11 GOOD AND SOGGY

GOOD AND SOGGY Bean was drenched. Her hair was sticking to the sides of her face, and water was dribbling out of her shorts pocket and down her legs. She wiggled her legs against the rope. It didn't move. The only part of Ivy that wasn't wet was the top of her head. "My shoes are squishy," she said. "It feels kind of good," said Bean. "I got sweaty being bad."

She watched Crummy Matt holding the hose, spraying it high into the air so that water came down like rain. Dino, Sophie S., Sophie W., and Liana were stamping in the mud puddle at the end of the driveway. It looked like a lot of fun. "Come on" called Bean. "Let us out!", "Never," said Crummy Matt. "You got to stay there forever!" "Maybe the birds will rescue us," said Ivy, but not like she believed it.

Bean heard a little voice. "Hi Bean". It was Katy. She was peeking around the side of the tree. "I'm sorry I ate all your candy." "Oh, that's okay," Bean said. "It wasn't my candy anyway." Katy stepped around in front of Bean. The front of her pink dress was smeared with chocolate. "I got all messed up," she said. "Yeah," said Bean. "Are you in trouble?" "Not yet," said Katy. "I don't care anyway." There was a pause. "Are you going to be bad some more? That was better than House." "I'm sort of stuck here", said Bean. "Unless—hey, Katy, will you push that rope up a little? The one on my knee." Katy pushed the rope up, and Bean felt the knot under her fingers. "This is not such a great knot," she said.

Katy was looking at the kids in the mud. "I'm already dirty," she said thoughtfully. "A little more won't make any difference." She ran down the lawn toward the puddle. The knot was getting looser. Suddenly Crummy Matt came running up to the tree. "Here," he said to Ivy, pulling Blister out of his pocket. "You got a rat on your head." He put Blister on the top of Ivy's head. "If you move, he'll chew your hair off." Then he ran away, back to his hose. "Yuck," said Bean. Rats gave her the creeps. Ivy felt Blister's little feet scrabbling against her scalp. His stomach rested, fat and warm, on her hair. She could hear the squeaky sound of his breath inside her head. "Is he eating my hair?" she asked Bean. Bean strained to see the top of Ivy's

head. "Hang on a sec," she said. She pulled the rope until the free end slid out of the knot. All at once, the rope sagged. She had done it! "Ta-da!" Now she could see. She stood on tiptoe and looked. Blister, dry and comfortable at last, stretched across Ivy's head. "No. He's sleeping," said Bean. "I'll get him off." She reached up. "No!" whispered Ivy. "Leave him there!" "Really? You don't mind?" asked Bean. "No! Don't you get it?" whispered Ivy. "He's an animal, and he's following me! Because I'm pure of heart!" Bean stood on tiptoe again. Blister did

look happy. So did Ivy. "How long are you going to let him stay there?" she asked. "He can stay forever if he wants to," said Ivy firmly. She stood very straight so Blister wouldn't fall off. Bean glanced at the mud puddle. Now Katy was stamping in it, too. "I'm going to stop being bad. I'm just going to be regular." "That's okay," said Ivy. "I've got Blister. You can be regular now." "Okay," said Bean. She turned around and ran down the driveway toward the mud puddle. "YAH!" she screamed, jumping into the center.