Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life Chapters 26 - 30 Summary

Chapter 26

The next day at school, Rafe brings Bear's stash of Zoom (super sugary soft drinks which are definitely forbidden) to school to sell.
By the time lunch is over, Rafe is pretty psyched to see that he's made about $16 (and racked up 35,000 points).
Then he notices that Jeanne Galletta is standing at the end of his Zoom line.
Jeanne's wondering why it seems like Rafe is always trying to get into trouble.
That's because he is. Rafe pulls out his Operation R.A.F.E. book and shows her. She's not super impressed by his quest, but she does smile at him.
Score one for Rafe.
When the bell rings and Jeanne rushes off to science class, Leo tells Rafe that he's one step closer to breaking Section 4, Rule 7: "No kissing or other public displays of affection are allowed in school."
Bow chicka bow bow.

Halloween seems like the perfect time to stick it to the dress code, so Rafe decides to dress up like a ninja.
He changes into all-black attire and then starts running around the halls like a crazy kid tossing Cheerios (a.k.a. throwing stars) at anyone he meets.
Of course, the fun's over when Mrs. Stricker catches him and tells him he can't dress like a ninja. Rafe points out it's not against the rules, but Mrs. Stricker adds it to the list. Of course she does.
So Rafe complies. He goes to the bathroom and changes.
When he comes out, he's wearing nothing but his sneakers and underwear.

Rafe thinks he'll get sent to Mrs. Stricker's office, but he winds up in The Dungeon instead. There, the other prisoners seem to recognize him and the guards warn them not to talk under penalty of death.
A chamber door swings open and the long, green finger of the Lizard King beckons Rafe forward. Gulp.

The Lizard King's inner chamber is cold and wet. He offers Rafe a white jelly bean that moves and wiggles in its jar. Yuck.
The Lizard King tells Rafe that he hears the boy has been making quite a name for himself. He wonders if Rafe has anything to say before he passes sentence on him.
Rafe tells the Lizard King he's confusing him with his twin brother, but this is apparently the wrong thing to say because the Lizard King picks Rafe up by his head and slams him into the wall. Ouch.
He sentences him to three detentions with the Dragon Lady. Or death…whichever comes first. Mwhahaha.

Rafe shakes free from his little daydream as the principal, Mr. Dwight, talks to him. Rafe needs to get his act together or he's going to get worse than three detentions.
Eh, but on the plus side, Rafe did earn 30,000 points. So it's not a total loss.
He leaves Mr. Dwight's office and runs into—who else?—Jeanne Galletta. She's not super-impressed with his wardrobe malfunction from before.
In fact, she thinks his whole rule-breaking quest is kind of stupid.
But Rafe tells her that some of these rules are sort of stupid. Why do they have to mindlessly follow them all? Are they really making school a better place? Isn't that what Jeanne said in her speech? That she wanted to make school a better place?
Jeanne is kind of impressed by this—Rafe remembers what she said in a speech two months ago. It's like Rafe was really listening to her or something.
Oh, man. This is really embarrassing. Rafe starts muttering and then says he has to go. He's totally mortified that Jeanne now realizes how much he likes her.
Middle school really is the worst.