Free Chameleon Chaos by Ali Sparkes Page A

Petty said again, but more sympathetically this time. She knew that Josh was nuts about creepy-crawlies—and all kinds of wildlife. She also knew that he would feel extrasensitive about protecting the ants, because not that long ago, she’d turned him into one. “And for this act of mercy, you were tied upside down to the climbing structure.”
    â€œOnly after the swirly,” Josh sighed. His short blond hair was still a bit wet from the flushing and still smelled of toilet cleaner. “And the wedgie.” He tugged self-consciously at his trousers and felt the material give a bit.
    â€œWant me to S.W.I.T.C.H. them into ants so you can stomp on them?” Petty offered.
    Josh looked at her, his head to one side and his eyes narrowed. It was a good thing she didn’t know who Billy Sutter and Jason Bilk were, because he wouldn’t put it past her to S.W.I.T.C.H. them. Petty might look like a nice old lady, but she was actually a brilliant scientist with a secret underground laboratory beneath her garden shed, where she worked on her S.W.I.T.C.H. project. Over the summer, since he and Danny had first stumbled upon her secret, Petty had recruited them to help her—whether they liked it or not. Back then they knew nothing about Petty’s S.W.I.T.C.H. sprays.
    Her BUGSWITCH spray could hijack your cells and turn you into an insect or a spider. And her AMPHISWITCH spray could turn you into an amphibian. And, after he and Danny had helped her find the lost formula to REPTOSWITCH, Petty now had a S.W.I.T.C.H. spray to turn them into reptiles too.
    â€œWell?” Petty was prodding his shoulder. “Shall I S.W.I.T.C.H. them into ants? I might even have that spray on me …” And she started patting the pockets of her big, slightly grubby overcoat.

    â€œNo, Petty! Don’t even think about it!” warned Josh. “And what are you doing here anyway? Why are you at our school?” He felt very uneasy. Petty had a habit of showing up in their everyday lives … and it usually led to some kind of S.W.I.T.C.H.-related danger.
    â€œI was just passing when I saw you, that’s all,” Petty said. “I came in at the gate—your school security is
so
lax—and popped in to find out what you were up to. Would you rather I hadn’t? Would you like to be back up on the bars?”
    â€œSorry—no,” Josh mumbled. “And thanks … really. But … oh, heck—I’ve got to get back into class. I’ll be in such trouble!”
    â€œRun along then, run along,” chirruped Petty. “And bring Danny with you to see me after school. I think it’s time we went to C Phase of REPTOSWITCH.”
    â€œC Phase?” Josh called back as he ran toward the low red brick building. He felt a lurch of excitement. He and Danny had been lizards already, and although—once again—they’d nearly gotten themselves eaten, it had still been amazing.He couldn’t wait to have another go. They would be more careful with C Phase … whatever it was.
    Petty tapped her nose and winked elaborately. “C Phase!” she called after him. “Find out after school!”
    â€œJosh! Where on earth have you been?” demanded Miss Mellor when he arrived in the classroom. Twenty-seven pairs of eyes turned to stare at him. These included the eyes of Danny, who was making a “What the heck?!!” face—and of Billy Sutter and of Jason Bilk, who were making “Tell and your life is OVER” faces.

    â€œGot stuck in the toilet,” Josh said. Several of the girls giggled.
    â€œSo I see,” Miss Mellor said. “Maybe next time, before you come back to class, you might think about pulling up your trousers first.”
    Josh stared down at his legs and saw, to his horror, that his energetic tug to undo Billy and Jason’s gift of a wedgie had gone too far. A button on his trousers had pinged off. And the