Pandora's Lunch Box: Don't Open!

Chapter 8

The next morning, Pandora, Lyle and Lexy stood separate from the crowd of students entering the school building. Lexy's head was still huge, but she wore a big coat with the lapels up, hiding her face as much as possible. She also wore a huge hat.

Lyle whispered to Pandora, "Where'd you get that hat?"

"The clown costume shop," Pandora whispered back.

Lexy was terribly nervous. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Of course!" said Pandora. "The big hat makes your head look smaller, and the tight clothes make your body look bigger. So put together, you look perfectly normal!"

Lexy took off her coat revealing a very tight dress. But the combination of the tight dress and the big hat didn't make her look normal. They made her look even more ridiculous! But Lexy didn't realize this. She primped herself, slapped on her best queen bee look and said, "Okay. I'm going in."

Lexy started towards the main entrance of the school, and Pandora and Lyle followed, hoping for the best. But when Lexy noticed them following her, she stopped. "Um, no offense but... could you guys like not walk with me? I'm really grateful and all, but... I've got to think about my reputation."

Pandora wondered for a moment if Smugly had the right idea. Why not just sit back and enjoy Lexy's humiliation? But in spite of it all, Pandora still felt bad for Lexy, especially since this was all Pandora's fault. "Uh... sure," she said to Lexy, forcing a smile.

"You're sweet," Lexy said condescendingly then turned and went inside.

Lyle whispered to Pandora, "I think she looks like a huge lollipop."

Inside the school, Lexy strutted down the hall, full of herself as always, with Pandora and Lyle lingering behind, watching students' reactions closely. Most of them stared at Lexy, stunned.

"I think it's working!" Pandora whispered to Lyle hopefully. But Lyle wasn't quite so confident.

Up ahead, Lexy strode up to her entourage, Haylee and Kaylee, hanging out by their lockers. "Ohmygod, did you see that new exchange student kid?" Lexy said with her usual cattiness. "He looks like he's from Mars!" This was Haylee and Kaylee's cue to agree and laugh, but instead they fell silent. Their jaws dropped upon getting a good look at Lexy. But Lexy just smiled and adjusted her hat. "I know, isn't it fierce? It's the latest thing – or it will be once people see me in it. Come on." She strode down the hall, and Haylee and Kaylee followed very reluctantly.

Pandora and Lyle kept pace from a short distance. They were both worried now, especially when they started overhearing students whispering: "Is that Lexy??" "Who's the freak?" "And she said I had a big head!"

As Lexy walked, she could sense the attention, but she took it as a compliment. Adjusting her hat, she said, "It's tough being a trendsetter, but somebody's gotta do it!"

But then kids started to laugh at her, and Haylee and Kaylee noticed this. They stepped away from Lexy, not wanting the ridicule to rub off on them.

"Uh-oh," worried Pandora. Her plan was falling apart.

Lexy finally realized people were laughing at her. She turned white and stopped, glaring at everybody around her. "Who... who are you laughing at?!" She pointed to a laughing nerdy kid. "You! Zit-face! How dare you laugh at me!"

But the kid just kept laughing. "At least I don't have a basketball head!"

The crowd roared. Lexy was horrified. She looked to her entourage... but they just backed away more, trying to blend in with the crowd.

Frantic, Pandora rushed in and tried to calm the crowd. "Lexy doesn't have a basketball head!" She looked at Lexy and squinted her eyes a bit. "Just a... soccer ball head maybe?"

The crowd burst out laughing even more. Pandora felt awful.

Lexy freaked. She tried to bury her face in her hands, but it was useless – her hands were too small! She looked around at all the laughing people, one cackling face after another, and she started to get dizzy.

Finally, she bolted, charging through the crowd, wailing.

Pandora and Lyle ran after her fast. "Lexy, wait!" cried Pandora.

As Lexy ran, her hat fell off, revealing her huge head in all its glory.

A surfer dude looked up from his locker, his eyes bugging out. "Whoa! It's a mondo-headed freak!"

Then Lexy ran into a skinny girl with a mouthful of braces. The girl smiled wide and said, "Cool head! Wanna be my friend?"

Lexy shrieked at the thought and continued running. Pandora cried out, "Lexy!" but she and Lyle couldn't keep up with her. Lexy disappeared around a corner. "Where'd she go?!" Pandora wondered, looking around.

"Yeah," said Lyle. "With a head like that, how could she hide anywhere?"