05 Weird, Weirder, Weirdest

Weird, Weirder, Weirdest That night, Judy tried to finger knit before she went to sleep. But her yarn was one big spaghetti monster with no beginning and no end. It had more arms than an octopus, more legs than a clutter of spiders, more knots than a kindergarten shoelace. She turned off the light and wriggled under the covers on her top bunk. Out of habit, she felt for the warm spot where Mouse usually slept. Empty. Then she remembered she'd made Mouse sleep in Stink's room tonight. At last she fell asleep. She dreamed of spaghetti. She dreamed of spiderwebs. She dreamed of a

Spaghetti Yeti caught in a spiderweb. When she woke up the next morning, her hair was a Super Snarl just like the yarn on the floor. Judy spit on her hand and tried to tame her wild hair. She stared at the Yarn Yeti on the floor. She picked at a scab on her knee. She thought about her knotty problem. How was she going to finger knit with this mess? Eureka! She, Judy Moody, had a brainstorm. All it was going to take was every friend she had. Judy turned her mood pillow to the smiley side. She hopped out of bed and pulled on a pink-ish hoodie. She slipped on her purple-allthe-time mood ring. Judy was in-the-pink and ready for GMD #2. Good Mood Day Number

Two. At the bus stop, Rocky took one look at Judy and asked, "What's with you?" "Nothing." "Something's different," said Rocky, studying her. "Ponytails," Stink told Rocky. "My hair is brushed. I'm wearing pink." Judy fluttered her fingers. "And I used smiley-face stickers for nail polish." "And... you're not wearing any Band-Aids. And you haven't said ROAR for like one whole day."

One day? It felt more like two years. "So?"

"So, it's weird." "Yeah, weird," said Stink. "Invasion-of-theBody-Snatchers weird." "I mean, it's not even Backwards Day anymore," Rocky pointed out, "but you're still backward or something." "Or something," said Judy. "And she smells like cupcakes," Stink added. Rocky took a whiff. "Vanilla or chocolate?" asked Rocky. "Red velvet," said Judy. All day, Judy's friends thought she was acting strange. When it was time to line up for a band concert, Judy let Jessica Finch go first. When Mr. Todd did not call on her in Math Lightning

Round, she did not even make a face. And when they did not serve mini ice-cream sandwiches for Wednesday lunch, Judy just said, "Fruit, please." At recess, a fourth-grader called her a name. "She's going to roar," said Rocky. "She's going to roar," said Frank and Amy. Judy drummed her fingers on her leg. She scratched an itch behind her ear. But Judy did not roar. She said, "Sticks and stones may break my bones and all that." Then she walked away. "Watch this," Rocky told Frank. Amy and Jessica watched, too. "Hey, Judy," called Rocky. "Let's play Four Square." "Can't," said Judy. "I don't want to get chalk all over me." "How about Helicopter?" asked Frank.