Read an Excerpt
Succotash Pudding
By Kevin McMurtrie
Trafford Publishing
Copyright © 2013 Kevin McMurtrie
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4669-7682-5
Chapter One
Ned was not looking forward to his first day of school. His head was filled with images of just how hard it was going to be, and his big sister, Penny, was the reason for that.
Of all the hardships he was going to have to deal with, the cafeteria seemed the most dreadful. Penny had told him countless horror stories of long lines and disgusting meals, not to mention the mean lunch lady. Although he had few details to be sure of, his imagination ran wild.
Ned saw himself standing in line with his empty tray before him. As he slid his tray along the tracks, he started to sweat. And then he was face-to-face with Gertrude, the lunch lady.
His worst nightmare was coming true. Gertrude stared right at him and then smiled that big toothless smile he was told about. With only one tooth on top and two on the bottom, she started to speak. "Would you like meatloaf?" Ned's reply was a simple "Yes, please." Gertrude snapped back, "Well, we don't have meatloaf today." He slid his tray to the right.
Gertrude then asked him if he would like peas or carrots. Ned asked for peas. Again, Gertrude's response was surprising: "Well, we don't have peas today." Ned slid his tray to the right.
As Ned stood staring down at his empty tray, he wondered what was next. He almost didn't want to see the desserts, but he had no choice. As he looked up at Gertrude, he prepared for the worst, and it came. Gertrude made it clear that there was only one dessert available today and there was plenty of it to go around"Succotash pudding!" As Gertrude pushed a large bowl of this yellow-and-green concoction toward him, he felt faint.
Just then, Ned's alarm went off, and he heard his mom calling his name. The day had arrived.
He dressed for school. He went down to breakfast. His mom told him how wonderful his first day was going to be. His sister, Penny, only glanced his way once with a devilish grin.
The bus ride and morning activities were very uneventful. Everything seemed to be going along smoothly. And then the lunch bell rang. Ned could feel his stomach start to get queasy. As his class formed a line and walked down the hallway to the cafeteria, his thoughts turned to Gertrude. How would he survive the pudding?
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Succotash Pudding by Kevin McMurtrie Copyright © 2013 by Kevin McMurtrie. Excerpted by permission of Trafford Publishing. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.