Read Online Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Brandon Mull
Ads: Link
difficult for those who eat it to notice the powers my special treats grant to others. So the fudge serves a dual purpose: It will entice your friends and family into my store, so I can remain profitable, and it will help them ignore any oddities resulting from the candy I give you.”
“Will it hurt anybody?” Trevor asked.
“The fudge is harmless,” Mrs. White assured them. “The only reason to avoid my white fudge is if you want magic candy to work on you. After you eat the fudge, sucking on a Moon Rock won’t make you a pound lighter.”
“When will we get the Moon Rocks?” Nate asked.
“Take home my fudge. Share it tonight with your parents, older relatives, and any other friends, and the bag of Moon Rocks, containing at least forty pieces, will be yours tomorrow.” She picked up a white rectangular box with “Sweet Tooth Ice Cream and Candy Shoppe” stamped in red and opened it. Inside were four large cubes of white fudge.
Pigeon leaned forward to sniff the contents. “Smells good.”
“I’ll give each of you two boxes,” Mrs. White said. “Make sure you emphasize where you got the fudge, and that our shop has many other goodies. And, just in case the temptation is too great, here is some dark fudge for each of you.” She handed each of them a dense square of brown fudge.
*****
Sitting at his desk the next day, Nate could hardly wait for school to end. The clock seemed paralyzed. That morning, he had gotten his name written on the board for cracking jokes. A name on the board was a warning—if he got a check mark after it, he would have to stay after class, so he had forced himself to keep quiet the rest of the day.
Staying after class was not an option. He was anxious to collect his reward from Mrs. White. The previous night he had shared the white fudge with his family. His dad, mom, and sister each ate a cube. They all loved it, and wondered why he didn’t eat the last piece. He explained that he had already had some. His dad ended up splitting the extra block of fudge with his mom. Everyone seemed in an unusually relaxed mood after the fudge. They all sat around watching TV together for the remainder of the evening, which was out of character for his parents.
Earlier that day at lunch, after Pigeon had lost his dessert to Denny, Eric, and Kyle, Nate learned that the others had given fudge to their families as well. Trevor had also presented a box to his neighbors. Nate still had an extra box under his bed.
Miss Doulin paced at the front of the room, droning about homework. Nate was too excited by the thought of gliding through the air again to pay attention. He doodled in his notebook, depicting a stick figure jumping from the half-court line to slam-dunk a basketball. Then he diagrammed how a stick person would leap back and forth between two skyscrapers to reach the top.
Finally, the bell rang. Pigeon went to the front of the room and presented a box of white fudge to Miss Doulin. She smiled and they chatted for a moment. Pigeon had offered a bunch of correct answers in class again today. The guy might not have much athletic ability, but he was certainly a world-class kiss up!
“I saw you giving sweets to your new girlfriend,” Nate teased as he and Pigeon walked out of the room.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Pigeon said.
“Not yet,” Nate said. “But she’s not married, she calls you by your nickname, and you’re giving her chocolates. Give it time.”
“Lay off,” Summer said, coming up from behind. “Can’t hurt for one of us to get on Miss Doulin’s good side.”
“It isn’t just getting on her good side,” Nate said. “I bet she writes about Pigeon in her diary.”
“You’re the one who keeps talking about it, Nate,” Summer pointed out. “Maybe you’re the one with the secret crush.”
Nate found himself without a comeback. Fortunately, he saw Trevor walking toward them and
“Will it hurt anybody?” Trevor asked.
“The fudge is harmless,” Mrs. White assured them. “The only reason to avoid my white fudge is if you want magic candy to work on you. After you eat the fudge, sucking on a Moon Rock won’t make you a pound lighter.”
“When will we get the Moon Rocks?” Nate asked.
“Take home my fudge. Share it tonight with your parents, older relatives, and any other friends, and the bag of Moon Rocks, containing at least forty pieces, will be yours tomorrow.” She picked up a white rectangular box with “Sweet Tooth Ice Cream and Candy Shoppe” stamped in red and opened it. Inside were four large cubes of white fudge.
Pigeon leaned forward to sniff the contents. “Smells good.”
“I’ll give each of you two boxes,” Mrs. White said. “Make sure you emphasize where you got the fudge, and that our shop has many other goodies. And, just in case the temptation is too great, here is some dark fudge for each of you.” She handed each of them a dense square of brown fudge.
*****
Sitting at his desk the next day, Nate could hardly wait for school to end. The clock seemed paralyzed. That morning, he had gotten his name written on the board for cracking jokes. A name on the board was a warning—if he got a check mark after it, he would have to stay after class, so he had forced himself to keep quiet the rest of the day.
Staying after class was not an option. He was anxious to collect his reward from Mrs. White. The previous night he had shared the white fudge with his family. His dad, mom, and sister each ate a cube. They all loved it, and wondered why he didn’t eat the last piece. He explained that he had already had some. His dad ended up splitting the extra block of fudge with his mom. Everyone seemed in an unusually relaxed mood after the fudge. They all sat around watching TV together for the remainder of the evening, which was out of character for his parents.
Earlier that day at lunch, after Pigeon had lost his dessert to Denny, Eric, and Kyle, Nate learned that the others had given fudge to their families as well. Trevor had also presented a box to his neighbors. Nate still had an extra box under his bed.
Miss Doulin paced at the front of the room, droning about homework. Nate was too excited by the thought of gliding through the air again to pay attention. He doodled in his notebook, depicting a stick figure jumping from the half-court line to slam-dunk a basketball. Then he diagrammed how a stick person would leap back and forth between two skyscrapers to reach the top.
Finally, the bell rang. Pigeon went to the front of the room and presented a box of white fudge to Miss Doulin. She smiled and they chatted for a moment. Pigeon had offered a bunch of correct answers in class again today. The guy might not have much athletic ability, but he was certainly a world-class kiss up!
“I saw you giving sweets to your new girlfriend,” Nate teased as he and Pigeon walked out of the room.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Pigeon said.
“Not yet,” Nate said. “But she’s not married, she calls you by your nickname, and you’re giving her chocolates. Give it time.”
“Lay off,” Summer said, coming up from behind. “Can’t hurt for one of us to get on Miss Doulin’s good side.”
“It isn’t just getting on her good side,” Nate said. “I bet she writes about Pigeon in her diary.”
“You’re the one who keeps talking about it, Nate,” Summer pointed out. “Maybe you’re the one with the secret crush.”
Nate found himself without a comeback. Fortunately, he saw Trevor walking toward them and
Similar Books
