The Upside-Down Day (5 page)

“But we
are
watching,” Stacy insisted. “All the time!”

“Yeah,” Abby said. “I'm tired of watching her.” She wondered about Miss Hershey's actions while Abby was hiding in the closet.

“How do you know Leslie's secret?” asked Stacy.

Ellen laughed. “I guess my insight comes in handy sometimes.”

They ran to the swings and played.

Then Ellen had an idea. “Let's play Twenty Questions with Leslie,” she said.

“Double dabble good idea!” exclaimed Abby. “Maybe we'll get some more clues!” She turned toward Leslie's swing.

But Leslie had vanished!

“Leslie disappeared,” said Abby, looking all around.

“Hey, look over there,” said Stacy. “I see her.”

“Leslie's running races with the boys,” said Abby.

“Come on,” Ellen said. “Honey needs to walk.”

“OK,” Abby said.

Dunkum and Eric were squatting in their get-set-go positions.

Jason yelled, “Are you ready?”

The boys shouted they were.

Abby could hardly keep her own secret inside. She had to tell Stacy and Ellen. “I saw something while I was hiding.”

“Something in the closet?” Ellen asked.

“No, something
outside
the closet. Just listen to this. Miss Hershey put some money in Leslie's coin purse.”

“Wha-at?” Stacy said.

“When I hid in the closet, I saw Miss Hershey open Leslie's desk,” Abby explained.

“This is weird stuff,” Stacy said.

“What was Miss Hershey doing in the new girl's purse?” Ellen asked.

“How should I know?” Abby said. “It's very strange.”

The girls watched the races. Soon, Abby's eyes grew wide. Leslie was ahead
of the boys! Abby described the entire scene to Ellen.

“Well, that fits,” Ellen said softly. “Leslie really likes to show off.”

Abby wished she knew
everything
Ellen knew about Leslie. She closed her eyes and pretended to be blind.

She listened. The sounds seemed sharper all around her.

She sniffed. The smells seemed stronger, too.

Suddenly, she heard yelling. She opened her eyes. It was Jason. He was chasing Leslie across the soccer field.

Abby blinked twice. She'd never seen him run so fast.

What was happening?

EIGHT

Abby stared across the playground.
This is crazy
, she thought.

Jason was running after Leslie! He was huffing and puffing. His hair was flying with every bounce.

But Leslie was far ahead of him.

Abby shouted, “Look at Jason go!”

Br-r-ring!
The recess bell rang.

Jason chased Leslie around the playground and back to the school door. She raced through the door, past kids in line.

“I'm going to get that girl,” Jason hollered, wiping his face.

“What did she do?” Abby asked.

“She called me a show-off again,” he bellowed. “She's got no right.”

Later, in the girls' bathroom, Leslie complained about Jason. “He's so hyper. Never sits still,” she told Stacy and Abby.

“Oh, that's just Jason,” Abby said.

Leslie pulled hard on her stubby pigtails. “How can you
say
that? He's disgusting!”

“Jason's our friend,” Stacy spoke up.

“Yeah, and it doesn't make any difference to us if he's hyper.”

Stacy stepped forward. “It's what's inside that counts. Think about it, Leslie Groff!” she said.

Leslie's mouth dropped open. “I thought you were
shy
.” She popped some candy in her mouth and left.

“Way to go, Stacy!” Abby said. “I didn't think you'd ever talk to her like that!”

Stacy blushed. “I hope she's not mad. I didn't want to be mean.”

“You were just telling the truth,” Abby said. “I don't think you can be mean. You're the nicest person I know!”

Stacy's face grew red again. “I try to live the way God wants me to.”

“It would be nice if everybody did that,” said Abby.

Back in the room, Stacy and Abby took their seats. Miss Hershey asked the class to write their numbers. “To 300,” she said.

Abby gulped.
We won't get done before the end of the day
, she thought.
And I still haven't figured out Leslie's secret
.

She started writing. 1, 2, 3, 4 . . .

Abby looked at Leslie. 23, 24, 25 . . .

Dunkum sneezed. 48, 49, 50 . . .

Eric dropped his pencil. 76, 77, 78 . . .

Abby was up to 153 when Miss Hershey announced, “OK, class. Stop writing. How many of you wrote two, three, zero, zero?” She wrote the number on the board.

Dunkum said, “We weren't supposed to write the numbers
up to
300. You wanted us to write 2 . . . 3 . . . 0 . . . 0. Two thousand three hundred.”

Abby groaned. Miss Hershey had tricked them again!

“You keep fooling us,” said Jason.

“What fun,” said Leslie.

Abby looked at the clock. Almost time to go home. She wasn't even close to figuring out Leslie's secret.

Abby raised her hand. “May we play Twenty Questions until we guess Leslie's secret? The bell's going to ring soon.”

Miss Hershey turned to Leslie, who hopped up to the front of the room.

“Who's first?” Leslie asked.

Four hands popped up.

Dunkum asked, “Are you an alien?”

“Good guess,” whispered Abby.

Leslie laughed. She shook her head. Her stubby pigtails poked out farther than ever.

Jason was next. “Are you a twin?”

Abby held her breath. Whew! Jason didn't say anything about the other twin with all the hair.

“No way,” said Leslie.

Eric's hand was high. “Do you sing in the shower with a British accent?”

The kids laughed. So did Leslie.

That
wasn't it.

Abby's turn. “Did Miss Hershey owe you some money?”

Leslie looked puzzled. She turned to the teacher. “How did she know?”

Abby waited. She felt like a detective close to cracking a case.

Leslie nodded. “Miss Hershey owed me some money.”

“Why?” Abby asked.

“We made a deal. If the class guessed my secret before lunch, I owed her a dollar. But if no one guessed by then, she owed me,” Leslie explained.

Why would the teacher make a deal like that?
thought Abby.

Abby studied the new girl.

Leslie's eyes danced. She was having too much fun with this secret. Maybe she didn't want the mystery to be solved at all.

Suddenly, Honey barked loudly. She was straining on her harness. She seemed to be pulling Ellen away from the desk.

“What's wrong with Honey?” Abby asked.

Honey sniffed the air.
Woof!
She began to bark.

Then Ellen shouted, “Miss Hershey, I smell smoke!”

At that moment, the fire alarm sounded.

NINE

“Students, please line up quickly!” Miss Hershey said. The fire alarm kept ringing.

Abby was nervous. She got in line behind Ellen and her dog. Dunkum held the door.

Miss Hershey grabbed Leslie's hand as they left the classroom. She was still holding it when the line formed away from the building.

Abby watched closely.
Why would Miss Hershey hold Leslie's hand?

“Is the school on fire?” yelled Jason.

Ellen held on to Honey's harness. “I hope not,” she said.

“Just think, if the alarm hadn't sounded, Honey might've saved our lives,” said Eric.

“Because Honey smelled the smoke!” said Abby.

“Wow,” said Stacy. “I'm impressed.”

In the front of the line, Leslie stared back at them.

But Abby smiled at her. “Leslie's watching us,” she whispered to Ellen, who was petting her dog.

“I definitely know her secret,” Ellen said slowly. “But first, I have a riddle for
her
.”

Miss Hershey left the line to talk to another teacher.

“Get Leslie in line with us,” Abby whispered.

“OK,” Dunkum said. “I'll get her.”

Soon Leslie came running over.

“Ellen says she knows your secret,” Abby chanted.

Leslie put her hands on her hips. “Really?”

Ellen coughed. “Who is the mother of Jesus?”

Leslie looked puzzled. “Everybody knows that. What does Mary in the Bible have to do with my secret?”

“Who was Mary in the Christmas play at Grace Church two years ago?”

Leslie's face went white. “How should I know?” she stuttered.

“Because
you
were Mary in the Christmas play,” said Ellen.

“How do you know that?” Leslie asked.

“I have a good memory,” Ellen replied.

“But you didn't see me, did you?” said Leslie.

“No, but I heard you say your lines,” said Ellen. “So did my cousin, Dunkum.”

“Really?” Leslie asked. “You remember my voice?”

“I sure do,” Ellen said.

Abby could not picture the mother of Jesus with stubby pigtails.

“You're right,” said Leslie. “I was Mary. But that's not my secret. What else do you know about me?”

Ellen said, “Well, you had a different last name then.”

Abby started adding up the clues. She checked them off in her head.

1. Miss Hershey winked at Leslie.

2. Leslie stayed inside with Miss Hershey during recess.

3. She moved her desk close to Miss Hershey's.

4. Miss Hershey knew Leslie's secret.

5. Miss Hershey owed Leslie money. She knew where Leslie's coin purse was.

6. Miss Hershey grabbed Leslie's hand during the fire alarm.

Abby thought it over and over. Like a good detective. She scratched her head. The clues all led to one person—their teacher.

“I've got it!” Abby shouted. “You're Miss Hershey's niece or cousin or something!”

Eric said, “No way! Leslie doesn't look anything like Miss Hershey.”

“Maybe she's adopted,” Stacy suggested.

Leslie looked surprised. “That's it! All of you are right.”

“We are?” said Stacy, grinning.

There were some unanswered questions. Like any super sleuth, Abby refused to leave any loose ends.

“Why is your last name Groff and not Hershey?” Abby asked.

“I made up the name Groff,” Leslie said, giggling. “Just for today.”

“What about your father? Is he really a king?” Abby demanded.

“Oh, that,” said Leslie. “I wanted to lead you astray.”

“I knew it!” Abby said. “You tricked us on purpose.”

Eric objected. “But that wasn't a fair clue.”

“Clues are clues,” said Leslie. “Some lead you off the track.”

Abby wished Leslie were nicer about the whole thing.

“Why doesn't Dunkum remember Leslie?” Abby asked Ellen.