Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger by Louis Sachar Read Free Book Online Page B

Drazil. “It’s for his own good. And I expect neatness, Louis, or else you’ll just have to do it again.”
    He frowned.
    Mrs. Drazil stood over him and watched him work. “Your fingernails are filthy,” she said.
    “I’m the yard teacher,” Louis tried to explain. “I spend a lot of time outside, in the grass and dirt and stuff.”
    “I don’t want excuses,” said Mrs. Drazil. “I want clean fingernails. And while you’re at it, shave off that mustache. It looks like a hairy caterpillar crawling across your face!”
    “Not my mustache,” said Louis.
    “Unless you want me to rip it off for you,” said Mrs. Drazil.
    Deedee felt terrible. “I can’t believe Mrs. Drazil still remembers you after all this time,” she said.
    “An elephant never forgets,” muttered Louis.
    “I heard that,” said Mrs. Drazil. She put the wastepaper basket on Louis’s head.

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    Chapter 16
    Mr. Poop
    Joy, Maurecia, and Jenny were playing jump rope out on the playground. School hadn’t started yet.
    Maurecia and Jenny were twirling. Joy sang as she jumped:
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    “My mama wore pajamas to the grocery store.
    She smashed a bunch of eggs on the grocery floor.
    One dozen, two dozen, four dozen, six.
    She dumped a bunch of jelly jars into the mix.
    Grape jelly, apricot, don’t forget cherry.
    Orange marmalade and wild strawberry.
    A man walked by and fell in the glop.
    He slid next door to the barber shop.
    His icky-sticky body got covered in hair.
    He tore a hole in his under—”
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    Joy tripped over the rope. It wasn’t her fault. Maurecia had suddenly stopped twirling.
    “Hey!” said Joy. “What’s the big idea?”
    “Look!” said Maurecia.
    A very handsome stranger was walking toward them.
    The girls stared at him.
    “Good morning, Maurecia,” said the stranger. “Jenny. Joy.”
    “How do you know my name?” Maurecia asked nervously. She wasn’t supposed to talk to strangers.
    “I’ve known you a long time,” said the stranger. “I see you almost every day.”
    Maurecia was beginning to feel scared. She looked around for Louis, the yard teacher, but didn’t see him. “I can scream real loud,” she warned.
    “Oh my gosh!” said Jenny. “It’s Louis!”
    Maurecia looked at the stranger. He did sort of look like Louis.
    Except his hair was combed. His shirt was tucked in. He was wearing a tie. And there was skin between his nose and mouth.
    He had shaved off his mustache.
    “That’s Mr. Louis to you,” said Louis. “I’m a teacher, and I expect to be treated with respect.”
    “You want to play jump rope, uh, Mr. Louis?” asked Maurecia.
    Louis was great at jump rope. He could even do it blindfolded. He was the one who taught Joy the song she was singing at the beginning of this story.
    “No, thank you, Maurecia,” said Louis. “I don’t play games. I’m an adult.”
    “But you’re a yard teacher,” said Jenny.
    “No, I’m a Professional Playground Supervisor,” Louis corrected her. He walked away.
    “Wow!” whispered Maurecia. “I never knew Louis was so handsome!”
    Jenny patted her heart. “I think I’m in love,” she said.
    “I thought he looked kind of goofy,” said Joy.
    Up in class, everyone was talking about the new Louis.
    “He looks so weird without his mustache,” said Calvin.
    “He’s handsome!” said Bebe.
    “He got mad at me for running across the blacktop,” complained John. “He made me go all the way back to the edge of the blacktop, then walk across it. And I had to call him Mr. Louis.”
    “I am very proud of Louis,” said Mrs. Drazil. “He has always been a troublemaker. But I think he is trying to be good. We should all give him a chance.”
    Joy stared at Mrs. Drazil. It’s your fault , she thought. You made him shave off his mustache .
    At recess, Louis refused to pass out the balls.
    “I haven’t washed them yet,” he said.
    “You’re going to wash the balls?” asked Eric Bacon.
    “They’re filthy,” said Louis. “And they all have