Judy Moody Around the World in 8 1_2 Days - Megan Mcdonald [3]
“Wait. She’s coming here? To Mr. Todd’s room?” asked Rocky.
“She’s not going to be in our class, is she?” asked Frank.
“No. She just has a big fat secret to tell us.”
“How do you know?” Rocky asked.
“I know,” said Judy. “Or . . . maybe I can ask her when I go over to her house to have a meeting of our new club.”
“What new club?” asked Rocky.
“What new club?” asked Frank.
“The My-Name-Is-a-Poem Club,” said Judy.
“Can we be in the club?” asked Frank.
“It’s for people all over the world who have names that rhyme. Like Judy Moody. Amy Namey. Hello! Frank does not rhyme with Pearl. Rocky does not rhyme with Zang.”
“No fair,” said Rocky. “We can’t help it that our names don’t rhyme.”
“I didn’t make the rules,” said Judy.
“What if I change my name to Earl? Earl the Pearl rhymes.” Judy and Rocky cracked up.
“Then we’d have to call you Earl,” said Rocky. “That would be weird.”
“Okay. So keep calling me Frank and come to the Toad Pee Club meeting on Saturday morning. Don’t go to that rhyming girl’s house.”
“What do you mean?” asked Judy.
“Didn’t Stink tell you? We’re having a really big, important meeting of the Toad Pee Club,” said Frank.
“How come?”
“We want to enter Toady in a race they’re having at the pet store that morning. Fur & Fangs. You can win a tarantula.”
“Stink told you this?” asked Judy.
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s a girl tarantula named Trudy,” added Frank. “It’s a painted tarantula and has orange stripes.”
“And it has eight eyes, and fangs, and it keeps away robbers,” said Rocky.
“Robbers!” said Judy. “There aren’t any robbers around here.”
“Yah-huh. Friend robbers,” Rocky said. “Maybe it works on people who steal other people’s friends, like Little Miss You-Know-Who.”
“Well, sorry, but I have to go to my new club. Amy Namey says —”
“AmyNameyAmyNamey. That girl’s all you talk about now,” said Rocky.
“Amy Namey sounds lame-y if you ask me,” said Frank.
“Ha! Amy Namey said you’d say that!” said Judy.
Rocky looked at Frank. Frank looked at Rocky and shrugged.
“What’s wrong with you guys?” said Judy. “Yesterday you liked her.”
“Yeah, and yesterday you didn’t like her,” said Rocky.
“Just ’cause she rhymes,” said Frank. “We were friends with you FIRST. Before Suzy New-Club came along.”
“Yeah, along comes Amy Rhymey and you forget about us,” Rocky said.
“I bet any money a toad never peed on her,” said Frank. “So she can’t be in OUR club. No way.”
“Shh! Here she comes!” said Judy.
“Bonjour!” said Amy Namey. “That means ‘hello’ in France.”
“Whatever,” said Rocky.
“Hey, can we ask you a question?” asked Frank.
“Okay, shoot,” said Amy. “But hurry up. I have to give a report to your class.”
“Did a toad ever pee on you?” asked Rocky.
“What? NO!” said Amy.
“See?” Rocky and Frank said to Judy.
“Class!” said Mr. Todd, blinking the lights. “Morning recess is over. Everybody find your seat. We have a special visitor today. And she has some interesting information to share with us.”
“Is it the Crayon Lady?” somebody asked.
“Is that the visitor?” asked Bradley, pointing to Amy Namey. “She’s just a kid. From Ms. Valentine’s class.”
“Class, I’d like you to meet Amy Namey,” said Mr. Todd. Some kids giggled when he said her name.
Judy practically jumped out of her seat. “I already know her!” said Judy. “And we have three connections. One, her name rhymes, just like Judy Moody. Two, she likes Nellie Bly, Daredevil Reporter, the way I like Elizabeth Blackwell, First Woman Doctor. Three, she collects ABC gum.”
“Thank you, Judy. I was about to say that some of you may know Amy from the other third-grade class, 3V, Ms. Valentine’s room.”
“She lives on my street,” Alison S. told Mr. Todd.
“I noticed your colorful glasses before,” said Jessica Finch.
“Were you on our field trip to the emergency room?” asked Samantha.
“Why are you always wearing that blue checked skirt?” asked Rocky.
“Why do you have that plastic bread bag full of stuff?” asked Frank.
“Let’s give Amy a chance,” said Mr. Todd. “She’s here to tell us about Nellie Bly, the daredevil reporter who went all the way around the world in