4 BEAN MEETS IVY

BEAN MEETS IVY Bean peeked out between leaves. Nancy hadn't seen the $20 bill. She was standing on it. Hmm, thought Bean. Her plan was a bust, but if she kept on being a ghost, maybe she could scare Nancy a little. "I'm going to wrap my fingers around your neck, too," she howled in her spooky voice. "And I'm going to spit in your ear!" "No, you're not," said Nancy. She didn't sound scared. She reached into the bush and yanked Bean out. "Stop yelling." That's when she saw the $20 bill. "Hey!" she said. "Where did you get the money? You don't have twenty dollars." Then she saw the string. "I see what you're doing, burp face! I bet this is my money, too!" Then she picked up the bill and looked at it. "You stole my money! I'm telling Mom!"

She began to pull Bean toward the front door. Uh-oh, thought Bean. None of her ideas were working out today. Now she had two choices. She could go inside with Nancy and face Mom. Or she could run. So Bean fell over on the ground and started to wail. "My ankle! Ow-wow-wow! My ankle's killing me! It's sprained!" She held her ankle. Nancy frowned. "You didn't sprain your ankle, you faker!" she said, but she bent down to take a look.

That was all Bean needed. She stood up and ran. She ran out of her yard and around Pancake Court until she found herself in front of Ivy's house." Oooooh! You're in trouble now, Bernice Blue!" yelled Nancy. "I'm going to tell Mom!" Bernice was Bean's real name. People used it only when they were yelling at her. Bean couldn't help it. She just had to stick her tongue out and say, "Ppppppthbt!" Then she just had to turn around and wiggle her behind at Nancy.

"That's it!" Nancy yelled. "I'm getting Mom!" She stormed into the house. For a minute, Bean felt happy. She loved making Nancy mad. But when Nancy was gone, Bean began to worry. Mom hated it when she did more than one bad thing at a time. Bean counted: taking the money, lying about her ankle, leaving the yard without asking, and wiggling her behind at Nancy. Four things. Five if you counted pretending to be a ghost. Bean was going to be in big trouble. How big? No dessert, for sure. No videos for a week, maybe. But it could be even worse. Her mom might send her to her room for the rest of the day. Bean hated that.

"Hide." Bean looked up. She had forgotten all about Ivy. Ivy was still sitting on her porch. She had been watching the whole time. She knew that the ghost of Mr. Killop was really Bean inside the bush. Bean expected her to be mad. But she didn't look mad. She looked excited. "Hide," she said again. Hmm, thought Bean. Maybe Boring Ivy was right. If her mom couldn't find her, she couldn't send her to her room. If she stayed out until dark, her parents would stop being mad and start being worried. Her mom might say, "Oh, my poor little Bean.

My poor little baby!" Then they'd be so happy to see her when she came limping home that they probably wouldn't punish her at all. They might even let her have seconds on dessert. That settled it. "Okay," she said to Ivy. "Where?" "Follow me." Ivy came down the stairs and slipped behind a bush growing against her house. Bean followed her and crouched down under the wide leaves.