School Days According to Humphrey Read Online Free PDF

them where their friends have gone!

4
    Night School

    W hen the room got dark, my thoughts got darker. Not only was I curious about where my old friends had gone, but I was also unsqueakably worried about what they would do without a helpful hamster to help them with their problems. I don’t mean to brag, but I had lent a helping paw to all my classmates last year, even if they didn’t always know it.
    â€œNo use sitting around and worrying,” I suddenly squeaked out loud. “We need to do something!”
    â€œBOING!” Og agreed.
    Just then, the room was filled with bright light.
    â€œNever fear, ’cause Aldo’s here!” a friendly voice boomed out.
    â€œAldo!” I shouted, happy to see Aldo Amato pull his cleaning cart into the room. Aldo is the night custodian, and he’s also a wonderful friend. I’d seen him at camp over the summer, but I hadn’t seen him for the last few weeks.
    He came up to the table and gazed down at me.
    â€œYou’re a sight for sore eyes, Humphrey,” he said, reaching in his pocket. “Here, have some sunflower seeds.”
    Yum! I’m always happy to get my favorite treat.
    Aldo found a jar of Froggy Food Sticks for Og and sprinkled some in his tank. “Here you go, Og. Enjoy them in good health!”
    Og swam around, gathering the little sticks in his huge mouth. I’m sorry he doesn’t get tasty sunflower seeds like I do, but he doesn’t seem to mind.
    â€œSo it’s back to school for all of us,” he said. “Back to work at night and back to college in the daytime for me.”
    Aldo was going to college so he could be a teacher someday.
    â€œI have some good courses this year,” Aldo continued. “Including biology. That’s where I’ll learn about critters like you.”
    I chomped away on a sunflower seed, thinking that biology must be an interesting course.
    â€œSay, I saw Richie after school. I think he’s a little worried about his new teacher, Miss Becker.” I stopped mid-chomp. Repeat-It-Please-Richie Rinaldi was Aldo’s nephew and a former classmate in Room 26.
    â€œMiss Becker? Where is she? How can I find Richie?” I squeaked. “Why is he worried?”
    I guess Aldo didn’t understand. “I’ll tell him you said hello,” he answered.
    Suddenly, the sunflower seed didn’t taste so good, because Richie was worried. Even if he wasn’t in Room 26 anymore, he was still my friend.
    Then Aldo got to work cleaning Room 26. He was wonderful at his job. I thought he’d be an unsqueakably good teacher someday, but I knew that once he was teaching, Room 26 would never be quite as clean again.
    Watching Aldo got my mind off my worries until he saw that red hamster ball sitting on Mrs. Brisbane’s desk.
    â€œHey, who’s this? Are they replacing you, Humphrey?” Aldo laughed, but I didn’t think that was funny.
    He turned the switch on and roared as the ball twirled and looped and flashed and the music blasted. “Rockin’ Aki! Rock ’n’ roll rules!”
    As Aldo watched, he did a little dance just like Aki.
    After a while, he switched Aki off.
    â€œThat’s funny,” he said. “But don’t worry. Nothing could replace you, Humphrey.”
    â€œThank you,” I squeaked.
    â€œRichie would like one of those,” Aldo said.
    I wished he hadn’t reminded me of Richie. I didn’t like to think about my old friend being worried.
    After Aldo left and I saw his car pull out of the parking lot outside my window, I decided to investigate the school and find out where Richie and my other old friends had gone.
    â€œDon’t you think I should find out where this Miss Becker’s classroom is, Og?” I asked.
    â€œBOING-BOING!” Og is always encouraging, at least most of the time.
    Of course, Longfellow School is a BIG-BIG-BIG place, so I probably couldn’t cover it