Jessi's Secret Language by Ann M. Martin Read Free Book Online Page B

held it above his mouth.
    â€œNicky,” warned Mallory.
    Nicky dropped the spaghetti into his mouth. “First one was slimy,” he sang.
    â€œMallory, Dawn, make him stop!” cried Margo. “I’m going to be sick.”
    Margo is famous for her weak stomach. Everything makes her throw up — riding in the car, airplane takeoffs and landings, roller coasters. Those are motion sicknesses, of course, but Dawn thought there was a good chance that a gross-out would make Margo get sick, too. And she certainly didn’t want anybody throwing up at the table, especially throwing up spaghetti.
    But it was too late. Too late to stop the worm song, I mean.
    By then, Byron was holding a strand of spaghetti over his mouth. “Second one was grimy,” he sang, continuing the song.
    â€œMallory!” shrieked Margo, looking a little green.
    â€œOh, no! Oh, no! Not the worm song! Please stop the boys before something goes wrong,” said Vanessa Pike, future poet.
    Adam sucked in two strands of spaghetti, pretended to gag, and sang, “Third and fourth came up.”
    At that point, Margo jumped up from the table and headed for the nearest bathroom.
    Silence.
    Margo stopped, turned around, looked at her brothers and sisters, and said, “Fooled you!”
    She returned to the table. All the boys stuck their tongues out at her. Margo looked pleased with herself.
    â€œThat may have been a false alarm,” said Dawn, “but one more word of the worm song, and you will all be in trouble. Understand?”
    â€œYes,” mumbled the Pikes.
    They finished their dinner. It wasn’t until they were clearing the table that the remainder of the worm song escaped from Nicky’s mouth. It was as if he just couldn’t help himself. He sang in a rush, “So-I-began-to-crying-thinking-I-was-dying-eating-all-those-squishy-squashy-worms.”
    â€œThat does it!” cried Mallory. “Didn’t Dawn say no more worm song?”
    The Pike kids scowled at Nicky.
    â€œYes,” Nicky replied.
    â€œI meant it, too,” said Dawn. “You guys are banished to the rec room. I want you all down there for a half hour. No running, no jumping, no grossing each other out. Just behave for the next thirty minutes and let your sister and me finish cleaning up the kitchen.”
    Reluctantly, the seven Pikes headed down the steps to the rec room.
    For ten minutes, Mal and Dawn worked in peace, scraping dishes, loading the dishwasher, and sponging off the table. They were almost done when they heard a giggle from the rec room. Then another and another.
    But there were no crashes or shrieks or yelps.
    â€œMaybe that means they’ve settled down,” suggested Dawn hopefully.
    The next thing my friends heard was Vanessa saying, “No, like this!”
    â€œNo, I’ve got it! Like this !” exclaimed Nicky. “Wiggle your fingers.”
    â€œHow about an elephant?” said Margo. “That would be easy. You could make it look like you were flapping big ears.”
    â€œWhat would the sign for ‘rabbit’ be then?” wondered Byron. “They have big ears, too.”
    â€œNo, they have long ones,” Claire corrected him.
    Upstairs in the kitchen, Dawn said to Mal, “What on earth are they doing?”
    â€œLet’s go see,” she replied.
    They tiptoed to the head of the stairs. In the rec room, the Pikes were seated on the floor in a sloppy circle, and their hands were working busily.
    â€œStupidhead!” Margo announced. She crossed her eyes and pointed to her head.
    â€œWitch!” said Vanessa. She formed her hands into a peak over her head, making a witch’s hat.
    â€œBanana-brain,” said Jordan. He touched his fingertips together, then separated his hands, indicating the shape of a banana. Then he tapped his head.
    Mal and Dawn looked at each other in surprise.
    â€œThe secret language,” whispered Mallory.