It's No Joke! Read online

  “Let’s try to find her,” Bess said with excitement. “Maybe she can explain what’s going on.”

  “Good idea!” Nancy closed the dictionary. The girls hurried toward the door. George was about to open it when it swung open.

  Mr. Daly walked in. He was carrying a lunch tray. He looked surprised to see the girls.

  “What do you think you’re doing in here?” Mr. Daly demanded.

  George and Nancy and Bess looked at one another. This time Mr. Daly wasn’t blaming them for something they hadn’t done. This time they’d really broken the rules. Nancy knew she had to tell him the truth.

  “We came in to use the dictionary,” Nancy said.

  “You’re not allowed to come into the classroom during lunch,” Mr. Daly said.

  “I know,” Nancy said. “And I’m sorry. But it was very important that we use the dictionary now.”

  “Are you going to explain why?” Mr. Daly asked.

  Nancy swallowed hard. She was certain that Julia was the joker. But she couldn’t tell Mr. Daly that. Tattling on a friend was wrong. And Nancy was certain that Julia had a good reason for playing the jokes.

  “I can’t,” Nancy told him.

  Mr. Daly put his tray down on the desk. He looked angry. “I think I know the reason you sneaked in here,” he said. “All three of you have been playing jokes on me. And now you’re planting another one.”

  Nancy shook her head hard. “That’s not true,” she said.

  Nancy’s heart was beating double time. Now she knew how George and Bess felt when Mr. Daly accused them of something they hadn’t done—awful!

  “But—but look around,” Nancy said. “We didn’t touch anything except for the dictionary.”

  “We didn’t put the newspaper in your desk, either,” George said.

  “Or put the goldfish in your water,” Bess added.

  Mr. Daly seemed to be considering what they were saying. He sat down in his desk chair to think. Pop! Pop, pop, pop! A bunch of tiny explosions went off under Mr. Daly’s chair!

  7

  Buddies

  Mr. Daly pushed himself away from his desk.

  Pop! Pop, pop, pop! A second set of little explosions went off under Mr. Daly’s chair. His eyes were wide with surprise. He jumped up and stood staring at the chair.

  “What was that?” George asked.

  “You tell me!” Mr. Daly said.

  Nancy crept closer to the chair.

  “Be careful,” Bess said.

  “Don’t worry,” Nancy said. She looked at the chair seat. Nothing unusual there. She knelt down and peered under the chair. Again, she didn’t see anything strange.

  Nancy noticed that the chair was sitting on a plastic mat. The mat protected the floor.

  “I think there’s something under this mat,” Nancy said. She held her breath and carefully pushed the chair onto the floor. Nothing happened.

  Nancy started to pull up the mat.

  But Mr. Daly stepped forward. “I’ll do that,” he said.

  Nancy got out of the way.

  Mr. Daly pulled back the plastic.

  Nancy let out her breath when she saw what was underneath.

  “Look!” Nancy said. “Someone put bubble wrap under the mat. It popped when the chair rolled over it.”

  “Someone?” Mr. Daly’s face was red with anger. “Not just someone—you!”

  “It wasn’t me,” Nancy said.

  “Then how did you find the bubble wrap so easily?” Mr. Daly said.

  “I—well, I just looked,” Nancy said.

  “Nancy’s good at finding things,” Bess added.

  “So am I,” Mr. Daly said. “And I believe I just found the third joker in this classroom. Miss Drew, you will stay at school tomorrow while the rest of the class goes to the zoo.”

  Nancy’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe her plan had backfired. She’d tried to fix things so that all of her friends could go to the zoo. Now none of them were going.

  A sound startled Nancy. She looked up. The door to the supply closet was opening. Nancy gasped when she saw Julia step out.

  “Miss Santos!” Mr. Daly said. “What were you doing in the closet?”

  “Hiding,” Julia said.

  “So, there are actually four practical jokers in this classroom,” Mr. Daly said.

  “No,” Julia said. “Nancy didn’t put that bubble wrap under your chair. And George and Bess didn’t have anything to do with the jokes, either. I played all of them myself.”

  “Why?” Nancy said.

  “And why didn’t you say something earlier?” Bess demanded. “It wasn’t nice of you to let us take the blame for something you did.”

  Julia hung her head. “I know,” she said. “But I couldn’t help myself.”

  “Why not?” George sounded mad.

  Julia looked up at her friends. “I’m afraid to go on the field trip,” she whispered.

  “You’re afraid of the zoo?” Bess asked.

  “No,” Julia said. “I’m afraid of the school bus.”

  Julia was talking very softly. Nancy and the others crept closer so that they could hear her.

  “Why would you be afraid of the school bus?” Mr. Daly asked.

  “Last year something terrible happened,” Julia said. “My class went on a trip to a farm. On the way home, I started to feel sick. I thought I could make it back to school. But I was wrong. I threw up all over the bus.”

  “Gross,” Bess said.

  Julia nodded without smiling.

  George snapped her fingers. “Is that why you walked to school in the rain on Tuesday?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Julia said. “For me, getting soaking wet is fun compared to riding a bus.”

  “I don’t understand,” Nancy said. “We’ve been on a couple of field trips this year. We’ve taken the bus both times. And you’ve never gotten sick.”

  “That’s because Mrs. Reynolds helped me,” Julia said. “I told her about my accident at the beginning of the year. She always sits next to me on the bus.”

  “What does she do?” Nancy asked.

  Julia shrugged. “Just talks to me,” she said. “Sometimes she tells me jokes. Sometimes she holds my hand. She helps me relax. I can’t ride a bus without her. That’s why I was trying to get the trip to the zoo called off.”

  An image popped into Nancy’s mind. She could see herself sitting on the school bus next to Julia. They were laughing and talking. Nancy was sad that they weren’t going to go to the zoo together.

  “Wait!” Nancy said suddenly. “I have an idea. What if I help you get over your fear? I can talk and make jokes just the way Mrs. Reynolds usually does.”

  “Are you sure?” Bess whispered to Nancy. “If your plan doesn’t work, Julia might throw up all over you.”

  Nancy swallowed hard. Bess made helping Julia sound like a bad idea. But Nancy couldn’t change her mind now. She didn’t want to hurt Julia’s feelings.

  “I’m sure,” Nancy said. “I’m willing to try it if Julia is.”

  Julia looked worried. She thought about it for a long moment. But then she smiled a little smile. “Okay,” she agreed. “I guess that’s what buddies are for.”

  “You guys,” George said quietly. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

  “What?” Nancy asked.

  George tilted her head toward Mr. Daly. He was still standing there with his arms crossed. He still looked angry.

  “Three of us aren’t allowed to go to the zoo,” George said. “Remember?”

  Nancy turned to Mr. Daly. “Please let us go,” she said. “Julia didn’t mean to hurt anyone with her practical jokes.”

  “And I wasn’t the one who put that sign on your back,” Julia added. “I didn’t get the idea to play jokes until after I saw that.”

  “Pretty please,” George said.

  “With a cherry and sprinkles,” Bess added.

  Mr. Daly frowned at them. “Well, I understand why Julia pulled tho
se tricks. But you girls still broke the rules. You sneaked into the classroom during lunch. And that is not allowed.”

  “Punish us some other way,” Nancy suggested. “But please let us go to the zoo.”

  Mr. Daly scratched his chin. “Well, I don’t know . . .” he said.

  8

  A Frog on the Bus

  Yippee!” George hollered. “The day of our super zoo trip is finally here!”

  It was the next morning. Mrs. Reynolds’s class was lining up in front of the school.

  Mr. Daly had decided to let the entire class go to the zoo—including George, Bess, and Nancy. The girls had gotten their punishment the day before. Mr. Daly had asked them to wash the chalkboard and clean the erasers. Julia had turned in her permission slip.

  Nancy and Julia were wearing matching red T-shirts just as they’d planned. Bess and George were standing behind them in line.

  All the kids were wearing name tags. Bess’s and George’s name tags were rabbit-shaped. Nancy’s and Julia’s were in the shape of lions. Nancy hoped Julia’s lion name tag would help her feel brave about riding the bus.

  “I’m so excited!” Bess said.

  “Me, too,” George said.

  Nancy felt more nervous than excited. She kept glancing at Julia.

  The big yellow school bus was parked right in front of the school. Julia was staring at it. She hadn’t said one word for the past five minutes. That was when the bus had arrived.

  Nancy was beginning to think riding the bus with Julia wasn’t such a good idea. But it was too late to turn back now. Nancy tried not to think of the worst that could happen.

  The bus doors opened.

  “All aboard!” Mr. Daly called. He was wearing his usual gray suit. But he had added a bright green fishing cap.

  “Are you ready?” Nancy asked Julia.

  Julia smiled bravely. “Ready,” she said.

  “Great,” Nancy said. She took Julia’s hand. They marched up to the bus together. They climbed the steps, walked down the aisle, and picked a seat near the middle. Bess and George sat on the other side of the aisle.

  “Okay so far?” Nancy asked Julia.

  Julia nodded. “I’m okay,” she said. “But we haven’t even started moving yet.”

  “Well, let me know if you begin to feel sick,” Nancy said.

  “Okay,” Julia whispered. She leaned back and closed her eyes.

  Mr. Daly counted the kids. Then he sat down. The driver closed the bus door and started up the engine. He pulled away from the school with a lurch.

  “We’re on our way!” Bess said happily.

  “Here we come, zoo!” George added.

  Julia didn’t smile. She didn’t even open her eyes.

  Nancy wanted to help Julia relax. She started to tell her a funny story about her puppy, Chocolate Chip. Halfway through the story, Julia’s eyes popped open. She looked scared.

  “Are you okay?” Nancy asked.

  Julia slowly shook her head. “I think I might be sick.”

  “I’ll get Mr. Daly,” Nancy said quickly.

  But there wasn’t time for that. Julia suddenly leaned forward. She covered her mouth with her hand.

  “Mr. Daly!” Nancy shouted toward the front of the bus. “We need your help back here.”

  “Come quick!” Bess added.

  But Mr. Daly didn’t seem to hear them. Nancy saw him look quickly up at the roof of the bus.

  Mr. Daly got to his feet and turned to the kids. “Who let a frog loose on this bus?” he demanded.

  “A frog?” Bess’s eyes went wide. She pulled her feet up onto her seat.

  Julia sat up. “I didn’t do it,” she said. “I promise.”

  “Poor frog,” George said. “I bet it’s scared half to death.”

  “If that frog hops on your lap, grab it!” Mr. Daly said. “I’ll buy an ice cream for any kid who catches that frog.”

  Everyone started looking under their seat. Nancy and Julia peeked under theirs, too.

  “Do you see it?” Julia asked.

  “All I see are a bunch of feet,” Nancy said.

  “There it is!” Mike hollered. He was sitting near the back of the bus. But he was pointing right at Bess.

  “Where?” Bess asked. She sounded afraid.

  “Don’t worry,” George said. “I’ll catch it!”

  “Not if I catch it first!” Julia said. She leaned way out of her seat and looked down the aisle.

  Things got pretty noisy. But Mr. Daly didn’t try to quiet the kids down. He just made sure that everyone stayed in their seats.

  A few minutes later, the bus driver pulled into the zoo parking lot. The drive had gone by fast. Nobody had found the frog.

  Mr. Daly stood up. “Welcome to the zoo,” he said. “I want everyone to walk off the bus. Line up outside with your buddy.”

  “What about the frog?” George called.

  Mr. Daly shrugged. “I guess we’ll have to catch it on the way home,” he said.

  Nancy and Julia got off the bus together. Some of the kids were still peeking under the seats for the frog. Nancy had a funny feeling that they were wasting their time.

  Julia and Nancy walked by Mr. Daly.

  “How’s your tummy feeling?” the teacher asked Julia.

  “My tummy?” Julia asked. “Oh, right! It’s fine.” She smiled a big, happy smile.

  Mr. Daly smiled back.

  Nancy motioned for Mr. Daly to come closer. “Is there really a frog loose on the bus?” she whispered in his ear.

  “Not really,” Mr. Daly whispered back. “But don’t tell Julia. At least, not until we get back to school.”

  Nancy laughed. “Don’t worry,” she said. “Your secret is safe with me.”

  • • •

  When Nancy got home that afternoon, she took out her detective notebook. She opened it to “The Case of the Practical Jokes” and began to write.

  The zoo trip was fun! We saw the flamingos and the bats. But the best part was when Mr. Daly played a joke on us! Worrying about frogs helped Julia forget to be afraid. Maybe Mr. Daly isn’t such an old meanie, after all.

  Case closed.

  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.

  Aladdin

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  www.SimonSchuster.com

  Copyright © 1999 by Simon & Schuster Inc.

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

  ISBN: 978-0-671-02493-2

  First Minstrel Books printing April 1999

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

  ISBN13: 978-1-4424-7196-2 (ebook)