Pig City by Louis Sachar Page B

Nathan was on one side of her and Allison on the other. For the most part, everyone was dry. Only an occasional drop of water reached the bed, but the Dog House was being drenched.
    Nobody moved.
    â€œHelp! Help!” called Allison and Aaron.
    â€œShut up!” said Laura. “Monkey Town might still be out there. Do you want them to hear you?”
    During the stampede to the bed, someone had kicked over the coffee table, and the mustard fell tothe floor. Jars broke and plastic bags opened.
    Mustard water with horseradish, brown sugar, garlic, wine, dill, and whatever else oozed across the floor.
    â€œAaron!” Laura shouted. “You’re closest!”
    â€œMy clothes will be ruined,” he said. “I have to walk home. You live here. You can change into dry clothes.”
    â€œI can’t move!” said Laura. “I’m stuck behind Kristin.”
    â€œAnd I’m stuck behind Aaron!” said Kristin.
    Drops splattered the yellow floor.
    â€œLook out, I’m coming through!” said Laura. She pushed into Kristin.
    Aaron, Kristin, and Tiffany got tangled together and all three fell into the yellow swamp as Laura jumped off the bed. She ran headfirst into the thick spray. She picked up the sprinkler and hurled it away.
    Monkey Town was gone.
    She walked to the back door and turned off the water.
    The citizens of Pig City dripped out of the Dog House, one at a time.
    Laura sadly shook her head. She felt ashamed. The clubhouse had practically been destroyed. She saw Gabriel’s shirt lying on the back stoop. She realized hemust have taken it off so it wouldn’t get wet, then forgot it. She stepped on it.
    â€œNow what are we going to do?” asked Kristin.
    â€œWe have no choice,” said Laura. “We have to surrender.” She took off her wet cap.

30
Terms of Surrender
    There was no school Monday because it was Memorial Day. On Tuesday when Laura came to school, she didn’t write on the blackboard. That wasn’t the kind of thing a person who was about to surrender would do. She just walked into class along with everyone else. She held her hat in her hand.
    PIGS ARE ALL WET was written on the blackboard. Mr. Doyle erased it, then put the number 15 next to the rectangle. He told the class to pass their homework forward.
    Laura opened her notebook and took out several pieces of paper. She gave all but one to the girl in front of her.
    She nervously looked over the page she kept. She had worked harder on it than she had on all her homework. She read it for the hundredth time.
    Dear Jonathan
,
    This is a very difficult letter for me to write. It
seems that the time has come for Pig City to surrender. It is foolish for us to fight if you’re going to win in the end. We might all get kicked out of school if we’re not careful. Meet me at the swings at the beginning of recess so we can discuss the terms of surrender. Come alone. As I’m sure you can understand, this must be kept confidential until all the terms are settled
.
    Bravely
,
    Laura Sibbie
    President of Pig City
    As she said, it had been a very difficult letter for her to write. She had to be careful that nothing she wrote was a lie.
    Now, she had to think of a way of getting it to Jonathan. She didn’t dare let Mr. Doyle see it.
    â€œLaura, will you come here, please,” said Mr. Doyle.
    Laura smiled. That was easy, she thought. She put the note in her back pocket and walked to Mr. Doyle’s desk.
    â€œYou’re not wearing your hat,” he said to her.
    â€œSo?”
    â€œYou’ve worn it every day for a month. I was just wondering –”
    â€œThere’s no rule saying I have to wear my cap, isthere? Nobody else has to to wear a cap to class; why do I?”
    Mr. Doyle shrugged. “You don’t,” he said. “I’d gotten used to it, that’s all.” He smiled. “I liked it. I apologize.”
    Laura turned and walked away,