Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom (Wayside School #4) - Louis Sachar Page 0,21
Mrs. Jewls.
Ron gave it his best shot. “W-h-u-m-p-h.”
“I’m sorry, Ron,” said Mrs. Jewls. “There are two m’s in whummph.”
“I win!” Maurecia exclaimed.
The class cheered.
Ron felt cheated. If it’s a made-up word, who gets to decide the number of m’s?
Maurecia’s smile was big and bright.
Ron was not smiling.
25
Jump Rope Arithmetic
On day two, the Major Event was Jump Rope Arithmetic. It is just what you’d expect from the name. The children had to answer arithmetic problems while jumping rope.
They earned one point for each jump of a rope. They could choose either to use one rope, or two at a time. Two ropes were harder, but the points added up more quickly.
If they answered a problem wrong, or tripped over a rope, they were done.
Joy, of course, chose two ropes. This was her special talent, like Joe’s upside-down “Jingle Bells,” or Dana’s funny faces.
“Four plus seven?” asked Mrs. Jewls.
Whummph. “Eleven,” replied Joy. Whummph.
Two points, and she’d only had to answer one question.
Whummph. “Three times nine?” Whummph.
“Twenty”—whummph—“seven.” Whummph.
She continued with ease, skipping lightly over the ropes while rattling off answers. Louis and Miss Nogard turned the ropes for her.
Miss Nogard was everyone’s favorite substitute teacher, especially Louis’s.
By the time Joy reached sixty-five points, nearly everybody else in her class had finished jumping.
Ron had earned twenty-three points.
Deedee only got to six. Jumping rope wasn’t easy for her, since one leg was shorter than the other.
D.J. had the highest score so far, with eighty-four points.
In the history of the Ultimate Test, nobody had ever broken a hundred.
Whummph-whummph.
“Twelve divided by four?” asked Mrs. Jewls.
Whummph-whummph. “Three,” said Joy. Whummph-whummph.
A circle of children had formed around her. They cheered each correct answer.
“Go, Joy, go!” shouted Mac.
When she reached eighty points, even Mrs. Jewls started to get excited.
“Thirty-eight”—whummph—“plus fourteen?” Whummph.
“Fifty-two!” Whummph-whummph.
She was now tied with D.J.!
“One hundred and”—whummph—“forty-three”—whummph—“divided by” —whummph—“eleven?”
“Thirteen!”
Everyone took up Mac’s call. “Go, Joy, go! Go, Joy, go!” they chanted.
Louis’s and Miss Nogard’s arms were getting tired, but they continued to twirl the ropes. They knew they were a part of history.
Joy was now up to ninety-nine!
“Go, Joy, go! Go, Joy, go!”
Whummph-whummph. “Twenty-nine times four?” shouted Mrs. Jewls.
Whummph-whummph. “One hundred and sixteen,” Joy easily answered.
Everyone whooped and hollered. “That’s a new world record!” exclaimed Deedee.
Whummph-whummph. “Six times seven?”
Whummphraaaapp!
Joy lay sprawled across the blacktop. Sixes and sevens always tripped her up.
Still, she had broken one hundred, and set a new world record!
Her classmates rushed up to her.
“You’re the best ever!” said Kathy.
“True,” Joy agreed.
There was one jumper left.
Whummph.
“Sixteen minus eleven?”
Whummph.
“Five,” said Maurecia.
Maurecia used only one rope. Miss Mush and Mr. Pepperadder turned it for her.
She jumped with both feet at the same time, and held her breath every time she jumped.
Whummph.
“Nine times eight?”
Whummph.
“Seventy-two.”
Whummph.
Joy continued to lie on the blacktop as she listened to the slow whummphing. She imagined the solid gold trophy with her name on it. Her picture would be in newspapers all around the world. She’d go on TV, where famous people would ask her questions about jumping rope and arithmetic. Maybe they’d put her in a movie.
When she came out of her daydream, she was surprised to hear the jump rope still whummphing.
“Zero times a thousand.”
Whummph.
“Zero.”
Joy sat up to see that a circle of kids had surrounded Maurecia. They cheered every one of her answers.
Whummph.
She headed over and poked Todd in the back of his neck. “What’s her score so far?”
“Sixty-six,” he told her.
Joy wasn’t too worried. She was sure her best friend would whummphraaaappp at any moment.
She didn’t start to worry until Maurecia reached eighty.
Whummph.
“Sixteen times seventeen.”
Whummph.
“Two hundred and seventy-two.”
Whummph.
Well, sure, Joy thought bitterly. Sixteens and seventeens were a lot easier than sixes and sevens.
In the end, Maurecia whummphraaaapped on an easy one, two plus three.
She was probably just tired. She had been jumping for almost an hour and had earned 211 points.
Joy didn’t see her fall. She had quit watching long before.
26
The Ultimate, Ultimate Test
Yes, that’s two ultimates.
The word ultimate has two meanings. It could mean final, or it could mean most important.
The Stairway Quiz was both. It was the final event of the third day, and it counted double.
The students were worn out before they started. They’d already had the science crawl, right and left handwriting, animal imitations, upside-down singing, and blindfolded smelling.
The Stairway Quiz would require knowledge, stamina, and most important, speed.
This was Deedee’s special talent.
Deedee was a pretty fast runner on flat ground, but she was even faster going up and down stairs. That was because her left leg was a little bit shorter than her right leg. Or maybe