8 TEACHER'S PETS

CHAPTER 8 TEACHER'S PETS Oh, my word!" said Dr. Tallow as her students slumped into their seats. "You are all out of breath!" "No kidding," said Rip. "We just climbed up seven flights of broken escalators!" Dr. Tallow walked to the odd door at the back of the room. The door had a keypad instead of a handle. "Well, then," she said, "perhaps it's time for a treat!" She punched in a code, and the door swung open. "Follow me!" The students looked at one another. Then they followed her inside.

"Welcome to our brand-new, state-of-the-art classroom-pet zone," said Dr. Tallow. "This is where we'll learn all about these incredible animals!" The room was bright and clean with cages along the walls. The cages held every kind of classroom pet. The students perked right up. "Today's lesson is about cocoons," Dr. Tallow said. "Cocoons protect certain kinds of insects as they grow. Can anyone name an insect that makes a cocoon?" "Easy!" said Nikki. "A butterfly!"

"Ooh, sorry. Not quite," said Dr. Tallow. "A butterfly comes from a chrysalis. A moth comes from a cocoon." Nikki frowned at her teacher. Dr. Tallow waved everyone over to a small glass case. "Look closely," said Dr. Tallow. "See if you can find a cocoon in here." Alexander spotted the cocoon right away, under a leaf. But before he could point it out— BZZZT! The room went dark. Students gasped.

A moment later, a red light on the ceiling began flashing. It made strange shadows under Dr. Tallow's eyes. "That's the safety light," she said. "It comes on when there's a power outage." The regular lights flickered back on, followed by a buzzing sound from the intercom. STUDENTS! This is Principal Vandemants. We're having power problems, so class is canceled. You will have recess outside for the rest of the day. The students cheered. Alexander watched a hermit crab tuck itself back into its shell. "To make up for today's missed classes," continued Ms. Vanderpants, "you will have no recess for the next two weeks." The cheering stopped. The crab came back out of its shell.