The Wizzle War Read Free Page A

head,” explained Mark. He grabbed one of the rolls from Wilbur’s plate. “Here, Sidney, eat.”
    Sidney ate.
    “He’s the first casualty of the dress code,” declared Bruno decisively.
    Elmer Drimsdale rushed over with a glass of chocolate milk. “Here, Sidney, drink.”
    Sidney drank.
    “It will be good for him,” Elmer explained as Sidney mindlessly drained the glass. “There is a mild stimulant in chocolate.”
    “Do you think he’s okay?” asked Boots anxiously.
    “Hey,” exclaimed Larry, “five minutes to assembly! We’d better get going!”
    * * *
    “Good morning, boys,” said Mr. Sturgeon, standing up at the podium to address the assembled student body. “Welcome to Macdonald Hall and, in most cases, welcome back. For those of you who are new here, I am Mr. Sturgeon, your headmaster.” He paused to clear his throat carefully. “This is going to be a — special year at Macdonald Hall. There will be some changes made. Doubtless you have noticed a few already, for instance, the dress code which we have not had before.
    “I would now like to introduce to you the gentleman who is in charge of these changes. It is his responsibility to examine and evaluate our systems and to alter them where he deems necessary. Mr. Walter C. Wizzle.”
    There was a bit of dutiful applause, but it was thinly scattered throughout the auditorium. Most of the boys had already put two and two together and blamed Mr. Wizzle for the dress code and their present discomfort.
    Mr. Wizzle made his bouncing way up to the microphone. “Good morning, gentlemen,” he greeted the boys. “I must say that you’re a very smart-looking lot. I’m sure this is an improvement on previous opening assemblies.”
    There was a murmur from the crowd which Mr. Wizzle didn’t seem to notice and which the Headmaster quelled with one cold look. Mr. Wizzle cleared his throat and launched into the speech he had prepared.
    “We live in a rapidly changing world,” he began, “a worldwhere advanced technology creates limitless possibilities …”
    “Uh-oh,” whispered Bruno to Boots in the fifth row. “It’s going to be one of those Let’s-meet-the-challenge-of-the-future speeches.”
    Mr. Wizzle was warming to his subject. “As an outstanding academic institution, Macdonald Hall must keep pace with these changes. And as the citizens of tomorrow, its students must be prepared to meet the challenges of the future.”
    Bruno nudged Boots. “What did I tell you?”
    “Shhh!” whispered Boots nervously.
    “I will be spending a lot of time with all of you,” Mr. Wizzle continued briskly, “helping you meet these challenges. I will be attending your classes, making changes in some of them and organizing others; I will be planning new extracurricular activities; I will be making reports and recommendations at staff and administration meetings, and I will oversee their implementation. In short, I will be working with all of you to make Macdonald Hall a better place.”
    “I like it just the way it is!” fumed Bruno.
    “Shhh!”
whispered Boots. “The Fish is looking at
us
!”
    “In this new millennium, any school that doesn’t keep pace — including Macdonald Hall — is in danger of becoming a dinosaur. And you all know,” said Mr. Wizzle, smiling at his own joke, “what happened to the dinosaurs.”
    Bruno’s face was turning a deep beet-red.
    “We must ensure that Macdonald Hall doesn’t suffer the same fate, or you young men will ultimately be the losers.”
    Bruno squirmed in his chair.
    “Right now this school is simply out of date.”
    Flaming with fury, Bruno leapt to his feet and opened his mouth to yell, but two hands clamped over his mouth just in time. Boots and Wilbur, flanking Bruno, gently but firmly eased him back into his seat.
    “Now,” Mr. Wizzle said, “here are the changes that I have already implemented. There is the dress code, to which there will be no exceptions. There is a system of demerit