No Girls Allowed (Dogs Okay)

SMART TIMES TEN
                              

S
CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAB!”

That's my sister, Isabelle. She must have found the hunk of cheddar cheese I stuck in her underwear drawer. It's been there for two and a half days. Remind me to write that down in my inventor's notebook. It's my latest experiment to see how long it takes your sister to find cheese hidden in her underwear drawer.

Isabelle and I are twins. But we are nothing alike. Isabelle is smart times ten. She speaks German. She can say the alphabet backward in less than five seconds. She likes to use big words. It's enough to make you
kotzen
. That's German for “puke.”

 

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales
are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product
of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons,
living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

ALADDIN
An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
Text copyright © 2009 by Trudi Strain True it
Illustrations copyright © 2009 by Jim Paillot
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
ALADDIN and related logo are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Designed by Karin Paprocki
The text of this book was set in Minister Light.
Manufactured in the United States of America
First Aladdin edition February 2009
2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
True it, Trudi Strain.
No girls allowed (dogs okay) / by Trudi True it.
p. cm.—(Secrets of a lab rat ; #1)
Summary: Fearless nine-year-old “Scab” McNally tries to get his twin sister's help in convincing their
parents to let them get a dog, but when he embarrasses her in school with a particularly obnoxious
invention, it looks like he has lost her cooperation forever.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-7592-2
ISBN-10: 1-4169-7592-6
eISBN: 978-1-4391-5347-5
[1. Twins—Fiction. 2. Brothers and sisters—Fiction. 3. Behavior—Fiction. 4. Schools—Fiction.]
I. Title. II. Series: True it, Trudi. Secrets of a lab rat ; #1.
PZ7.T78124 No 2009
[Fic]—22
2008022329

For Austin,
and every boy who loves a dog.
Or wants to.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I
am so very grateful to Liesa Abrams, an absolute joy of an editor, who saw into Scab's heart. And mine. Thanks to my agent, Rosemary Stimola, for her wise guidance, faith in me, and determination to find the right home for Scab. I am indebted to the delightfully talented Jim Paillot for somehow reading my mind. Thanks also to my family—my parents (a quirky girl's best friends), Jennifer (sister, champion, and a heck of a publicist), Lori Dru (protective big sis) and brother, Dean, for teaching me early on the value of a good adventure, and a fully stocked first aid kit. A special nod goes to the young people who inspire me: Marie, Austin, Trina, Bailey, and Carter—I adore you. And, finally, with love to William, whose smile I live for.

I
'm kicking the leg of the chair outside the vice principal's office. I'm snapping my fingers while kicking the leg of the chair outside the vice principal's office. I'm sounding like a whistling firecracker while snapping my fingers while—

“Scab McNally!”

I stop. Then I start again. This time I kick lightly so Mrs. Lipwart doesn't bark at me. That's not her real name. But who can remember her real name with that pink, knobby thing on her top lip? Whenever Mrs. Lipwart gets mad, the knob changes color. I can make it turn purple.

“Pssst!”

My best friend, Doyle Ferguson, is outside in the hall. I knew he wouldn't forget me. We're both in Miss Sweetandsour's fourth-grade class. That's not her real name either. It's just Miss Sweeten. But she can turn sour in a flash if you flick a gooey snotball at Cloey Zittle.
Ka-zing!