The Jelly Bean Experiment Story and illustrations by David A. Adler DannyDoodlesWaffle.indd 1 6/24/13 10:36 AM For my great nieces and nephews Netanel, Emuna, Avital, Techiya, Elyada, and Aviya. Copyright © 2013 by David A. Adler Cover and internal design © 2013 by Sourcebooks, Inc. Cover design by Regina Flath Cover illustration © Regina Flath Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems— except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews— without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author. Published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc. P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410 (630) 961-3900 Fax: (630) 961-2168 www.jabberwockykids.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is on file with the publisher. Source of Production: Versa Press, East Peoria, Illinois, USA Date of Production: June 2013 Run Number: 20688 Printed and bound in the United States of America. VP 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 DannyDoodlesWaffle.indd 2 6/24/13 10:36 AM Contents One: Monday and the Jelly Beans ..........................................1 Two: Tuesday and Annie Abrams ..........................................11 Three: Tuesday Afternoon, Wednesday, and the Big Green Splotch ...............................................................................21 Four: Sunday and It’s Good ...................................................31 Five: Still Sunday and the Bathroom Spy ......................43 Six: More Sunday and Calvin Reads People .....................57 Seven: Sunday, Monday, and What About Mr. Waffle? ..............67 Eight: Tuesday and the Big Game ......................................81 DannyDoodlesWaffle.indd 3 6/24/13 10:36 AM I doodle when I write. So here’s the story with all my doodles. -Danny DannyDoodlesWaffle.indd 4 6/24/13 10:36 AM Chapter 1 Monday and the Jelly Beans I am the subject of Calvin Waffle’s experiment. Last week at school he followed me everywhere. He didn’t stay close, but he was there. Lurking. He made a list of everyone who walked up to me, everyone who spoke to me. He listed their names and how long we talked. “What’s with all the names and numbers?” I asked. “I need them for my experiment,” Calvin told me. “They’re statistics, the backbone of science.” No, they’re not, I thought. The backbones of DannyDoodlesWaffle.indd 1 6/24/13 10:36 AM Danny’s Doodles: The Jelly Bean Experiment science are test tubes and microscopes and jars of chemicals, stinky chemicals that make your hands turn colors. I know what statistics are. They’re the backbone of sports. I know baseball batting averages, football passing and rushing records, and basketball shooting percentages. Here’s a statistic: My new friend Calvin Waffle is 100% weird. All last week he followed me and lurked. Now it’s Monday. We’re on our way to school and he has that list. It’s in his shirt pocket. It’s folded and sticking up a bit like a fancy handkerchief. “Are you going to keep watching who talks to me?” Calvin shakes his head way up and down. He’s nodding, telling me he’ll keep watching. 2 DannyDoodlesWaffle.indd 2 6/24/13 10:36 AM monday and the jelly beans “Last week was the control,” he says. “This week is the experiment.” I haven’t known Calvin very long. The first time we talked was two weeks ago. It was after school. I was walking home when he Two kinds of breakfast waffles: A breakfast waffle called to me. with syrup “Hey. You’re in my class.” I turned and saw him walking toward me. “I’m Calvin Waffle,” he said. I knew that. I was there when our teacher Mrs. Cakel introduced him to our class. I told him my name. “I’m Danny Cohen.” Now we walk together to school and A Calvin back. That’s because he lives on my block. Waffle He moved here with his mom. I don’t know about his father. I didn’t ask. I never ask those kinds of questions. I’m not a nosy news reporter. I’m just a kid in the fourth grade. When I’m older, I’ll be a cartoonist. It’s Monday. We’re about to turn the corner to 3 DannyDoodlesWaffle.indd 3 6/24/13 10:36 AM Danny’s Doodles: The Jelly Bean Experiment enter the school playground and Calvin stops. He pulls on my sleeve and says, “Come with me.” I follow him behind a big tree. Calvin takes a few large bags of jelly beans from his book bag. He fills my shirt pocket and my front and back pants pockets with beans. “Thanks for the treats,” I say. “You can’t eat any,” Calvin tells me. “That would ruin it.” “Eating a few jelly beans would ruin what?” “The experiment.” “What experiment?” “I can’t tell you that,” Calvin says and shakes his head. “If I told you, I would ruin the experiment.” “What can you tell me?” “Life is a mystery.” So are you, Calvin Waffle. I look down at my bulging shirt pocket. Two red beans and a yellow look up at me. “I might not be able to control myself,” I say. 4 DannyDoodlesWaffle.indd 4 6/24/13 10:36 AM monday and the jelly beans “Reds are my favorites. During class I Here is my pocket might be tempted to dip into my pocket filled with beans. and take a snack.” “I’ll know if any are missing,” he says. He shows me the empty jelly bean bags and the number of the weight of the beans in the bag. “If they weigh less at the end of the day, I’ll know you ate some.” “Or maybe,” I say, “some fell out of my pockets.” I jump and a few beans fall out. “Don’t do that,” Calvin says and picks up the jelly beans that fell. “You’ll skew the experiment.” “Skew?” “Change.” The bell rings. It’s time to line up and go into school. Calvin puts the beans that fell back in my pocket. I hurry through the playground. Then I turn to tell Calvin 5 DannyDoodlesWaffle.indd 5 6/24/13 10:36 AM