Open Wide Read online

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Copyright Page

  Title Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  For Mandy and Ian, who have

  the brightest smiles—N.K.

  For Ben and Janet, who

  keep us smiling!—J&W

  GROSSET & DUNLAP

  Published by the Penguin Group

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  Text copyright © 2007 by Nancy Krulik. Illustrations copyright © 2007 by John

  and Wendy. All rights reserved. Published by Grosset & Dunlap, a division of

  Penguin Young Readers Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

  GROSSET & DUNLAP is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. S.A.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

  eISBN : 978-1-101-09964-3

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  Chapter 1

  “Emma, what are you doing?” Katie Carew asked her pal Emma Weber curiously. It was right after lunch on Monday, and Emma was by the sink in the girls’ bathroom.

  Emma opened her mouth to speak. White foam bubbled out around her lips. “’Rushing my ’eeth,” she said.

  “I know you’re brushing your teeth,” Katie told her. “But why here?” Katie had never seen anyone brush her teeth in school before.

  “I had a cavity filled at Dr. Sang’s on Saturday,” Emma explained to Katie. “And I don’t ever want to have another one. Dr. Sang told me to brush really well after every meal— and that means lunch, too!”

  Dr. Sang was also Katie’s dentist. He was a nice enough guy. He was even kind of funny, the way he wore that weird smock with the pictures of teeth all over it. But Katie didn’t like going to his office one bit.

  First of all, there was the smell. The whole room stank of a mix of bleach and mint mouthwash.

  The tube that sucked the water out of her mouth really grossed Katie out, too. Whenever it was in her mouth, she wound up drooling all over the paper bib Dr. Sang made her wear.

  And then there were those black plastic glasses she had to wear when Dr. Sang took X-rays of her mouth. They always made her nose itch.

  Basically, Katie hated going to the dentist.

  “I never had a cavity,” Katie told Emma. “Imagine—a hole in your tooth. Ugh!”

  “Dr. Sang filled mine up with this silver-looking stuff,” Emma told Katie.

  She opened her mouth wide so Katie could see all the way in the back. Sure enough, there was a piece of silver inside one of Emma’s lower back teeth.

  “Wow! Is that real silver?” Katie asked.

  Emma nodded.

  “Did it hurt when Dr. Sang filled your tooth?” Katie asked her.

  “Not after he gave me a shot to stop the pain,” Emma replied.

  Katie gasped. “A shot? In your mouth?”

  “Yeah,” Emma told her. “With a big, long needle. And then, when my mouth was all numb, he started drilling my tooth.”

  Katie gulped. She definitely didn’t want to get a shot in her mouth. And as far as she knew, a drill was something construction workers used to put a hole in a wall, not something a dentist used in your mouth.

  “It wasn’t so bad,” Emma told her. “And look what Dr. Sang gave me after it was all finished.” Emma pointed at one of the belt loops on her jeans. She’d attached two key chains to one of the loops. Each key chain had a plastic tooth on it.

  Katie agreed that the key chains were definitely cool. But they weren’t cool enough to make it worth having a drill in her mouth.

  “You know what? Starting tomorrow I’m bringing a toothbrush to school, too,” she told Emma quickly.

  “Cool,” Emma replied. “We’ll have a tooth-brushing party after lunch.”

  Katie giggled. “And tomorrow is the perfect day to start a tooth-brushing party.”

  “Why?” Emma asked her.

  “Because today is Monday,” Katie answered. “And that makes tomorrow Toothday!”

  “From now on, every day is tooth day!” Emma exclaimed, placing her toothbrush back in its case.

  Chapter 2

  “Okay, watch me. This is my special runway walk,” Suzanne Lock told the group of girls that were gathered around her on the playground after lunch. She lifted her head high, straightened her back, and took long strides across the yard.

  Katie rolled her eyes. Her best friend was showing off . . . again.

  “It’s very important for a model to have her own special walk when she is modeling clothes,” Suzanne explained. “A model has to stand out. At least a supermodel does. And that’s what I’m going to be.”

  “More like a supermoron,” George Brennan shouted as he and his best friend, Kevin Camilleri, tossed a football back and forth.

  Kevin laughed. “And Suzanne won’t have to practice for that,” he said. “She’s already an expert.” He lifted his nose in the air, sucked in his cheeks, and imitated the way Suzanne was walking.

  “Oh, that’s beautiful,” George told him, pretending to take Kevin’s picture with an imaginary camera. “Smile for the camera!”

  Suzanne stuck her tongue out at the boys. George and Kevin stuck their tongues out at Suzanne.

  “Hey, you guys, throw the ball over here!” Jeremy Fox shouted to George and Kevin. He held out his arms and got ready to catch the football.

  Kevin threw the ball, and in an instant the boys had switched their focus from Suzanne back to football.

  Katie was glad. She hated it when kids fought or made fun of each other. If it were up to Katie, everyone would always get along.

  “Can you show me how to walk like a model?” Zoe Canter asked Suzanne.

  “Me too?” Emma Stavros asked. “That looks like fun.”

  Suzanne sighed heavily. “Modeling is not nearly as easy as it looks. It just looks that way when I do it because I’m so good.”

  “Please, Suzanne?” Zoe pleaded.

  “Oh, all right,” Suzanne agreed. “Now, just watch me and do ex
actly what I do.” With each step, Suzanne stuck her right leg far out in front of her. Then she turned to face her friends. “Now you guys try it.”

  The girls did as they were told, Suzanne watching their every move.

  “Emma S., stand up straight,” Suzanne said. “Zoe and Katie, you’re taking baby steps. Take giant steps . . . Emma S., a model can’t look at her feet,” she insisted. “She has to look at the . . . oof !”

  Suzanne had taken a step backward and smacked right into George, who was running forward to catch the football. They crashed, and George fell with Suzanne right on top of him.

  “Hey, Suzanne, watch where you’re going!” Kevin shouted.

  “George should have been watching where he was going,” Suzanne insisted, getting up. “He crashed right into me.”

  “He was trying to catch a football,” Jeremy told her. “You were the one walking backward.”

  Suzanne flipped her long brown curls behind her. “Come on, George, get up,” she said. “Stop being so dramatic.”

  But George stayed there on the ground, holding his ankle. He gulped as if he was holding back tears.

  “It hurts,” he said through clenched teeth. “It really hurts.”

  “Oh, man!” Jeremy shouted. “I think you broke his ankle, Suzanne.”

  “I’ll get the nurse!” Katie exclaimed. She zoomed into the school building as fast as she could.

  A few moments later, Katie returned to the playground with Nurse Haynes. By now a whole circle of kids had gathered around George. The fourth-grade teachers, Mr. Guthrie and Ms. Sweet, were making the kids give George some room.

  Suzanne was standing off all by herself, watching. She looked upset.

  “Let me through, guys,” Nurse Haynes said as she pushed herself through the crowd of fourth-graders. “Okay, George, let’s take a look.” She bent down and gently examined his ankle.

  “It’s swelling up,” Nurse Haynes noted. “I don’t think it’s broken, George, but you’ll need an X-ray. Come on. We’ll get you to my car.”

  Mr. Guthrie put his arms underneath George and scooped him up, taking care not to hurt his injured ankle.

  “Don’t worry. X-rays don’t hurt a bit,” Nurse Haynes assured George. “I’ll call your parents and have them meet us at the hospital.”

  “Th-th-the hospital?” George looked really scared. “I’ve never been to a hospital,” he said quietly. Then he glared angrily in Suzanne’s direction. “All you do is cause trouble, Suzanne!” he shouted. “I wish you didn’t go to this school!”

  Katie gasped. That was a terrible thing to wish. Katie knew better than anyone that wishes could be dangerous. Especially if they came true.

  Chapter 3

  Katie had learned that lesson the hard way. It all started one horrible day back in third grade. Katie had lost the football game for her team. Then she’d splashed mud all over her favorite jeans. But the worst part of the day came when Katie let out a loud burp—right in front of the whole class!

  That night, Katie wished to be anyone but herself. There must have been a shooting star overhead when she made the wish, because the very next day the magic wind came.

  The magic wind was like a really powerful tornado that blew only around Katie. It was so strong, it could blow her right out of her body . . . and into someone else’s!

  The first time the magic wind appeared, it turned Katie into Speedy, the hamster in her third-grade class. Katie spent the whole morning going round and round on a hamster wheel and chewing on Speedy’s wooden chew sticks. Bo-ring!

  She was sure glad she turned back into herself before anyone found out that it was really Katie, and not Speedy, who was in that cage with no clothes on!

  The magic wind didn’t just turn Katie into animals, though. One time it came and turned her into one of the Bayside Boys, her favorite musical group. She’d almost broken up the band!

  One time the magic wind came to the Cherrydale Mall, and—one, two, switcheroo—it changed her into Louie, the owner of the pizza parlor. By mistake, she’d put cinnamon and sugar on the pizza instead of Louie’s secret spice mixture! Actually, the cinnamon pizza tasted kind of yummy—like a big, doughy dessert. Louie thought so, too. He’d added it to his menu—although he wasn’t exactly sure how he’d come up with the idea.

  That was the weird thing about the magic wind. The people Katie turned into never really remembered much about what had happened to them.

  But Katie never forgot. Which was why she hated wishes so much.

  “Okay, everyone, let’s line up and go inside,” Ms. Sweet told the fourth-graders. “I think we’ve all had enough excitement for one recess.”

  The kids all did as they were told. As class 4A lined up beside 4B, Katie glanced at Suzanne. She looked kind of sick to her stomach—almost as if she were the one who had been hurt in the fall.

  Chapter 4

  “George, is this the bench where you want to sit?” Suzanne asked as she walked beside him the next morning in the school yard. She was carrying George’s backpack for him. George couldn’t carry his bag himself because he was using crutches to help him walk.

  Katie stood nearby and watched with her mouth wide open. She couldn’t believe it. Suzanne was actually being nice to George.

  “No, I think I’d like to sit on that bench by the tree,” George replied, pointing clear across the yard to a bench beneath a maple tree.

  Suzanne grimaced slightly. “Okay,” she replied. “But remember, I’m carrying two backpacks—yours and mine.”

  “I can’t carry my backpack,” George reminded her. “I sprained my ankle when you walked into me yesterday . . . remember?”

  Suzanne bit her lip. “I remember,” she said as she headed over toward the maple tree.

  “Do you believe that?” Katie asked Emma W., Becky Stern, and Mandy Banks as the girls watched George and Suzanne. “They’re actually getting along.”

  “It won’t last,” Mandy predicted.

  “What do you think is going on?” Emma W. asked.

  “Maybe Suzanne feels guilty,” Mandy said.

  “Maybe. But you know what Jeremy always says?” Becky asked her. “He says that nobody ever knows why Suzanne does the things she does. I think he’s absolutely right.”

  “You think everything Jeremy says is right,” Mandy told her. “You have such a huge crush on him.”

  Becky’s cheeks turned pink, but she didn’t argue with Mandy. How could she? Everyone knew it was the truth. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a few squares of bubble gum. “You guys want some?”

  “Oh yeah,” Mandy said, grabbing one of the squares and peeling off the paper.

  “Not for me, thanks,” Emma said. “Chewing sugary gum can give you cavities. Besides, you’ll just have to spit it out when we go inside.”

  “That’s okay,” Becky said, popping a square of pink gum into her mouth and chewing. “It loses its flavor in a few minutes anyhow.” She blew a giant bubble.

  “Good one,” Mandy complimented her. She chewed for a minute and then blew a big bubble of her own.

  That sure looked like a lot of fun to Katie. For a minute, she thought about taking a piece of gum, too. But then she looked over at Emma. And she thought about Dr. Sang and his dental drill.

  No, Katie thought sternly to herself. She didn’t want any holes in her teeth.

  As Katie entered the cafeteria, Emma asked her, “Did you remember it’s tooth day?”

  “I sure did. I brought my travel toothbrush and toothpaste,” Katie answered. Then she realized that Emma wasn’t listening. She followed Emma’s gaze and understood why.

  George was seated at a lunch table, with his leg resting on a chair beside him. Suzanne was heading toward him with a tray of food.

  “Okay, I got you the cheeseburger, the French fries, the ketchup, and the juice,” Katie heard Suzanne say.

  “Uh, Suzanne,” George said, lifting off the top of the bun. “You forgot the little pickles on my
cheeseburger. Could you go back for them, please?”

  “But George,” Suzanne said. “I’m really hungry.”

  “I’d get them myself, only . . .” George pointed to his bandaged ankle.

  “Oh, okay,” Suzanne said with a sigh. “I’ll be right back with them.”

  Katie sat down in the seat across from George and pulled out her lunch. Her mother had packed her a really yummy Swiss cheese and tomato sandwich on a kaiser roll, and a fruit-juice box.

  “Hi there, Katie Kazoo,” George said, using the way-cool nickname he’d given her.

  “Hi, George,” Katie replied. “Is your ankle any better?”

  “It still hurts,” George told her. “I sprained it. The doctor said I have to stay off it for a few days.”

  “Suzanne’s really being nice, huh?” Katie noted.

  “She’d better,” George replied. “She’s the one who did this to me.”

  Just then Suzanne returned with the pickles. “Here you go, George,” she said as she handed him a paper plate filled with thinly sliced pieces of pickle.

  “What took you so long?” George asked her. “My burger is getting cold.”

  “Sorry, I bought my lunch while I was up there,” Suzanne explained. She put her tray on the table and sat next to Katie.

  “Hi, Suzanne,” Katie greeted her.

  “Hi,” Suzanne answered. “Boy, am I hungry!” She picked up her cheeseburger and took a big bite.

  No sooner did she begin to chew than George started to speak. “You know what this hamburger needs?” he said. “Mustard.” He held his plate out toward Suzanne.

  “I’ll get it for you,” Katie said, jumping up.

  George shook his head. “Katie, you’re a vegetarian. Looking at hamburgers probably makes you sick. Suzanne will do it.”

  “I don’t mind,” Katie assured him.

  “I don’t want to gross you out,” George told her. “It would just make me feel bad.”