13. The Next Day

CHAPTER 13 THE NEXT DAY The next day, Melvin didn't show up for school on time. Nobody really seemed to notice, though, because all the children were excited about show-and-tell. Almost everyone had brought in really lame stuff like books or awards, but George and Harold had something that was totally cool. "Everybody remembers Sulu from yesterday, right?" said George. "Well, we took him home to live with us in our tree house." "And we taught him the greatest trick!" said Harold.

The two boys carried Sulu over to the classroom window and opened it up. Harold pulled a large watermelon out of his book bag and showed it to Sulu. "OK, Sulu," said George, "show everybody your new trick!" In one swift motion, Sulu placed his mouth onto the watermelon and shoved the entire thing into his left cheek. The fourth graders were stunned. "No, no," said Harold, "that's not the trick. The trick is what happens next!"

Sulu looked out the window and eyed a dead tree at the far end of the empty playground. Sulu began to chew up the watermelon, then puckered his tiny hamster lips and spit. Ratatatatatatatatatatatatatat!

The watermelon seeds fired out of Sulu's mouth, hitting their target with expert precision. In no time at all, the dead tree at the end of the playground was reduced to a pile of twigs and sawdust. The class cheered as George and Harold petted their amazing little bionic buddy.

George and Harold didn't think that anybody could beat their show-and-tell display, but they were wrong. Because at that very moment, Melvin Sneedly was dripping down the hallway toward the classroom door. Melvin hadn't brought anything for show- and-tell. Melvin WAS the show-and-tell.