50 - Calling All Creeps! (8 page)

But she wasn’t kidding around now. She knew I didn’t belong in the kitchen.

Her black curls pressed against her hair net. She tilted her head, hands in
her white apron pocket, waiting for me to answer her question.

I glanced to the door. Saw the four Creeps peeking in.

“Mrs. Marshall,” I whispered. “Don’t serve the macaroni.”

She squinted at me. “Huh? Speak up, young man.”

“Don’t serve the macaroni,” I whispered, a little louder. I couldn’t say it
much louder. Wart and his three friends would hear me. “Please—don’t let anyone eat the
macaroni,” I begged.

“What are you saying?” she demanded loudly. “Why are you whispering?”

“Don’t serve the macaroni,” I repeated, still in a whisper. “It’s poisoned!”

She uttered an angry groan. “Young man, our macaroni is delicious,” she
declared. “I’m so sick and tired of jokes about our food.”

“She’s right!” Another cook, Mrs. Davis, chimed in from across the room. She
waved a long mixing spoon at me. “We make good, wholesome food here. It’s like
home-cooked. And we’re tired of all the horrible jokes.”

“We have feelings, you know,” Mrs. Marshall added.

“We use real cheese in the macaroni,” Mrs. Davis called, still waving her
spoon. “None of that artificial stuff. And real macaroni noodles.”

“That’s right!” the third cook called. She was new. I didn’t know her name.
“Give him a taste, Alice. Give him a taste of the macaroni. He’ll see how good
it is.”

Mrs. Marshall leaned over me. “Good idea. Would you like a little bowl of
macaroni?” She stepped over to the food counter.

“Try it. You won’t make any more jokes,” Mrs. Davis said.

Mrs. Marshall started to spoon out a little bowl of macaroni for me.

I backed up toward the door. “No. Please. No thank you,” I sputtered.

I reached the doorway. “I… I had a big breakfast,” I told them.

I turned and ran out. And bumped into the four Creeps. They all cheered.

“Commander… you have done it!” Wart cried happily. “You have planted the
seeds!”

They cheered again, and clapped and slapped me on the back. All four of them
were grinning their heads off.

“Now we just have to wait till this afternoon,” Brenda declared. “This school
will be crawling with Creeps!”

I didn’t go near the lunchroom at lunchtime. I hid in a stairwell instead. My
stomach was growling, but I didn’t care.

I couldn’t bear to see all the kids gobbling down the macaroni. Swallowing
the little seeds that would turn them into squirrel-eating Creeps.

A school full of purple lizard monsters, I thought miserably. And all my
fault… my fault.

All afternoon, I didn’t hear a word my teacher said. Iris tried to talk to
me, but I pretended to be listening really hard to the teacher.

I sat at my desk, studying the other kids. Watching for signs that they were
changing. Waiting for the seeds I had planted to do their evil.

But I didn’t see anything odd. No bumpy purple skin. No long, flicking
tongues.

The kids all appeared normal.

After school, the four Creeps were waiting for me in the playground. They surrounded me and led me to our hiding place in
the woods across the street.

Wart angrily kicked a stone out of his way. David and Jared were muttering
unhappily and shaking their heads.

“It didn’t work,” Brenda said softly. “The seeds didn’t work. No one
changed.”

“What went wrong?” Wart asked. “What could have gone wrong?”

They all stared at me.

Suddenly, I knew the answer. I knew exactly why none of the kids had turned
into Creeps. “No one ate the macaroni,” I blurted out.

I could have
kicked
myself. Why did I tell them? Why did I tip them
off?

They narrowed their eyes at me. “Huh?”

“No one
ever
eats the macaroni,” I said. I’d already started. I had to
explain. “It’s sort of a school rule. The macaroni hasn’t been touched by anyone
in years and years!”

All four of them groaned.

Wart stepped up to me and stared at me suspiciously. “How do you know that,
Commander?” he demanded. “You arrived here only a few days before we did. So how
do you know that the macaroni hasn’t been eaten in years?”

I had to think fast. If they discovered that I wasn’t a Creep, they’d
probably disintegrate me—or eat me—or something!

“Uh… one of the kids in my class told me,” I replied. I lowered my head.
“I should have remembered sooner. I have failed you. Our mission is a failure.”

“No, it isn’t,” Brenda chimed in. “I have more seeds—and a new plan. A
better plan.”

The other Creeps turned to her. “Tell us your plan,” Jared demanded. “We
don’t have much time before the seeds lose their power.”

“It’s simple,” Brenda replied with a shrug. “We bake the seeds into cookies.
Then we hand out the cookies for free at the school bake sale on Saturday.”

“Excellent idea!” David cried.

“Yaaaay!” Wart and Jared cheered.

“Everyone gets a free cookie,” Brenda said, grinning an evil grin. “And
everyone becomes a Creep.”

Brenda’s grin made me feel cold all over. I swallowed hard. My mouth suddenly
felt so dry.

I knew that her plan would work. I knew that no one in my school could pass
up a free cookie.

What can I do? I asked myself. How can I stop them?

They all turned to me. “Shall we bake the cookies, Commander?” Wart demanded.
“Shall we put Brenda’s plan into action?”

I stared back at them. They were eagerly waiting for my answer. I wondered if
they could see my knees shaking.

“Well…” I took a deep breath. I had to try something. I had to think of
something
to stop them.

“I don’t like Brenda’s plan,” I said, trying to keep my voice low and steady.
“I think we must prepare the seeds for a later time. I think we should bury the
seeds in the ground and see if they sprout. That way, we’ll have lots and
lots
of seeds!”

I know. I know. It was a really lame idea.

But it was the only thing that popped into my mind.

Would they buy it? I wondered.

Would they forget about Brenda’s plan and go along with it?

Would they agree to bury the seeds?

No way.

It took me only a few seconds to realize I had made the worst mistake of my
life.

“Bury the seeds?” Brenda cried. “
Bury
them?”

The four of them moved in closer. They formed a tight circle around me.

I glanced nervously around, searching the woods for the best path to escape.
But they had me trapped.

“Are you sure you are our Commander?” Wart demanded.

David and Jared sneered at me. “A Creep Commander would never tell us to
bury
the Identity Seeds,” Jared said menacingly.

Wart stuck his face up close to mine. “Prove you are our Commander,” he
ordered.

“Yes. Prove you are a Creep!” David cried.

“Prove it! Prove it!” All four of them began to chant.

I gasped and tried to back away. But they had me surrounded.

“Prove it! Prove it!”

And as they chanted, they began to change once again. Their skin grew bumpy and turned bright purple. Their hair slid
into their heads, and their jaws stretched into long, toothy snouts.

“Prove it! Prove it!” they chanted. “Prove that you’re a Creep!”

I stared at them, unable to move, unable to run. What could I do?

“Prove you’re a Creep!” they demanded. “Prove it—now!”

Eyes flashing wildly, purple bumps quivering all over their bodies, they
slithered toward me.

And I knew I was doomed.

“Prove it! Prove it!”

Their long, bumpy tongues flicked at me as they chanted.

“Prove that you’re one of us! Change now! Let us see you change like us!”

I swallowed hard. They were chanting for me to change, staring, waiting.

They’d have to wait a long, long time!

“Change! Change! Change!”

They were about to learn the truth about me.

I decided I had to confess. And beg them for mercy. “Uh… guys…?” I
started.

But then a girl’s shout rose over the chanting of the Creeps. “Stop at once!”
she cried.

We all turned to see Iris come running out from behind a tall evergreen. The
four Creeps uttered grunts of surprise. Their eyes rolled wildly in their purple
lizard heads.

“I am the Commander’s second-in-command!”

Iris declared, her long earrings jangling wildly. “I am his sergeant!”

The Creeps pulled their long, bumpy tongues into their snouts. They stared at
Iris, suddenly silent.

“The Commander and I do not choose to transform now,” Iris told them sternly.
“We do not have time. We must bake the cookies now. We must prepare the seeds
for the bake sale.”

“Yaaaay!” The Creeps cheered Iris.

“Thank you, Sergeant,” Brenda said. “I am glad you like my plan.”

“Your plan will work,” Iris replied. “We will turn the whole school into
Creeps like us. Quickly. Let us hurry to my house and bake the cookies.”

The four lizard creatures offered up another cheer. They slapped tongues.
Then they quickly began to change back into kids.

The purple on their skin faded. The quivering bumps slid into their skin.
Their snouts shrunk and their faces twisted back into the faces of the kids I
knew.

As they changed back, I leaned close to Iris and whispered in her ear. “Iris—you’re really one of them?”

“Yes, Commander,” she replied, keeping her eyes on the four Creeps. “Do not
worry. This new plan will not fail.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but no sound came out. I couldn’t believe
it. Iris—a Creep!

We began making our way through the woods. Iris led the way to her house.

The afternoon sun was sinking behind the bare trees. The air suddenly felt
cold and heavy. I couldn’t stop the chills that rolled down my back.

I’d had a close call in the woods. Iris had saved me. But I knew my troubles
weren’t over.

I was in terrible danger.

So were all the kids at school.

We stepped into Iris’ kitchen. Why did Iris save me? I wondered. She knows
I’m not one of them. She knows I’m not a Creep.

So, why did she rescue me from the other four Creeps?

As the four of them took out flour and eggs and other ingredients, I pulled
Iris aside. “You know I’m not a Creep,” I whispered. “Why did you rescue me?”

“I’m not a Creep either,” she whispered back. “But I saw you were in big
trouble.”

“How did you know—?” I started. I glanced back into the kitchen to make
sure the Creeps weren’t watching us.

“You were supposed to meet me on the playground—remember?” Iris whispered.
“I saw them drag you into the woods. I followed you. I heard everything. And I
saw everything.”

“Well, thanks for saving me,” I replied. “But now you are in danger too.”

She nodded. “I know. But I had to save you—didn’t I?”

“How are we going to save the rest of the school?” I whispered.

“Good question,” Iris replied. “We have to bake the cookies now. We don’t
have a choice. When we get to the bake sale, we’ll figure out a way to keep kids
from eating them.”

“Yeah. Sure.” I rolled my eyes.

How would we keep kids from grabbing up free cookies?

How?

On Saturday morning, Iris and I and the four Creeps carried our big trays of
cookies into the gym.

What a crowd!

Every kid in school was there. They were running back and forth, carrying
trays of baked goods to the tables. Talking and laughing and kidding around.

A podium with a microphone had been set up under the basket at one end of the
gym. The long row of tables stretched from one wall to the other.

As Iris and I walked to the tables, the four Creeps stayed close at our
sides. Protecting the cookies. Watching our every move.

The cookies with the Identity Seeds inside were piled high on the two trays.
We had baked hundreds of them. More than enough for every kid in school.

We passed by a group of kids gobbling down brownies. At the near table, Ms.
Williamson, our teacher, was busy cutting slices in a cheesecake. I saw dozens
of plates of cookies spread over the tables.

Signs were posted, giving the prices. Just about everything cost a dollar.
Nothing was free.

Our cookies were the only free items.

How could I stop kids from taking them? How could I make sure that no one ate
them?

We headed to the tables. But Wart stepped in front of us. “Start giving them
out now,” he urged.

“Yes. There’s no reason to wait,” Brenda agreed. “Let’s pass out the cookies.
The gym is totally jammed with kids. In a few minutes, we’ll have dozens of new
Creeps.”

Wart grabbed for the tray.

David and Jared pulled the plastic wrapping off the cookies.

I’ve got to act—now! I knew.

But what could I do?

As Wart lifted the cookie tray from my hands, I had an idea.

I dodged past him. Swung my way around a group of chocolate cake eaters.
Leaped behind the podium where Tasha was about to make a welcoming speech. And
grabbed the microphone.

“Attention! Attention, everyone!” I screamed.

A loud squeal from the speakers got everyone’s attention. My panicky voice
echoed off the high gym walls.

“Don’t eat the free cookies!” I shouted. “Please—listen to me, everyone!
Don’t eat the free cookies! You will all become monsters! Bumps will grow all
over you, and you’ll look like purple lizard creatures! And… and… you’ll
eat squirrels whole!”

Everyone laughed. The laughter drowned out my desperate words.

“You’ve
got
to believe me!” I shrieked into the microphone. I could
see Wart and David running toward the podium. “You’ve
got
to! Stay away
from the free cookies!”