Miss Brown Is Upside Down! Read Free Page A

do a little more work on the Bridge of Love.

Finally, after a week, we were ready for the Brain Games. We fixed the Death Machine (complete with rocket launcher) so it was easier to steer. We rebuilt the Bridge of Love so Emily could stand on it without crushing it. The only thing we had to worry about was the general knowledgepart of the Brain Games.
    â€œDon’t worry,” said Andrea. “I memorized the dictionary and the encyclopedia.”
    The Brain Games were held on Friday night. We had to hold them at Dirk School because their auditorium has a bigger stage. We loaded up our props and rode a bus over to Dirk.
    When we pulled up to the front of the school, guess who was standing there? It was Morgan Brocklebank. She’s this third-grade girl who is the star of the Dirk School TV station. She does their morning announcements every day.
    â€œWell, well, well,” Morgan Brocklebank said when she saw us get off the bus. “If itisn’t the kids from Ella Mentry School. Are you ready to lose?”
    â€œYour face is gonna lose!” I said, pointing my finger at her.
    â€œOh, yeah?” Morgan Brocklebank replied. “I don’t think so. We’re going to PizzaWorld.”
    â€œYou’re going to LoserLand!” Ryan told her.

    Miss Brown got between us and Morgan Brocklebank.
    â€œEnough of that,” she warned.
    I had never been to Dirk School before. It was big. We had to walk a million hundred miles to the auditorium. When we got there, all the seats were filled. Besides the Dirk students, it looked like their parents, grandparents, nephews, nieces, aunts, and uncles were there. Our parents were in the audience, too, but there were only a few of them.
    â€œIt looks like Dork School has homefield advantage,” Alexia said.
    â€œDon’t worry about it,” Miss Brown assured us. “You’re going to do fine.”
    When our team and the Dirk team got up onstage, everybody clapped their hands. * Then some guy climbed up onstage. I recognized him right away. It was Dr. Carbles, the president of the Board of Education.
    I used to think Mr. Klutz was important, like he was the king of the school. But if Mr. Klutz is the king of the school, then Dr. Carbles is the king of the world. He probably sits on a throne and has servants fan him with feathers. I saw that in a movie once.
    â€œWelcome to the Brain Games,” Dr. Carbles said into the microphone. “Thiscompetition is sponsored by the Jiggly gelatin company. It jiggles, so you know it’s good.”
    Dr. Carbles introduced Mr. Klutz and Mr. Wilson, who is the principal of Dirk School. They got up onstage and shook hands. I remembered that Dr. Carbles and Mr. Klutz went to high school together, so they’ve known each other for a long time.
    â€œOn the left we have the third-grade students from Ella Mentry School,” said Dr. Carbles.
    Our parents clapped and cheered.
    â€œAnd on the right we have the third-grade students from Dirk School,” said Dr. Carbles.
    The whole audience yelled and screamed and shrieked and hooted and hollered. I looked across the stage at Morgan Brocklebank. She was giving me the evil eye.

    â€œRound one of the Brain Games will be a test of general knowledge,” said Dr. Carbles. “But first, a few short words from our sponsor . . .”

The lights were dimmed, and a giant video screen came down in the middle of the stage. Then this man and lady appeared on the screen. They were way too smiley.
    â€œDo you like eating things?” the man asked. “Who doesn’t, right? If we didn’t eat things, we’d die.”
    â€œAnd do you like drinking liquids?” thelady asked. “Everybody does. In fact, if we didn’t drink liquids, we would die.”
    â€œThe only thing better than eating and drinking,” said the man, “is when you can eat and drink at the same time!”
    â€œThat’s why our whole