rything that's out there？ No！”
Mike and Matt were grinning at each other。 “Mystery Pisser！ That could be the name for our
band！”
“Yeah！ Cool！”
“Band？” my mother asked。 “Wait a minute； what band？” But they were already flying down to
their room； laughing about the possibilities for a
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logo。
My father and I spent the rest of the day sniffing out and destroying criminal evidence。 My
dad used a spray bottle of ammonia； I followed up with
Lysol。 We did try to recruit my brothers； but they wound up getting into a spray…bottle fight；
which got them locked in their room； which； of course；
was fine with them。
So Champ became an outside dog； and he might have been our only pet ever if it hadn't
been for my fifth…grade science fair。
Everyone around me had great project ideas； but I couldn't seem to e up with one。 Then
our teacher； Mrs。 Brubeck； took me aside and told
me about a friend of hers who had chickens； and how she could get me a fertilized egg for
my project。
“But I don't know anything about hatching an egg；” I told her。
She smiled and put her arm around my shoulders。 “You don't have to be an immediate
expert at everything； Juli。 The idea here is to learn
something new。”
“But what if it dies？”
“Then it dies。 Document your work scientifically and you'll still get an A； if that's what you're
wor