4 SHOWSTOPPER

CHAPTER 4 SHOWSTOPPER Actually, it wasn't an ant monster popping out the doors. It was Alexander's teacher, Mr. Plunkett. He was wearing a full-body ant suit. "Happy Ant Day, students!" he said. "Head to the auditorium right away. We're having a surprise assembly!" He handed Alexander a red flyer.

Grab a seat and guard your sweets for ANT DAY! WHERE? The auditorium WHEN? Right now!

"Oh— and, Alexander," said Mr. Plunkett, chuckling, "did something follow you out of the bathroom this morning?" "Huh?" said Alexander. "You've got toilet paper stuck to your shoe," said Nikki. Alexander looked down. Sure enough, a white strip of paper trailed behind his heel. He tore it off and tossed it in the trash. "Okay, sticky foot," said Rip. "Let's head to the auditorium and get this over with."

Alexander followed his friends into Stermont Elementary, which used to be Stermont Hospital. "This building has an auditorium?" he asked. They came to a set of doors. OPERATING THEATER "Yeah," said Nikki. "This used to be the room where doctors could watch other doctors do surgery." "Ugh. We're going to need surgery on our brains after sitting through Plunkett's Ant Day assembly," said Rip. The three friends sat in the back of the crowded auditorium. A moment later, the lights went out. Rip tossed a piece of bubble gum into his mouth.

Mr. Plunkett came onto the stage in his ant suit. He was wheeling out something tall and flat, covered by a sheet. "Good morning, Stermont Elementary!" Mr. Plunkett said. "Every year, I have my students keep ant farms. And every year, I collect those ant farms. But where do I put all the ants?" The crowd was silent. Rip snapped his gum. Mr. Plunkett smiled. "I add them to THIS!"

He yanked away the sheet, revealing a glass rectangle the size of a billboard. The glass was filled with sand. The sand was filled with tunnels. And the tunnels were filled with ants. Millions of them. "A giant ant farm?!" said Alexander. "That's no farm," said Nikki. "That's an ant city!" The crowd cheered. Until a voice shouted from offstage: "STOP!"