Vote for Suzanne

by Nancy Krulik

As for Suzanne, every now and then she glanced over to where Katie and Jeremy were standing. But she would turn away quickly as soon as her eyes met Katie’s.

  Suddenly, a long black car pulled up to the curb. Two news vans followed close behind.

  “He’s here!” Mandy shouted out. “It’s Mayor Fogelhymer!”

  As the mayor got out of his car, the kids all began to chant. “One, two, three, four! We want swings and slides and more!”

  The news reporters leaped out of their vans. Cameramen began to film the protesting kids.

  As soon as the cameras appeared, Suzanne started jumping up and down in the air, waving her arms like a cheerleader.

  “One, two, three, four!” Suzanne shouted. “We want swings and slides and more!”

  As she said the word more, Suzanne reached out her arms and began to do a cartwheel. But she tripped over her open shoelace.

  Bam! Suzanne landed right on her rear end.

  “I can’t wait to see that on the evening news,” Jeremy joked.

  Normally, Katie wouldn’t have liked hearing Jeremy make fun of Suzanne. But right now, Suzanne wasn’t her best friend. She was the person Katie was running against. After all, Suzanne had decided that Katie was her enemy. So Katie laughed along with everyone else.

  Mayor Fogelhymer began walking up the steps of City Hall.

  “One, two, three, four,” the kids chanted at him. “We want swings and slides and more!”

  The mayor didn’t even glance at the chanting crowd.

  “Why do you hate kids?” Katie asked the mayor as he passed by.

  Mayor Fogelhymer stopped, turned, and stared at her. “Me? I like kids. That’s not fair to say,” he said. Then he gave the cameras a tight, fake smile.

  A few moments later, Emma W. came running over to Katie and Jeremy. “Sorry I’m late,” she said. “I had to watch the twins until my mom and dad got back from the store. Did I miss anything?”

  Jeremy shook his head.

  “But we’re not giving up!” Katie exclaimed. She raised her sign even higher.

  “Are there any more protest signs?” Emma W. asked. “I didn’t get a chance to make one last night.”

  Katie nodded. “Andy, Kadeem, and Zoe made extras,” she said. “They left them in a pile on the other side of the building.”

  “Where?” Emma W. asked.

  Katie handed Emma W. the sign she had been carrying. “Here, you take mine,” she told her friend. “I’ll go get another one.”

  And with that, Katie hurried off.

  Katie could still hear the chanting from the far side of the building. She spotted the signs leaning against the stone wall. As she hurried over, Katie felt a cool breeze blowing on the back of her neck. That was funny. It had been really warm out a minute ago.

  The breeze suddenly grew stronger, blowing hard and cold against Katie’s back—and nowhere else. Not in the trees. Not in the grass. Not in the clouds. They were all completely still.

  Katie gulped. That could mean only one thing.

  This was no ordinary wind. This was the magic wind!

  “Oh, no! Not now!” Katie cried out.

  But there was no stopping the magic wind. The cold wind began to circle faster and faster around Katie! In a flash, the tornado was whirling wildly, blowing Katie’s bright red hair all over her face. She closed her eyes and tried not to cry. The magic wind was so strong that Katie was sure it was going to blow her away.

  And then it stopped. Just like that. The magic wind was gone.

  So was Katie Kazoo.

  She’d turned into someone else…one, two, switcheroo!

  But who?

  Chapter 11

  Katie could barely hear the kids chanting anymore. The sound was muffled and distant. And she couldn’t feel the warm sun on her back. Where was she?

  There was only one way to find out where the magic wind had taken her. Slowly, Katie opened her eyes and looked around.

  Wow! Somehow she’d landed in someone’s office. A big office. Almost as big as her living room.

  At the moment, Katie was standing behind a huge, dark wood desk. There were piles and piles of papers and folders stacked all over it. Whoever she’d turned into sure had a lot of work to do.

  There were two big flags standing in the corner of the office. One was the red, white, and blue American flag. The other was a white flag with two red cherries on it. Katie had seen it before, in her school auditorium. That was the Cherrydale flag.

  Which meant she was still in Cherrydale. What a relief! The magic wind hadn’t blown her very far.

  So now Katie knew where she was. Well, sort of, anyway. But she still didn’t know who she was.

  Katie looked down at her feet. Her way-cool orange and green sneakers were gone. She was wearing big, brown men’s shoes instead.

  Katie had been switcherooed into a man. A man with huge feet!

  And hairy knuckles! Yuck!

  Now Katie knew she’d turned into a big-footed, hairy man. But which big-footed, hairy man?

  She looked around the office for a clue. There were pictures on the walls.

  Mayor Fogelhymer with Olympic skater Kerry Gaffigan.

  Mayor Fogelhymer with Katie’s favorite author, Nellie Farrow.

  Mayor Fogelhymer with the Cherrydale High School football team.

  Mayor Fogelhymer in ugly orange and yellow swim trunks on a beach with his family somewhere.

  Katie made a face. If I were mayor, I’d get a nicer pair of swim trunks, she thought.

  And then it hit her. She was the mayor! The magic wind had switcherooed her into Mayor Fogelhymer.

  Right before his big meeting with the garage builders.

  This was sooooooo…good! Really good!

  Katie smiled. She had never been happy about a switcheroo before. Ever. But this time it was great. She was the mayor, and at the meeting, she would be able to tell everyone that she’d changed her mind about the parking lot. There would be a new playground instead.

  Katie would be a hero!

  Just then, the office door opened. A woman with gray hair poked her head inside. “Mr. Mayor?” she said.

  “Yes. That’s me!” Katie exclaimed happily.

  The woman looked at her curiously. “I know who you are,” she said. “I’ve been your assistant for four years.”

  Katie blushed. “Oh.”

  “I just wanted to let you know that the men from the Gray Metal Parking Garage Company are here,” the woman explained. “Are you ready to meet with them?”

  “Oh, yes!” Katie replied. “Bring ’em on!”

  The meeting didn’t last long. Ten minutes later, Katie walked out onto the steps of City Hall.

  “I have a big announcement for you kids!” she shouted in her best mayor-sounding tone.

  The kids all stopped chanting. They stood very still and looked up at Katie.

  The news reporters rushed to the steps of City Hall. Some focused their cameras in Katie’s direction. Others shoved microphones in her face.

  Katie gulped. It was kind of scary having everyone stare at her like that. But that was what people did when the mayor spoke. And Katie was the mayor now.

  So she spoke. “After a lot of thought and a really short meeting, I have made my decision about the empty lot next to the Cherrydale Arena. We are going to build a playground! A really great playground. Huge. With more than just swings, slides, and monkey bars. We’re going to have a rock-climbing wall, a sandbox for little kids, a sprinkler for when it gets really hot, and a vomit wheel.” She stopped for a minute. Vomit wheel didn’t sound very mayor-like. “I mean, one of those merry-go-round things kids spin on,” she said quickly.

  Nobody in the crowd said anything for a second. And then, suddenly, the kids began to cheer.

  “Yeah, Mayor Fogelhymer!”

  “The mayor rocks!”

  “We’re gonna get a playground!”

  “Oh, yeah!”

  Katie smiled really wide. She had nev
er made so many people happy at one time. It felt terrific!

  “I love being mayor!” she shouted out into the crowd.

  Chapter 12

  Katie was feeling extra good about herself as she walked back into City Hall. As soon as she reached his big corner office, she sat down behind Mayor Fogelhymer’s desk and leaned back in his chair.

  The mayor’s assistant peeked her head in the door once again. This time, though, she had a very worried look on her face.

  “Can I get you something, Mr. Mayor?” she asked Katie. “Maybe a coffee and some aspirin?”

  “Coffee?” Katie made a face. “Blech! I hate coffee. And why would I need aspirin? I don’t have a fever.”

  Now the assistant looked more worried than ever. “I just thought that after a tough decision like that…”

  “There wasn’t anything tough about it,” Katie said. “Those kids out there wanted a playground. I gave them what they wanted. Isn’t that what mayors do?”

  “Well…” the assistant began slowly. “You’re the mayor. I’m sure you know what you’re doing.”

  “Exactly!” Katie exclaimed, trying really hard to sound like a grown-up. “And right now I’m celebrating. Can I please have an orange soda?”

  “An orange soda,” the assistant repeated. She shook her head slightly. “Coming right up, sir.”

  Katie was so happy. Finally, this time, when the magic wind came and turned her back into Katie Kazoo, she wouldn’t be leaving a big mess behind. In fact, this time, she had done the mayor a huge favor. Maybe she’d even get a medal or something.

  Rrringg! Just then, the mayor’s telephone rang. Katie wasn’t sure what she should do. Did mayors answer their own telephones? Didn’t their assistants do that?

  But since Mayor Fogelhymer’s assistant was busy getting Katie a soda, Katie decided to answer the phone herself.

  “Hi,” she said as she picked up the receiver.

  “Is this Mayor Fogelhymer?” a woman on the other end asked.

  “Yes,” Katie replied.

  “My name is Mary Sue Vining, and I wanted to speak to you about your decision to build a playground in that empty lot,” the woman told Katie. “I just saw you on TV.”

  “Oh, you don’t have to thank me,” Katie said. “It was my pleasure.”

  “Don’t worry,” Mrs. Vining replied. “I’m not calling to thank you.”

  “You’re not?” Katie asked.

  “No. I’m really angry,” Mrs. Vining told her. “I’m the president of the Cherrydale Garden Club. I called your office a week ago and asked if we could have a flower garden in that lot. One of your staff members told me that was impossible. She said that the only thing going in that empty lot was a parking garage.”

  Katie was surprised and kind of scared. Mary Sue Vining sounded very angry. “Well, um, I changed my mind,” Katie told her. “Isn’t a playground better than a parking garage?”

  “I don’t care if it’s a playground or a garage,” Mary Sue Vining said firmly. “If it’s not a garden, I’m unhappy. I wanted to plant something beautiful in the empty lot. Something everyone—not just kids—could enjoy.”

  “Oh,” Katie said quietly. “I’m really sorry you feel that way.”

  “I was angry enough when you said you were putting in a parking lot. But I was still going to vote for you,” Mrs. Vining told Katie. “Now I know you lied to me. I could never vote for a liar! And I’m going to make sure none of the other members of the Garden Club vote for you, either!” She slammed down the phone.

  Katie sat there for a minute. That had been kind of scary. She hoped the mayor wouldn’t be too upset about losing the votes of the gardeners.

  Still, there couldn’t be that many of them. There were far more kids than Garden Club members.

  Then Katie remembered something. Kids couldn’t vote.

  Rrringg! Just then, the phone rang again.

  Katie was afraid to answer it.

  Rrringg! Rrringg!

  Whoever was on the other end wasn’t hanging up. Katie would have to pick up the phone.

  “Hello?” she said quietly.

  “Mayor Fogelhymer, this is Colleen Barker,” the woman on the other end of the phone said.

  Katie smiled brightly. She knew Mrs. Barker very well. She was the director of the Cherrydale Animal Shelter. That was where Katie had found her dog, Pepper, when he was just a puppy.

  “Hello, Mrs. Barker,” Katie said. “I’m so happy to talk to you.”

  “Well, I’m not happy to talk to you!” Mrs. Barker exclaimed. “I asked you a few days ago about turning that empty lot into a dog run for our shelter dogs. You told me you’d already decided on a parking lot. You said we needed more parking around the arena.”

  “I sort of changed my mind,” Katie explained. “Don’t you think kids need a place to play?”

  “So do dogs,” Mrs. Barker said firmly. “What are you? Some sort of animal hater?”

  Katie gasped. No one had ever called her that. Katie was an animal lover. The biggest. She didn’t even eat meat.

  “I love animals,” Katie insisted.

  “Well, animal lovers don’t love you!” Mrs. Barker told her. “And you’ll find that out on Election Day.”

  As she hung up the phone, Katie blinked, hard. She didn’t want to cry. She had a feeling there wasn’t any crying allowed in politics.

  And she’d already caused Mayor Fogelhymer enough trouble.

  Rrringg!

  Oh, no. There was the telephone again.

  Rrringg!

  But this time, the phone stopped after just two rings.

  Good. Katie just wanted to sit there quietly in the office. Alone.

  A moment later, the mayor’s assistant poked her head into the office again. “Mr. Mayor, it’s Charlie Weaver on the phone. He’s the head of Cherrydale’s traffic department. He wants to know where you think you’re going to park all the cars that will be driving to the Cherrydale Arena now.”

  “I don’t know!” Katie exclaimed. “I just wanted to help my friends.”

  “Your who?” the assistant asked.

  Oops. “I mean, I wanted Cherrydale’s children to have a great place to play,” Katie said, trying to sound like a real mayor.

  “Oh,” the assistant said. “Well, what do you want me to tell Charlie Weaver?”

  Katie jumped up from her chair. “Tell him I went to the bathroom!” she exclaimed.

  Chapter 13

  Katie raced down the hall at top speed to the restrooms. She stopped for a minute, thinking. She knew she was a fourth-grade girl. But to everyone else she looked like a grown-up man.

  Should she go in the men’s room? Or the women’s room?

  Katie couldn’t bring herself to go into the men’s room. It was just too weird. So she knocked on the women’s room door.

  “Hello? Anybody in there?” she asked.

  Nobody answered. Phew!

  Katie walked into the bathroom and went over to the sink. She splashed some cold water on her face.

  She looked up at the mirror. Mayor Fogelhymer’s reflection looked back at her.

  Katie started to cry. This whole thing had turned into such a mess! All she had wanted to do was make the kids of Cherrydale happy. She hadn’t meant to upset everyone else in town.

  But that’s what she had done. Or at least that’s what it felt like.

  Just then, Katie felt a cool breeze blowing on the back of her neck. She looked around. There was only one window in the bathroom, and it was shut tight.

  The breeze on the back of Katie’s neck went from cool to cold.

  Then it went from being a gentle breeze to a brisk wind.

  A wind that was only blowing on Katie.

  This was no ordinary wind. This was the magic wind!

  The magic wind grew stronger and stronger then, whirling around Katie like a wild tornado. She grabbed onto the sink and held tight, just to keep from being blown away.

  And then it stopped.
Just like that.

  Katie Carew was back!

  And Mayor Fogelhymer was standing right beside her.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked Katie.

  “I…um…I had to go the bathroom,” Katie lied. She couldn’t exactly tell him the truth, could she?

  “In the men’s room?” Mayor Fogelhymer asked her.

  “Actually, this is the women’s room,” Katie replied.

  Mayor Fogelhymer’s cheeks grew red. “Oh, dear. Is anyone else in here?”

  “Just you and me,” Katie assured him. “And I’m leaving now.”

  “Me too,” the mayor said. He hurried out of the women’s room.

  In the hallway, Katie asked, “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

  The mayor frowned. “I’m so confused. Why would I go into the women’s room?”

  Katie didn’t say anything.

  “Don’t I know you?” the mayor asked her.

  “I’m Katie Carew. You spoke at my school the other day.”

  “Oh, of course,” Mayor Fogelhymer said. “Nice to see you again. But I have to go back to my office. I have a lot of work to do.”

  Katie frowned. “I wouldn’t go back there right now.”

  “Why not?” the mayor wondered.

  “Well, the phone is ringing and ringing,” Katie said.

  The mayor looked at her curiously. “How do you know that?”

  “Um…well…I heard it when I walked past your office,” she answered quickly. There. That sounded believable.

  “Oh. Well, that’s okay. My phone always rings a lot. Especially around election time,” the mayor told Katie. “It’s probably some of my supporters.”

  Katie shook her head. “I don’t think so,” she said. “I think it’s people who are mad that you decided to build a playground in the empty lot.”

  “I decided what?” Mayor Fogelhymer exclaimed. Then he stopped. “Wait, I think I remember…Did I really announce that in front of all the kids and the news cameras?”

  Katie nodded slowly.

  “Oh, no,” Mayor Fogelhymer groaned. “That wasn’t what I wanted to do at all. Cherrydale needs parking! And I promised. Oh, dear. I could lose the election over this!”