6 FEEDING TIME

CHAPTER 6 FEEDING TIME For the second day in a row, Alexander biked to school super early to snoop around. Once again, he made his way to the principal's office without being seen. He was looking behind a bookshelf when he heard footsteps in the hallway. These weren't the tup-tup-tup footsteps of Principal Vanderpants's shoes. They sounded more slappy, like clown feet. Alexander peeked through a crack in the door. Mr. Hoarsely went tromping by, carrying the steaming bucket.

What's Mr. Hoarsely doing? thought Alexander. Mr. Hoarsely set the bucket down near the UPSTAIRS BASEMENT door. He looked sweaty. Alexander wondered if it was from the steam, or from fear. OFFICE TUP-TUP-TUP! Ms. Vanderpants walked right by Alexander's cracked door and over to Mr. Hoarsely. "Eep!" Mr. Hoarsely jumped. "G-g-good morning, Ms. Vanderpants," he said, wringing his hands. "The spaghetti is ready." "Splendid," said Ms. Vanderpants. "I think it's time you started feeding it." "Do I have to?" Mr. Hoarsely croaked. Ms. Vanderpants took out a key ring and unlocked the massive door.

RRRUMMMMBBLE! The door to the UPSTAIRS BASEMENT swung open —just a bit. All Alexander could see was darkness. SCRITCH! The scraping sound was much louder with the heavy door open. It sounded like a garden rake being slowly dragged down a sidewalk. "EEP!" Mr. Hoarsely's eyes bugged out like a pair of Ping-Pong balls. "Oh, come on," said Ms. Vanderpants. "You can't be afraid of every monster! This beast is nothing like Coach Gill!" Alexander gasped. So Principal Vanderpants

definitely knows about monsters! And she must be keeping one in there! Mr. Hoarsely looked at his shoes. "Fine!" said Ms. Vanderpants. "I'll feed it breakfast, but you're feeding it lunch. Today. During recess." She tossed the keys to Mr. Hoarsely. Then she picked up the bucket, squared her shoulders, and marched into the UPSTAIRS BASEMENT. The door slammed shut. "Eep!" Mr. Hoarsely ran down the hall, keys jangling with every step. Alexander swallowed. He was sweating. And it wasn't from the steam.