8 IN THE LOOP

CHAPTER 8 IN THE LOOP After school, the sky was still partly cloudy and the ground was still partly wormy. "There are fewer night crawlers than before," said Alexander. "You're right," said Nikki. "I wonder where they oof!" She had stumbled over a mound of dirt. "Watch out for molehills," she said, pointing to a second dirt pile. Rip walked behind Alexander and Nikki, swinging his practice foil. "It's so awesome we get to take our swords home!"

Alexander rubbed his chin. "Don't you think Coach Gill is kind of... strange?" "No way!" said Rip, slicing at the air. "She's great!" "But what about her mask?" asked Alexander. "She never takes it off even outside of class."

"Coach Gill is a professional!" Rip lowered his foil. "You wouldn't understand, unless you were into sword-fighting." "You mean fencing," said Nikki. "Eat worms, weirdo!" Rip yelled. "Guys! Stop!" Alexander said. "Look!" He pointed to the sidewalk. Dozens of night crawlers had twisted themselves into a loopy squiggle. "Whoa," said Rip. "It's some kind of secret code." "That's no code," said Alexander. "It's fancy lettering! The worms are writing something." He squinted. "Can you guys read cursive?" "Nope," Rip said. "They don't teach cursive at Stermont Elementary."

"I can read it," Nikki said. "What?" Rip snapped. "If I can't read it, then neither can you!" "Sure I can," Nikki said. "I learned cursive years ago." Rip cocked his head. "Years ago? Baloney! That's "Great!" said Alexander, putting a hand on Rip's shoulder. "So, Nikki, what are the worms trying to tell us?" Nikki peered at Alexander from under her hood. "Beware! The fish are coming!"