Chapter 12

Chapter twelve On Monday morning at breakfast, I asked my dad if Cheerio could walk with us to school. "I'd rather he didn't," my dad said. "His habit of sniffing everything he walks by will make you late." "But, Dad, this is his last day with Fred," I argued. "And I'm sure they need to say good bye Besides, I promised Fred he could have one last ride on Cheerio's back." "Oh no," my dad said. "I have to draw the line at that. There will be no doggy-back riding as long as I'm in charge." I knew that tone of voice. And I knew that I'd never be able to change his mind. "Okay," I agreed. "Cheerio comes, but Fred

stays in his tank. That's a deal." "If Cheerio goes, then Katherine goes, too," Emily said through a mouthful of scrambled eggs. "That's too many animals," my dad said. "You should always have more people than animals on any walk." "But Katherine will be lonely and feel left out," Emily said. "She's a very sensitive iguana." She turned to my mom and smiled sweetly at her, which is something you don't see often. "Would you do me a favor?" she asked my mom. "Could you give Katherine a bath in the sink after we leave? She finds that very relaxing." "Emily, I have to go to work," my mom told her. "Besides, we're not running an iguana spa here," my dad added. "Fine," Emily said. "Then I'll just set up her favorite book outside her tank, so she can spend the morning reading."

"News flash, Emily," I said. "Lizards can't read." "Katherine can. Her favorite book is called The Big Book of Flies. I read it to her before she goes to sleep." "Oh, so that's why she hisses all night," I said. I hurried into my room before she could say anything else. This time, I checked to make sure the cover was tightly in place on Fred's tank. When I returned to the living room with the tank in hand, my dad had already put Cheerio on his leash. It's a good thing that PS 87 is only a block from our apartment building. By the time we reached the front steps, that frog tank had become very heavy. Frankie and Ashley were waiting for us at the school entrance. They wanted to say good-bye to Fred, too. Not Emily, though. She just kissed Dad good-bye and bolted into the building. As she ran up the stairs, Principal Love came running down. "Fred!" he yelled. "My little buddy! It's so

good to see you!" He put his face right up next to the tank. Poor Fred, I thought. He was getting a real up- close view of Principal Love's mole. "How'd the weekend go?" Principal Love asked me. "Did this little rascal give you any problems?" "Not even one," I answered. "Yeah," Frankie agreed. "Piece of cake." "You can say that again." Ashley nodded. "Things couldn't have gone any smoother." We all stood there, nodding our heads like bobblehead dolls. "I am so pleased to hear that," Principal

Love said. "I have to admit, Hank, when I heard that you were taking him home, I was a little nervous. I think we both know that you can be forgetful from time to time. I worried that perhaps you might leave the top off, and Fred would get out." I burst out laughing, a little too loud and a little too hard. Frankie and Ashley joined in. We sounded like a pack of laughing hyenas.

"Leave the top off!" I howled. "You must be thinking of someone else!" Principal Love bent down and took the tank from my hands. "Hello there, buddy," he said to Fred. "Do you want to come inside with Daddy?" Just as he turned to head up the stairs, Cheerio let out several loud good-bye barks. Principal Love turned around, and I got a good look at the tank. Fred had jumped onto the glass and was hanging on with his little suction cups, looking down at Cheerio. "What's all this about?" Principal Love asked.