10 A Surprise Assembly

Chapter 10 A Surprise Assembly We couldn't believe it! Miss Laney had just been hired, and now she was fired! It took us about a week to get over the shock. Teachers were getting fired left and right that week. Mrs. Yonkers, the computer teacher, was the next to go. Then Ms. Coco, the gifted and talented teacher, got fired a few days later. Even our vice principal, Mrs. Jafee, lost her job. It was depressing saying good-bye to them all. We were in class when Mrs. Patty announced that everybody had to go to the all-purpose room for a surprise assembly. When we got there, Mr. Klutz was up on the stage. He looked serious. Nobody was cracking jokes. "I just wanted to say how proud I am of

you kids," he told us. "You've been working very hard to raise money to save the school. But it wasn't enough. I'm very sad to tell you that today is my last day at Ella Mentry School. I just got fired." "NO!" we all shouted. Mr. Klutz couldn't be fired! How can you have a school with no principal? Everybody was freaking out. That's when the most amazing thing in the history of the world happened. Mrs. Patty came running into the all-purpose room. "Turn on the TV!" she shouted. "Turn on the TV!" We hardly ever get to watch TV at school. The custodian, Miss Lazar, wheeled a big TV on the stage and turned it on. "Welcome back to Win Money or Eat Bugs! I'm your host, Dickie Blinkbarker!"

The studio audience cheered. "That's my favorite show!" I yelled. The TV camera pulled back. There was a lady sitting in a chair. She had dark hair. I leaned forward to see the TV better. The lady was… Miss Laney! "Miss Laney's on TV!" we all started shrieking. "Miss Laney's on TV!" Everybody was yelling and screaming

and freaking out. "Okay! Miss Laney won ten thousand dollars in round one," said Dickie Blinkbarker, "and she didn't have to eat a single bug." "Yay!" we all shouted. "I hear you're a speech teacher, Miss Laney, and you love game shows." "Yes, Dickie," said Miss Laney, "and I want to say hi to all the kids at Ella Mentry School. That's who I'm playing for today. Every dollar I win goes directly to the school." She waved at the camera. We waved back at the TV screen. "That's fantastic!" said Dickie Blinkbarker. "Miss Laney, you know the rules to Win Money or Eat Bugs. You can eat one bug at the start of round two and walk away with the ten thousand dollars you

already won. Or you can keep going. But if you get a question wrong from now on, you'll lose the money you won, and you'll have to eat a whole plate full of bugs." "EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" everybody said when they showed a plate full of bugs. "The questions get harder in round two," Dickie added. "So, what do you want to do?" "Eat the bug!" some kids yelled. "Keep going!" other kids yelled. "I'm going to keep going, Dickie," said

Miss Laney. "I want to win a million dollars." "Miss Laney is gonna win enough money to save our school!" Michael shouted. "YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" Mr. Klutz made the shut-up peace sign with his fingers so we could hear. "Okay, she's going to risk it all!" said Dickie Blinkbarker. "Here's your first question, Miss Laney. What is the longest word in the English language?" "Oh no!" I whispered to Michael. "Nobody knows that. Miss Laney's gonna have to eat all those bugs." "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoc said Miss Laney. "That's right!" Dickie Blinkbarker yelled. "Hardly anybody knows that! Miss Laney, you just won fifty thousand dollars!" "YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"