The School Play from the Black Lagoon (Black Lagoon Adventures series Book 20) Read online

  #20

  20

  ®

  BLACK LAGOON

  SCHOOL PLAY

  T HE

  FROM THE

  ®

  THE

  SCHOOL PLAY

  FROM THE

  BLACK LAGOON

  Get more monster-sized laughs from

  ®

  #1: The Class Trip from the Black Lagoon

  #2: The Talent Show from the Black Lagoon

  #3: The Class Election from the Black Lagoon

  #4: The Science Fair from the Black Lagoon

  #5: The Halloween Party from the Black Lagoon

  #6: The Field Day from the Black Lagoon

  #7: The School Carnival from the Black Lagoon

  #8: Valentine’s Day from the Black Lagoon

  #9: The Christmas Party from the Black Lagoon

  #10: The Little League Team from the Black Lagoon

  #11: The Snow Day from the Black Lagoon

  #12: April Fools’ Day from the Black Lagoon

  #13: Back-to-School Fright from the Black Lagoon

  #14: The New Year’sEve Sleepover from the Black Lagoon

  #15: The Spring Dance from the Black Lagoon

  #16: The Thanksgiving Day from the Black Lagoon

  #17: The Summer Vacation from the Black Lagoon

  #18: The Author Visit from the Black Lagoon

  #19: St. Patrick’s Day from the Black Lagoon

  The Black Lagoon

  by Mike Thaler

  Illustrated by Jared Lee

  SCHOLASTIC INC.

  New York Toronto London Auckland

  Sydney Mexico City New Delhi Hong Kong

  ®

  THE

  SCHOOL PLAY

  FROM THE

  BLACK LAGOON

  To my beautiful wife, Patty,

  my right hand

  and all my heart.

  —M.T.

  To classmate Teresa (Nelson) Fratus.

  —J.L.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright

  Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted,

  downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into

  any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means,

  whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without

  the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding

  permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department,

  557 Broadway, New York,NY 10012.

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-50584-0

  Text copyright © 2011 by Mike Thaler

  Illustrations copyright © 2011 by Jared D. Lee Studio, Inc.

  All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc.

  scholastic and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks

  of Scholastic Inc. black lagoon is a registered trademark of Mike Thaler and

  Jared D. Lee Studio, Inc. All rights reserved. Lexile is a registered trademark

  of MetaMetrics, Inc.

  First printing, October 2011

  Contents

  Chapter 1: The Fall of Hubie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

  Chapter 2: It’s Curtains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

  Chapter 3: Star Trek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

  Chapter 4: Show Buzz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

  Chapter 5: The Play’s the Thing . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

  Chapter 6: Stage Fright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

  Chapter 7: Head Over Heals in Love . . . . . . . . . 26

  Chapter 8: Straight from the Horse’s Mouth . . . . . 34

  Chapter 9: Pie Are Scared . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

  Chapter 10: Play Ball . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

  Chapter 11: Re-horsing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

  Chapter 12: Blunder and Lightning . . . . . . . . . . 58

  Chapter 13: All’s Well That Ends Well . . . . . . . . 62

  6

  7

  CHAPTER 1

  the fall of hubie

  It’s the beginning of October,

  and Mrs. Green announces that

  our class is going to put on a fall

  play. Everyone has to try out for

  it. If I’m picked for a part, it will

  be my downfall.

  I can’t act at all. I’ll forget my

  lines. I’ll forget my cues. If I’m

  lucky—I’ll forget to show up.

  8

  9

  CHAPTER 2

  it’s curtains

  My mom took me to a play

  once. It was called Omelet. It was

  written by a guy named Will-Ham

  Shake-A-Spear.

  10

  11

  It was about Prince Omelet—

  he was a good egg. He had

  a pretty nice mom—the queen—

  and a really mean stepdad—the

  step-king. They talked a lot and

  then everyone started fighting

  each other with long swords. The

  play was over when there was no

  one left except the audience.

  13

  CHAPTER 3

  Star Trek

  All the other kids are very

  excited. The play is The Legend

  of Sleepy Hollow. Eric wants to be

  the star. Penny wants to be the

  starlet. I just want to be in the

  audience. It’s the safest place.

  Mrs. Green says tryouts are

  tomorrow after school. I will try

  to stay out.

  14

  15

  CHAPTER 4

  Show Buzz

  The school bus is a school buzz.

  Everyone is excited about the

  play. I just look out the window.

  I feel like a leaf. I’ll turn red with

  embarrassment just before I fall.

  16

  17

  Then I have a daydream.

  Tomorrow I’ll get picked for the

  leading part. Everyone will want

  my autograph. I’ll go to Hollywood

  and get a Ferrari. I’ll be on the

  cover of People magazine. Hey,

  this isn’t bad after all. It’s too bad

  you can’t skip the tryouts and just

  be a star.

  18

  19

  CHAPTER 5

  the Play’s the thing

  Mom is excited about the play,

  too. She says she used to do a

  little acting. She told me it’s fun

  and she hopes I get a role. I don’t

  want a roll or a bagel.

  20

  I go to my room. I better

  practice just in case. I close

  my door and go to the mirror.

  I practice expressions: anger,

  joy, sadness, surprise, fear. Fear

  comes out the best, because I’m

  really afraid I’ll get a part.

  21

  CHAPTER 6

  StaGe fright

  That night I have a dream. I

  step out onstage. The lights are

  so bright I can’t see the audience,

  but I hear them breathing. I’ve

  got butterflies in my stomach

 
and glue on my tongue. Each foot

  weighs one thousand pounds and

  I have to go to the bathroom.

  22

  Suddenly, I’m in the audience

  looking up at me on the stage.

  Everyone begins to boo and

  throw vegetables. I throw a

  tomato at myself.

  I wake up ducking.

  24

  25

  CHAPTER 7

  head over heals

  in love

  The next day on the school bus

  everyone’s still talking about the

  play.

  “I read it last night,” says Eric.

  “What’s it about?” I ask.

  “Well, it’s sort of a love story,”

  says Eric.

  26

  “Ick,” I say

  “But it’s more of a ghost story,”

  he quickly adds.

  “Great,” I say. “Who wrote it?”

  “Some guy named Irving

  Washington.”

  “Don’t you mean Washington

  Irving?” interrupted Penny.

  “Whatever. Anyway, it’s about

  a schoolteacher named Ichabod

  Crane.”

  27

  “What subject did he teach?”

  asks Randy.

  “He taught all the subjects—it

  was a one-room schoolhouse.”

  “Did it have a cafeteria?” asks

  Penny.

  “I don’t think so,” says Eric. “It

  was a long time ago.”

  “Didn’t the kids eat back then?”

  asks Penny

  28

  “They brought their lunches.

  Anyway, Ichabod loved to eat. He

  would go home with the students

  whose moms were the best

  cooks,” explains Eric.

  “Was he fat?” asks Freddy.

  “No, he was very thin. Anyway,

  one day he was invited over by

  a very rich farmer who had a

  beautiful daughter.”

  “That’s the part I’ll play!”

  exclaims Penny.

  31

  “Where do the ghosts come

  in?” I ask.

  “The story is full of ghosts, but

  the scariest one is . ..”

  “We’re here!” shouts T-Rex.

  “Everybody out!”

  32

  33

  CHAPTER 8

  straight from the

  horse’s mouth

  In the library, Mrs. Beamster

  tells us the rest of the story.

  “In Sleepy Hollow, there were

  ghosts that haunted every house,

  every tree, every rock, and every

  bridge. But the scariest of all was

  the Headless Horseman.”

  “Was he part of the Head Start

  program?” I ask.

  34

  “He was a soldier in the

  Revolutionary War whose head

  had been shot off by a cannon-

  ball. Every night he’d ride out on

  his big black horse looking for

  his head.”

  37

  “How could he look for his

  head if he didn’t have a head?”

  “He had a GPS. Anyway,

  Ichabod believed all the scary

  stories but he had fallen in love

  with Katrina, the rich farmer’s

  daughter. So he visited her every

  day after school to give her

  singing lessons. But Katrina had

  a boyfriend, Brom Bones, who

  quickly became jealous. Brom

  was a practical joker.”

  38

  “I’ll play Brom Bones,” says

  Eric.

  “You want to play trombones?”

  I ask.

  “You’re not funny,”growls Eric.

  40

  “Anyway, one night Ichabod

  was riding home on his old horse,

  Gunpowder, when he heard

  thundering hoofbeats behind

  him. He looked back and his

  blood turned cold.”

  41

  “What did he see?” we all

  yelled.

  Just then the bell rang ending

  library period. It was time for

  lunch.

  42

  43

  CHAPTER 9

  pie are scared

  There was pumpkin pie for

  lunch.

  “That’s what he saw,” said Eric,

  pointing to the pie.

  “He saw a piece of pie?” I ask.

  44

  “No, he saw a headless rider

  thundering down on him.”

  45

  “Was he holding a piece of pie?”

  “No, he was holding his head.”

  “You mean he finally found it?”

  “Well, not exactly. It wasn’t

  really his head—it was a pumpkin

  and it wasn’t really a ghost. It was

  Brom Bones trying to scare his

  rival away.”

  46

  “Did it work?”

  “It sure did. Brom married

  Katrina, and Ichabod was never

  seen around Sleepy Hollow

  again. Are you going to eat your

  pie, Hubie?”

  47

  CHAPTER 10

  Play Ball

  Well, it’s three o’clock—time

  for tryouts. All the kids are

  excited. Mrs. Green is excited.

  It’s the glamour of show biz.

  I’m not excited. I just want to go

  home.

  48

  49

  “I want to be Brom Bones!”

  shouts out Eric.

  “You got it,” says Mrs. Green.

  “I want to play Katrina,” says

  Penny, fluttering her eyelashes.

  “Oh, no,” says Eric.

  “You got it,” says Mrs. Green.

  50

  51

  “Okay, but I’m not going to kiss

  her,” insists Eric.

  “I’ll be Ichabod Crane,” says

  Randy.

  “Good choice,” says Mrs.

  Green.

  Soon all the parts are gone.

  “I’m sorry, Hubie,” says Mrs.

  Green. “You didn’t get a part.”

  “It’s okay,” I say.

  Mrs. Green looks at me.

  52

  “Oh, wait a minute,” she says.

  “There’s one part left!”

  “Wh-what’s that?” I stutter.

  “The Headless Horseman.”

  Mrs. Green smiles.

  53

  54

  CHAPTER 11

  re-horsing

  So I have a part. But it’s not so

  bad. I’m all covered up and have

  only one line: “Boo!” I can’t mess

  up too badly.

  55

  When I get home, I go into my

  room and rehearse my line.

  “Boo!”

  “BOO!”

  “BOOOOO!”

  “Don’t cry, Hubie!”

  “I’m not crying, Mom. I’m

  practicing my line.”

  56

  57

  CHAPTER 12

  blunder and

  lightning

  The night of the big play has

  come. The audience is filing in.

  They strap a cardboard horse to

  me and cover me with a black

  cloth. Then they hand me a jack-

  o’-lantern. I’m supposed to chase

  Randy around the stage and

  throw it at him.

 
; 58

  59

  60

  The auditorium lights go out,

  the stage lights go on, and the

  curtain goes up. But I can’t see

  too much. At my big moment,

  they lead me to the stage and

  push me out. I say, “Boo!” and

  gallop around the stage. Randy is

  frightened, and I chase him. He

  has a head start.

  61

  I say, “Boo!” again and throw

  the pumpkin at him. Randy ducks,

  and the pumpkin flies out into the

  audience and hits Mr. Bender,

  the principal, in the head. The

  curtain goes down along with Mr.

  Bender.

  CHAPTER 13

  all’s well that

  ends well

  Mr. Bender was a good sport,

  and we all came out and bowed.

  Everyone applauded. After the

  play, Mrs. Green took us out for

  pizza. Mr. Bender asked me for

  62

  my autograph. Show business is

  not so bad after all. I might even

  try out for the play next year. I

  hope it’s Jaws. I’d be a great shark.

  63

  64

  Break a leg?!?