The Detention Club Read Free Page B

there’s a permanent smell of gasoline that’s seeped into the wood over the years, but your nose gets used to the stench after you hang out in it for a couple of minutes.
    I explained the letter to Drew.
    â€œSo what’s the big invention?” he asked.
    I explained my mini cats idea.
    â€œMy favorite time with Fluffy was when she was a kitten,” Drew admitted.
    â€œSee? All cat owners probably say that. And isn’t it a shame you can’t always have your cat in the size you enjoy her the most?
    â€œOh, okay, I’m seeing it! God, you’re smart.”
    â€œYou’d think it would get old hearing people say that all the time, but I have to say, not really.”
    â€œBut how would you make Fluffy smaller?”
    â€œEasy. All we have to do is this simple procedure—I hate to even call it that, really—where we make a tiny incision into Fluffy’s back and take out most of her spinal cord.”
    Drew stared at me for a couple of seconds.
    â€œThat’s your idea?” he finally said.
    At first I felt mad that this noninventor would even think to question my idea, but then I reminded myself that not all of us have vision.
    â€œThink about it—the spinal cord is the reason why cats are as big as they are.”
    â€œI’m not sure that would work, though.”
    â€œWell, being an inventor’s all about taking risks.”
    â€œBut she’s my cat, so you’re not taking a risk.”
    â€œBut I am, I really like Fluffy,” I said, but this didn’t convince him so I added, “and I’m willing to risk our relationship, too, that’s how confident I am this idea works.”
    â€œI’d never allow it, but it doesn’t even matter, you wouldn’t be able to perform the surgery. You hate the sight of blood, remember?”
    â€œOnly my own,” I sniffed.
    â€œHonestly, do you really think you could take a scalpel to a cat?”
    I thought about it for a minute.
    â€œI was kinda hoping you’d be up for the job, buddy,” I finally said. “Otherwise I won’t be able to share the patent with you.”
    â€œThere has to be another way.”
    I sighed.
    â€œHonestly, Drew, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little disappointed in you.”
    Nothing I said could guilt him into agreeing to operate on his own cat, though, so we just sat there for a few minutes, trying to think of less gory ways to shrink cats, but nothing came to us. It didn’t matter—just sitting right next to our collection of mica made us both want to get on with the official count, so we switched gears and proceeded with Counting Day. Drew took out his clipboard and pen, and I opened up the safe and carefully pulled out the old green canvas bag his dad let him have a long time ago.
    â€œAre you scared about going to Fenwick Middle?” Drew asked as we started carefully taking out the pieces and lining them up in rows of ten.
    â€œWhy would I be scared?” I asked. “Drew, look at all this mica around us. We had half this number of pieces at the beginning of summer. We’re the best collectors in our grade, remember?”
    â€œBut half the kids are from Hemenway Elementary across town, and we don’t know any of them. And there’s going to be all those older kids. Remember those guys who chased us on their bikes at the beginning of summer?”
    â€œRelax. Once we win the mica contest, it’ll make us the new kings of the middle school, and everyone from Hemenway will worship us, and then on top of that, with me in T.A.G., we’ll be liked by everyone else in no time.”
    â€œPlus, your sister’s the queen of the school, so that should help,” he added.
    â€œSunny and I hate each other, remember?” I said.
    â€œWell, it never hurts to be related to the queen of the school.”
    â€œYou’re probably right,” I admitted. “But it