The Great Brain #4: The Great Brain at the Academy by John D. Fitzgerald

Author:John D. Fitzgerald [Fitzgerald, John D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction, Humorous Stories, Historical, Adventure
ISBN: 9780425290002
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2017-01-10T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

The Academy Candy Store

I PERSONALLY DIDN’T BELIEVE Tom would last another month at the academy after getting fifteen demerits his first month. And I knew things must be pretty tough for Tom when he wrote me about having to peel spuds and clean the washroom. So tough that he had even written a letter to the Pope to complain.

But I didn’t have any time right then to think about Tom and his troubles, because I had troubles of my own, and his name was Frankie Pennyworth. He was a four-year-old boy whose parents and brother had been killed in a land slide in Red Rock Canyon. Uncle Mark couldn’t find any relatives, so Papa and Mamma had adopted Frankie. Having a foster brother was sure keeping me busy.

Frankie was a real take-over kid. Tom used to swindle me out of my things. But not Frankie. He just took them. I guess he figured that now that he was a member of the family, anything the family owned he owned. Whatever he wanted of mine he would just take. Then he would look at me with those big dark eyes of his and say, “My wagon,” or whatever it was he wanted. He even took my pup Prince this way. I had to borrow my own slingshot from Frankie when I wanted to use it. But I’ll admit that he was generous. Anything I used to own that he now owned he would let me borrow. If you are wondering why I didn’t put up a fight, there were two reasons. Papa said I must humor Frankie because of the great shock the boy had in losing his own family. And having a younger brother, to play with and love was worth everything Frankie took from me.

All I can say is that it was a good thing Tom had a great brain or he wouldn’t have even been able to get passing grades. Between doing the heavy penance Father O’Malley kept giving him and having to clean the washroom, Tom didn’t have much time left in which to do his homework. And unlike Mr. Standish in Adenville, the Jesuit teachers made a fellow do homework on every subject every day.

Tom sure hated cleaning the washroom. He tried to hire other kids to do it for him. But they hated the work as much as he did and nobody would take on the job. Tom knew if he didn’t go for an entire month without getting any demerits that he might be stuck cleaning the washroom until school let out in the spring. Boy, oh, boy, what a revolting thought that was for my brother.

To help take his mind off this degrading job he put his great brain to work on how to get his candy store started. He thought of several plans but had to discard them. He thought of having Phil’s brother Daniel buy candy and throw it over the rock wall. But what if one of the priests

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