21

Now, I don't want to say exactly what happened next. Because if Rowley ever tries to run for President and someone finds out what these guys made him do, he won't have a chance. So I'll put it to you this way: They made Rowley _ _ _ the Cheese. I knew they were gonna make me do it, too. I started to panic, because I knew I wasn't going to be able to fight my way out of this situation. So I did some fast talking instead.

I WOULD, BUT I'M ALLERGIC TO DAIRY! And believe it or not, it actually worked. YOU'RE LUCKY, PUNK! I KNOW, I KNOW! I guess the teenagers were satisfied they had made their point, because after they made Rowley finish off the rest of the Cheese, they let us go. They got back in their truck and took off down the road.

Me and Rowley walked home together. But neither one of us really said anything on the way back. I thought about mentioning to Rowley that maybe he could have pulled out a couple of his karate moves back there, but something told me to hold off on that thought for right now. Tuesday At school today, the teachers let us outside after lunch. It took about five seconds for someone to realize the Cheese was missing from its spot on the blacktop.

Everybody crowded around to look at where the Cheese used to be. Nobody could believe it was actually gone. People started coming up with these crazy theories about what happened to it. Somebody said that maybe the Cheese grew legs and walked away. It took all my self-control to keep my mouth shut. And if Rowley wasn't standing right there, I honestly don't know if I could have kept quiet.

A couple of the guys who were arguing over what happened to the Cheese were the same ones who were egging me and Rowley on yesterday afternoon. So I knew it wasn't going to be long before someone put two and two together and figured out that we must have had something to do with it. Rowley was starting to panic, and I don't blame him, either. If the truth ever came out about how the Cheese disappeared, Rowley would be finished. He'd have to move out of the state, and maybe even the country. That's when I decided to speak up.

I told everyone that I knew what happened to the Cheese. I said I was sick of it being on the blacktop, and I just decided to get rid of it once and for all. For a second there, everyone just froze. I thought people were going to start thanking me for what I did, but boy, was I wrong. I really wish I had worded my story a little differently. Because if I threw away the Cheese, guess what that meant? It meant that I have the Cheese Touch.