3 LAST CLASS

CHAPTER 3 LAST CLASS Alexander grabbed the cold. metal handle of the cold, metal door to his cold, metal classroom. Then he paused. "You guys," he said. "Today is our last day in the morgue!" "Finally!" said Rip. "Our last day in the room where they used to freeze dead people." "Next fall, we'll go to an actual school," said Nikki, "instead of an old hospital." Alexander smiled as he yanked open the door one last time.

The room was full of half-packed boxes. In the middle of the boxes sat Mr. Plunkett, a teacher with rainbow suspenders and a bushy mustache. "Grab a seat, students," said Mr. Plunkett. "If you can find one." Alexander, Rip, and Nikki sat among the boxes. Mr. Plunkett stood on a box so he could see everyone. "Our museum sleepover is tomorrow night," he said. "So today's lesson will be about our town's greatest treasure: the Ruby Scorpion!" Alexander watched his classmates' faces light up.

He raised his hand. "Uh, Mr. Plunkett? What's a Ruby Scorpion?" "Oh, right! You're kind of new to Stermont!" said Mr. Plunkett, hopping down from the box. "I've got a super-cool filmstrip about the Ruby Scorpion... I'll just unpack my projector and show you!" He opened a large, wooden crate. "Huh?" said Mr. Plunkett. He dug into the crate, tossing aside some bubble wrap. "My projector is gone." Mr. Plunkett scratched his mustache. "Oh, well," he said. "I'll draw the Ruby Scorpion for you."

Mr. Plunkelt drew a mean-looking creat ure on the whiteboard. It had sharp claws and an even sharper tail. "It's a red gem that looks like this," he said. Nikki raised her hand. "How much is it worth?" she asked. Gazillions of dollars!" said Mr. Plunkett. PIP-PIP-POP! "Okay, very funny." Mr. Plunked turned back to the class. "Who's playing with my bubble wrap?" Alexander looked around. The bubble wrap was nowhere to be seen. "My projector and the bubble wrap are both gone?" said Mr. Plunkett.

He looked at Rip. "What!?" said Rip. "Why does everyone look at me when stuff happens?" "Well, those things didn't just walk away!" said Mr. Plunkett. He capped his marker. "Fine. Let's move on to math." Alexander wrote a quick note. He slid it over to Rip and Nikki. My dad's fancy miror disappeared this morning-just like Mr. Phinket's projector... MISSING STUFF WEIRD STRIPED BOXES MONSTER? Rip shook his head as he scribbled on the note. He passed it back. SALAMANDER CRAZY x 10!