In the Land of the Lawn Weenies by David Lubar

knees. “Michael, where are you?” she called, desperately scanning the ocean.
    Suddenly the water next to her exploded. A huge shape shot up from the ocean in a spray of white foam. Kelly jumped back, scraping her heel on a jagged shell. The thrashing creature next to her roared.
    Then it laughed.

    â€œThat’s not funny!” Kelly shouted.
    â€œYou should have seen your face.” Michael laughed again as he walked back toward the sand. He left the water and plunked down on a towel.
    Kelly felt trapped. She knew she wasn’t supposed to be in the water, but she didn’t want to join her brother. It was always that way—Michael broke the rules, and then she got in trouble.
    Kelly wanted to get even. There had to be some way. Maybe she could scare him.
    â€œWatch out for the sand sharks,” she called.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œSand sharks,” she repeated. “They’ll get you.”
    â€œDon’t be stupid,” Michael said. “Sand sharks live in the water.”
    â€œNope,” Kelly told him. “Not around here. Around here, they live in the sand. And they hunt for boys. I read about them in the guidebook.”
    â€œYeah, right.” Michael sprawled across the beach towel.
    Kelly remained in the water. She watched Michael, wondering what he would do next. She was sure he wasn’t through ruining her day. He had one foot in the sand by the corner of the towel, digging in with his toes. Suddenly he jerked his leg and stuck his foot deeper.
    â€œHelp!” he screamed.
    Kelly wasn’t amused.
    â€œOw! Help!” Michael twisted around like a fish on a hook. He thrust his foot farther into the sand. “Kelly, help me!”

    â€œYeah, right,” she said, repeating the words he’d used a moment earlier. She wasn’t going to fall for his tricks twice in one day. “You’ll have to do better than that.”
    Somehow, Michael dug his foot even deeper in the sand. Kelly was amazed that her brother would work so hard to scare her.
    â€œAhhhh!” He was making fake screams now, not even shouting real words. He was really flopping around. He thrashed his arms and kicked at the sand with his other foot. Then he stuck that one in, too.
    Kelly wondered how long he would keep it up. He’d actually gotten his legs into the sand all the way up to the knees. She hadn’t thought that would be possible. It sure looked uncomfortable. Still, it was all wasted effort. She’d never fall for such a ridiculous trick.
    Twisting and wriggling, Michael managed to get buried all the way up to the top of his bathing suit. “Kelly,” he said weakly.
    Kelly had an idea. She decided to play along just enough to make him think she was fooled. After all, the sand shark story was her idea to begin with. “Oh, all right, I’ll help you.” She walked slowly toward the shore. But she promised herself she wouldn’t run or scream when he leaped up and shouted. She’d just laugh at him. It would be perfect.
    Kelly waded through the surf, taking small steps to make Michael wait. She enjoyed the way the water felt as it ran back to the sea, tickling her toes. Her brother was still making sounds,
but they made no sense. She braced herself, knowing he would jump up and shout “Boo!” when she got close.
    He didn’t.
    By the time Kelly reached Michael, all she could see was the top of his head. A moment later, the sand closed in over that, leaving nothing but a tiny crater.
    Kelly heard a car coming down the road toward the beach. After the engine stopped, she heard car doors slamming.
    â€œWhere’s Michael?” Mom called.
    â€œHe didn’t feel like lunch,” Kelly said as she smoothed out the shallow crater with her foot. She decided that after she ate she’d go back into the water as soon as Mom let her. She really didn’t want to spend much time on the sand.

ON THE ROAD
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