Chapter 2

Chapter two Gorilla World was really cool. We walked along a path next to the rain forest the zoo had built to house about twenty gorillas. When we stopped, Gina told us all about them. It was hard to listen to what she was saying, because I was waiting to see the gorillas swing from tree to tree. They just sat on the ground picking bugs out of one another's hair. I raised my hand. "When are they going to swing from the branches?" I asked Gina. "As soon as you show them how, Zipperhead," McKelty mumbled.

"Actually, that's an excellent question," Gina said. I smiled inside myself. Take that, McKelty! "Gorillas spend most of their time on the ground," Gina explained. "They climb trees only to find fruit." "I'd climb a tree for a peach," I said, "but definitely not for a plum. They're so sour they make my lips pucker." Everyone in the class laughed, including Ms. Flowers and Ms. Shimozato. We stayed in Gorilla World for half an hour, but it seemed like a month to me. Even though gorillas are very interesting, I couldn't wait to get to the elephants. Besides, there's only so long you can watch large apes pick bugs off one another without starting to itch yourself.

Our next stop was the snack bar. Ms. Flowers ordered twenty-one frozen lemonades with the money our parents had sent. "Frozen lemonades are stupid," Nick complained. "They wrinkle your tongue." "Then you don't have to get one," Ms. Shimozato said. "Good. I'll have a double order of cheese garlic fries instead." That's just what McKelty needed—as if his breath didn't smell bad enough already. "I'm sorry, Nick," Ms. Flowers said. "We're all getting the same thing. It's frozen lemonade or nothing."

"Fine, while these guys are freezing their tongues off, I'm going to the bathroom." "That's odd," Ms. Flowers said. "I don't think I heard you ask permission." "I did," he lied. "I just did it silently." "All right, Nick. You have permission to go to the restroom, but your partner has to go with you. And don't be long." Boy, did I feel sorry for his partner. Then I realized it was me. "Wait a minute. Does that mean I don't get frozen lemonade?" I asked. "Of course you will, Hank," Ms. Flowers answered. "We'll have yours waiting when you get back." Gina gave us directions to the bathroom. It wasn't far away, but there were several left and right turns we had to make. This was the one and only time I was ever happy to be with Nick the Tick. He may be a jerk, but he's a jerk who's better at directions than I am. On the way into the bathroom, we passed a dad carrying a baby in a backpack. That little

kid was lucky... he could just ride around on his dad's back and pee in his diapers anytime he wanted. I stopped to give him a high five, but McKelty yanked me away. "Babies are gross," he snarled at me. "Besides, I want to get back to that frozen lemonade. I'm so thirsty I might drink yours, too." When the baby heard McKelty's grumpy voice, he burst out crying. "That's the right call, little guy," I whispered to him.

Inside, the bathroom wasn't crowded. In fact, we were the only ones in there. As usual, McKelty thought he was the boss of me. "I'll take this stall," he said. "You go to the one on the end." "Why?" "Because I need to be alone. And don't even ask why." That was fine with me. Any plan that puts space between me and McKelty is a good plan. When I came out of the stall, I washed my hands and waited for him at the sink. I waited and waited. At last, I called out. "Hey, McKelty. You stay in there any longer and you're going to have to pay rent." There was no answer. I walked over to the stall, bent down, and looked to see if I could see his shoes. There was nothing there. With one finger, I pushed open the door. Not only was it unlocked, the stall was empty.