Grasshopper Glitch (4 page)

With a trembling hand, Josh reached out and lifted the heavy book. He gulped hard. Tears blurred his vision as he steeled himself to witness Danny squished flat all over Miss Mellor's ink-stained desk.

The book lifted and the rest of the class held its breath. Underneath was…

“Nothing! It must have hopped off!” grumbled Billy, disappointed.

“There it is! On Josh's hair!” squealed Daisy. Billy picked up the book, ready to thwack it down on Josh's head. The grasshopper was too fast though. It shot across the room onto the bookshelf. Then to the top of the paint cupboard. More screaming erupted. Then it landed on the windowsill. Billy ran toward it, the heavy book raised up in one fist. The grasshopper shot out through the open window.

“Phew! Drama over,” said Miss Mellor.

Josh stared out of the window, horror-struck. Miss Mellor turned to write on the whiteboard. Then he ran back to Danny's desk, grabbed the bottle, and screwed its lid on tight. He ran back across the classroom. He jumped up onto the low windowsill. Outside, a sidewalk led past the window. On the other side of it, the school field stretched away toward some trees and bushes.

Danny could be anywhere! Josh looked behind him. The remaining kids in the class were getting on with their lunch now. Miss Mellor still had her back to him. Josh didn't wait any longer. He jumped out of the window, landing on the sidewalk. Then he ran out onto the field.

“Danny!” he shouted, desperately staring around the grass and bushes. “Danny! Where are you?”

He listened hard. All he could hear were the shrieks of kids on the playground on the other side of the school.

Even if Danny was chirruping at the top of his voice, there was no way Josh would hear him. Josh sank to his knees and put his face right into the grass. “DAANNNEEEEE!” he wailed into it. He knew it was hopeless. His brother could be anywhere. Worse, he might already be inside a blackbird.

Then something pinged against his ear. He lifted his head. Danny dropped onto his open palm. At least, he thought it was Danny. It could be another grasshopper.

“Danny?” murmured Josh, waving a finger at the insect. It waved its short feelers back. “It is you. Isn't it?!” The grasshopper waved again. “OK. If that's you, waggle your left feeler!” The insect did. Josh heaved a huge sigh of relief. He nearly blew Danny back into the grass.

“What are we going to do? You drank S.W.I.T.C.H. potion! And we've got math in half an hour. How am I going to explain this to Miss Mellor?”

Danny offered a number of suggestions. He scraped his back legs and wings together frantically, creating that chirruping noise. It was clear that he had quite a lot to say. But Josh couldn't understand a word of it. He stared anxiously around the field. He clutched the potion bottle in one hand. He wondered what on earth to do. If only one of them had also picked up the antidote! He knew he hadn't. He'd drunk some of his soda. It was the usual stuff.

“Wait, though. Petty took the antidote with her to the park,” he said. “Maybe she's still there! It's not far away. Yes! That's the answer. We have to get to Petty. I think I can make it there in five minutes if I run.”

Josh stood up, Danny cupped in his hand. He ran toward the school gate that led out to the street. The park was only a short walk away. Petty might be there still, wondering why the lemon soda wasn't working on the squirrels.

Desperately, he hoped no teacher or lunch lady would notice him. Josh ran along the side of the school where the boys' bathrooms were. He reached the corner of the building. Then Billy Sutter and his friend Jason Bilk stepped out of the outside bathroom door. They bumped into him.

“Hey! Watch where you're going!” grunted Jason. Billy noticed immediately that Josh had something in his hand.

“What's that?” he asked. He prodded a muddy finger at Josh's closed hand. A chirrup came from inside it. “You got that grasshopper again? You made it a pet or something?” Billy and Jason pried open Josh's hand, despite his squawks of protest. Danny looked up, waggling his feelers anxiously.

“I'm gonna get it this time!” chuckled Billy. He slapped his hand down. But Danny had shot away like a green rubber band before he could be squashed. Now he was on the floor by the open bathroom door. At once Jason and Billy started trying to stamp on him.

“NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE!” shrieked Josh. He chased them into the bathroom where Danny had jumped next. Billy and Jason were clomping about wildly all over the damp concrete floor. They shouted “Get it! Get it!” Josh stood, aghast, feeling totally helpless. Then there was a flicker of movement. He spotted his brother in a stall. Josh threw himself inside it, slamming the door behind him. He firmly locked it as Danny leapt onto the toilet paper holder, looking very agitated.

“Are you OK?” hissed Josh just as there was a break in the stamping. Both boys outside heard him clearly. They let out peals of laughter.

“Oh, wittle Hoppy Woppy! Are you hurt?” said Jason, in a drippy voice. Billy squealed with mirth.

“Come on—come out! Bring out your little pet!” chortled Jason. “We'll only stamp on him once.”

Josh hoped if he just said nothing, they might get bored and go away. Five minutes later, they were still banging on the stall door and jeering. If they kept this up much longer, there would be no time to get to the park and find Petty before he and Danny were supposed to be back in class. They'd be in big trouble. He could just wait here, hoping that Danny would switch back again. But he had no idea how long it might take. Petty hadn't known either. That's why she'd made the antidote. And if Danny did suddenly switch back, how would they explain it to the two boys outside the stall? The high narrow window above him was way too small for anyone to crawl in or out of.

“Hey—GIVE ME A LEG UP!” said Billy.

Josh groaned.

There had to be some way out of this. Then he blinked. He stared at the bottle in his hand. There it was. The only escape. He put Danny up on the ledge by the window, which was slightly open.

Two rows of fingers hooked over the top of the stall door with a thud. Josh unscrewed the bottle's lid and drank two gulps.

The grunts and scuffles on the other side got louder. He put the lid back on and hid the bottle behind the toilet.

Seconds later, Billy, puffing with effort, peered down into the stall with confusion.

Josh had vanished.

“WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” yelled Josh as he flung himself through the air. His back legs were like a huge slingshot. They shot him high above the forest of grass below him. Only the slingshot came along for the ride too.

“It's great, isn't it?” called back Danny. He had had twelve minutes more practice at being a grasshopper than his brother. “As soon as I switched, I just had to jump! Even though I was scared. I just had to! We can fly too! See—we're flying!” The stiff little wings on his back opened out like a short green cape. They helped him to glide on and on through the warm air. They were already out of the school. They'd jumped down from the bathroom window, across the field, and over the high hedge without any problem at all.

“This is the best creepy-crawly we've been yet!” laughed Josh. He opened his own wings and glided along behind Danny. Far below him flashed a green garden and a blur of blue-white pond. Insects the size of dogs flew past them. Some were making noises like small jets. Others were more like helicopters.

THWUMP! THWUMP! They landed side by side on a gray brick wall. They turned to inspect each other's shiny new grasshopper bodies. They each had two sets of fairly normal-sized insect legs. They were surprisingly muscular with little hooky feet—or hands. But their hind legs were three times bigger and bent back behind them in a upside-down
V
. Their eyes were large and round with short feelers set above them like pointy eyebrows. Josh thought Danny's long face looked rather solemn. Then his brother started wiggling his little fingerlike mouthparts about with enthusiasm.

“What are Billy and Jason going to think when they find you've disappeared?” he giggled. His voice was not too unlike his own considering he had a grasshopper's mouth.