sneaker. When he stopped running his fingers through his hair, we knew he was ready for the big pitch. Harry wound up twice and delivered a fast, bouncy ball over the plate. Dexter ran forward and gave it a hard kick. THONK! The ball soared high in the air to center field. It looked like a sure home run! Dexter thought so, too. He went into his Elvis routine, rocking and rolling around the bases. âBe bop da-boom! Be bop da-boom! Shoogie-boogie Boogie-shoogie SLAM! BAM! BOOM!â Then it happened. Deep in center field, all the way back by the big tree ... âSHEâS GOT IT!â I screamed. It was Song Lee! She grabbed the ball right out of the air with both hands and pulled it close to her chest.
âDexterâs out! Yahoo!â Harry yelled as he ran to center field and gave Song Lee a big hug. When recess was over and we lined up, Sidney patted Harry on the back. âYou really love kickball, donât you?â
âYeah!â Harry said, pointing both thumbs up. âSo why donât you marry it, then?â Harry poked Sidney in the chest. âYou like to laugh? Just wait till I tickle your funnybone. After school!â As I watched Sidney duck behind the teacher, I shook my head. Poor Sidney. He was in for it now. Harryâs revenge!
Tickle Attack!
    A t 3:03 P.M., I sat on the school lawn reading a book while Harry hid behind the pricker bush waiting for Sidney. When Dexter strolled by, Harry peeked out at him. âHey, Dex!â Dexter took a step back. âYou hiding from someone?â âEh ... no. Just looking for slugs under these rocks.â âThatâs cool. Hey, did I get robbed or what? Man, that should have been a homer-illo.â
âYeah,â Harry said. âRight-arillo! But Song Lee is an awesome player.â Dexter nodded. âWait till I get my cousinâs new soccer ball. You kick that sucker and it flies!â âAll right!â Harry said. Then Dexter spotted me on the lawn and waved. Harry and I waved back as we watched him rock and roll up the street singing: âShoogie boogie boo! Shoogie boogie boo! Boogie-shoogie Shoogie-boogie Boogity boo!â Soon after Dexter left, Sidney came by. Harry was waiting for him. âAha!â he shouted as he leaped up, wiggling his fingers. âItâs time for ... the tickle attack!â Harry jumped on Sidney. âHey! What are you doing?â Sidney said as they tumbled to the ground. âHeh! Heh! Heh!â Harry cackled.
Then he slipped his fingers inside Sidneyâs jacket and started tickling his armpits. âHA! HA! HA!â Sidney howled. âSTOP! HA! HA! STOP!â A bunch of letters fell out of Sidneyâs pocket when he was screaming and shaking. I thought they were probably valentines. My name was on one of them. âAre you gonna stop bugging me about marrying hot dogs or kickballs?â âYES! HA! HA! I PROMISE!â As soon as Harry stopped, Sidney jumped to his feet. He looked like he was going to cry. âYou know what? My ... my ... momâs really getting married Saturday.â Harryâs eyes were as big as mine! We watched Sidney pick up the letters and stuff them back in his pocket. âMom wants me to invite you guys, but I donât feel like it. I donât even want to go myself!â
âWhoâs your mom marrying?â I asked as I got up and closed my book. âSome guy named George. He sells tombstones.â âTombstones?â I asked. âThatâs interesting. Is he nice?â Sidney shrugged. âHeâs okay. I donât know why Mom has to marry him. Iâm supposed to be in the wedding ceremony and go to some dumb rehearsal tonight at the church. But I donât want to!â Then Sidney started crying and ran up the street. I shook my head. âWell, now we know why Sidney has marriage on the