6 TABLE FOR THREE

CHAPTER 6 TABLE FOR THREE By the time Alexander made it to lunch, the cafeteria was out of green stuff. They were just serving purple chunks. He took a seat next to Rip. "That was a super-long bathroom break," Rip said, winking. "Yeah, Ms. Vanderpants was pretty mad," said Alexander. He sniffed a purple chunk. "You know, I've never been in trouble like that before."

"You get used to it after the first six or seven times." Rip chugged his milk. "So... About those worms..." "Okay, okay you were right," Alexander grumbled. "They were just regular night crawlers." "Poor Salamander..." Rip smiled. "It must be hard being friends with a smart guy like me!" Alexander swallowed a mouthful of chunks. "I was wrong about the worms, but there are more monsters in Stermont. Mr. Hoarsely said—" "Monsters? What are you two talking about?" Nikki set her tray on the table and sat down. "None of your business," Rip growled. "Now bug off!"

Nikki turned to Alexander. "So, how did everything go with the worms?" "Uh, fine." Alexander frowned. "I guess." They all stared at the table. "Lunchtime is over," Rip said, glaring at Nikki. He turned to Alexander. "Let's go, Salamander. I'm sure Hoarsely will fill us in during gym." "Oh!" said Alexander "I almost forgot Mr. Hoarsely is missing! I overheard Ms. Vanderpants telling some weird lady about it." "Really?" asked Nikki. "He probably got spooked by his own shadow," said Rip. "I bet he's hiding in a locker, waiting for gym class to start." "I sure hope you're right," said Alexander. "I've got a lot of questions for him."