Open Wide by Nancy Krulik Read Free Book Online Page B

Katie wished to be anyone but herself. There must have been a shooting star overhead when she made the wish, because the very next day the magic wind came.
    The magic wind was like a really powerful tornado that blew only around Katie. It was so strong, it could blow her right out of her body . . . and into someone else’s !
    The first time the magic wind appeared, it turned Katie into Speedy, the hamster in her third-grade class. Katie spent the whole morning going round and round on a hamster wheel and chewing on Speedy’s wooden chew sticks. Bo-ring!
    She was sure glad she turned back into herself before anyone found out that it was really Katie, and not Speedy, who was in that cage with no clothes on!
    The magic wind didn’t just turn Katie into animals, though. One time it came and turned her into one of the Bayside Boys, her favorite musical group. She’d almost broken up the band!
    One time the magic wind came to the Cherrydale Mall, and—one, two, switcheroo—it changed her into Louie, the owner of the pizza parlor. By mistake, she’d put cinnamon and sugar on the pizza instead of Louie’s secret spice mixture! Actually, the cinnamon pizza tasted kind of yummy—like a big, doughy dessert. Louie thought so, too. He’d added it to his menu—although he wasn’t exactly sure how he’d come up with the idea.
    That was the weird thing about the magic wind. The people Katie turned into never really remembered much about what had happened to them.
    But Katie never forgot. Which was why she hated wishes so much.
    “Okay, everyone, let’s line up and go inside,” Ms. Sweet told the fourth-graders. “I think we’ve all had enough excitement for one recess.”
    The kids all did as they were told. As class 4A lined up beside 4B, Katie glanced at Suzanne. She looked kind of sick to her stomach—almost as if she were the one who had been hurt in the fall.

Chapter 4
    “George, is this the bench where you want to sit?” Suzanne asked as she walked beside him the next morning in the school yard. She was carrying George’s backpack for him. George couldn’t carry his bag himself because he was using crutches to help him walk.
    Katie stood nearby and watched with her mouth wide open. She couldn’t believe it. Suzanne was actually being nice to George.
    “No, I think I’d like to sit on that bench by the tree,” George replied, pointing clear across the yard to a bench beneath a maple tree.
    Suzanne grimaced slightly. “Okay,” she replied. “But remember, I’m carrying two backpacks—yours and mine.”
    “I can’t carry my backpack,” George reminded her. “I sprained my ankle when you walked into me yesterday . . . remember?”
    Suzanne bit her lip. “I remember,” she said as she headed over toward the maple tree.
    “Do you believe that?” Katie asked Emma W., Becky Stern, and Mandy Banks as the girls watched George and Suzanne. “They’re actually getting along.”
    “It won’t last,” Mandy predicted.
    “What do you think is going on?” Emma W. asked.
    “Maybe Suzanne feels guilty,” Mandy said.
    “Maybe. But you know what Jeremy always says?” Becky asked her. “He says that nobody ever knows why Suzanne does the things she does. I think he’s absolutely right.”
    “You think everything Jeremy says is right,” Mandy told her. “You have such a huge crush on him.”
    Becky’s cheeks turned pink, but she didn’t argue with Mandy. How could she? Everyone knew it was the truth. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a few squares of bubble gum. “You guys want some?”
    “Oh yeah,” Mandy said, grabbing one of the squares and peeling off the paper.
    “Not for me, thanks,” Emma said. “Chewing sugary gum can give you cavities. Besides, you’ll just have to spit it out when we go inside.”
    “That’s okay,” Becky said, popping a square of pink gum into her mouth and chewing. “It loses its flavor in a few minutes anyhow.” She blew a giant bubble.
    “Good