Any Way You Slice It by Nancy Krulik

Chater 1
    “Watch out, Suzanne!” Katie Carew warned her best friend Suzanne Lock as the girls walked through the Cherrydale Mall. “You’re about to bump into the jewelry stand!” The girls were allowed to walk around the mall alone, as long as they stayed close to the bookstore where Katie’s mother worked. It was one of the best parts of having a mom who worked at the mall.
    Suzanne moved to her left. “Thanks, Katie,” she answered. “That was a close one.”
    “I don’t know about this walking-backward thing,” Katie said. “It’s pretty dangerous. You could get hurt.”
    “Well, I can’t stop now,” Suzanne told her. “I’ve already been walking backward for forty-five minutes.”
    “How much longer until you break the record?”
    Suzanne looked at her watch. “Only seventy-two hours and twenty-three minutes.”
    Just then, Jeremy Fox, Katie’s other best friend, ran up to the girls. “Hurry up, Katie,” he said. “We’ve got to get to Louie’s Pizza Shop. He’s about to make another pizza!”
    Katie’s face lit up. She loved watching Louie throw the dough in the air. He made a real show of it, twirling around and singing Italian songs. “Suzanne, can you run backward?” Katie asked.
    “I can try,” Suzanne replied.
    Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you give it up?” he asked Suzanne. “You’ll never break the record.”
    “How do you know?” Suzanne demanded.
    “Well, you didn’t break the seesawing record, or the holding-your-breath record, or the hopping-on-one-foot record, did you?” he asked. “You’ve been trying to break a record all week!”
    Suzanne frowned. “This is different!” she insisted. “Isn’t it, Katie?”
    Katie didn’t answer. She hated it when her two best friends put her in the middle of one of their arguments. Besides, she didn’t really know what to say. Suzanne had been trying all week to get into the book of world records. So far, she hadn’t even come close.
    Still, Katie knew Suzanne wasn’t going to give up—at least not until she became interested in something else.
    “Come on,” Jeremy urged again. “I want to get a good seat, right near the pizza oven. Louie’s is going to be mobbed. You know what it’s like there on Saturdays.”
    Katie looked at Suzanne.
    “You go ahead,” Suzanne told Katie.
    “Are you sure?”
    “Yeah. Just save me a seat.”
    Katie smiled. “Thanks, Suzanne, you’re the best!” she shouted as she ran off with Jeremy.
    Katie and Jeremy didn’t get very far before they heard a loud crash. The kids turned around and saw Suzanne sitting on the floor, covered in a mountain of women’s hats.

    “Suzanne banged into the Hat Rack!” Jeremy began to laugh.
    But Katie didn’t think it was funny. Neither did the manager of the Hat Rack clothing stall.
    “Watch where you’re going!” the manager shouted at Suzanne.
    “I’m sorry,” Suzanne said, blushing. “I was trying to break a record.”
    “Well, you almost broke my stall,” the manager scolded. “Now get out of here, before I call security.”
    Suzanne jumped to her feet and ran . . . frontward.
    “So much for the book of world records,” Jeremy said to her.
    “Don’t you worry.” Suzanne shook her head. “I’ll find another record to break.”

Chapter 2
    Louie’s Pizza Shop was very crowded by the time Katie, Jeremy, and Suzanne arrived. Lots of people liked to watch Louie make his pizzas.
    Katie loved everything about Louie’s Pizza Shop. She loved the jukebox in the corner. She loved the Italian ice and spumoni counter. She loved the smell of warm pizza coming out of the oven. But most of all she loved Louie. He looked just like a pizza chef should, with his big white shirt, long apron, and dark, twirly moustache.
    “Hey, Katie Kazoo, over here!” somebody called out.
    There was only one person in the world who called her Katie Kazoo—her friend George Brennan. Katie quickly spotted George and his best pal, Kevin Camilleri.