Of course Miss Nogard knew all about Louis. The children\'s brains were buzzing about him.

Louis likes Miss Nogard, thought Stephen.

Louis is in love with Miss Nogard, thought Todd.

Louis wants to marry Miss Nogard, thought Sharie.

But even if she couldn\'t listen to their brains, she would have found out anyway. "Louis, the yard teacher, is madly in love with you," said Jenny.
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"Oh, really?" said Miss Nogard.

"He dreams about you every night," said Calvin.

"He thinks your eyes are like the moon," said Bebe.

Miss Nogard smiled.

"Do you like him?" asked Jenny.

"He\'s kind of cute," said Miss Nogard.

"Ooooh," Bebe and Calvin said together.

"What about his mustache?" asked Jenny. "Do you like his mustache?"

Miss Nogard thought a moment. "It would probably tickle if he kissed me."

The children gasped as their mouths fell open.

They returned to their desks and told everyone around them what Miss Nogard said.

Miss Nogard smiled. She wondered just how she\'d break Louis\'s heart.

Ever since Xavier broke her heart, she\'d become an expert at breaking other people\'s. She listened to men\'s brains and knew just what to say to make them fall in love with her.

And then she knew just the right thing to say, at just the right moment, to shatter their hearts into a million pieces. Even the biggest and strongest man would cry like a baby.

She was incapable of love. Her heart was clogged with bitterness and hate. And besides, she knew no one would ever love someone with three ears.

For just a second she felt a pang of sadness. Because she really did think Louis was kind of cute. Like a puppy dog.

She could almost feel the tickle of his mustache.

"Miss Nogard thinks you\'re cute," Jenny told Louis at recess.

"She\'s hot for you, Louis!" said Mac.

"She wants to kiss you!" said Bebe.

"C\'mon, let\'s play kickball," said Louis.

They played kickball, but it was weird. Louis, who was probably the best kickball player ever, did terribly. He tripped over the ball when he tried to kick it. And when Terrence kicked a pop-up, Louis tried to catch it, but the ball bounced off his head.

"What\'s wrong with Louis?" asked Ron. "Is he sick or something?"

"Yes," said Jenny. "He\'s got a real bad disease. And it\'s spelled L-O-V-E."

The next morning Louis came to school with a bunch of flowers in his hand.
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Jenny saw him. "Are those for Miss Nogard?" she asked.

"Oh, I don\'t know," said Louis. "I passed a field ............