Read Online Otis Spofford by Beverly Cleary - Free Book Online Page A

the two girls. He did this nearly every morning on the way to school. Sometimes Otis ran as fast as he could. Other times he ran just fast enough to keep the girls running. After all, he did not want to catch them. He just wanted to tease them. Especially Ellen.
    But this morning Otis did not chase the girls all the way to school. They had run only a block when Austine’s brother, Bruce, cut through a vacant lot and caught up with them. Otis noticed he was wearing his Boy Scout uniform under his leather jacket.
    “Hey, what are you kids running for?” Bruce called to his sister and her friend.
    The girls stopped and Otis slowed to a walk.
    “He’s chasing us,” Austine panted.
    “Him?” asked Bruce scornfully.
    “Yes,” said Ellen. “He chases us every morning.”
    “What would he do if he caught you?” Bruce asked.
    Otis saw the girls look at each other. They didn’t know. All three were silent while he walked past. He was tempted to yank Austine’s hair ribbon as he went by, but he decided he’d better not with Bruce there.
    Bruce said, “He wouldn’t do anything!”
    Otis thought this over as he continued down the street. What would he do if he caught them? He didn’t know either. He guessed he would have to think of something. Now that there was snow on the ground, he might wash their faces.
    Then he heard Bruce say, “I’ll tell you what. You chase him.”

    Startled, Otis stopped and looked back. Ellen and Austine were staring at each other in surprise. Such an idea had never occurred to them. They giggled.
    “Go on,” urged Bruce. “I’ll watch you.” With Bruce to protect them, the girls began to run. Otis stood his ground an instant and then he began to run too. There was no telling what two girls might do if they caught him.
    “That’s it,” yelled Bruce. The girls ran faster, their feet scrunching in the snow.
    Otis ran faster too. That old Boy Scout, he thought, as his feet pounded through the snow and he unzipped his jacket to cool off. Probably thinks he’s done his good deed for the day. I’ll fix him. Otis made up his mind to let the air out of Bruce’s tires as soon as the snow melted and he rode his bicycle to school again.
    To Otis’s embarrassment, the girls, protected by Bruce, chased him all the way to school. Of course, everyone on the school grounds saw him. They left their snowmen and snowball fights to watch.
    “Hey, Otis,” yelled Stewy. “What are you running for?” Everyone laughed.
    “What’s the matter?” yelled a boy, throwing a snowball at him. “You scared of a couple of girls?”
    Otis didn’t know what to do. He was running because he didn’t know how to stop.
    “You go that way and I’ll go this way,” he heard Austine say, as they ran into the schoolyard.
    They’re surrounding me, thought Otis. Now what am I going to do? He turned and ran to the right. He nearly bumped into Ellen. He ran to the left. Austine was ahead of him. She reached out to grab him but he dodged away from her. There was Ellen again.
    Otis tried to dodge a second time, but he was too late. Ellen grabbed his collar. With a quick twist of his body he wrenched himself out of her grasp. He felt something give and saw the top two buttons of his shirt pop out into the snow. Otis glared at Ellen. “Now see what you’ve done.”
    Then the bell rang, and the breathless girls left Otis and went into the building. He heard them giggling about the way they had made him run.
    Several boys gathered around Otis and laughed.
    “Jeepers, letting a couple of girls chase you,” George said.
    “Aw, keep quiet,” muttered Otis, looking down at his shirt. Quickly he pulled it together at the neck, but he was not quick enough.
    “Hey, fellows!” Stewy whooped. “Did you see his undershirt? It’s pink!”
    “Aw,” growled Otis, taking hold of the rabbit’s foot on his zipper and zipping up his jacket.
    “Pink underwear! Whoever heard of a boy wearing pink underwear?” someone