5. One Day Very, Very Soon

CHAPTER 5 ONE DAY VERY, VERY SOON Remember when I said that George and Harold's "silly streak" got them into big, BIG trouble once? Well, this is the story of how that happened. And how some huge pranks (and a little blackmail) turned their principal into the coolest superhero of all time. It was the day of the big football game between the Horwitz Knuckleheads and the Stubinville Stinkbugs. The bleachers were filled with fans.

The cheerleaders ran onto the field and shook their pom-poms over their heads. A fine black dust drifted out of their pom-poms and settled all around them. "Gimme a K!" shouted the cheerleaders. "K!" repeated the fans. "Gimme an N!" shouted the cheerleaders. "N!" repeated the fans. "Gimme an... a-ah-ah-A-CHOO!" sneezed the cheerleaders. "A-ah-ah-A-CHOO!" repeated the fans.

The cheerleaders sneezed and sneezed and sneezed some more. They couldn't stop sneezing. "Hey!" shouted a fan in the bleachers. "Somebody sprinkled black pepper into the cheerleaders' pom-poms!" "I wonder who did that?" asked another fan.

The cheerleaders stumbled off the field, sneezing and dripping with mucus, as the marching band members took their places. But when the band began to play, steady streams of bubbles began blowing out of their instruments! Bubbles were everywhere! Up and down the field the marching band slipped and slid, leaving behind a thick trail of wet, bubbly foam. "Hey!" shouted a fan in the bleachers. "Somebody poured bubble bath into the marching band's instruments!" "I wonder who did that?" asked another fan.

Soon, the football teams took the field. The Knuckleheads kicked the ball. Up, up, up went the ball. Higher and higher it went. The ball sailed into the clouds and kept right on going until nobody could see it anymore. "Hey!" shouted a fan in the bleachers. "Somebody filled the game ball with helium!" "I wonder who did that?" asked another fan.

But the missing ball didn't make any difference because at that moment, the Knuckleheads were rolling around the field, scratching and itching like crazy. "Hey!" shouted the coach. "Somebody replaced our Deep-Heating Muscle Rub Lotion with Mr. Prankster's Extra-Scratchy Itching Cream!" "We wonder who did that?!" shouted the fans in the bleachers.