“Y-yes, I do,” Evan insisted.

“Maybe a science-fiction teacher would believe it,” Mr. Murphy replied, grinning at his own joke. “Not a science teacher.”

“Well, you’re dumb!” Evan cried.

He didn’t mean to say it. He knew immediately that he had just made a major mistake.

He heard gasps all around the big classroom.

Mr. Murphy’s pink face darkened until it looked like a red balloon. But he didn’t lose his temper. He clasped his chubby hands over the big stomach of his green sportshirt, and Evan could see him silently counting to ten.

“Evan, you’re a new student here, isn’t that right?” he asked finally. His face slowly returned to its normal pink color.

“Yes,” Evan replied, his voice just above a whisper. “My family just moved to Atlanta this fall.”

“Well, perhaps you’re not familiar with the way things work here. Perhaps at your old school the teachers liked it when you called them dumb. Perhaps you called your teachers ugly names all day long. Perhaps—”

“No, sir,” Evan interrupted, lowering his head. “It just slipped out.”

Laughter rang through the classroom. Mr. Murphy glared sternly at Evan, his face twisted in an angry frown.

Give me a break, Evan thought unhappily. Glancing quickly around the room, Evan saw a sea of grinning faces.

I think I’m in trouble again, Evan thought glumly. Why can’t I keep my big mouth shut?

Mr. Murphy glanced up at the wall clock. “School is nearly over,” he said. “Why don’t you do us all a little favor, Evan, to make up for the time you made us waste today?”

Uh oh, Evan thought darkly. Here it comes.

“When the bell rings, go put your books away in your locker,” Mr. Murphy instructed. “Then come back here and clean Cuddles’s cage.”

Evan groaned.

His eyes darted to the hamster cage against the wall. Cuddles was scratching around in the wood shavings on the cage floor.

Not the hamster! Evan thought unhappily.

Evan hated Cuddles. And Mr. Murphy knew it. This was the third time Mr. Murphy had made Evan stay after school and clean out the gross, disgusting cage.

“Perhaps while you clean the hamster cage,” Mr. Murphy said, returning to his desk, “you can think about how to do better in science class, Evan.”

Evan jumped to his feet. “I won’t do it!” he cried.

He heard shocked gasps all around him.

“I hate Cuddles!” Evan screamed. “I hate that stupid, fat hamster!”

As everyone stared in amazed horror, Evan ran over to the cage, pulled open the door, and grabbed Cuddles up in one hand.

Then, with an easy, graceful motion, he flung the hamster across the room—and out the open window.

Evan knew he was having another daydream.

He didn’t jump up screaming and throw the hamster out the window.

He only thought about it. Everyone thinks about doing wild things once in a while.

But Evan would never do anything that wild.

Instead, he said, “Okay, Mr. Murphy.” Then he sat quietly in his seat, staring out the window at the puffy white clouds in the bright blue sky.

He could see his own reflection staring back at him in the glass. His curly, carrot-colored hair looked darker in the reflection. So did the freckles that dotted his cheeks.

His expression was mournful. He hated being made fun of in front of the entire class.

Why am I always getting myself into trouble? he wondered. Why can’t Mr. Murphy ever give me a break? Didn’t the teacher realize how hard it was to be the new kid in school? How am I supposed to make new friends if Murphy is always making me look like a total jerk in class?

Bad enough that no one believed him about the Monster Blood.

Evan had eagerly told the kids in his new school about it. How he had stayed with his great-aunt the past summer. How he and a girl he met named Andy had found the blue container of Monster Blood in a creepy, old toy store.

And how the green, yucky Monster Blood had started to grow and grow. How it had bubbled out of its container, outgrown a bucket, outgrown a bathtub! And just kept growing and growing as if it were alive!

And Evan had told kids how Trigger had eaten just a little of the Monster Blood—and had grown nearly as big as a house!

It was such a frightening, amazing story. Evan was sure his new friends would find it really cool.

But, instead, they just thought he was weird.

No one believed him. They laughed at him and told him he had a sick imagination.

Evan became known around his new school as the kid who made up stupid stories.

If only I could prove to them that the story is true, Evan often thought sadly. If only I could show them the Monster Blood.

But the mysterious green gunk had vanished from sight before Evan left his great-aunt’s house. Not a trace of it had been left. Not a trace.

The bell rang. Everyone jumped up and headed for the door, talking and laughing.

Evan knew that a lot of his classmates were laughing at him. Ignoring them, Evan picked up his backpack and started to the door.

“Hurry back, Evan,” Mr. Murphy called from behind his desk. “Cuddles is waiting!”

Evan growled under his breath and stepped out into the crowded hallway. If Murphy loves that stupid hamster so much, why doesn’t he ever clean out the cage? he wondered bitterly.

A group of kids laughed loudly as Evan passed by. Were they laughing at him? Evan couldn’t tell.