CONTENTS
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TEASER
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Before the worms turned mean, before they slithered out to get their revenge, Todd Barstow had a great time with them.
Todd collected worms. He built a worm farm in his basement.
He studied them. He played with them. He did experiments with them. Sometimes he carried them around with him.
Sometimes he scared people with them. Especially his sister, Regina.
He liked to dangle the long purple ones in front of Regina’s face. Sometimes he dropped them down her back or into her long brown hair.
He liked to torture Regina’s best friend, too. Her name was Beth Baker, and she always screamed a high, squeaky scream whenever Todd surprised her with a big, slimy worm.
“You’re totally gross, Todd!” Beth would squeal.
This always made Todd very happy.
Todd’s best friend, Danny Fletcher, didn’t really understand why Todd was so interested in worms. But Danny did understand how much fun it was to surprise people and make them scream. So he spent a lot of time with Todd.
In fact, the two of them were almost always together. They even sat together in Miss Grant’s class, where they whispered a lot, planning what to do next with Todd’s worms.
Todd didn’t look at all mischievous. In fact, he usually had a very serious expression on his face. He had dark brown eyes under short, wavy brown hair. No one ever saw his hair. It was always covered by the silver-and-black Raiders cap he wore day and night.
He was tall and skinny. His mother said he was as skinny as a worm. Todd never thought that was funny. He took worms seriously.
Danny looked more like a joker. He had a round, chubby face under curly red hair, and a really goofy grin. His round blue eyes always lit up when Todd was about to spring a big, wet worm on an unsuspecting victim.
Whenever Todd succeeded in making someone scream in surprise, Danny would toss back his head, let out a high-pitched cheer, and slap Todd hard on the back with his chubby, freckled hand. Then the two of them would screech with laughter, roll around on the floor, and enjoy their victory.
They had a great time with worms.
But whenever anyone asked Todd why he collected them, and why he was so interested in them, Todd’s expression would turn serious, and he’d say, “Because I want to be a scientist when I grow up.”
“How many worms do you have?” someone asked him.
“Not enough,” he replied.
He was always digging up more. Looking for champions. He liked them long and purple and kind of fat.
And squishy. Squishy was very important.
* * *
Sunday night it had rained. The ground was still wet as Todd and Regina walked to school on Monday morning. Todd knew the worms would all be coming up for air.
He found Danny at the water fountain outside their classroom. Danny had a finger pressed over the fountain spout, and when kids passed by, he made the water squirt all over them.
Todd lowered his Raiders cap over his forehead as he leaned close to Danny. “Meet me behind second base on the playground,” he whispered. “As soon as the lunch bell rings.”
Danny nodded. He didn’t have to ask why. He knew that Todd’s favorite place to dig up fresh worms was the bare patch of ground behind second base on the softball diamond.
The ground there was soft and rich. And after a good rain, the two boys could shovel up ten to fifteen worms without even trying.
Todd kept a gardening shovel in his locker, as well as a small metal bucket with a lid. He was always ready to collect worms when the time was right.
In class that morning, everyone was talking about the big Science Expo to be held in the gym on Saturday. Some kids already had their projects done.
Debby Brewster was bragging about how she was going to win the new computer, the grand prize, by making electricity. Someone shouted out, “Go fly a kite!” and everyone laughed. The whole class was tired of Debby’s constant bragging.
Todd’s project was just about finished. It had worms in it, of course.
It was a worm house. A little house Todd’s father had helped him build, about the size of a dollhouse. One side was cut away and covered with a pane of glass so you could see in. The house was filled with dirt. And you could see all of the worms — a whole worm family — crawling from room to room.
Danny’s project was really boring. He was building the solar system out of balloons.
He wanted to share Todd’s project and work on it with him. But Todd wouldn’t let him. “I don’t want to share the computer,” Todd had said.
“But I helped you dig up the worms!” Danny protested.
“I dug up most of them,” Todd replied.
And so Todd forced Danny to do his own project. Danny blew up different-colored balloons for all the planets and taped them on a big black sheet of poster board.
Very boring.
* * *
“What makes you so sure you’re going to win the grand prize?” Danny asked Todd as he hurried to catch up with him on the playground at lunchtime.
“I checked out the other projects,” Todd replied. “My project is the only one with real, living creatures. Except for Heather’s snails.”
“Heather has done a lot of experiments with her snails,” Danny commented.
“So what?” Todd snapped. “Snails are for babies. We had snails in first grade. No one cares about snails in sixth grade. No way they can compete with worms.”
“I guess you’re right,” Danny replied, scratching his red hair.
They squatted down as they reached the bare spot behind second base. Todd handed Danny his spare shovel.
The playground was empty. Everyone else was inside eating lunch.
The ground was still soft and wet. Worms were poking their heads up from little puddles. One long worm crawled on top of the dirt.
“The rain makes them all come up,” said Todd, beginning to dig. “This is excellent!”
He didn’t know what kind of trouble was waiting under the ground.
“Look out. You cut that one in two,” Todd warned.
Danny grinned. “So what? Now you’ve got two little ones.”
“But I only like big ones,” Todd replied, carefully sliding his shovel under a long, fat worm.
“How many more do you need? My stomach is growling,” Danny complained, glancing back at the long, redbrick school building.
“Just a few more,” Todd said, lowering the fat worm into the bucket. “He’s a squirmer, isn’t he?”
Danny groaned. “Everyone else is eating lunch, and I’m out here digging in the mud.”
“It’s for science,” Todd said seriously.
“This one is as big as a snake. Did you ever think of collecting snakes?” Danny asked.
“No,” Todd replied quickly, digging deep into the mud. “No way.”
“Why not?”
“Because I like worms,” Todd said.
“What’s the real reason?” Danny demanded.
“My parents won’t let me,” Todd muttered.
The two boys continued to dig for another few minutes u
ntil the ground started to rumble. Danny dropped his shovel.
“What’s that?” he asked.
“Huh?” Todd didn’t seem to notice.
The ground rumbled a little harder. This time everything shook.
Todd pitched forward, dropping onto his hands and knees. He gazed up at Danny, surprised. “Hey — don’t push me.”
“I didn’t!” Danny protested.
“Then what — ?” Todd started. But the ground shook again. And the dirt made a soft cracking sound.
“I — I don’t like this!” Danny stammered.
Without another word, both boys started to run.
But the ground trembled again, and the cracking sound beneath their sneakers grew louder. Closer.
“Earthquake!” Todd screamed. “Earthquake!”
Todd and Danny sprinted across the field and the playground and burst into the lunchroom.
Both boys had red faces. Both of them were breathing hard.
“Earthquake!” Todd shouted. “It’s an earthquake!”
Chairs scraped. Conversations stopped. Everyone turned to stare at the two of them.
“Duck under the tables!” Danny screamed shrilly. “Quick, everyone! The ground is shaking!”
“Earthquake! Earthquake!”
Everyone just laughed.
No one moved.
No one wanted to fall for a dumb practical joke.
Todd spotted Beth and Regina across the lunchroom at the window. He and Danny darted over to them.
“Get away from the window!” Todd warned.
“The ground is cracking apart!” Danny cried.
Regina’s mouth dropped open. She didn’t know whether to believe them or not. Regina, the worrier, was always ready to believe a disaster waited just around the corner.
But all the other kids in the huge lunchroom were laughing their heads off.
“We don’t get earthquakes in Ohio,” Beth said simply, making a disgusted face at Todd.
“But — but — but —” Todd sputtered.
“Didn’t you feel it?” Danny demanded breathlessly, his round, chubby face still bright red. “Didn’t you feel the ground shake?”
“We didn’t feel anything,” Beth replied.
“Didn’t you hear it?” Todd cried. “I — I was so freaked, I dropped all my worms.” He sank into the chair next to his sister.
“No one believes you. It’s a dumb joke, Todd,” Regina told him. “Better luck next time, guys.”
“But — but —”
Regina turned away from her sputtering brother and started talking to Beth again. “As I was saying, his head is way too big for his body.”
“He looks okay to me,” Beth replied.
“No. We’ll have to cut his head off,” Regina insisted, frowning into her bowl of noodle soup.
“Major surgery?” Beth asked. “Are you sure? If we cut his head off, it’ll show. It really will.”
“But if his head is too big, what choice do we have?” Regina whined.
“Huh? What are you talking about?” Todd demanded. “What about the earthquake?”
“Todd, we’re talking about our science fair project,” Beth said impatiently.
“Yeah. Go out and play in the earthquake!” Regina snapped. “We’ve got problems with Christopher Robin.”
Todd snickered. “What a dumb name for a bird.”
Regina stuck out her tongue at him and then turned her back. She and Beth began discussing their project again.
They both agreed they probably should have tried something a little easier. And smaller.
They were building an enormous robin out of papier-mâché. It was supposed to be lifelike in every detail, except size.
But the girls quickly discovered that papier-mâché isn’t the most lifelike material around. It was hard to get the wings to stick to the body. It was even harder to get the huge round body to stand on the spindly wooden legs.
And now Regina was convinced that the bird’s head was much too big for its body.
They had used an entire quart of orange paint on the bird’s chest. Now, if they had to cut the head off and make a new one, the paint job would be ruined!
“Maybe we could just shave a little off the top,” Beth suggested, taking the last potato chip from her bag and crinkling the bag between her hands. “Can I have some of your soup?”
“You can finish it,” Regina replied, sliding the bowl across the table. “I’m not very hungry.”
“There’s going to be an aftershock,” Todd warned, staring out the window.
“Yeah. There’s always an aftershock after an earthquake,” Danny agreed.
“I can’t believe you’re sitting here calmly, talking about your dumb project,” Todd said.
“It’s not a dumb project!” Beth replied angrily.
“Todd, go eat worms!” Regina exclaimed. It was her favorite thing to say to her brother. She said it at least ten times a day.
“Beth is already eating worms,” Todd said, gazing down at the bowl of soup.
Danny laughed.
“Give me a break, Todd,” Beth muttered, rolling her eyes.
“No. Really,” Todd insisted. “What kind of soup is that?”
“Chicken noodle,” Beth replied warily. She took a spoonful, slurping the soup off the spoon.
“Well, there’s a worm in your soup,” Todd said with a serious face.
“Todd, you’re not funny,” Beth replied. “Give up.”
“Want to bet?” Todd challenged.
“Bet? What do you mean ‘bet’?” Beth said.
“I’ll bet you a dollar there’s a worm in your soup,” Todd told her, his dark eyes lighting up.
Danny leaned across the table, a wide grin frozen on his chubby face. “Yummm,” he said, licking his lips. “A big fat purple one! Can I have a taste?”
“You guys are jerks,” Regina muttered.
“Bet a dollar?” Todd challenged, ignoring his sister.
“Sure. It’s a bet,” Beth said.
She reached across the table and shook Todd’s hand to seal the bet. Then she ran the soup spoon through the bowl several times to show him there was no worm.
Todd reached under the table. Then a smile crossed his face as he brought his hand up — and dropped a fat purple worm into Beth’s soup.
The worm wriggled and squirmed as it hit the hot soup.
“Oooh, gross!” Beth screamed.
Danny let out a loud laugh and slapped Todd gleefully on the back, nearly knocking Todd from the chair.
“Pay up, Beth,” Todd demanded. “You lost the bet.”
“You guys are sick,” Regina murmured, making a disgusted face, forcing herself not to look into the soup bowl.
“Gross! Gross!” Beth was shrieking.
The worm slipped and swam through the noodles.
“You said you dropped your worms outside,” Regina accused angrily.
Todd shrugged, a big grin on his face. “I lied!”
Danny laughed even harder. He pounded the table gleefully with his fists, making the soup bowl bounce up and down.
“Hey!” Suddenly Todd’s smile faded. He stared out of the lunchroom window at the playground.
“Look!” He hit Danny’s shoulder, then pointed out toward second base, to the bare spot behind the base. “What’s going on out there?” he cried.
Todd walked over to the window and peered out, pressing his nose against the glass. “What is Patrick MacKay doing in my worm-digging spot?” he demanded angrily.
Danny stepped beside Todd. He squinted out into the gray afternoon. “Are you sure that’s Patrick MacKay?”
The sky darkened as the low clouds gathered. The boy on the playground was half covered by shadow. But Todd recognized him anyway.
That snobby, stuck-up rich kid. Patrick MacKay.
He was bent over the bare spot of mud behind second base, working feverishly.
“What is he doing out there?” Todd repeated. “That
’s my best worm spot!”
“He’s digging up worms, too!” Regina declared from the table.
“Huh?” Todd spun around to find his sister smirking at him.
“Patrick is digging up worms for the Science Expo,” she told him, unable to hide her joy. “He’s doing a worm project, too.”
“But he can’t!” Todd sputtered in a high, shrill voice.
“Whoa! What a copycat!” Danny declared.
“He can’t do a worm project! I’m doing the worm project!” Todd insisted, turning back to stare at Patrick through the glass.
“It’s a free country,” Regina replied smugly. She and Beth laughed and slapped each other high fives. They were enjoying seeing Todd squirm for a change.
“But he’s not into worms!” Todd continued, very upset. “He doesn’t collect worms! He doesn’t study worms! He’s just copying me!”
“Look at him, digging in your spot,” Danny murmured, shaking his head bitterly.
“Patrick is a nice guy,” Beth remarked. “He doesn’t act like a jerk and put worms in people’s soup.”
“He’s a jerk,” Todd insisted angrily, staring hard out the window. “He’s a total jerk.”
“He’s a copycat jerk,” Danny added.
“His worm project is going to be better than yours,” Regina teased him.
Todd’s dark eyes burned into his sister’s. “You know what it is? You know what Patrick’s project is?”
Regina had a smug smile on her lips. She tossed back her brown hair. Then she made a zipper sign, moving her fingers across her lips. “I’ll never tell,” she said.
“What is it?” Todd demanded. “Tell me.”
Regina shook her head.
“Tell me, Beth,” Todd insisted, narrowing his eyes menacingly at Beth.
“No way,” Beth replied, glancing merrily at Regina.
“Then I’ll ask him myself,” Todd declared. “Come on, Danny.”
The two boys started running through the lunchroom. They were nearly to the door when Todd ran into their teacher.
Miss Grant was carrying her lunch tray high over her head, stepping around a group of kids in the aisle. Todd just didn’t see her.
He bumped her from behind.
She uttered a cry of surprise — and her tray flew out of her hands. The tray and the plates clattered loudly onto the floor. And her food — salad and a bowl of spaghetti — dropped around her feet.