by Honest Lee
“That’s it?” Mason said. “Silly Classroom 13. You should have spoken up sooner. If you want to join our adventures, you should!”
“You mean, you’d still want to include me? Even after all this?” Classroom 13 asked.
“Yup,” Mason said. “I mean, I thought today was pretty fun. I’m looking forward to whatever happens next. You should, too.”
“But how can I be part of it?” it asked.
“You have all these magic powers, right? You changed us into our costumes. So why can’t you change yourself into one of us?”
The 13th Classroom had never thought of that before.
“But first,” Mason said, “you have to change everyone back. Deal?”
“Deal,” said Classroom 13.
SWOOOOOOOOOOSH! A magical cyclone formed inside the classroom. Bright smoke and sugary whirlwinds turned and reversed the curse, transforming everyone from costumed Hallow-weirdoes to just weirdoes wearing Halloween costumes. (Or in Hugo’s case, Hallow-weiner costume.)
“Oh, one last thing,” Mason asked. “Could you erase the adults’ memories of today? We really like Ms. Linda. We don’t want Principal Pumpernickel to fire her.”
“Sure thing,” Classroom 13 said.
Formerly-a-Pumpkin Principal Pumpernickel returned to his office to finish his nap. When he woke, he thought he’d had the strangest dream but couldn’t remember any of it. And Ms. Linda didn’t recall anything. So even though it was almost the end of the school day, she took roll call. That’s when she noticed something was off.
Ms. Linda took a head count of her students. “… Twenty-six, twenty-seven, and twenty-eight?!” She counted again. Twenty-eight.
“That can’t be right,” she said. “I only have twenty-seven students.”
“Not anymore,” Mason said. There was a brand-new face in Classroom 13—a strange young student with a cube instead of a head.
“Who are you?” Ms. Linda asked.
“My name is 13,” the student said. “I’m your new student.”
To be Continued…
And now a special message from author Honest Lee
Did you ever figure out Yuna’s code in Chapter 7? Olivia thought it was gibberish, but it wasn’t. It was an actual language. (Kinda.) Okay, so maybe it’s not a real language but it is a code—and we all know Yuna loves codes.
Here’s a hint: Oink-oink!
Get it?
You don’t?! (You are infuriating. But I still like you.) (Kinda.)
I’ll give you another hint: ig-Pay atin-Lay.
Now do you get it?
No. Then never mind. Buh-bye!
Sigh.
FINE!
I’ll tell you how to speak in Yuna’s code. But only because I think it would be funny if every kid on the planet started speaking in Pig Latin and no adult anywhere knew what was going on—except me.
So, Yuna’s code is Pig Latin. Here are two easy steps to learn it.
1: Words beginning with vowels (a, e, i, o, u):
Simple. Just add “-way” to the end of the word. Here are some examples:
The word “ick” becomes ick-way. The word “egg” becomes egg-way. And the word “uncanny” becomes uncanny-way.
This also holds true for the personal pronoun “I,” which becomes I-way.
2: Words beginning with consonants (that’s any other letter that is not a vowel):
Simply move the consonant (or consonant cluster) to the end of the word, then add “-ay” to the end of that. Examples:
• Words beginning with consonants would change as follows: The word “hello” would become ello-hay. The word “house” would become ouse-hay. And the term “Pig Latin” would become ig-pay atin-lay.
• Words beginning with consonant clusters would change as follows: the word “school” would become ool-schay. The word “transform” would become ansform-tray. And the term “fruit smoothie” would become uit-fray oothie-smay.
Got it? Good! Now go speak in code and freak out your parents!
CHAPTER 31
Your Chapter
That’s right—it’s your turn!
Grab some paper and a writing utensil. (Not a fork, silly. Try a pencil or pen.) Or if you have one of those fancy computer doo-hickeys, use that. Now tell me…
What is YOUR costume for Halloween?!
When you’re done, share it with your teacher, your family, and your friends. (Don’t forget your pets! Pets like to hear stories, too.) You can even ask your parents to send me your chapter at the address below.
HONEST LEE
LITTLE, BROWN BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS
1290 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS
NEW YORK, NY 10104
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