I Hate Rules! (4 page)

Usually kids were only allowed one dessert with lunch. Right now, George had at least ten pieces in front of him. And lunchtime had been over a long time ago.

“Looks like you’re having fun,” Katie said to George.

“
Mmmph. Phllmph.
” George mumbled through a mouthful of cake. Every time he opened his mouth, more wet, half-eaten chocolate crumbs poured out.

Watching George talk and chew was really gross. “Don’t speak, George,” Katie told him. “Just eat.”

George gave her a big, chocolatey smile, then dove into his next slice of cake.

Suddenly, a whole group of kids came racing into the cafeteria. Jeremy was at the front of the crowd. He held a soccer ball in his hands.

“Where are you all going?” Katie asked them.

“To the yard, Mr. Kane,” Jeremy explained with a huge smile. “We’re going to play soccer all afternoon.”

“Have fun!” Katie told him. She was glad she could make her best friend so happy.

Just then Katie heard laughing—and crying—coming from the computer lab across the hall. She raced to see what was happening.

Inside the lab, Suzanne, Mandy, Zoe, and Miriam were all staring at a picture on one of the computer screens. Suzanne, Mandy, and Miriam were smiling. Zoe was crying.

“What’s wrong, Zoe?” Katie asked.

“Oh, don’t worry about her, Mr. Kane,”

Suzanne said. “She always gets that way when she thinks about the Bayside Boys.”

“We’re looking at their official website,” Mandy explained. “They just added a bunch of new pictures.”

“Sammy looks so cute with curly hair,” Zoe sobbed. “And J.T. is wearing the most adorable shorts!”

“Really? Let me see!” Katie said excitedly. She edged Miriam over so she could get a better look at the screen.

The girls gave Katie a strange look.

“
You
like the Bayside Boys, Mr. Kane?” Suzanne asked.

Oops. Katie had almost forgotten that she was the principal. It must have seemed really weird to the girls that a grown man would be so interested in a pop group.

“No. I mean . . . well . . . um . . . gotta go!” Katie said quickly. She dashed out of the computer lab just as Kevin and Manny came running in.

“Mr. Kane, you’re my favorite grown-up,” Kevin said.

“Yeah. We’re going to play Castle Craze now,” Manny added. “It’s so cool to be able to play computer games at school.”

“Have a great time,” she told the boys. “Remember, the best way to get to the fourth level is to capture the magic dragon.”

“Wow!” Kevin exclaimed as Katie walked away. “Mr. Kane knows how to play Castle Craze. How cool!”

“He’s awesome,” Manny agreed.

Katie smiled to herself. She didn’t know when the magic wind was going to blow and turn her back into herself. But whenever that happened, Mr. Kane would be really happy. Katie had made him the most popular principal in the whole history of principals. The kids were so happy. Cherrydale Elementary School was the best school in the country. Maybe even in the whole
world
!

“
Owwww.
” Just then Katie heard George’s voice. It sounded like he was in pain.

“Help me,” he groaned. “Please.”

Katie found George in the hall just outside the nurse’s office. He was curled up in a ball, moaning.

“What’s wrong?” Katie asked him.

“My stomach hurts,” George answered. “I think I ate too much.”

“How many pieces of chocolate cake did you have?”

George made a face when Katie mentioned the cake. “I don’t know. Maybe thirteen or fourteen slices.”

“George!” Katie shouted out. “That’s an awful lot of cake.”

“Uh-oh,” George murmured. He grabbed his stomach. His face looked a bit green.

Katie jumped out of the way. “Nurse Hanes,” she called out. “George needs help.”

“So do the rest of these kids,” Nurse Hanes shouted from inside her office.

Katie walked into the nurse’s office. There was a huge line of kids. Some had cuts and bruises. Others were sitting with ice packs on their knees and heads. “What’s going on?” Katie asked.

“It’s this ‘no rules’ thing,” the nurse explained. “These kids were running in the halls and playing with all sorts of gym equipment. It was just a matter of time before someone got hurt. How am I going to take care of all these kids?”

Katie was about to answer, when a first-grader ran up and pulled on her pants. “Mr. Kane, hurry. There’s gonna be a fight.”

“A fight? Where?” Katie asked nervously.

“On the soccer field,” the boy answered. “Jeremy’s real mad. So’s Ricky.”

That wasn’t good. It took a lot to get Jeremy angry.

Quickly, Katie grabbed a trash can and placed it near George’s head. “If you feel sick, use that. I gotta go.”

Katie dashed out of the school. She could hear the boys screaming as she ran toward the soccer field. Coach G. was blowing his whistle over and over. The boys weren’t listening.

“What’s going on?” Katie asked the gym teacher.

“It’s the ‘no rules’ rule,” Coach G. told her. “It’s ruined the whole game.”

Jeremy came running over. “Mr. Kane, can’t we just have rules for soccer?” he begged.

“No way,” Ricky Dobbs argued. He looked up at Katie. “You said ‘no rules.’ That means no rules anywhere.”

“But you’re using your hands in soccer,” Jeremy said. “You can’t do that unless you’re the goalie. And you’re not the goalie.”

“There’s no rule saying I can’t use my hands. Not anymore,” Ricky argued.

“You see what I mean?” Coach G. asked Katie. He handed her his whistle. “Maybe you should be the referee for this game. I can’t figure out who’s winning in a game with no rules.”

Before Katie could answer, Suzanne came running out to the field. “Mr. Kane, you’d better come to the computer lab. We were using all the computers at once. Now none of the computers are working—and the lights are out all over the school.

“Oh no!” Katie moaned. She followed Suzanne back into the dark school building. As she opened the door, a stream of green paint came flying toward her. It splattered all over Mr. Kane’s white shirt. Katie looked down at the stain. The principal wasn’t going to like this.

“What’s going on in here?” Katie yelled.

“Paint fight,” a sixth-grade girl named Justine told her. Justine ducked down to avoid being hit by a paint splatter. The red paint landed on Katie’s bald head instead.

“How did this start?” Katie asked her.

“We took some supplies from the art room, and went to paint in the cafeteria,” Justine explained. “Rachel’s paint wound up on Dylan’s jeans. So she painted his hair blue. After that, everyone got into it.”

Katie sighed. This was not working out the way she’d thought it would. “Is the cafeteria a mess?” she asked.

“Not too bad,” Justine answered. “There’s a little paint on the walls. The mural’s kind of messed up.”

Oh, no. Not the mural Katie and her friends had worked so hard on! Katie felt like she was about to cry. But she couldn’t. Not here anyway. It wouldn’t be good for the kids to see their principal cry.

Katie began running down the hall. She had to get to Mr. Kane’s office right away. She could be alone there.

Whoosh! Katie slipped on a wet paint spot. She landed on her rear end and slid down the hall. A couple kids giggled.

Katie didn’t feel like laughing at all.

Katie raced into Mr. Kane’s office and slammed the door. She began to cry. It all was too much for a third-grade girl to handle. If only she were a real principal. Mr. Kane would know what to do. Katie was sure of it.

Just then, a small breeze floated through the office. The warm air tickled the back of Katie’s neck. Katie reached over to grab the pile of papers on Mr. Kane’s desk. She didn’t want them to blow away.

But the papers weren’t moving. Nothing in the office was.

Katie knew what that meant. The magic wind was back!