Calling All Birdbrains Read Free Page B

and smiled that blinding smile again. “Bernie, you’re in luck. I can help repair Lippy.”
    My mouth dropped open. “Repair him? How?”
    â€œMy parents keep birds at home,” Angel said. “They have twenty lovebirds. Oh, my gosh. Sometimes the cooing keeps me up all night.”
    â€œThat’s too bad,” I said.
    â€œAll the Goodeboys love birds,” Angel said. “My cousin Bigboy Goodeboy keeps parakeets in his pockets.”
    â€œThanks for sharing that with me,” I said.
    â€œAnyway,” Angel continued, “I have a very special jar of bird powder in my dorm room. I was going to bring it to my parents as a gift.”
    I stared at him. “Bird powder? What does it do?”
    â€œOh, my gosh and golly. It makes feathers growback instantly,” Angel said. “I’ll go get it for you, Bernie.”
    Angel trotted off toward his dorm. “I hate to see a bird with a bald spot,” he said. “We don’t want that poor thing to catch cold.”
    I stood there and watched him run all the way. “What an angel that dude is,” I told myself. “Maybe I got him all wrong.”
    I carried Lippy back to my room. “In a few minutes, you’re going to be beautiful,” I said. “And you’ll be my lucky bird again.”
    He plopped some green gunk onto my shirt.

    I laughed.

    I set Lippy down onto his perch by the window. A few minutes later, Feenman and Crench shuffled in. Huge wads of pink bubble gum made their cheeks bulge.
    Crench blew a big bubble and popped it with hisfinger. The gum exploded over his face and stuck to his cheeks, his forehead, and his hair. It didn’t seem to bother him. He just left it there.
    Feenman handed me a small yellow jar. “Angel said to give this to you, Big B. What is it?”
    I kissed the jar. “This is precious. Precious!” I said. “It’s feather-growing powder. For Lippy.”
    Crench made a grab for the jar. “Better try some on Feenman first,” he said. “You know. A test.”
    â€œYou’re already a featherbrain !” Feenman said.
    â€œGive it a rest,” I said. “This is serious. You want bad luck for the rest of your life? We’ve gotta fix this bird.”
    I walked over to Lippy and opened the jar. I rubbed some of the yellow powder onto my fingers.
    Feenman and Crench grew silent. The only sound in the room was the snapping and popping of their bubble gum.

    Carefully…
    Carefully…I started to rub the powder onto Lippy’s bald head.
    Would it work?

Chapter 10
A NGEL’S L ITTLE J OKE
    A sneeze exploded from my mouth and nose.
    Powder flew up from the jar in a yellow cloud.

    I sneezed again. A loud, wet, powerful sneeze.
    â€œOh, no !” I let out a cry as I realized I’d SNEEZED so hard, I sneezed some of Lippy’s feathers right off him!

    I sneezed again. Again.
    Feenman sneezed.
    Crench sneezed.
    Feathers flew. Powder flew.
    LIPPY sneezed!

    Belzer stumbled into the room. “Yo. What’s up?”

    Belzer sneezed so hard, his pants fell down. He reached for his pants—and sneezed again.
    I sneezed some more. Sneezed so hard, I couldn’t breathe.
    Lippy sneezed. More feathers went flying.
    I turned away from him—and saw someone standing in the doorway watching us.

    Angel Goodeboy.
    He raised his hands to his round, pink cheeks. His blue eyes went wide. “Oh, my gosh and golly,” he said.
    A grin spread over his angelic face. “Did I make a little mistake?” he asked. “Did I accidentally give you the jar of sneezing powder I got from a joke Web site?”
    He pressed his hands to his cheeks. “Oh, my gosh and golly. My bad. My bad! How could I make such a horrid mistake?”
    He turned and hurried away. I heard him laughing all the way down the stairs.
    That proved it once and for all. Angel was no angel.

    I sneezed again—and watched