11. The Big Surprise Ending

11 The Big Surprise Ending We looked around for Mayor Hubble. Nobody knew if Andrea was safe or out, because there was no umpire behind home plate. "Where's Mayor Hubble?" everybody was asking. "Where did he go?"

We were all yelling and screaming and hooting and hollering and freaking out. "Maybe he went to the bathroom," I suggested. But Mayor Hubble wasn't in the bathroom. He wasn't in the bleachers either. And he wasn't at the snack bar. "Look!" Morgan Brocklebank shouted. She was pointing toward the parking lot. We all looked. Mayor Hubble was getting into his limousine. And he had the Freckle Fund box under his arm! "Mayor Hubble is stealing our money!" shouted Morgan. "Get him!" everyone shouted. A bunch of kids and parents from both schools ran to the parking lot and chased Mayor Hubble's limo. The

wheels kicked up dirt and gravel as the limo peeled away. I saw it with my own eyes! Well, it would be pretty hard to see it with somebody else's eyes. I didn't bother chasing after Mayor Hubble. Neither did Andrea. What's the use? Mayor Hubble always steals stuff,

and he always seems to get away with it. Andrea and I sat down on the bench. "Well, it was a good game anyway," I said. "Hey, look!" Andrea said, pointing to first base. I looked. And you'll never believe who was standing out there. It was Mr. Ott and Mrs. Ott! And you'll never believe what they were doing. They were kissing!* "Isn't that romantic, Arlo?" asked Andrea. Well, that's pretty much what happened. We didn't win the game, but we didn't lose it either. At least we won't have to clean a toilet bowl at Dirk

School with a toothbrush. The best part was that Mr. Ott got a big hit with the pressure on. He looked really happy. Maybe Mayor Hubble will get caught and wind up in jail again. Maybe

we'll get through page twenty-three in our math books. Maybe Mr. Ott will teach us how to spit. Maybe Mr. Klutz will stop walking into doors. Maybe grown-ups will get their ears checked and stop saying they can't hear us all the time. Maybe we can eat brunch, linner, lupper, lunner, brinner, lunfast, dunch, or dinch. Maybe they'll find a cure for freckles. But it won't be easy!