Free Any Way You Slice It by Nancy Krulik Page B

true—and that could lead to big problems.
    It had all started one really bad day at school. Katie had lost the football game for her team, ruined her favorite jeans, and burped in front of the whole class.
    That night, Katie had wished that she could be anyone but herself. There must have been a shooting star flying overhead or something when she made that wish, because, the very next day, the magic wind came.
    The magic wind was a wild storm that seemed to blow only around Katie. It was really powerful. So powerful, in fact, that the magic wind was able to turn Katie into somebody else.
    The first time the magic wind came, it changed Katie into Speedy, the class hamster. Another time it turned her into her own dog, Pepper.
    But the magic wind didn’t turn Katie only into animals. Sometimes it turned her into grown-ups, like Lucille the school-lunch lady, and Mr. Kane, the principal of her school, Cherrydale Elementary School.
    The magic wind had also turned Katie into other kids, like Becky or Jeremy. Being somebody else could be really tough. When she was Jeremy, Katie didn’t even know whether to use the girls’ room or the boys’ room!
    “Don’t worry, Jeremy,” Suzanne said, interrupting Katie’s thoughts. “Becky will get over you . . . as soon as she gets some brains.”
    “Okay, why don’t you three talk about something else?” Mrs. Carew suggested quickly. “And don’t forget to buckle up,” she added as she prepared to pull out of the parking lot.

Chapter 4
    The next afternoon, Katie arrived at the mall with her mother at exactly 12:00. “Hurry up, Mom!” she cried out. “It’s lunchtime. I want to make sure I get a seat at Louie’s.”
    Katie’s mom laughed. “You certainly like pizza,” she said.
    “It’s not just the pizza. It’s fun at Louie’s. Everyone from school is there—except Mrs. Derkman of course. And that makes it even more fun.”
    Mrs. Derkman was Katie’s very strict third-grade teacher. She was also Katie’s next-door neighbor. Ever since a few months ago, when Mrs. Derkman had moved into the house beside Katie’s, it seemed like Katie saw her everywhere—in school, on the street, even at barbecues in Katie’s own yard. But she never saw Mrs. Derkman at Louie’s. Mrs. Derkman was not a big pizza eater.
    “All right, Katie,” Mrs. Carew said, as her daughter pulled her toward Louie’s. “I’m going as fast as I can.”
    But when Katie and her mother arrived at Louie’s Pizza Shop, there were plenty of seats left. In fact, there were only three people in the restaurant—a father and his two sons.
    “Slow day, Louie?” Mrs. Carew asked as she sat down at a table near the pizza oven.
    Louie pounded hard on a pile of dough. “It’s only slow here,” he answered sadly. “It’s mobbed at Olives and Oregano.”
    Mrs. Carew nodded understandingly. “It’s a new restaurant. People will get tired of it.”
    Louie shook his head. “I don’t think so. Olives and Oregano is part of a big chain of restaurants. They have lots of money to spend on advertising.” Louie reached under the counter and pulled out a newspaper. “Look at this.”
    Katie and her mother looked at the newspaper. There was a full-page ad:

    “They have clowns and a magician performing all day,” Louie told Katie and her mom.
    “Big deal,” Katie said. “Nobody puts on a better show than you, Louie. Or has better pizza.”
    Louie smiled at her. “Thanks, Katie,” he told her. “I wish there were more kids like you.”
    “Don’t worry, Louie,” Mrs. Carew said. “Things will pick up. It’s still early.”
    Sure enough, someone else walked into the restaurant. “Katie!” Suzanne shouted. “Here you are.” She held out a wooden paddle with a red rubber ball attached to it with a rubber band. She was hitting the ball with the paddle. “Thirty-eight. Thirty-nine. Forty,” she counted as she tapped the ball.
    “I told you I’d meet you here,” Katie told her.
    Suzanne