Punk'd and Skunked Read Free Page A

dorm will go to Preppy Prep Prep for a week.”
    â€œMy bags are packed, sir,” I said. I held up mymachine. “Maybe you’d like to save time and pick the winner now.”
    The Upchuck ignored me. “Nyce House will go first,” he said. “Tell us about your dorm’s invention, Sherman.”
    Sherman stepped forward. He smiled his perfect smile at the judges. He held his invention in one hand. It glowed in the spotlight.
    â€œIt’s a solid platinum cell phone,” he said.
    â€œVery good, soldier,” said Mr. Skruloose. “That’s a beauty. How did you make it?”
    â€œI didn’t make it,” Sherman replied. “My parents bought it for me. It’s worth five thousand dollars.”
    Mrs. Heinie squinted at it through her thick glasses. “Oh, my. You mean you didn’t invent it?”
    Sherman shook his head. “No. But that’s not the important part. Let me tell you the important part.”
    Headmaster Upchuck scratched his bald head. “Important part?”
    Sherman nodded. “I’m going to sell the platinum and give all the money to you three judges!” he said.
    A grin spread over Headmaster Upchuck’s pink face. “Oh. Very good,” he said. “Very good invention,Sherman. I like it!”
    â€œSoldier, I never take bribes,” Skruloose said. “But you’ve won me over with this one. I salute you!” He gave a snappy, two-fingered salute. “Very clever, soldier. Excellent!”
    Mrs. Heinie was smiling, too. “I think we have a winner,” she said. “But let’s see what the girls invented.”
    April-May June stepped to one side of the stage with her friend Sharonda Davis. They pulled out a HUGE machine, about eight feet tall. It had pipes and coils and electrical wires, and two long arms with metal pinchers at their ends.
    April-May and Sharonda walked offstage and came back pushing a small bed. They lined it up next to the machine.
    â€œLet me show you how this works,” Sharonda said. She pushed a button on the machine, and the two pincher-arms started to move.
    â€œOur invention makes the bed for you in the morning,” April-May said. “Look. It even fluffs up the pillow.”
    The two arms straightened the bedcovers. Thenthey fluffed the pillow.
    â€œWatch carefully,” Sharonda said. “When the machine is finished, it folds up and becomes a couch.”
    The machine folded in on itself. A huge cushion slid up. The two girls sat down on the couch.

    The auditorium roared with applause.
    â€œPretty good,” Headmaster Upchuck said. “Pretty good.”
    â€œNot as good as Sherman’s phone,” Skruloose said. “Of course, the money he’s going to give us has nothing to do with my decision.”
    Sherman ran over and pushed another hundred-dollar bill into Skruloose’s shirt pocket.
    â€œWe should stop here,” Mrs. Heinie said. “But I suppose we have to see what my Rotten House boys have done.”
    Skruloose motioned to me. “Stand at attention, soldier. Show us your invention.”
    â€œOh, wow. It’s showtime. Here goes,” I said. “Wish me luck, dudes.”

Chapter 8
AN INSIDE-OUT NOSE
    I stepped to the front of the stage. “I’d like to start out by singing the Preppy Prep Prep school song,” I said. “I learned it because I know that my friends and I will be going there right after we win the contest.”
    I took a deep breath and started to sing.
    â€œ Where does everyone keep in step, step, step?
    At Preppy Prep Prep…Preppy Prep Prep… ”
    Some kids started to hiss and boo. Guys screamed for me to stop. Fights broke out.
    â€œSOLDIER, JUST SHOW US THE INVENTION!” Skruloose bellowed, waving a fist in the air.
    â€œThe invention?” I said. “But I have six more verses of the song.”
    â€œBOOOOOO!”
    â€œOkay, okay. Here it