The Great Zucchini Since there wasn’t an extra cup the boys plopped down on the sidewalk and took turns drinking out of the Bubbler’s bottle Malcolm twirled the bottle cap between his thumb and forefinger This is amazing he said How much root beer do you think we’ve drank in the last couple of weeks Dandy hitched his thumb back toward the Quickie Mart Not as much as Gappy back there 10
True There was probably a hundred caps in the bag But we don’t have to drink any more When we get home I’ll ask my mom to drive us to Games Aflame We can each get fifty dollars worth of games Dandy took a large swig of root beer then wiped his mouth with his T-shirt Then spend the rest of the summer playing them When the last drop of Bubbler’s was gulped Malcolm tossed the bottle into a recycling bin Let’s go They both dashed off Just as they got to the next corner Malcolm tripped on a crack in the sidewalk and went sprawling to the ground The bottle cap dropped out of his hand and rolled away 11
Grab it Malcolm yelled to Dandy Dandy ran for it Malcolm hopped up and ran too The cap finally came to a stop at the feet of a silver-haired woman sitting on a bench She was waiting for the bus Even though she had lots of wrinkles and a sad face Malcolm could tell that the woman had been really pretty when she was young Here you go she said plucking up the cap and holding it out to Dandy When he reached out for it she quickly closed her fist When she opened it again the cap was gone Hey Dandy said What did you do with it The woman gave him a sweet smile Her eyes twinkled Oh here it is She 12
reached over and pretended to pull it out of Dandy’s ear Malcolm clutched his hand to his heart Phew It was just a silly magic trick Thanks Malcolm said as he carefully took the cap You’re welcome But instantly the cap popped out of his hand again It rolled below the bench Malcolm and Dandy both dove for it but huh it wasn’t there The woman had bent over looking too Can you pull it out of my ear again Dandy asked her The woman shook her head Not this time I don’t have it Sure you do Malcolm said It’s not here 13
