8. The School and Beyond!

THE SCHOOL... AND BEYOND! 8 Sam, Lucy, and Antonio snuck into Ms. Grinker's classroom. Luckily, she didn't notice they were late. They did their best to focus on schoolwork for the rest of the afternoon. Finally, the school day was over. "This was a superweird day," Sam said as they hurried across the playground. The friends were eager to get home.

"You know what this all means, right?" Lucy asked. Sam was pretty sure he was thinking the same thing Lucy was. He pulled his friends into a huddle. "I think Orson Eerie wanted us to discover that old art studio," Sam said. "He pulled my sash— and broke that floor— so we would find his painting!" "But why?" Antonio asked. "What is so important about a painting?" "Good question," Sam said.

"Wait!" Lucy exclaimed. "Remember when the school was almost torn down? Remember Orson's drawing with the arrows on it?" Sam recalled the drawing— it proved that Orson Eerie's powers could leave the school. The thought of Orson Eerie's creepy powers spreading outside of Eerie Elementary was horrible. "Right!" Sam said. "Someone will buy the painting at the art show! They'll take it home! Orson's power will spread beyond the school grounds."

Antonio nodded. "As hall monitors, I bet we can only battle him on school grounds! This is awful! If someone buys that painting, Orson's evil could spread anywhere." "Or everywhere," Lucy whispered. The friends shuddered. "There's only one way to stop Orson," Sam said. "We need to buy that painting on Friday." "I agree," Lucy said. "We cannot let that painting leave school grounds." "But Ms. Winter said it's going to cost one hundred dollars," Antonio said, frowning. "How much money do we have?" The friends turned their pockets inside out. Lint fell from Lucy's pocket. Antonio had the crusts of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Sam sighed. "I only have my hall monitor sash. That won't help us now."

Lucy's face lit up. "THAT'S IT!" she exclaimed. She pointed to Sam's sash. "Art is being sold to raise money for the school, right? So, we will just have to raise money for ourselves!" Sam and Antonio had no idea what Lucy was talking about. She grinned. "Trust me! Sam, bring a big glass jar to school tomorrow. My plan will make sense then." Lucy ran home. "I have to get started!" Sam wondered, What is Lucy planning? And will it be enough to stop Orson Eerie?