Free I'm Game by Nancy Krulik Page B

had come back many times after that. Each time it turned her into somebody new—her best friends, Jeremy and Suzanne, her third-grade teacher, Mrs. Derkman, and even Pepper. That had been really weird—Katie had to go to the bathroom by lifting her leg up on a fire hydrant.
    The switcheroo never lasted very long. It went as suddenly as it came, which was a good thing. Because every time Katie turned into somebody else, that person seemed to land in big trouble!

Chapter 4
    Katie couldn’t wait to tell her friends all about her dad being on TV. But when she got to the school playground, everyone was clustered around George.
    “George, those are so cool,” she heard Mandy Banks say. “Where did you get them?”
    Katie walked over to where a group of fourth-graders were standing. Everyone was staring at something, but Katie couldn’t get close enough to see what it was.
    “What’s so cool?” she asked her best friend Suzanne Lock.
    Suzanne sighed. “George got some rubber bracelets. Everyone’s going nuts over them. I don’t know why.”
    Katie shrugged. Suzanne was never excited about anything that made someone else the center of attention.
    “ You look happy,” Suzanne said, noticing the big smile on Katie’s face.
    “The greatest thing happened!” Katie told her. “My dad’s going to be on Tick, Tock, Clock ! He found out this morning.”
    “No way!” Suzanne exclaimed.
    “Really,” Katie assured her. “They’re going to be filming in Cherrydale and my dad is going to be one of the contestants.”
    “Wow! Your dad’s going to be on TV!” Suzanne shouted, loud enough for the other kids to hear.
    Suddenly, the fourth-graders turned away from George. They all looked at Suzanne and Katie.
    Katie was impressed. Suzanne really was something.
    “What show is your dad going to be on, Katie?” Jeremy Fox asked.
    “ Tick, Tock, Clock ,” Suzanne answered before Katie could say anything. “He just found out this morning. And I was the first person Katie told.”
    Katie sighed. Suzanne was obviously trying to make Jeremy think that Katie liked her better. And that wasn’t true.
    “Where did you get those?” Katie asked George.
    “At the skateboard park,” George replied. “But you can also buy them at Hot Stuff in the mall.”
    Katie knew the store. If there was anything new and cool to buy, Hot Stuff had it!
    “Maybe your dad should wear one for luck when he’s on Tick, Tock, Clock ,” George suggested to Katie.
    “Oh please, George,” Suzanne said, rolling her eyes. “Why would Katie’s father want to wear a stupid piece of rubber on his wrist?”
    “ I think they’re cool,” Kevin said. “I want to get some.”
    “Me too,” Emma Weber said.
    Suzanne scowled and walked away.
    Katie felt kind of bad for her friend. Usually it was Suzanne who set trends at Cherrydale Elementary School. She wasn’t happy that everyone wanted to get bracelets like George’s.

Chapter 5
    “Hey there, Katie!” Mr. Carew greeted his daughter as he walked into the back office of the Book Nook bookstore late that afternoon.
    Katie’s mom was the manager of the Book Nook. Katie often came to the mall after school to do her homework in the back office while her mom worked.
    “Daddy, what are you doing here?” Katie asked as she looked up from her math sheet.
    “I left work early. I want to do a little research,” he explained.
    Katie knew what research was. She did research projects in school. You had to look up all kinds of facts and then write a paper about them.
    “Are you writing a report?” Katie asked her father.
    Mr. Carew shook his head. “Actually, I wanted to buy a book of facts so I can study for the show.”
    “What kind of facts?” Katie asked him.
    “All kinds. Facts about places, people, sports, science, medicine, history, and all the other things they ask questions about on Tick, Tock, Clock .”
    Just then Katie’s mother entered the office. She was holding a thick book.
    “Here