will give Alice homework?” Bess Marvin asked. Bess was Nancy’s other best friend. She was also George’s cousin.

  “Sure,” Nancy said. “Alice is going to be one of us for almost a whole week.”

  “That is going to be so cool!” George said, her dark eyes flashing.

  “Excuse me,” a voice behind Nancy said. “You can thank me for that!”

  Nancy rolled her eyes. She would know that voice anywhere—it belonged to snooty Brenda Carlton. Brenda’s father owned Today’s Times. Brenda even had her own newspaper, which she wrote at home on her computer. It was called the Carlton News.

  “Did I tell you that it was my idea to invite Alice to our school?” Brenda asked as the girls turned around.

  “A million times!” George groaned.

  Brenda flipped her brown hair over one shoulder. “One day while I was visiting my father’s newspaper—”

  “Here comes a million and one,” Bess whispered.

  “—I met Alice!” Brenda went on. “When Alice told me she’d gone to Carl Sandburg Elementary School I said she should come back to visit. Guess what Alice said?”

  “What?” Nancy asked. But she really knew the answer.

  “She said she’d love to!” Brenda declared. “Alice also said she’d write a whole article about being back at her old school.”

  “Then it was Alice’s idea, not yours.” Bess said.

  Brenda glared at Bess. “It was so my idea, Bess Marvin!” she snapped.

  Bess shook her head. “Nuh-uh.”

  “Uh-huh!” Brenda exclaimed.

  “It doesn’t matter whose idea it was,” Nancy said. “What’s important is that we’re going to have a real reporter in our class.”

  “A real reporter?” Brenda cried. She tossed a copy of the Carlton News at Nancy. “What am I—chopped liver?”

  “Whoops,” Nancy said as Brenda huffed off. “I forgot that Brenda is a reporter, too.”

  “Some reporter,” George said. “What did Miss Snooty Pants write about today?”

  Nancy held up the newspaper. The headline read, “Our School’s Biggest Brats.” Underneath were pictures of Jason Hutchings, David Berger, and Mike Minelli.

  “You call that news?” George asked. “Everyone knows that the boys are the biggest brats in school.”

  “In the world!” Bess added.

  The school bell rang.

  George took the newspaper from Nancy. She dropped it in the recycle can. “So much for the Carlton Pe-ews!”

  The girls walked into the school. They hurried through the hallway with the other students.

  “I wore my favorite blouse and jumper just for Alice,” Bess said. “In case she writes about our clothes.”

  George’s dark curls bounced as she shook her head. “Alice has more important things to write about than our clothes.”

  “Like what?” Bess asked.

  George grinned. “Like Mrs. Carmichael’s macaroni and cheese.”

  “Yum!” Nancy said.

  Every Monday Mrs. Carmichael, the new lunch lady, made macaroni and cheese. It was so good that the girls never brought in their lunches on Mondays.

  “There’s Mrs. Carmichael now,” Nancy said. “Let’s ask her if she made chocolate pudding for dessert.”

  Mrs. Carmichael was standing right outside the lunchroom with Mr. Belsky, the music teacher. As the girls walked closer, Nancy could hear them talking.

  “I hope Alice Stone likes my lunch,” Mrs. Carmichael said. “I made chocolate pudding for dessert. With whipped cream.”

  “Ye-es!” George whispered.

  “Were you really in the same third-grade class as Alice?” Mr. Belsky asked.

  Nancy’s eyes opened wide. She didn’t know that Mrs. Carmichael had gone to Carl Sandburg Elementary School, too.

  “I sure was,” Mrs. Carmichael replied. “Alice used to sit right in front of me. Her long ponytail kept getting stuck in my pencil case.”

  “Ouch!” Bess said. She grabbed her own ponytail. “That has to hurt!”

  “Let’s see if we can hear more about Alice,” Nancy told her friends.

  Nancy hurried over to the water fountain near Mrs. Carmichael. She listened closely as she began to drink.

  “What was Alice like back then, Enid?” Mr. Belsky asked.

  “Alice Stone was the bossiest girl in the third grade,” Mrs. Carmichael said.

  Nancy sputtered her water. Bossy?

  “We even had a name for her,” Mrs. Carmichael said. “Oh, yeah—we called her Miss Snobby Pants.”

  Nancy pulled herself away from the fountain. George began to drink.

  “Miss Snobby Pants?” Nancy whispered. “Are you both thinking what I’m thinking?”

  Bess nodded. “It sounds just like Brenda’s nickname—Miss Snooty Pants.”

  A boy in the fourth grade tapped George’s shoulder. “Are you going to leave me some water or what?” he asked.

  George turned to the boy with puffed cheeks. She pretended to be about to spit.

  “Come on,” Nancy said, grabbing George’s arm. “We’ll be late for class.”

  “Do you think Alice Stone is anything like Brenda Carlton?” Bess asked as they walked through the hallway.

  “Probably worse,” George said. “Alice is a grown-up. That means she’s had plenty of time to get even snootier.”

  “I hope Miss Snobby Pants doesn’t sit next to me,” Bess said as they walked into their classroom.

  “Or me,” George said.

  Nancy didn’t want Alice to sit next to her either. What would Miss Snobby Pants do? Copy her test paper? Throw spitballs? Make faces at her?

  But when Nancy walked to her desk she froze. The seat next to hers was empty. The desk was completely cleared off.

  “Good morning, class,” Mrs. Reynolds said. She smiled at Nancy. “Guess what, Nancy? Alice Stone will be sitting right next to you!”

  Next to me? Nancy thought. Her stomach did a double flip. Oh, no!

  2

  Say Cheese!

  That’s not fair!” Brenda cried. “I invited Alice to our school. She should sit next to me!”

  “The desk next to Nancy is empty this week, Brenda,” Mrs. Reynolds said. “Orson Wong is absent with the flu.”

  “Then that desk is full of germs!” Brenda gasped. “Alice can’t sit there!”

  “Alice will be fine.” Mrs. Reynolds smiled at Nancy. “And she’ll like sitting next to the school’s best detective.”

  Nancy smiled back. The whole class knew that she loved solving mysteries. They even knew about her blue detective notebook. That’s where Nancy wrote down all of her suspects and clues.

  “
Good morning!” a voice said.

  Everyone turned around. A woman with dark hair stood by the door. She wore a pants suit and high-heeled shoes. She was carrying a big brown bag on her shoulder.

  “I’m Alice Stone,” the woman said. She handed Mrs. Reynolds a shiny apple. “And I’m ready for the third grade.”

  “How is she going to play tag in those shoes?” Bess whispered to Nancy.

  “Welcome, Ms. Stone,” Mrs. Reynolds said, taking the apple. “I mean, Alice.”

  Mrs. Reynolds showed Alice where to sit—right next to Nancy.

  While Mrs. Reynolds wrote the date on the board, Alice turned to Nancy.

  “Guess what I brought to school today?” Alice whispered.

  “What?” Nancy whispered back.

  Alice opened her bag just a bit. Inside was a bright pink jump rope with silver sparkles on the handles.

  “This was my lucky jump rope when I was in third grade,” Alice said.

  “It’s awesome!” Nancy said with a smile. Alice didn’t seem snobby at all!

  Mrs. Reynolds took the roll. Then it was time to hand out the class jobs.

  “David, Jason, and Mike,” she said. “You’ll wash the chalkboard during recess on Tuesday.”

  “And miss recess?” David complained.

  “That’s why I gave the job to all three of you,” Mrs. Reynolds said. “So you can keep one another company.”

  Mrs. Reynolds turned to Alice. “I’m sure you had class jobs when you were in third grade,” she said.

  “I sure did,” Alice said. “My favorite job was watering the plants.”

  “We have plants,” Brenda cried out. “I’ll bet Mrs. Reynolds will let you water the plants. Right, Mrs. Reynolds?”

  “Emily Reeves is supposed to water the plants this week,” Mrs. Reynolds said. “But I’m sure she wouldn’t mind giving Alice her job.”

  “What job would I have instead?” Emily asked. She looked worried.

  Mrs. Reynolds glanced at her list. “I need someone to clean the hamster cage.”

  Nancy gasped. Cleaning the hamster cage was the yuckiest job in the class.

  “The hamster cage?” Emily asked.

  “Ha, ha,” Jason snickered.

  “Goody!” Brenda cried. “Now Alice gets her favorite job. Thanks to me!”

  Nancy looked at Emily. She could tell she was very upset.

  Mrs. Reynolds handed out more jobs. Nancy’s job was to collect the quiz sheets. Bess would dust the bookshelf. George would empty the pencil sharpener.

  When all the jobs had been given out, Andrew Leoni raised his hand. “Can I read a poem I wrote for Alice?” he asked.

  “Sure, Andrew,” Mrs. Reynolds said.

  Andrew stood up with his notebook in his hands. He began to read:

  “Welcome back to your old school.

  We hope your week with us is cool.

  And when you write about what you see,

  Don’t forget to mention me!”

  “Thanks, Andrew,” Alice said. “You’re a real poet.”

  “I am?” Andrew asked. “Cool!”

  “Does anyone have a question for Alice about being a newspaper reporter?” Mrs. Reynolds asked the class.

  Jason raised his hand. “Does Alice write the comic strips, too? Oogie the Caveman is my favorite.”

  Brenda whirled around in her seat. “Alice is a serious reporter, Jason,” she said. “That was a dumb question!”

  “What do you expect from one of the brattiest boys in school?” Jason sneered.

  Nancy bit her lip. She knew that Jason was talking about Brenda’s article.

  “Settle down,” Mrs. Reynolds said.

  Nancy glanced at Alice. She was writing something in a small notepad—and she was smiling.

  That’s a good sign, Nancy thought. She must like our school so far.

  After a social studies lesson and a math quiz it was time for lunch.

  “Try the macaroni and cheese,” Brenda told Alice on the lunch line. “And the chocolate pudding.”

  Nancy shook her head. Brenda was following Alice around like a puppy dog!

  The girls pushed their trays down the line. Nancy could smell the hot macaroni and cheese. She couldn’t wait to eat it.

  “Morning is light, night is dark,” Andrew called from the back of the line. “I’m so hungry I could eat a shark!”

  “Give me a break,” George complained. “Ever since Alice called Andrew a poet, he won’t stop rhyming.”

  Mrs. Carmichael handed Alice a plate of macaroni and cheese. “I baked this just for you, Alice,” she said.

  “I usually have a salad,” Alice said, taking the plate. “But this looks great!”

  The girls carried their trays to a table. Nancy was happy to see that Alice was sitting there, too. She wasn’t so happy to see Brenda sitting next to her.

  “I forgot a fork,” Alice sighed. “Who wants to show me where they are?”

  All four hands shot up.

  “Why don’t you all show me?” Alice asked. “The more the merrier.”

  “Someone has to stay here to watch our trays,” Brenda said. She turned to Bess. “You do it, Bess.”

  “Why me?” Bess complained.

  “Because you look very responsible, Bess,” Alice said.

  A proud smile spread across Bess’s face. “No problem.”

  The girls showed Alice where Mrs. Carmichael kept the forks. They grabbed more napkins and returned to the table.

  “Now I can finally try the best macaroni and cheese in the world,” Alice said. She placed a napkin in her lap.

  Nancy and her friends watched Alice put a heaping forkful into her mouth.

  “Did you ever taste anything like it in your whole life, Alice?” Nancy asked.

  Alice dropped her fork. Her lips puckered up like a raisin. “Mm-mmph!”

  “What did you say?” George asked.

  “Blaaaah!” Alice cried. “Yuck!”

  Nancy stared at Alice. The reporter from Today’s Times was turning green!

  3

  Lunch—and a Hunch

  Alice!” Nancy said. She patted the reporter on the back. “Are you all right?”

  “My macaroni and cheese is s-s-sour!” Alice said. She took a big sip of juice.

  Sour? Nancy carefully tasted her own lunch. “Mine tastes great,” she said.

  “Great?” Alice said. “It’s the worst thing I ever tasted. Try it yourself.”

  Alice pushed her plate toward Nancy.

  Nancy squeezed her eyes shut as she tasted Alice’s macaroni and cheese.

  “Ugh!” Nancy said. She wanted to spit it out. “It’s sour, all right!”

  “Like a lemon?” George asked.

  Bess quickly tasted some, too. She shook her head. “Like Pucker Powder.”

  “Pucker Powder?” Brenda repeated.

  “It’s that candy that sprinkles like sugar but tastes sour,” Bess said. “It’s yummy. But not on macaroni and cheese.”

  “How come we couldn’t see it on the macaroni and cheese?” Nancy asked.

  “It must have been the pineapple flavor,” Bess said. “It’s light yellow.”

  “Someone sprinkled Pucker Powder on Alice’s lunch?” Brenda turned to Bess. “I thought you were watching our trays.”

  “I was!” Bess cried. “I did!”

  Brenda picked up Alice’s plate. “I’m taking this back to Mrs. Carmichael.”

  “No, Brenda,” Alice said. “I don’t want to embarrass her.”

  “Then I’m throwing it right in the trash can!” Brenda declared.

  “Sorry, Alice,” Nancy said after Brenda left. “You can still get a tuna sandwich and chips.”

  Alice shook her head. “I’m not hungry anymore. Besides, I have some work to do.”

  Nancy watched as Alice took out her notepad. But this time as Alice wrote she wasn’t smiling—she was frowning.

  Uh-oh, Nancy thought. Bad news!

  • • •


  “Who would want to spoil Alice’s lunch?” George asked later during recess. “She’s so nice.”

  “Maybe someone who’s not so nice,” Nancy said with a shrug.

  “Nancy, wait up!” a voice called.

  “Speaking of not so nice,” Bess whispered. “Here comes Brenda.”

  Brenda ran over and looked Nancy straight in the eye. “Alice can’t write a bad article about our school,” she said. “Not when the whole thing was my idea.”

  “Is that what you came over to tell us?” George asked.

  Brenda shook her head. She pointed to Nancy. “I want Detective Drew to find out who poured Pucker Powder in Alice’s macaroni and cheese,” she said. “Before the troublemaker strikes again!”

  Nancy gave it a thought. The spoiled lunch was a mystery—and she loved solving mysteries.

  “Well?” Brenda asked Nancy.

  “Okay,” Nancy said. “I’ll do it.”

  George tapped Nancy’s shoulder. “Um, Nancy? Can we talk? Just the three of us?”

  Nancy, Bess, and George stepped away from Brenda.

  “Why do you want to help Miss Snooty Pants, Nancy?” George whispered.

  “Yeah,” Bess said. “She’s just going to get snootier and bossier.”

  “I’m not helping Brenda, I’m helping Alice,” Nancy explained. “We all want her to write a good article about Carl Sandburg Elementary School, right?”

  Bess and George nodded. Then they walked back to Brenda.

  “I’ll start this case right away, Brenda,” Nancy said.

  “Good. Because I’m going to check up on you every day,” Brenda declared. “To make sure you’re doing your job.”

  “Check up on me?” Nancy gasped as Brenda strutted away.

  “Come on, Nancy,” George said, tugging her arm. “Just keep thinking about Alice and the article.”

  The girls sat down on a bench in the playground. Nancy pulled out her blue detective notebook. Bess and George looked over Nancy’s shoulders as she opened her notebook to a clean page.

  “I think I’ll call this case Alice in Troubleland,” Nancy said.

  “I like that!” Bess giggled.

  Nancy wrote the words on top of the page. On the next line she wrote “Trouble.” Right under that she wrote “Pucker Powder.”