8 What’s in the Stall

Chapter 8 What's in the Stall? When we got to the girls' bathroom, Miss Laney was combing her hair in the mirror.* She didn't notice us at first. "Shampoo," she said to herself. "Shampooooo. Shamp ooooo. Sham. Poo. Poo sham. Poosh ham. Poo—" Miss Laney is weird. We started fake coughing so she would notice us. "Oh, hello!" she said. "I was just practicing my ooo sounds while I fixed my hair." "Is your hair broken?" I asked.

Everybody laughed even though I didn't say anything funny. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Miss Laney asked us. (That's grown-up talk for "What are you doing here?") "We came to play I Bet You Can't Say This! again," Ryan said.

"Let's play a different game!" Miss Laney said as she put some weird puppet thing on her hand. "Meet Ollie the Octopus! He's your friend! He likes to play a game called Name the Letter." "How do you play?" Emily asked. "Don't ask me!" said Miss Laney. "Ask Ollie!" "How do you play, Ollie?" Emily asked the puppet. "First, I tell you what to do with your mouth," Ollie said. "Then you tell me what letters you can make. For instance, what letters can you make if you push your lips together?" I went through the alphabet silently, trying to figure out what letters I could make by pushing my lips together. "B…M…and…P!" shouted Andrea. "Very good!" said Ollie the Octopus.

"You're winning, Andrea!" "Yay!" shouted Andrea. I hate her. "Okay, next question," said Ollie. "What letters do you make when you push air through your teeth?" I went through the alphabet in my head. "C… and S!" I yelled. "Good, A.J.!" said Ollie the Octopus. "Next question. What letters do you make by putting your tongue on the roof of your mouth?" "D, N, and T!" I yelled. "Right!" said Ollie. "And what letter do you make by sticking your tongue through your teeth?" "L!" I shouted before anybody else. I totally rule at Name the Letter. "Correct!" Ollie said. "And what letters can you make by vibrating your throat?"

"Can I phone a friend?" asked Ryan. "V and Z!" I yelled. "That's it!" Ollie said. "The winner is… A.J.!" Andrea looked all mad. Ha-ha-ha! In her face! It was about time I won something. Nah-nah-nah boo-boo on her. It was the greatest day of my life. Miss Laney—I mean Ollie the Octopus—said I could pick a prize from the mystery treasure chest. I chose a paddle that had a ball attached to it with a rubber band. It was cool. "Okay, A.J.," Ollie said, "it's time to play a new game called… What's in the Stall? You can keep that paddle, or you can have whatever is in Stall Number One, Stall Number Two, or Stall Number Three. It's your choice. Maybe there's a skateboard in one of the stalls. Or maybe there's a

BRAND-NEW CAR!" "You can't fit a car into a bathroom stall," Andrea said. "It could be a very small car," Ryan pointed out. "Pick Stall Number One, A.J.!" Emily yelled. "Pick Number Three!" yelled Ryan. "Keep the paddle, Arlo!" Andrea yelled. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to say. I had to think fast. This was the hardest decision I had to make in my life. My brain hurt. "I'll take what's in Stall Number Two," I finally said. "Is that your final answer?" asked Ollie. "Final answer." Miss Laney took away my paddle and opened the door to Stall Number Two. "Oh, sorry!" Ollie said. "You won a toilet