new girl open the note. She gave them a creepy smile.
Stacy smiled back. Abby didnât know whether to smile or frown.
Jason plopped down on Abbyâs desk. âHey, look at that. The new girlâs got red pigtails.â
âSo what?â said Abby.
âDonât you see? Her hairâs too short for pigtails,â Jason joked. âThey stick straight out.â
âBe nice,â Abby said. âSheâs new. Besides,we should treat others the way we want to be treated.â
Jason crossed his eyes and scrunched up his face.
Rrrinng! The last bell before school started.
Miss Hersheyâs students scrambled to their seats. She called roll. Then she asked the new girl to stand and say her name.
âIâm Leslie Groff,â said the girl. She sat down real fast.
Abby thought Leslie must surely be in the wrong class. Leslie was way too short for their grade.
After spelling class, Ellen and her guide dog showed up.
Miss Hershey assigned a desk to Ellen in the back of the room. Honey could stretch out there.
Abby couldnât help staring at Honey. Her classmates kept looking at the beautiful dog, too.
âStudents, please face the front,â MissHershey said several times during math.
When it was time for reading, Leslie Groff sat beside Abby. Halfway through the story, she whispered, âI have a secret.â
Abby looked at her. âA secret? What is it?â
âCanât tell,â she whispered.
âThen let me guess,â Abby said.
âYouâll never guess in a trillion and one years.â
A mystery! Abby was ready for the challenge. Her mind was racing. She had to solve it . . . whatever the mystery was!
At recess, Abby played with the other Cul-de-sac Kids. They gathered near the slide and took turns petting Honey. Abby asked, âWhat could Leslieâs secret be?â
Dunkum had an idea. âMaybe sheâs a cousin to Anne of Green Gables. She had red hair, too.â
They cracked up, laughing.
âLeslie looks like a second grader to me. She probably skipped a grade,â said Eric.
âI think so, too!â said Abby. âThatâs got to be her secret.â
Ellen sat on the end of the slide. Honey was licking her hand. âWhereâs Leslie now?â Ellen asked.
âShe stayed inside with Miss Hershey,â Jason said. Then he doubled over, laughing hard. âLeslieâs short, skinny pigtails match her legs!â
Abby didnât think it was funny. âJason, what about the Golden Rule?â
âThatâs right,â said Dunkum. âBesides, some kids canât help being skinny.â
âAnd some kids canât help being girls !â joked Jason.
âCome on, Jason, letâs play ball,â Dunkum suggested. âThe girls are gonna clobber you!â
Eric smiled at Abby. âJason didnât really mean it, you know.â He ran off to join the boys.
Ellen giggled. âUh-oh, Abby. Eric likes you.â
âWhy do you think that?â asked Abby.
âI just do,â said Ellen.
The recess bell rang.
On the way inside, Ellen promised to show Abby and Stacy her Braille machine. âIt makes little dots stick up off the paper. I can feel each dot with my fingers,â Ellen explained. âThatâs how I read.â
âItâs like a secret code,â Abby said. âWhich reminds me of Leslie Groff. I have to figure out her secret!â
THREE
The next day, Abbyâs father woke her. âHurry, Abby. You overslept!â
She sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. âWha-at?â
âFifteen minutes before breakfast,â her father said. âHurry, youâll be late for school!â
Abby tossed off the covers. She threw on a blouse and pants. She swished a toothbrush over her teeth and brushed her hair. Grabbing Mystery History , she was off to breakfast.
But the kitchen was
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