Deedee ran across the playground screaming.

At first Louis thought she was just having fun, but then he realized something was wrong. He hurried after her and grabbed her arm.

"Deedee, are you all right?" he asked.

She stared at him wide-eyed as she continued to scream.

Several other kids gathered around. "What\'s wrong with Deedee?" asked Myron.

"I don\'t know," said Louis.

84

Deedee hiccupped three times, then gasped, "I saw her!"

"Who?" asked Louis.

Deedee didn\'t answer-she just stared right through him.

But everyone else knew whom Deedee had seen. Most of them had seen her too, during the last two weeks.

"Where was she?" asked Todd.

"On the monkey bars," said Deedee, still trembling and breathing hard. "I was hanging upside down, and suddenly she was hanging upside down right next to me!"

"Did she wiggle her ears?" asked Jenny.

"Only one," said Deedee. "I jumped off and ran away before she could wiggle the other one."

"That\'s good," said Rondi.

"Who is she?" asked Louis. "A hippopotamus?"

"No!" said Myron with a laugh. "Why do you say that?"

"Because when a hippopotamus gets mad, it wiggles its ears."

"She\'s worse than a hippopotamus," said Allison.

"I saw her last week, at the water fountain," said Todd. "I bent down to get a drink, and then there she was, drinking at the faucet next to me."

"I saw her on the stairs," said Rondi. "I was going up the stairs, and she went right past me, sliding down on the banister."

85

"Who?" asked Louis.

"Mrs. Gorf!" said Deedee. Just saying the name sent a shiver of fear through her body.

"Oh, your old teacher," said Louis with a shrug. "Is she back? I always wondered what happened to her."

The children looked at each other. Mrs. Gorf was the teacher they had had before Mrs. Jewls took over. They had never told anyone how they had gotten rid of her. They especially couldn\'t tell Louis.

She was the meanest teacher in the history of Wayside School. Of course there are other teachers at other schools who are meaner.

Louis looked toward the monkey bars. "I don\'t see her," he said.

"Well, she was there," Deedee insisted. "I saw her!"

"You just imagined you saw her, Deedee," said Louis. "If you hate somebody, or if you love somebody, you often think you see that person when she isn\'t there. It\'s very common. It\'s just like Mrs. Drazil."

"Who\'s Mrs. Drazil?" asked Todd.

"She was the worst teacher I ever had," said Louis. He shivered just thinking about her. "She was my teacher when I was your age. I sometimes think I see her, too. And I still have nightmares about her."

"............