Dead Possums Are Fair Game vi Chapter Sixteen Spreadsheet 113 Chapter Seventeen Self-Interest 120 Chapter Eighteen Last Straw 125 Chapter Nineteen Reality 132 Chapter Twenty Apprehension 137 Chapter Twenty-One Heimlich Maneuver 144 Chapter Twenty-Two Distraught 150 155 Chapter Twenty-Three Cliffhanger 161 Chapter Twenty-Four Crestfallen Chapter Twenty-Five Reconcile 170 175 Chapter Twenty-Six Proposition Morty’s Math Memorial Acknowledgments 179 186
Chapter One Luck luck noun luk a force that brings good fortune or adversity the events or circumstances that operate for or against an individual The pouring rain the night before clued me in misfortune was fast approaching The last three times we had a spring storm awful things happened right after First while Dad was trying to repair a leak he slipped off the roof and broke his leg Next Mom made
2 Dead Possums Are Fair Game meatloaf for dinner which would have been bad enough I detest meatloaf even if we all hadn’t gotten food poisoning the very next day Then a week later after another downpour my pet turtle ran away I realized then that rainstorms brought bad luck My walk to school that day didn’t do much to disprove my theory that disaster was looming Gray clouds piled on top of each other and covered the sky and I just knew misfortune was headed my way I didn’t know what the misfortune would be but I had a strong hunch where it would be Victor Waldo Elementary There might as well have been a bright neon sign blinking BAD LUCK RIGHT HERE COME AND GET IT as the largest of the cloud clusters settled over my school A couple times I misjudged the depth of a puddle while walking and rainwater poured into my shoes By the time I arrived at the back gate of Victor Waldo Elementary I was the not-so-proud owner of frizzy hair a standard look for me on warm humid days wet socks and muddy shoes As I squished into the yard a sickening smell wafted toward me
Luck 3 Eww I said wrinkling my nose What stinks Hey Ella said Lucille one of my best friends coming up from behind me Oh ugh She pinched her nose shut and shook her head in dis gust causing her messy red ringlets to boing like crazy I hope Jolina gets here soon so we don’t have to stand here too long It stinks She sound ed like a cross between a moose and a duck I talked to Jolina last night and she said she’d meet us on the playground She had to get here early There was a safety patrol meeting this morning Good said Lucille Then we don’t have to wait around and smell whatever reeks As we crossed the muddy field I scanned the playground for Jolina I needed to ask her a question about our math homework Most of it had completely freaked me out so if our teacher Ms Carpenter gave us a pop quiz I’d fail for sure Jolina Washington was my other best friend even though we were as opposite as night and day When it came to math Jolina was a whiz kid and I was the kid math whizzed past
