Free The Big Nap by Bruce Hale Page B

bug-juggling act named Sturm and Drang.
    The guinea pig nodded her head slightly. "You may call me Meena Moe."
    It seemed only fair. That was her name.
    "Okay, Meena Moe," I said. "Hey, you don't happen to have two sisters named Eena and Minah, do you?"
    She caught her breath. "How did you know?"

    "Lucky guess." I rubbed my chin and looked up at her. "So, what's the scam, ma'am?"
    Meena gave me a quick once-over and toyed with her book bag some more. "What's a guy like you charge?" she asked.
    "Why's a dame like you want to know?"
    "I've got trouble."
    "Don't we all," I said. "What's yours?"
    "My youngest sister, Eena. Lately, she's been acting strangely."
    "Maybe it's gas," said Natalie. She grinned.
    Meena frowned. "Not likely. She's—well, she used to be so bright and chatty and chipper, and now she's a ... she's a zombie."
    Natalie and I exchanged glances. A case at last! And a supernatural one, to boot.
    "What kind of zombie?" I asked Meena. "A flesh-eating, undead, graveyard-robbing, walks-in-the-night kind of zombie?"
    Her eyes flashed. "Certainly not!" she said. "Mother would never allow it. No, Eena just stares blankly and speaks in short sentences. Her vocabulary has deteriorated dreadfully—like she's been lobotomized!"
    "Sounds like too much late-night TV to me," I said.
    Meena sniffed. "
Hmph!
I know my sister. Something's wrong, and I'd like you to find out what it
is." She fished in her book bag. "How about fifty cents a day, plus expenses?"
    I gave her my tough-guy smirk. "How about seventy-five cents a day, and fifty cents now, as a retainer?"
    Meena squinched up her nose, calculating. Finally, she nodded.
    I might not have liked her prissiness, but I liked her money okay. A gecko's gotta eat.
    I dropped the coins into my pocket. "Now, where can we find the charming Miss Eena?"
    "She's two years younger than me; so at present, she's a third grader. You'll find her in Ms. Glick's class." Meena turned and minced off. "Ta-ta. Keep me apprised of your progress."
    I frowned. "
Apprised?
"
    Natalie made a face. "Ms.
Glick?
"
    Ms. Glick was known around school as the Beast of Room 3. We were really going to earn our fee this time.
    The Beast could nurse a grudge long enough for it to have baby grudges of its own. She was not a card-carrying member of the Chet Gecko Fan Club.
    But in spite of everything, I smiled. We had a case at last!
    Oh, silly me.

3. Gator Aided
    Natalie and I sidled up to Ms. Glick's classroom. I tried the door. Locked. Her class was still at lunch or playing carefree third-grade games. I scoped out the empty hall.
    Now, where would a guinea pig zombie go for fun?
    "Natalie, what do you know about zombies?"
    "Not much," she said. "But I know which zombie ate too much porridge."
    "Eh? Who's that?"
    Natalie's eyes twinkled. "
Ghoul
dilocks!" she cackled.
    I shook my head. Sometimes, having a mockingbird partner can be a pain.
    Natalie looked past my shoulder and stiffened.
    "That's it, Natalie. To think like a zombie, act like a zombie."
    "Well, well, what a pleasure," rasped a voice smooth as a gravel-and-chain-saw milk shake.
    Ms. Glick!
    Toe by toe, I peeled myself off the wall I'd jumped onto. Those quick gecko reflexes again. I climbed down and straightened my hat.
    "Trying to get a head start on your next detention session, Mr. Gecko?" sneered the Beast of Room 3. A frown split her thick alligator snout.
    I squinted up at her, pasting a counterfeit smile on my kisser. "Ah, Ms. Glick. When I'm away from you, the minutes pass like hours. I was just telling Natalie about the good ol' days in your classroom, when—"
    "Do I look like a dinner roll to you?" she asked.
    "Uh, no," I said.
    "Then stop trying to butter me up," snarled Ms. Glick. "What do you want?"
    Enough charm. "I'm on a case," I said. "Mister, you
are
a case."
    I let that one slide. "It involves one of your students," I said. "Eena Moe."
    Ms. Glick unlocked her door. She smiled back at us over a broad, scaly shoulder,