Earthling Ambassador Read Free Page A

down when she noticed Katie on the other side of the classroom behaving very strangely. She was twirling her arms in circles and turning her head to one side and opening her mouth.
    â€œMmmm?” Nicola was halfway between sitting and standing.
    Katie held her nose and jumped up and down. Aha! Katie was pretending to swim because Nicola’s new bathing suit was purple! How could she have forgotten? She stood back up and gave Katie a grateful smile.
    Now there were only two people left standing.
    Nicola Berry. And Greta Gretch.
    Sworn enemies.
    It was like a football match.There were the Greta fans and the Nicola fans.
    The atmosphere was electric.
    â€œEighth question.” Georgio turned a page of his notebook with a flourish. He looked as if he were enjoying himself. “Does your favorite beach begin with the letter B ?”
    â€œBeauty Beach,” said Greta smugly.The Greta supporters thumped their desks.
    â€œBuddy Beach!” said Nicola.
    â€œNicola to win! Nicola to win!” chanted the Nicola supporters.
    â€œQuiet, please,” said Georgio. “The next question is very important.”
    The class became so quiet, you could have heard a pin drop.You really could have, because Sarah McCabe dropped a safety pin and everybody did hear it.
    â€œThe ninth question is—and I don’t want to hear anything except from Nicola and Greta when I ask this question—are you good at writing stories?”
    Apart from a few muffled exclamations and stifled gasps there was only silence.
    â€œGreta,” said Georgio gently, “I’d like you to answer first.”
    Everybody waited for Greta’s answer.
    â€œYes,” she said.
    Nicola snapped her head around to stare at Greta.
    Greta was hopeless at writing stories.They were boring, there were always a lot of spelling mistakes, and you could tell she stole lines from TV shows. Greta was good at geography and geometry and gymnastics and just about everything else there was to be good at. Nicola was good at writing stories. It was her only thing. Everybody in the class knew that perfectly well. Even Mrs. Zucchini’s face became a little less zucchinilike when Nicola read her stories out loud.
    â€œIs that true, Greta?” asked Georgio.
    â€œYes,” lied Greta steadfastly, and looked straight ahead at Georgio’s stomach.
    â€œLook at me, Greta,” said Georgio.
    To look Georgio in the eyes, Greta had to tilt her head so far back she was practically doing a backflip.
    â€œARE YOU GOOD AT WRITING STORIES?”
    Georgio roared, and his friendly blue eyes turned red with fury.
    â€œNot really, I guess.”
    Did that tiny, frightened squeak of a voice really belong to bossy Greta Gretch? Nicola couldn’t believe it. Greta sat down and put her head on her desk and began to cry noisily and sniffily, thumping her fists and banging her feet.
    â€œAnd your answer, Nicola?” asked Georgio.
    Nicola’s voice had gone all croaky with excitement. “My answer is yes, pretty good.”
    Georgio allowed the class a few seconds of cheering before he said, “Now don’t get too excited, please. I’ve come this far before with others who still lost out on the tenth question. HOWEVER, if Nicola answers yes to the next question, then SHE IS THE EARTHLING AMBASSADOR!”
    Greta Gretch burst into a fresh flood of jealous tears.
    â€œOh, do shut up,” said Georgio irritably. “Now, the tenth question is . . .”

CHAPTER 4
    Nicola closed her eyes and waited for the tenth question.
    â€œHave you ever convinced somebody to change their mind when their mind was already made up?”
    Nicola opened her eyes and blinked.What a funny question.
    She thought about her mom when she made her mind up that it was Nicola’s turn to clean the bathroom, even though outside it was the most beautiful sunny day in the history of the world. Had Nicola ever convinced her to change her mind?