Posted: Sunday, October 26, 2008 12:00 am
Kelsey Hansen, Cedar Falls, Noah Miller, Cedar Falls nad Connor Gibson, Cedar Falls
CHILDREN'S STORY START
Mrs. Witchey loved Halloween. It was one of the few days during the school year when even Terrible Timmy showed up for school with a smile on his face. She only had to rap her ruler twice on the desk before the class settled down.
"Good morning, students," beamed the cheerful teacher.
"Good morning, Mrs. Witchey," her attentive class replied.
"Since today is Halloween, we're going to go on a scavenger hunt," Mrs. Witchey announced. "On your desk, you will find your assignment, along with the groups you'll be working with."
Stacy eagerly scanned her sheet for the names of her teammates. She smiled when she saw Clarissa and Sammi on the list. She giggled when she saw the names of Bobby and Chase. But a lump formed in her throat and she could feel the color draining from her face when she read the last name on the paper. It was Terrible Timmy.
"Now, let's read the assignment together," said Mrs. Witchey.
Centipede legs, eye of a beast,
Hair that's seen 70 years at the least.
Dust of the devil and a rotten fruit,
Complete your list of ghoulish loot.
These are the things of a magic brew,
And a trick or a treat for each of you.
"OK, class, off you go," Mrs. Witchey concluded with a wicked grin. "Hurry back now, you hear?"
The wheels of Stacy's mind were already turning. The butcher shop, the barber shop, the local diner, the janitor's closet … She knew exactly where to look for everything.
FIRST PLACE
Stacy took charge and assigned everyone to go out and get a certain ingredient.
When they returned, Stacy asked, "Did everyone get what they needed?"
"Yep," everyone answered, except for Terrible Timmy.
"You didn't get the eye of a beast?" Sammie asked.
"I couldn't find one anywhere," he replied. "The butcher shop wasn't open."
They agreed to go back and tell Mrs. Witchey they couldn't find the eye of a beast. They walked into the classroom and stopped dead cold.
The room was almost completely dark, and there was a huge black cauldron sitting in the middle. Glowing green ooze was dripping from the top, flowing onto the children's desks.
"What's going on?" asked Clarissa. Mrs. Witchey suddenly appeared, now wearing a witch's hat and long black gown.
"Welcome back, my dear sweet children. Did you find ALL the ingredients for my magic brew?" Mrs. Witchey cackled wickedly.
"Yes … no, " Stacy stammered. "We couldn't find the eye of a beast."
"Well, add all that you have found to the pot. I know EXACTLY where we can find a beastly eye!" She told them.
"Where?" they asked eagerly.
Mrs. Witchey floated behind her desk and pulled something from her drawer. The kids couldn't tell what was behind her back.
"Come here, Terrible Timmy, you little BEAST!" Mrs. Witchey exclaimed. She was pointing a knife directly at Timmy's right eye.
"Nooooooo!" everyone shouted.
Stacy screamed, "Timmy's not a beast - you are, Mrs. Witchey!"
Bobby and Chase grabbed Mrs. Witchey's arms, while Clarissa and Sammy plunged her head, beastly eyes and all, into the bubbling brew. A white light exploded, and the cauldron - along with Mrs. Witchey - instantly disappeared,
The classroom bell rang. Stacy breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself, "Ding Dong, the witch is dead … the wicked Witchey's dead!"
SECOND PLACE
"I can't believe it," said a disgruntled Bobby. "We're in the seventh-grade and Mrs. Witchey gives us a scavenger hunt."
"Timmy is happy," Sammi noted, nodding towards the strange little boy who was talking animatedly to the teacher and rubbing his tummy.
"I think this could be kinda fun," said Chase, who as always, was leaning against the wall.
"I agree," said Clarissa, batting her eyelashes at Chase, her voice layered with way too much flirt.
"Well, let's get started," said Stacy.
All the items were easy. They got a centipede from the janitor's office and cut off some legs. They asked the barber for some hairs from a senior citizen. From the butcher they got a pig eye. As for the devil's dust, the local Halloween store keeps some in stock. For rotten fruit, they just picked up a rotten apple.
Things didn't start to get weird until they got back to the classroom. Mrs. W. was decked out in a witch costume , but Stacy noticed that her skin was greener than usual. They waited until the rest of the class got back.
"Did you get the ingredients, my pretties?" she cackled.
"Your pretties?" exclaimed Stacy.
"Did you get them?" she persisted, totally ignoring Stacy.
"Yeah," said Chase, who was content now that he had his wall to lean on.
"Well, put them in there," she told them, pointing to a big pot filled with boiling water. When all the ingredients were in, she stirred them for a while then proclaimed. "That should do for the broth."
"What broth?" exclaimed Stacy.
"For the big batch of Stacy soup!"
"Yum!" chorused the class.
THIRD PLACE
It was exactly 5 p.m. when Stacey's group finally returned with their "ghoulish loot." The only thing that was different when they were in the classroom was that they and Mrs. Witchey were the only ones in the classroom, and there was a big pot on the teacher's desk. When they gave their stuff to Mrs. Witchey, she frowned at the fruit.
Suddenly, a thunderstorm appeared outside and lightning flashed loudly.
"Strange, it was sunny a few minutes ago," said Chase. Then Mrs. Witchey gave candy to each of the kids except Terrible Timmy and let everybody go except Terrible Timmy.
"And have a great surprise for you, Timmy!!" Mrs. Witchey said with an evil smile, with another flash of lightning outside. "What is i…," but before Terrible Timmy got to finish his sentence, Mrs. Witchey locked the door and tied him to a chair. "What is going on !?" Terrible Timmy said. The lights went out and Mrs. Witchey said, "Don't worry you will find out," with a more evil grin.
Then she put the items that Stacey's team gave her into the pot which bubbled and bubbled. "You see Timmy?" Mrs. Witchey said while stirring the pot. "I'm not like the other teachers in this school'.' Her name tag now said "Mrs. Witch." She stopped stirring and then said, "Toil and bubble, make me a monster that will only cause trouble!!!!"
A giant hairy monster with five claws sharp as swords came out of the pot and ran to Terrible Timmy with its five brick-shaped teeth opened wide at him. Then before the thing attacked him, the only thing we could hear was monster's yell and Terrible Timmy's scream.
The next day at school was normal except Terrible Timmy was gone, forever.