The Final Exam by Gitty Daneshvari Read Free Book Online Page B

in the dark recesses of the yard, he fretted not for himself or even for Mrs. Wellington, but for the many fearful children in the world. Where would they go? Who would help them? His eyes clouded with tears as he opened the garbage bin and prepared to toss in the sack he held. Then something pink caught Schmidty’s eye. Knowing of Mrs. Wellington’s strict moratorium on throwing away anything pink, he instantly deduced that the blob must be Sylvie Montgomery.
    “What are you doing in my trash?” Schmidty angrily asked the rosy-skinned reporter.
    “Looking for leads,” Sylvie said before snorting loudly, her nose aflame from all the secrets she sensed inside Schmidty.
    “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave the trash can, and the premises for that matter.”
    “You’ll never be rid of me! I’m going to win the Snoopulitzer for this story! I can smell it already,” Sylvie announced excitedly, holding up an imaginary award in her left hand. In the disgraceful, dishonest, and highly disreputable field of tabloid journalism, there was no higher honor than winning the Snoopulitzer.

    By the following daybreak, Schmidty was electrified with concern over the escalating security breaches. With few options remaining, a grounds patrol was enacted. And while Hyacinth volunteered, she was immediately disqualified due to her incontrovertibly loquacious nature. It was, after all, her big mouth that had started the entire Sylvie Montgomery mess. As for Madeleine, she wholeheartedly refused to take part because of spiders’ and insects’ well-known proclivity for living outside. AndGarrison begged off after seeing some gray storm clouds overhead, concerned that a flash flood was on its way. This left only Theo and Lulu for the inaugural patrol of Summerstone’s grounds.
    “Must you eat like that?” Lulu asked as she watched Theo shove handfuls of dry cereal into his mouth before taking a swig of milk from the carton.
    “We are on patrol; I need to be prepared to move at a second’s notice. I can’t be weighed down by a bowl and spoon. Honestly, Lulu, it’s like you’ve never been on a stakeout before.”
    “This isn’t a stakeout; we’re basically mall cops.”
    “Do you take Visa? Because this doesn’t look like the mall to me.”
    “You have the worst comebacks I have ever heard, and I do mean
ever.
”
    “Excuse me,” came a voice from behind Lulu and Theo, greatly surprising them. “I don’t suppose you could help me? My name is Melissa, and I’m looking for School of Fear. I hear it really helps with… fears.”
    Standing before them, dressed in a blond wig braided into pigtails, a plaid school uniform, and thick glasses, was none other than Sylvie Montgomery. Try as shemight to disguise herself, her nose and pink skin tone were unmistakable.
    “Um, hello? Of course it’s good with fears—that’s why it’s called School of
Fear,
” Theo said condescendingly, clearly unaware of Melissa’s true identity.
    “You can’t be serious,” Lulu responded in disbelief.
    “Please, I’m so scared. Won’t you let me come inside?” Sylvie asked impatiently.
    “What exactly is it that you’re afraid of,
Melissa
?” Lulu asked through gritted teeth.
    Sylvie suddenly froze, caught completely off guard by the question. She opened her mouth, then closed her mouth, then opened it again and blurted out, “Mangoes.”
    “Mangoes?” Theo repeated. “I guess that hairy seed could be kind of creepy.”
    “Theo, it’s Sylvie Montgomery! The pink face? The nose? The weird body? Please tell me you knew it was her.”
    “Um, of course, Lulu,” Theo blustered. “I was just undercover a second ago.”
    “As who?”
    “I was undercover as myself, or more precisely a version of myself that didn’t know that Melissa was reallySylvie,” Theo said before turning toward the nosy reporter. “How dare you come around here causing all these problems? This is School of Fear, and in case you haven’t