09 Judy Moody and Jessica Flinch

Judy Moody and Jessica Flinch On Monday morning Mr. Todd asked, "Where's Frank today?" "Absent," said Judy. "Oh, that's right. I heard that he broke his finger. Does anybody know how it happened?" "It's a looooooooooooooooooong story," said Judy. "As long as a centipede!" said Rocky. "I heard Judy Moody stepped on him!" said Adam. "CRACK!" He bent his finger back like it was breaking. "Okay, okay. We'll ask Frank all about it when he gets back."

"He'll be back tomorrow," Judy said. Judy looked at the empty desk next to her. Without Frank, there was no one to snort at her jokes. Without Frank, she spelled barnacle with an i. Without Frank, she had nobody to tease about eating paste. To make matters worse, all morning Jessica Finch kept inching her desk a little closer, a little closer to Judy. "Is that the elbow that was in the paper?" Jessica asked. Judy drew a mad face on her famous elbow and pointed it at Jessica.

"Hey, Judy? Want to come over to my house after school?" asked Jessica. "I could show you my glow-in-the-dark spelling posters." "Can't," said Judy. "Why not?" "I have to feed Jaws, my Venus flytrap." "How about tomorrow?" "I feed it every day," said Judy. "How about after you feed Jaws?" asked

Jessica. "Homework," said Judy. The truth: by Friday Judy was almost bored enough to go to Jessica's. Rocky had to stay at his grandma's after school for a week because his mom was working late, and Frank could hardly do anything with a broken finger. Too bad she had finished operating on all the hospital dolls so quickly. Making a cast was the best! If only she could try making a bigger cast, on a human patient. But who? Stink would not let her near him with wet oogey newspaper. Judy looked back at Jessica Finch. Maybe she did not look like a Pinch Face. Maybe she did not look like an aardwolf. Maybe she looked like . . . a doctor's dream. The perfect patient!

"Hey, Jessica," Judy asked, "how would you like to get your arm in a cast?" "It's not broken," Jessica said. "Who cares?" said Judy. "It's just for fun." "Sure, I guess. Does this mean you'll come over? I can show you my spelling posters." "How does today after school sound?" asked Judy. When Judy got to Jessica Finch's house, the two girls went up to Jessica's room. Judy looked around. All she could see were pigs. Pink pigs. Stuffed pigs. Piggy banks. A fuzzy piggy-face rug. Even Jessica's bed looked like a pig wearing a pink skirt. "You like pigs!" said Judy. "What was your first clue?" Jessica laughed in

her hyena way. Judy touched the spelling bee prize ribbons Jessica had hanging on the wall. Jessica showed Judy her scrapbook, with all the times her name had been in the paper. "Wow," said Judy. "Did they ever spell your name wrong?" "Once. Jessica Flinch!"