Chapter 3

Chapter three, Exactly one week after my dad and I spent the whole horrible evening reviewing flash cards, my teacher, Ms. Flowers, handed back our spelling tests. "Nice work, Hank," Ms. Flowers said as I stuffed the test into my notebook. "I see real improvement." Improvement? I quickly pulled out the test. Of the fifteen spelling words, I had gotten six right instead of my usual two. This was a new Hank Zipzer world record. "Wowee zowee!" I yelled. "I'm almost a genius." Frankie Townsend, my best friend, reached across the aisle and gave me a high five.

"Way to go, Hankarooney," he said. "Your dad's going to be happy with this." "That dog is practically yours," Ashley Wong whispered from her seat. Ashley had just moved into my building and had quickly become best friends with Frankie and me. "The three of you guys are pathetic," Nick McKelty said. He sits in back of me. When he breathes, I can feel his hot, stinky sausage breath all over my neck. "Six out of fifteen is nothing to celebrate." "Perhaps you should keep your eyes on your own paper, Nick," Ms. Flowers said, putting his test down on his desk. "You missed half the words yourself." Ms. Flowers returned to the front of the

class and wrote the following words on the board: SCIENCE BOOK REPORT DUE TOMORROW. Katie Sperling groaned. "Oh no," she said. "I'm only halfway done with my book on volcanoes." "Then I suggest you spend some of recess reading," Ms. Flowers told her. I had a bigger problem than Katie Sperling. I hadn't started my book. I hadn't even checked one out of the library. In fact, I had totally forgotten about the assignment. When the recess bell rang, I went up to Ms. Flowers's desk. "Ms. Flowers, I have a small problem," I said, giving her my best smile. I feel that when you've got bad news, you need to show a lot of teeth. "What is it, Hank?"

"I forgot to check a science book out of the library." "But, Hank, I reminded you three times that the book report was due tomorrow." "Yup, I forgot that, too." "Oh, Hank." She sighed. "What are we going to do with you? We've had this talk before."

"Don't worry, Ms. Flowers. This time I think I have a solution." "Well, you're very creative," Ms. Flowers said. "I'll be interested to see what it is." I actually didn't have a solution. As I walked out of the classroom, I tried to come up with one. But nothing came to me. My mind just wandered around like it was lost in a forest. I was about to give up, when I passed the fifth-grade bulletin board. At the top in red letters, it said, SHARKS NEVER SLEEP. Suddenly, an idea came to me. It was a big idea. And it certainly wouldn't be easy to pull off. I was going to need help, that was for sure. But all I could think about was how much I wanted that dog.

I had to try everything to get it.