Read The Last Straw for Free Online Page B

sheet of construction paper with a piece of candy taped to it, and it was from ROWLEY.
    [Image: A boy posting a new love letter in the box.] The caption reads: "FRESH"
    Sometimes I just don't know about that boy.
    107

    MARCH

    Saturday

    The other day Dad found Manny's blanket, Tingy, on the couch. I don't think Dad knew what it was, so he threw it away.
    [Image: A man throwing dirt in the bin.]
    Ever since then Manny's been turning the house upside down looking for his blanket, and finally Dad had to tell him that he accidentally threw it out. Well, Manny got his revenge yesterday by using Dad's Civil War battlefield as a playset.
    [Image: The man looks at the table with toys.]
    108
    Manny's been taking his anger out on everyone else, too. Today I was sitting on the couch just minding my own business, and Manny walked up to me and said-
    [Image: The little boy talks to the elder one sitting on the sofa.] The caption reads: "PLOOPY!"
    I didn't know if "Ploopy" was some kind of little-kid bad word or what, but I didn't like the sound of it. So I went to find Mom and ask her if SHE knew what it meant.
    Unfortunately, Mom was on the phone, and when she's gabbing with one of her friends, it takes forever to get her attention.
    [Image: The boy tries to talk to his mom who is on the phone.] The caption reads: "MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM MOM
    BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH
    TUG TUG"
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    I finally got Mom to stop talking for a second, but she was mad that I interrupted her. I told her Manny called me "Ploopy," and she said-
    [Image: The woman screams at the boy scaring him.] The caption reads: "WHAT IS A PLOOPY?"
    That kind of threw me for a second, because it's the exact question I was trying to ask HER. I didn't have an answer, so Mom just went back to her conversation.
    After that, Manny knew he had a green light to call me Ploopy whenever he wanted, and that's what he's been doing all day.
    [Image: A boy peeps from the door to look at the big boy.] The caption reads: "WIPE MY HEINIE, PLOOPY!"
    110
    I guess I should've known that telling on Manny wasn't gonna get me anywhere. When me and Rodrick were little, we used to tell on each other so much that it made Mom crazy. So she brought out this thing called the Tattle Turtle to solve the problem.
    [Image: A tortoise.]
    Mom came up with the Tattle Turtle idea when she taught preschool. The idea behind the Tattle Turtle was that if me and Rodrick had a problem with each other, we had to tell the Tattle Turtle instead of Mom. Well, the Tattle Turtle worked out GREAT for Rodrick, but not so much for me.
    [Image: The boy talks to the tortoise on the table as the other boy looks.] The caption reads: "TATTLE TURTLE, RODRICK STOLE ALL THE MONEY FROM MY PIGGY BANK!"
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    Easter

    On the car ride to church today, I felt like I was sitting on something sticky. And when I got out and turned around to look at the back of my pants, there was chocolate ALL OVER them.
    [Image: A boy is standing near the car with his parents.]
    Manny had brought his Easter bunny with him in the car, and I must've been sitting on an ear or something.
    Mom was trying to get the family inside so we could get good seats, but I told her there was no WAY I was going in there looking like that.
    I knew Holly Hills and her family were probably already there, and I really didn't need her wondering if I'd pooped in my pants.
    112
    Mom said skipping church on Easter wasn't an option, and we argued back and forth. Then Rodrick chimed in with HIS solution.
    [Image: A boy shows his pants to the family.] The caption reads: "HE CAN WEAR MY PANTS!"
    Rodrick knows that church on Easter is always at least two hours long, so he was just looking for an excuse to get out of it. But right at that moment, Dad's boss and his family pulled up alongside us in the parking lot.
    [Image: The men on the road look at the car as it goes by.] The caption reads: "HAPPY EASTER, HEFFLEYS! HONK"
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    Mom made Rodrick put his pants back on, and then she gave me