Jennifer Murdley's Toad (Magic Shop Books) Read Online Free PDF

Ellen might say about the voice in the box. When she had told Ellen she wanted to keep her "ventriloquism" a secret until she had practiced for a while longer, Ellen had pledged her silence. But she had already failed the test of silence once this week, and Jennifer wasn't sure she could count on her.
    To make things worse, Sharra, who sat two seats away, kept turning around and glaring.
    What happened next would never have worked if Jennifer's desk hadn't been right under the loudspeaker. The principal had made his morning announcements a couple of hours ago, and the speaker had been silent since then. Now a sudden crackle of static was followed by his voice saying, "Attention, please."
    The class grew silent. All eyes turned toward the speaker.
    Jennifer wondered why people did that. You can't see anything, she thought. I guess it's just something you're trained to do.
    You were also trained to expect that when you
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    heard the principal's voice it would come out of the speaker.
    Which probably explained why she was the only one who happened to notice that Mr. Monroe's voice was actually coming from the box on her desk.
    "Sharra Moncrieffe, please report to the office at once!"
    A whisper rippled through the class. It was rare for Mr. Monroe to call someone in over the loudspeaker, and usually it meant big trouble. But since Sharra never got in trouble, it had to be something else.
    "Sharra Moncrieffe, report to the office," repeated the voice. "And boy," it added, "are you in trouble!"
    A burst of laughter sounded through the room. Sharra's face turned beet red. Mrs. Hopwell looked confused.
    Sharra stumbled out of the room, looking nervous and angry. After she was gone, Jennifer tapped the box on her desk and whispered fiercely, "Knock it off, Bufo."
    The only answer was the sound of contented humming.
    Sharra was fuming when she returned to the classroom. She had waited outside the principal's office for two hours before the secretary finally realized there had been some mistake and that no one had called for her.
    Since nobody in the class knew it had been a mistake, the room was alive with winks, nudges,
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    and stifled giggles as Sharra slipped back through the door. The idea of Sharra Moncrieffe getting in trouble was too delicious to ignore.
    Sharra cast an angry eye around the room as she moved quietly to her seat. Mrs. Hopwell, who had been correcting papers, looked up when she heard the door close.
    "Is everything all right, Sharra?" she asked quietly.
    "Perfectly," said Sharra. Though her voice was sweet, Jennifer could tell she was seething underneath. "It was all a mistake of some kind. I'm not in any trouble. No trouble at all!"
    The ripple of laughter that had started around the room stopped on her last words, which were spoken so fiercely they all but dared anyone to laugh and survive.
    Jennifer concentrated on drawing little boxes on her paper. She was afraid if she caught Sharra's eye she would either explode with laughter or blush with guilt, giving herself (and Bufo) away.
    And that was the end of that--until shortly after lunch, when a voice from Jennifer's desk said, "Mrs. Hopwell?"
    The teacher turned from the math exercise she was writing on the board. "Yes, Sharra?"
    Sharra looked surprised. "I didn't say anything!"
    Mrs. Hopwell glanced at Sharra strangely, then turned back to the problem of Fred's quarts and Joe's monkeys.
    "Mrs. Hopwell!"
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    The teacher lifted her chalk from the board and turned back to the classroom.
    "What is it, Sharra?" she asked, speaking very slowly and distinctly.
    "Nothing," said Sharra, looking mystified.
    The others were starting to giggle, Mrs. Hop-well glared at Sharra for a second, then turned back to the board again.
    Sharra cast a suspicious glance around the room.
    Jennifer began to squirm uncomfortably. Sharra squinted at her as if she were trying to read her mind.
    When Sharra finally turned her attention back to her paper, Jennifer gave the box sitting on