trick me.
I couldnât let him get away with it. Not with everyone watching.
I stuck my foot out.
âHEY!â Angel let out a startled cry. He stumbled over my shoe.
The pea soup flew from the pot in a steaming, green tidal wave.
I ducked.
I heard a loud splash.
Â
SPLOOOOSH.
Â
Then I heard a wet
Â
PLOPPPPP.
Â
Then I heard Mrs. Heinieâs scream.
Â
âYAAAAAIIIII!â
Â
I whipped around and saw the pea soup oozingdown her hair, her face, her dress.
I picked some chunks from her hair. âI told you!â I said. âSee? I told you!â
Mrs. Heinie jumped to her feet. She pulled off her glasses. Then she tried to wipe the thick, green gunk off them. âBernie, youâyouâyou TRIPPED Angel!â she sputtered. âI saw you!â
âHuh? No way!â I said. âIt was all his plan. He told me he was gonna trip and spill the soup. By the way, Mrs. H., you look great in green. Itâs really your color.â
âShut your fat gob,â she replied. She wiped thick pea gunk off her neck and shoulders. âI saw you trip him,â she said.
âIâm so sorry!â Angel cried. He still held the pot in front of him. âIt wasnât Bernieâs fault. Donât blame him. Iâm just so clumsy. Iâll never forgive myself.â
He started to bang his head against the side of the soup pot. âI was bad! I was bad! I was BAD!â he chanted.
Through the pea soup, Mrs. Heinie smiled at Angel. âHeâs so sweet. Heâs trying to protect you,Bernie. But it wonât work. I saw you trip him.â
She grabbed my hand. âLetâs have a talk with Headmaster Upchuck. âLetâs GO!â she said, pulling me away.
âGo?â I said. âBut I didnât get my soup!â
Chapter 19
H IGH -S TAKES U NO
âUpchuck gave me one more chance,â I told Feenman and Crench later that night. âJust in case it really was an accident.â
âNow what are you going to do?â Feenman asked. âAre you going to give Angel a break?â He bit off a big chunk of Nutty Nutty Bar. They were both chomping on candy bars.
âWhereâd you get those?â I asked.
CHOMP, CHOMP, CHOMP. âAngel is giving them away again,â Feenman said. âWhat an awesome dude!â
I stomped back to my room and dropped down onto my pitiful cot. I felt so angry, steam poured from my ears. My head was ticking, like a time bomb ready to explode.
I was about to get kicked out of school, thanks to Angel. And now he ruled Rotten House. The whole Rotten SCHOOL.
Everyone loved him. Even my best friends. No one believed that he was a bad dude.
I shut my eyes and tried to think.
How could I make Mrs. Heinie believe me about Angel?
Wellâ¦what if she caught Angel doing something really bad?
Hmmm⦠Think, Big B. Think. â¦
Suddenly, I had a new plan. A better plan!
I rememberedâ¦tomorrow nightâ¦Sherman Oaks was having a high-stakes Uno game. No one could get into the game for less than ten dollars a round.
What if Mrs. Heinie caught Angel gambling?
If she caught Angel sneaking out after Lights Out and gambling at Uno, then sheâd know he wasnât an angel!
Yes! Iâll bring Angel to the game. Heâll want to show off to the other guys. He thinks heâs king of the school now.
And Iâll make sure Mrs. Heinie catches him with a big stack of ten-dollar bills.
Perfect.
No. Wait.
Not perfect.
The Bernie B. brain was still chugging.
I had a better plan. Yes. MUCH better.
âIâm taking Angel to the Uno game tomorrow night after Lights Out,â I told Feenman.
He stared at me. âYouâre gonna get him into big trouble so heâll be kicked out of school?â
I shook my head. âNo way. Would I do that to him? Iâm gonna get ME into big trouble!â
His mouth dropped open. âBut if you get into big trouble,