The Funny Face Fight Read online

  Making Faces!

  Nancy and Bess met outside school. They couldn’t wait to see all the election posters in their classroom.

  As the girls walked down the hallway, Nancy could hear some of the kids from their classroom talking.

  When Nancy and Bess walked into the room, it got silent. Then they saw it.

  The poster that Bess had made was hanging on the wall. The picture still looked like Jessie, but someone had taken off the rainbow and the butterfly that Bess had traced and colored so carefully.

  Now something else was on the poster. A thin, squiggly black mustache.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  A MINSTREL PAPERBACK Original

  A Minstrel Book published by

  POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc.

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  Copyright © 1996 by Simon & Schuster Inc.

  Produced by Mega-Books of New York, Inc.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.

  For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  ISBN: 0-671-53553-6

  ISBN : 978-1-4391-1392-9 (ebook)

  First Minstrel Books printing September 1996

  NANCY DREW, THE NANCY DREW NOTEBOOKS, A MINSTREL BOOK and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster Inc.

  Cover art by Aleta Jenks

  Content

  Chapter 1: The Race Is On

  Chapter 2: Dirty Tricks

  Chapter 3: Beard on a Button

  Chapter 4: A Poster Prank

  Chapter 5: Who Was Where?

  Chapter 6: Brenda Spreads the News

  Chapter 7: Vicki Blows Up

  Chapter 8: The Proof

  1

  The Race Is On

  Don’t vote for Nancy Drew,” Jason Hutchings chanted during recess. “She smells like a dirty old shoe.”

  Jason and his best friend, Mike Minelli, cracked up laughing.

  It was Monday. Mrs. Reynolds’s third-grade class was getting ready to hold an election for class president. After recess they would nominate candidates. Then they would vote on Friday.

  “Well, I think Nancy would make a great president,” Molly Angelo said.

  “So do I,” Jenny March added.

  “No way!” Mike pinched his nose with his fingers. The two boys ran away yelling, “Peeuw, Nancy Drew! Peeuw, Nancy Drew!”

  “You creeps!” Nancy shouted to them.

  Molly shook her head. “They’re mean.”

  Eight-year-old Nancy Drew pushed her long reddish blond hair behind her shoulder and nodded.

  “It’s okay, Molly,” Nancy said. “I don’t want to be president anyway. Bess and George already asked me.”

  “Oh, come on, Nancy,” Jenny said. “I’ll nominate you. It will be neat to have a detective for class president.”

  “But the president has lots to do. Like helping with Fall Festival and class trips,” Nancy said. “I already take ballet lessons and play soccer. I wouldn’t have time to be president.”

  “Hey, Nancy, guess what?” Bess Marvin called from across the school yard. Bess was one of Nancy’s best friends. Nancy went to join her.

  “I’m going to nominate Jessie Shapiro for president. You’ll help get her elected, won’t you?”

  Before Nancy could answer, George Fayne came over to them. George’s real name was Georgia. Nobody called her that, though. She was Nancy’s other best friend.

  George and Bess were cousins. But they rarely agreed on anything. They didn’t look alike either. Bess had long blond hair, and George had short, curly dark hair.

  “I just asked Vicki Wolf if she wanted to be class president,” George said. “And she said yes. Isn’t that great?”

  “What’s so great about that?” Bess asked. “Vicki just joined the soccer team. She’s on the town softball team, too. Isn’t that enough?”

  “That’s the point,” George told her. “Vicki’s a great athlete. If she gets elected, she’ll do a lot for sports, especially for the soccer team.”

  George and Nancy both played on the third-grade soccer team—the Tigers. Bess didn’t.

  “Well, if Jessie’s elected,” Bess said, “she’ll do things for everybody, not just for soccer players. And you should have talked to us before you asked Vicki to run. We’re your friends, aren’t we?”

  George looked surprised. “Of course, Bess. You guys are my best friends. But I still want Vicki to be president.”

  George turned to Nancy. “I’m going to ask all the Tigers in our class to vote for Vicki. How about it, Nancy?”

  Bess put her hand on Nancy’s arm. “You’ll vote for Jessie, won’t you? Remember, I asked you first.”

  Nancy didn’t know what to do. She liked both Vicki and Jessie. And George and Bess were both her best friends. Whatever she did, somebody’s feelings might be hurt.

  “Jessie has some super ideas,” Bess added. “Like a class trip to Water World. Her dad knows the man who runs it.”

  “That sounds like fun,” Nancy said. “And Bess did ask me first. I guess I’ll be on Jessie’s side.”

  “Well, if that’s the way you feel,” George said. She turned and walked away.

  Bess watched her go. “I hope George isn’t mad,” she said.

  “She’ll be okay,” Nancy told her.

  Just then a soccer ball came bouncing across the pavement. It hit Bess in the arm.

  “Ow!” Bess shouted. “That hurt!”

  Nancy looked around. Vicki was standing nearby with her best friend, Lizzie Artello. George was with them now. All three of them were giggling.

  “Sorry, Bess,” Vicki called out.

  Bess tossed the ball to them. “I can’t believe they hit me,” she said to Nancy. “That was really mean. And George thought it was funny.”

  Bess was right, Nancy thought. If they hit Bess on purpose, that was mean.

  • • •

  After recess all the kids returned to the classroom and took their seats. Mrs. Reynolds stood in the front of the room.

  Mrs. Reynolds used to be called Ms. Spencer. When she got married, she changed her name to Mrs. Reynolds.

  “It’s time for nominations,” Mrs. Reynolds said. “If there’s someone you think should be class president, raise your hand and tell us who it is. Then someone else needs to second the nomination. May I see hands?”

  Bess, George, Lizzie, and Jason all raised their hands. Mrs. Reynolds called on Lizzie first.

  “I nominate Vicki Wolf,” Lizzie said loudly.

  “Does anyone second that nomination?” Mrs. Reynolds asked.

  George turned and glanced at Bess. Then George raised her hand. “I second it.”

  Next, Bess nominated Jessie. Nancy raised her hand and said, “Me, too.”

  Then Jason spoke in a deep voice like a television announcer. “The one, the only, Mike Minelli!”

  Everyone laughed. They all knew that Jason and Mike were best friends.

  Peter DeSands jumped up. “I second Mike,” he said loudly. “Not only that, I third and fourth him, too!”

  “Thank you, Peter.” Mrs. Reynolds grinned. “Our three candidates are Jessie, Vicki, and Mike.”

  Everybody clapped.

  “Now we’re going to spend some time working on the stories you’ve been writing,” Mrs. Reynolds continued. “The three candidates may work on their campaign speeches. We’ll all get
to hear the speeches on Thursday.”

  Nancy opened her English notebook. She had already finished a story about three friends who lived on the beach. Now she decided to write a story about her puppy, Chocolate Chip. Chip was a chocolate-colored Labrador retriever. At the top of the page Nancy wrote, “Chip and the Missing Bone.” Then she drew two lines under the words.

  What next? Nancy tried to think. It was always hard to start a story. She sat back and looked around the room.

  Mike was chewing on his pen, and Jenny was staring at the chalkboard. Two rows ahead, Vicki was writing on index cards. She put them in a stack near the edge of her desk.

  Bess got up from her seat and walked toward the dictionary stand next to Mrs. Reynolds’s desk. As she passed Vicki’s desk, she bumped against it. Vicki’s stack of cards tumbled off the desktop and scattered across the floor.

  “My speech!” Vicki screamed.

  “You did that on purpose, Bess Marvin,” an angry voice said.

  Nancy looked over her shoulder. Lizzie and Brenda Carlton had gotten up from their desks. They were standing behind Nancy. Brenda was writing in her red reporter’s notebook.

  Brenda wrote her own newspaper. It was called the Carlton News. She printed it on her father’s computer. What Brenda liked most were stories that made other kids look bad.

  George jumped up from her seat to look at the mess next to Vicki’s desk.

  Bess looked at George. But George didn’t say anything.

  “It was an accident,” Bess said. Her voice almost cracked. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

  “You did, too,” Lizzie said. Then she turned to Brenda. “Bess is trying to make Vicki lose,” she said. “I know it!”

  2

  Dirty Tricks

  Bess,” Mrs. Reynolds said, “please help Vicki pick up her cards. The rest of you, return to your seats.”

  George sat down, and Lizzie went back to her desk. Brenda walked over to Vicki’s desk instead.

  “So, you think some people are playing dirty tricks to win the class election,” Brenda said to Vicki. She looked directly at Bess. “Is that right?”

  Vicki glanced at Bess, too. Then she lowered her eyes. “I guess so,” she said.

  Mrs. Reynolds stood up from her desk. “Brenda, I said go back to your seat.”

  Brenda gave Nancy a smug look. “Don’t worry, Vicki,” she said as she walked back to her desk. “They won’t get away with it. Just wait until you read my special Election Day issue.”

  Bess leaned close to Nancy as she slid back into her own seat. “What is she talking about?” she asked.

  Nancy shrugged. “You never know with Brenda.”

  Nancy tried to concentrate on her story about Chip again. But something was bothering her, and it wasn’t Brenda. Lizzie said Bess had knocked down Vicki’s speech on purpose. George hadn’t even stuck up for Bess. Maybe George was mad at Bess for choosing Jessie, Nancy thought. Maybe George was mad at Nancy, too.

  • • •

  On Tuesday Mrs. Reynolds passed out some small paper plates with safety pins taped to the back.

  “You can draw or paint on your plate to make a campaign button,” she explained to the class. “Then on Election Day, you can wear the button to show which candidate you prefer.”

  “But I’m not sure who I want to vote for,” Jenny said.

  Mrs. Reynolds smiled. “If you’re undecided, you can start decorating your button now. Later you can fill in the name of the candidate.”

  Nancy had a great idea for a button. She went to a table at the back of the room to paint her plate. So did Bess.

  George and Vicki were at another table a few feet away. Bess looked at them.

  “I just know George is mad at me because I want Jessie to win,” she whispered to Nancy.

  “I think she might be mad at both of us,” Nancy said. “Let’s ask her to come over to my house after school.”

  Jason Hutchings came up to their table. He had a long paintbrush in one hand and a jar of red paint in the other.

  “You’re both making buttons for Mike, right?” He looked over Nancy’s shoulder.

  “Mike who?” Nancy said.

  “Yeah.” Bess grinned, going along with Nancy’s teasing. “I don’t know anybody named Mike.”

  “Ha-ha,” Jason said. “That was so funny I forgot to laugh.”

  “But you just did.” Nancy giggled. Bess laughed, too.

  “Well, Mike’s going to make the cafeteria stop serving macaroni and cheese,” Jason said. “It’s gross.”

  Some of the kids nearby cheered. Everybody hated the macaroni and cheese.

  “I’m for Jessie,” Bess told him. “She’ll get us a trip to Water World.”

  “And Vicki will help the soccer team,” George called from the other table. “I’m voting for her.”

  Jason walked over to George and Vicki. “That’s a great button, George,” he said.

  Nancy looked over. George had drawn a smiley face on her plate. Around the edge it said, Be Happy—Vote Vicki.

  “But it needs something,” Jason went on. “I know. A beard and glasses!” He acted as if he was about to paint on George’s button.

  “No way!” George held up her paintbrush like a sword. “On guard!”

  Jason and George pretended to have a sword fight with their brushes.

  “George, Jason, stop that at once,” Mrs. Reynolds called.

  “This isn’t the end of it,” Jason said. Then he walked to his desk.

  Laughing, George turned to Vicki. She put her arm around her.

  “Lucky him,” she said. “I was just about to paint a V for Vicki on his shirt!”

  • • •

  After school Nancy and Bess waited by the front entrance for George to come out. George walked out with Vicki. Lizzie was a few steps behind them.

  “George?” Bess called. “You want to do something this afternoon?”

  “Sorry. I’m doing something with Vicki and Lizzie today,” George said. “See you tomorrow.” She walked off with Vicki and Lizzie.

  Bess looked sad. “It looks like George found two new best friends,” she said.

  “George wouldn’t do that,” Nancy said. She wanted to cheer Bess up. “I know—let’s take Chip to the park.”

  Bess was still looking at George, Vicki, and Lizzie. “That sounds like fun,” she said, but she didn’t sound happy.

  • • •

  “Chip has been expecting you,” Hannah Gruen said to Nancy. “At three o’clock she starts watching the back door.”

  Hanna was the Drew family’s housekeeper. She had lived with Nancy and her father ever since Nancy’s mother died.

  “Good girl!” Nancy said. She bent down to rub her puppy’s ears. Right away Chip covered Nancy’s face with sloppy wet kisses.

  Nancy and Bess quickly ate a snack of cookies and cider. Nancy grabbed her soccer ball from the hall closet. Bess snapped Chip’s leash to her collar. Then they were off to the park.

  At the park, Nancy took off Chip’s leash. Bess tossed the soccer ball and Chip ran after it. The puppy tried to catch the ball in her mouth. It was too big. She jumped on it with her front paws. Then she bumped it with her head.

  “Look,” Nancy said. “Chip’s learning to play soccer!”

  Nancy and Bess ran over to the puppy. Nancy gave the ball a light kick. Chip chased it and bumped it with her nose.

  “You were right, Nancy. This is fun!” Bess kicked the ball back to the puppy.

  Chip yipped loudly and stopped it with her paws.

  “Great block, Chip,” Nancy called. “Now kick it. Go for the goal!”

  Instead, Chip turned and bolted across the park. Nancy and Bess ran after her. Chip stopped to sniff around a picnic table. Then she jumped onto the table.

  “Chip, get down!” Nancy shouted. As she got closer, she saw that George, Vicki, and Lizzie were sitting at the table. They had been working on a poster. Now Chip was dancing around on top of it, smearing
the paint with her paws and nose.

  George was laughing. Lizzie wasn’t.

  “Nancy Drew!” Lizzie said. “Can’t you make your dog behave? I bet you told her to come over and ruin our work!”

  “She just wants to play,” George said. She reached over to pet the puppy. “It’s okay, Lizzie. I’ll make another poster.”

  “I’m really sorry, guys.” Nancy put the leash back on Chip.

  Lizzie grabbed their paints and poster and hurried away. Vicki and George went after her.

  Bess and Nancy watched as George and Vicki caught up to Lizzie. George gave Lizzie a friendly punch on the arm. It looked like George was trying to make her feel better.

  “I can’t believe George didn’t even say hi to us,” Bess said. “And why is Lizzie being so mean?”

  “I don’t know, Bess.” Nancy watched the three girls walk out of the park. She was wondering the same thing herself.

  Nancy bent down and gave Chip a hug. She had hoped Bess was wrong about George finding two new best friends. But now it looked as though Bess might be right.

  3

  Beard on a Button

  That’s not funny!” Nancy heard George say in an angry voice. Nancy and Bess had just entered the classroom on Wednesday morning. There was a big crowd at the back of the room. Nancy and Bess hurried to see what was going on.

  “Who did this?” George demanded.

  Nancy stood on her tiptoes and looked past the crowd. George was holding up her Be Happy—Vote Vicki button. Taped over the smiley face was another face—a funny face with glasses and a big black beard.

  “See, George, I was right,” Jason said. “Your button looks a lot better now.”

  A bunch of kids were laughing. But George didn’t think it was funny.

  “I’ll pay you back for this, Jason,” she said. George sounded really angry. Almost as angry as when someone called her Georgia.

  “I didn’t do it, George,” Jason said. “But it does look funny.”

  “Hey, Vicki,” Mike said. “Are you going to grow a beard now?”

  Everyone kept laughing. Then Lizzie grabbed the button from George.