Holy Enchilada by Henry Winkler Read Free Book Online Page B

neck, and Frankie was watching, when guess who showed up. I’ll give you a hint—rotten egg bordering on vomit breath.
    You got it. Nick McKelty. He hangs out there a lot because it’s his dad’s place.
    â€œI got winners,” he said, hunkering down and leaning his rashy elbows on the table.
    â€œSorry, McKelty,” I told him. “We have to go after this game.”
    â€œWhat’s the big rush?”
    â€œMy grandpa’s going to take us to Gristediano’s.”
    â€œTo the supermarket!” he snorted. “You Zipzers really know how to have a good time. What are you going to do after that? Introduce Yoshi to plastic bags at the dry cleaners? Or maybe get wild and go to Drago’s Shoe Repair for some new heels?”
    Why couldn’t you ever just have a regular conversation with this guy? Why was he always on your case?
    â€œFor your info, dude,” Frankie told him, “we are going to buy supplies to make enchiladas. We’re bringing them for the Multi-Cultural Day Lunch tomorrow.”
    â€œOh, yeah,” McKelty said. “Wait until you see the pigs in a blanket that I’m bringing. They’ll be a million times better.”
    â€œPigs in a blanket?” Frankie said. “You mean those little hot dogs wrapped up in biscuit dough?”
    â€œNot just regular hot dogs, Townsend,” McKelty said. “These are special hot dogs. My dad got them from—”
    McKelty stopped for a minute. You could just feel his slow brain trying to come up with some outrageous story we were all supposed to believe. Frankie didn’t give him the chance.
    â€œI know, dude,” Frankie interrupted. “Your dad got them from the King of Hot Dog Land, who he met while sitting in the floor seats at the Knicks game just before he slept over at the White House while teaching the president to bowl.”
    â€œHow’d you know?” McKelty said.
    We just laughed. Yoshi laughed, too. I’m sure he didn’t actually understand all the words we were saying, but he got the picture about McKelty. A jerk is a jerk in any language.
    â€œYou’re supposed to bring a dish from another country tomorrow,” Robert said to McKelty. “That’s why they call it the Multi-Cultural Day Lunch.”
    â€œSo what’s your point?” McKelty asked.
    â€œThe point is pigs in a blanket aren’t from another country,” I said.
    â€œThey are, too,” said McKelty. “They’re from Kansas.”
    â€œNews flash, Big Dude. Kansas isn’t a country,” Frankie said.
    â€œI knew that,” McKelty growled. “I just wanted to see if you did.”
    â€œRight,” Frankie said. “And my name is Bernice.”
    That cracks Yoshi up every time Frankie says it.
    I glanced over at McKelty just to enjoy the look on his face. In that one second, Yoshi shot the puck past me and scored the winning goal.
    â€œHe shoots, he scores,” he said, in absolutely perfect English.
    â€œWhere’d you learn that?” I asked him.
    â€œPlayStation NHL hockey game,” Yoshi answered with a shrug.
    And they say video games aren’t educational.

CHAPTER 12
    PAPA PETE SAYS YOU SHOULD NEVER GO TO the grocery store without a list. While he was saying good-bye to his buddies at the bowling alley, we decided to take his advice. Frankie, Yoshi, and I sat down to make a list of what we needed to get at Gristediano’s to make our enchiladas. Robert and Emily refused to participate. When you read the list, you’ll see why.
    OUR GROCERY STORE LIST
    By Hank Zipzer, Frankie Townsend, and Yoshi Morimoto
    1. Get all the things you need to make enchiladas.
    2. We wish we knew what those were, but we don’t have a clue!
    3. Well, that’s not totally true. We know it’s not broccoli or octopus.
    4. Octopus and cheese enchiladas. Barf-o-rama!
    5. Help!
    6. We’re stuck in this list and we can’t get