Lions, Elephants, and Lies by Bill Myers

Author:Bill Myers [Myers, Bill]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUVENILE FICTION / Religious / Christian / Action & Adventure, JUVENILE FICTION / Religious / Christian / Family
ISBN: 9781684285594
Publisher: Focus on the Family
Published: 2023-06-06T00:00:00+00:00

10

Major Misadventure Times Two

SCHOOL FINALLY ENDED, and the great spelling bee (better known as the great lie) was about to begin.

Mrs. Crawly frittered and fretted about the auditorium, afraid no one would show. (What did she expect? It was just a spelling bee for seventh-graders.)

Meanwhile, the twins stood backstage making last-minute preparations.

“Okay,” Jessica said. “It’s just you against the top speller from each of the other classes. You can do this.”

“You mean you can do it,” Janelle said.

“That’s what I said. Easy peezy, no sweat.”

“Except for my hands.” They looked at Janelle’s hands. Not only were they shaking, but her palms were wetter than a swimming pool in a flooded river in the middle of the ocean.

“Just nerves,” Jessica said. “I promise you, this will be the very last time.”

Janelle took a deep breath.

“And remember to limp,” Jessica said.

“Because . . .”

“You hurt your leg in gym class, remember?” She reached for Janelle’s glasses. “Because you were wearing these stupid glasses.” She pulled them from Janelle’s face and added, “Which you won’t be wearing now because—”

Another voice answered, “Because she’s you.”

The girls spun around to see Chloe stepping from behind the curtains.

“How long have you been there?” Jessica demanded.

“Long enough,” Chloe said. “I knew Jessica was too dim for any of this to be real.”

“What are you talking about?” Jessica said as she slipped on Janelle’s glasses. “I’m Janelle.”

“And look at my leg,” Janelle said, taking a step and pretending to limp.

“Uh, it’s the other one, sis.”

“Exactly,” Janelle said, switching legs.

Chloe snickered. “What type of fool do you think I am?”

“How many types are there?” Jessica asked.

Janelle whispered, “I don’t think that’s helping.”

“So what are you going to do?” Jessica demanded. “Rat on us?”

“Hmm,” Chloe said. She would have frowned, but that would put a wrinkle in the perfect skin of her perfect forehead. “If I do that, our class will lose. Of course, you would be totally in the wrong, but Mrs. Crawly might also blame me.”

“Ah,” Janelle said, pretending to see her point.

Chloe continued. “And if I don’t tell on you, our class will probably win, and you’ll both owe me big time!”

“Owe you by doing what?” Janelle said.

“By joining my devoted fans, silly.”

“Meaning . . .”

“Oh, you know. Opening doors so I don’t dirty my hands, fetching lunch so I don’t stand in line with common people, and of course, answering all my fan mail.”

“You have fan mail?” Janelle asked.

“Not yet, but soon. With this face, this hair, these clothes . . . how could I not?”

“Listen,” Jessica said, “I don’t know who you think you are, but there’s no way—”

“Oh hi, Mom!” Janelle cried.

Jessica spun around to see Mom join them.

“What are you doing here?” Janelle asked.

“I’ve come to take you home,” she said.

“Home?”

“To help Stephie with Bubba.”

Before either girl could answer, Chloe spoke up. “Well, hello, Mrs. Mulligan. Aren’t you looking lovely today?”

“Well thank you, Chloe.”

“And might I say those jeans you’ve selected are a tasteful match with that lovely sweatshirt.”

If Janelle rolled her eyes any harder, they’d just keep spinning around in her head.

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