Free Claudia and the Genius on Elm Street by Ann M. Martin Page B

just stared out the window. I don't remember one thing I saw.
    Chapter 12.
    Curious? I practically had to drag Mary Anne to the Crossword Competition that Thursday. No one else could go with me. Still, Mary Anne almost decided to go home and do her homework.
    I'm glad she came to SES. Rosie needed as much help as she could get. And 1 don't mean with the puzzles.
    Let me start at the beginning. The Wilders couldn't go to the contest because Mrs. Wilder's mom needed to be taken to the hospital. So I was in charge. Now, Stacey had told me how the other kids treated Rosie at school, so I was determined to give her as much support as I could.
    Mary Anne and I went straight to Stoney-brook Elementary after school. The contest was to be held in the auditorium. A bunch of our clients were there — Charlotte Johanssen, some of the Pike kids, Haley Braddock, Marilyn and Carolyn Arnold. We had to wave and shout "Hello" a lot.
    On the stage were three enormous blackboards on wheels. Some teachers were drawing crossword puzzles onto them, carefully copying the puzzles from books. The blackboards were facing the back of the stage, so the audience (and the contestants)
    couldn't see the puzzles in advance.
    The auditorium was fairly crowded so we sat toward the back. When Rosie came in, she ran over to us. "Hi," she said. "I'm glad you're here."
    "We're your cheering section," I said. "This is my friend Mary Anne Spier."
    "Hi," Mary Anne said. "I've heard all about you."
    Rosie smiled. "Thanks. Well, I'm going to hang out in the back till we start. I need to stay focused."
    As soon as she left, Mary Anne whispered to me, "Stay focused?"
    I shrugged. "That's Rosie. Seven going on twenty-five."
    Behind us, we heard a burst of giggling. A girl was saying, "Ew! The brain!"
    We turned to see a group of girls walking past Rosie.
    "She's not talking to us," another girl said. "She only talks to Uncle Dandy."
    The girls giggled again, then found seats together.
    Poor Rosie. I tried to catch her eye, so I could give her a thumbs-up or something. But she was pacing gloomily behind the last row, staring at the floor.
    Soon Ms. Reynolds, the SES principal, walked onto the stage and announced, "Okay,
    let's take our seats. The competition's about to begin. Competing this evening is the winner from each grade, one of whom will become the school champ. In the fifth grade, Nicole Ficaro — "
    "Ya-a-a-a-ay!" came a big cheer from one section of the auditorium.
    "In the fourth grade," Ms. Reynolds continued, "Joseph Nicholas — "
    Another huge cheer from another part of the auditorium.
    "And in the third grade, Rosie Wilder!"
    Well, Mary Anne and I cheered loudly. I think a couple of other kids did, too, but I wasn't sure. If they did, they were drowned out by some loud "Boo's" and giggles.
    My heart sank. If I'd been Rosie and heard that, I would have been mortified.
    "All right," Ms. Reynolds said sternly. "If you have a negative opinion, you are advised to keep it to yourself." She glared at the group of unruly kids, and boy, did they squirm. Then she said, "All right. I'll explain the rules. There are three puzzles, one for each grade. The higher the grade, the harder the puzzle. The contestants will have twenty minutes to complete their puzzles. At the end, the one who has filled .in the most correct answers wins. There is to be no — I repeat, no — helping from the audi-
    ence members. Anyone who does will be expelled from the room." She glanced around. "Okay, will the contestants please come to the stage?"
    Rosie and the other two walked down the aisles. One of the girls who had taunted Rosie whispered something to her friends, and they started snickering.
    I'm sure Rosie heard them, but she just kept walking.
    As the three contestants stepped onstage, Ms. Reynolds gave them a warm smile and wished them good luck. Then she said, "All right, begin!"
    The teachers turned the blackboards around and raced to the sides of the stage to bring out stools