38 - The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena by R.L. Stine - (ebook by Undead) Page B

head. “A joke?” He turned back to the photos and developed a
few more. The next shot showed a real bear cub fishing in a stream. Dad laughed.
    “You know,” he said, putting the picture of the real bear next to one of the
teddy bear shots, “they don’t look as different as you’d think.”
    I knew Dad wouldn’t stay angry. He never does. That’s one reason I like to
play tricks on him. He likes to play practical jokes, too.
    “Did I ever tell you about the trick I pulled on Joe Morrison?” he asked. Joe
Morrison is a photographer friend of Dad’s.
    “Joe had just gotten back from Africa, where he had spent months
photographing gorillas. He was all excited about these fabulous gorilla shots
he’d taken. I saw the pictures, and they were really spectacular.
    “Joe had a big meeting set up with the editor of a nature magazine. He was
going to go in and show the editor these photos. He was sure the magazine would
snap them up in a second.
    “Joe didn’t know that the editor and I had gone to college together. So I
called her up and asked her to help me play a little joke on Joe.
    “When Joe went to see her, he showed her the pictures. She looked at them
without saying a word.
    “Finally he couldn’t stand the suspense any longer. He blurted out, ‘Well? Do
you like them or not?’ He’s an impatient guy, Joe.”
    “What did she say?” I asked.
    “She frowned and said, ‘You’re a good photographer, Mr. Morrison. But I’m
afraid you’ve been tricked. The creatures you photographed aren’t gorillas at
all.’
    “Joe’s jaw practically fell off his face. He said, ‘What do you mean, they’re
not gorillas?’
    “She said, with a perfectly straight face, ‘They’re people in gorilla suits.
Can’t you tell the difference between a real gorilla and a man in a gorilla suit,
Mr. Morrison?’”
    I chuckled. Nicole asked, “Then what happened?”
    “Joe practically had a nervous breakdown. He snatched up the photos and
stared at them. He shouted, ‘I don’t get it! How could that happen? I spent six
months of my life studying people in gorilla suits?’
    “Finally the editor burst out laughing and told him it was a joke. She loved
the photos and wanted to publish them. Joe wouldn’t believe her at first—it
took her fifteen minutes to get him to calm down.”
    Dad and I both laughed.
    “I think that’s really mean, Dad,” Nicole scolded.
    I get my joker streak from Dad. Nicole takes after Mom. She’s more practical.
    “Joe thought it was funny once he got over the shock,” Dad assured her. “He’s
played his share of tricks on me, believe me.”
    Dad swished another photo through the chemical bath. Then he held it up with
his tongs. It showed two bear cubs wrestling. He smiled with satisfaction.
    “This roll came out great,” he said. “But I’ve got a lot more work to do in
here, kids. Go on outside for a while, okay?”
    He turned the red light off and flipped on the normal light. Nicole opened
the door.
    “Don’t get all messed up and dirty, though,” Dad added. “We’re all going out
to dinner tonight. I want to celebrate my luck with the brown bears.”
    “We’ll be careful,” Nicole promised.
    “Speak for yourself,” I said.
    “I mean it, Jordan,” Dad warned.
    “Just kidding, Dad.”
    A wave of heat blasted us when we opened the darkroom door. Nicole and I
stepped out into the backyard, blinking in the afternoon sun. It always takes my
eyes a long time to adjust after I’ve been in the darkroom.
    “What do you want to do?” Nicole asked.
    “I don’t know,” I replied. “It’s so hot. It’s too hot to do much of
anything.”
    Nicole closed her eyes and zoned out for a minute.
    “Nicole?” I nudged her. “Nicole? What are you doing?”
    “I’m thinking about the snow in Dad’s pictures of the Grand Tetons. I thought
it would make me feel cooler.”
    She stood perfectly still with her eyes closed. A bead of sweat dripped down
her