her over, give her your candy bar.â
Jason sighed. âHow do you know itâll work?â
âRemember the Golden Rule? Treat others the way you want to be treated. Leslie loves sweets.â
âThat makes two of us.â Slowly, he pulled the candy bar out of its hiding place. He held it in his hand. âI shouldnât eat this,â he said sadly. âIt cancels out the good stuff I had for lunch.â
He held the candy bar to his nose. He breathed deeply. âSmells great,â he said with glazed eyes. Then he saw the teacherâs niece packing her things.
âBetter decide now,â Abby said. âSheâs on her way home.â
Leslie and Miss Hershey walked out the door and into the hallway.
âLeslie, wait!â Jason called.
Leslie stopped. She looked surprised. Turning to her aunt, she said, âGo ahead. Iâll catch up in a second.â
Abby watched from the door. She heard Jason say he was sorry about chasing Leslie. Then he offered her the candy bar.
Abby held her breath. Please be nice, Leslie .
Leslie raised her eyebrows. She looked embarrassed. âThanks,â Leslie said quietly. âYouâre A-OK!â
Jason took a deep breath. âYouâre OK, too.â He paused.
Now what? thought Abby.
âUh, you can call me a show-off if you want to.â
âSo . . . weâre friends?â Leslie said, smiling.
âFriends,â he said.
Then Leslie unwrapped the candy bar and gave him half. âShow-off isnât the best name for you,â Leslie said. She pulled on her pigtails. âSharing is much better.â
Jason turned bright red.
Abby wished she had a camera. This was a perfect picture for the Special Person bulletin board. She hurried off to tell Stacy.
âHey, Abby, wait up!â Jason called to her.
Abby laughed. She pretended to take his picture.
âDonât be silly.â Jason held out his halfof the candy bar. âWant a bite?â
Abby reached for it.
âHappy School Spirit Day!â he shouted, taking it back. In one bite it was gone.
Abby wasnât finished with Jason. She had a great idea. âRace you home.â
âIâm too tired,â Jason said, munching.
âI have a feeling my mom made brownies,â she said, starting to run.
Jasonâs eyes grew wide. He rubbed his stomach. He took off after Abby.
Abby raced across the playground to Blossom Hill Lane.
The Cul-de-sac Kids cheered as Jason ran all the way to Abbyâs porch. He collapsed on the steps. âOK, now letâs have those brownies!â
âJust kidding,â Abby shouted. âHappy School Spirit Day!â
Jason burst into laughter.
Abby wished School Spirit Day were closer than a whole year away.
The Cul-de-Sac Kids Series
Donât Miss #24!
THE MIDNIGHT MYSTERY
Dunkumâs end-of-school party turns into a huge mystery. His cousinâs guide dog, Honey, is suddenly missing after the celebration. At midnight!
Feeling responsible, Dunkum gets some help from the Cul-de-sac Kids. Abby Hunter and the others play detective along with Dunkum. But itâs not all fun and games.
Whoâd want to steal Ellenâs beloved dog in the first place? What will happen if Dunkum doesnât unravel the mystery? Itâs the dognapping adventure of the year!
About the Author
Beverly Lewis first got the idea for this story from her schoolteacher sister. Barbara Birch played a trick on her fourth grade class. Beverly wanted to write about the real-life trick. So she wrote The Upside-Down Day to share the funâthe mystery, tooâwith her many chapter book readers.
âDid you guess Leslieâs secret along with Abby Hunter?â asks Beverly.
Even if you donât have a mystery student in your class, you could have a school spirit day this year.
The Cul-de-sac Kids series offers adventure, mystery, and fun. Be sure to collect each book!
Learn more
Learning to Kill: Stories