CHAPTER 16

The Pumpkin

Principal Pumpernickel had been in his office, trying to take a nice Halloween nap. He was almost asleep when screaming and howling startled him and he fell out of his chair. He was not pleased. Interrupting a principal’s nap—uh, I mean work—was very rude.

When he entered the hallway, he was not surprised to find the loud noises were coming from the end of the hall. There were always strange things happening in the 13th Classroom—but today it was simply too much.

“I’ll put an end to these shenanigans!” Principal Pumpernickel said, storming out of his office. He furiously marched down the hallway, tightened his pumpkin necktie, and almost slipped on a dirty diaper. This only enraged him more.

He threw open the door to Classroom 13 and shouted, “What is the meaning of… this?!”

Principal Pumpernickel couldn’t believe his eyes: Two werewolves chasing each other. A tree in the middle of the classroom. A ghost boy pouting on the ceiling. A crying baby being cared for by a cowboy. A two-headed horse pooping in the middle of the class. And a second later, one of the werewolves changing back into Ms. Linda, dressed as Little Red Riding Hood.

The principal stomped over to Ms. Linda and shouted, “I don’t know what is going on, but this is unacceptable! I’m sorry, Ms. Linda, but I think I must fire you!”

Everyone (and everything) in Classroom 13 stood still, including Little Linda Riding Hood, who had no idea what was happening.

“Hello, sir, can you help me get to Grand-mama’s?” the teacher asked.

“Ms. Linda. Enough with the joking. This is a very serious matter,” the principal demanded.

“I agree. My grandmama is sick, and I need to take her some soup. Only no one here seems to know where she lives and the woods here are very strange—and that young man there, yes, the furry one, he bit me and turned me into a werewolf. Very rude, I must say.”

Benji the Werewolf lifted up his leg and peed in the corner.

This just made Principal Pumpernickel even more angry. “Ms. Linda! Your class is out of control! You are relieved of your position! You must leave at once!”

Olivia grabbed Mason. “This is serious!” she whispered. “If we don’t do something fast, Ms. Linda’s going to lose her job for real! It’s not her fault the classroom has gone crazy.”

“It’s not the classroom; it’s the candy,” Mason said.

“What do you mean?” Olivia said.

“Haven’t you noticed?” Mason explained. “Every time someone eats the candy here, they turn into their costume.”

“Mason, you’re a genius!” Olivia said.

“I am not! Take that back!” Mason cried, offended.

Olivia shook her head. “Okay, now we know what’s happening, but how do we save Ms. Linda?”

“It’s cool, I have a plan,” Mason said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a hot dog. “Whoops. Wrong pocket. Hi, Hugo!” Mason reached into his other pocket and pulled out a slingshot. He loaded it up with a piece of licorice from the cursed candy bowl. He took aim and fired the candy straight into Principal Pumpernickel’s mouth.

Bop! It was a perfect shot. Principal Pumpernickel swallowed the candy. A moment later, he turned into a giant pumpkin.