INVISIBLE

This story is inspired by the ice‑cream flavors Mrs. Jewls creates in the ninth chapter of Louis Sachar’s Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Before we dive into the fan‑fiction, let’s take a quick look at what Chapter 9, “Maurecia,” is all about.

CHAPTER 9. MAURECIA — SUMMARY

At first, Maurecia is wild about ice cream and brings a cone to school every day. But after a while, she grows tired of her favorite flavor. Even though she tries many others, she eventually loses interest in ice cream altogether. To solve this problem, Mrs. Jewls invents a brand‑new flavor: Maurecia‑flavored ice cream. Unfortunately, Maurecia can’t taste her own flavor, so Mrs. Jewls creates a unique flavor for every student in the class. Maurecia loves them all, but Todd‑flavored ice cream becomes her favorite.

Louis was excited. He had heard about Mrs. Jewls’s ice cream experiment, and he couldn’t wait to taste a Louis flavored cone.

“I’m sorry, Louis,” Mrs. Jewls said. “I can’t continue this. I need to focus on what I do best: teaching. I’m not a professional chef.”

Louis’s face drooped like a melting scoop. He couldn’t believe he was going to miss such a great opportunity.

“But Mrs. Jewls,” he sighed, “the children loved your ice cream. Why don’t you write down the recipe, and we’ll ask Miss Mush to create new flavors in her kitchen? The whole school will be thrilled.”

“I don’t know about this,” Mrs. Jewls muttered. “My recipe was just a personal experiment. Using it in the cafeteria might be dangerous.”

“Nonsense!” Louis exclaimed. “Miss Mush is the best chef I’ve ever met. She’ll make the best ice cream in the world.”

Louis was right. As soon as Miss Mush heard about the project, she got straight to work. She used Mrs. Jewls’s recipe, but she added her own creativity.

By Monday, Miss Mush was ready.

The first kid to enter the cafeteria was Calvin. He had forgotten his lunch at home. Again.

He spotted a giant sign: ICE CREAM MAGIC. But the display underneath was filled with empty bowls.

“Where’s the ice cream?” Calvin asked.

Miss Mush leaned in. “Right there,” she whispered, pointing at the emptiness. “It’s invisible.”

Calvin frowned. “I’m not very hungry today,” he said, backing away.

“Wait,” Miss Mush said.

She switched off the lights. Suddenly the empty bowls glowed in the dark: pink, silver, green, and colors no one had invented names for yet.

“What’s your favorite flavor?” she asked.

“Wow, invisible ice cream,” Calvin muttered. “Do you have anything with peanuts?” He loved peanuts.

Nobody else in Mrs. Jewls’s class wanted to try Miss Mush’s ICE CREAM MAGIC. Nobody except Kathy and Maurecia. Kathy chose lemon, of course. She always had a sour attitude. Maurecia wanted Todd flavored ice cream. Surprisingly, Miss Mush had made that flavor too.

The next morning, Calvin forgot his lunch again. At lunchtime, Todd waved him over.

“Why are you so forgetful these days?” Todd laughed. He opened his lunch bag. “Take anything you want. I packed too much.”

“Thanks,” Calvin said, picking up a banana. He peeled it carefully and took a bite.

Todd stared. Then he hurried over to Louis.

“Did you see that?” Todd whispered. “Calvin picked a banana. It was right next to a bag of peanuts.”

“So?” Louis said.

“Calvin is crazy about peanuts!” Todd cried. “Something’s wrong with his memory.”

Across the room, Kathy approached Miss Mush for a glass of milk.

“There’s no milk today,” Miss Mush said. “But we have fresh lemonade.”

Kathy scowled. “Lemonade? What’s that?”

Miss Mush blinked. “You don’t know what lemonade is? It’s juice made from lemons.”

Kathy threw up her hands. “What are lemons?!”

The cafeteria gasped. Lemons were Kathy’s favorite fruit.

Just then, Maurecia walked in.

“Maurecia,” Todd warned, “don’t eat Miss Mush’s ice cream again. There’s something weird about it.”

“Stand aside, little tyke, or you’ll be sorry,” Maurecia snapped. She could beat any boy in Mrs. Jewls’s class.

“Little tyke?” Louis laughed. “This is Todd, Maurecia!”

“Who’s Todd?” she asked.

Louis and Todd exchanged a worried look. The yard teacher sighed.

“Miss Mush,” he said, “I’m afraid you’ll have to stop serving ICE CREAM MAGIC. Starting now.”

Miss Mush was shocked. “Why?”

Louis squinted at the ceiling. “I can’t remember why. But it’s important. Nobody should eat that ice cream anymore.”

Miss Mush removed every glowing bowl and tossed them in the dumpster. Later that day Mrs. Jewls asked her who else had eaten ICE CREAM MAGIC, but Miss Mush couldn’t remember.

And so, strange things continued to happen at Wayside School. But maybe that was just because everyone’s memory was working in new and unusual ways now.

ONE YEAR AGO...

This story is inspired by the introduction to Sideways Stories from Wayside School. Before we dive into the fan‑fiction, let’s take a quick look at what the introduction is about.

INTRODUCTION — SUMMARY

The introduction is very short, but it contains one unforgettable detail: Wayside School was supposed to be built horizontally, with thirty classrooms in a row. Instead, the builder accidentally constructed it vertically, creating a thirty‑story tower with one classroom on each floor. Because an elevator wasn’t part of the original plan, every student and teacher at Wayside School has to climb the stairs to reach their classroom.

It was Monday. Louis woke up early, grabbed his jacket and headed to school. As he crossed the street, he chuckled to himself. 'This is funny,' he thought. 'We only have the land where the school will be. We don't even have the school yet.'

He stopped at the hot dog stand across from the empty lot. "Good morning, Miss Mush," he said.

"Good morning, Mr. Louis," she replied. "Two hot dogs as usual?"

"Just call me Louis," he said. "And make it four today. I'm meeting the contractor this morning."

Miss Mush's hands flew as she prepared the hot dogs. "When are they finally going to build the school?"

"They were supposed to start last Tuesday," Louis sighed, watching her add mustard and ketchup. "But there were some problems with the plans."

Miss Mush handed him a warm, steamy bag. "Here you are, Louis. I hope there won't be any problems this week."

"I hope so too," Louis said, counting the hot dogs. "Wait! You gave me five instead of four. Let me pay for the extra one."

"Don't worry about it," she said with a smile. "It's on the house."

Louis paused, thinking. "You know, Miss Mush. We're looking for a lunch teacher for the new school. And you're the best cook I've ever met. Would you like to work with us?"

Miss Mush laughed. "Build the school first, Louis. If I like it, I'll definitely consider it."

Louis grinned, pulled out a hot dog, and took a big bite. "Perfect," he said, crossing the street toward the construction site.

A tall man in a hard hat stood between a crane and a bulldozer. he checked his watch as Louis approached.

"Good morning, Mr. Smith!" Louis called.

"You're late, Mr. Louis," Mr. Smith replied.

"Only five minutes," Louis said with a laugh.

Mr. Smith shook his head. "Time is money."

"You're right," Louis admitted. "And we don't have much money. Sorry I'm late. Do you want a hot dog?"

"No, thank you. I've already had breakfast."

"They're the best in town," Louis insisted. "Go on! Take one."

Mr. Smith sighed, grabbed a hot dog, and took a huge bite. "Busy day today," he said between gulps. "Since we're starting construction tomorrow, we need everything ready."

Louis scratched his head. "Yeah, about that. I'd like to discuss the school design with you."

"Again?" Mr. Smith groaned. "We've gone over the design a thousand times. Please don't tell me you want to change it."

"Well," Louis began. "I have some concerns about the layout. I think the school should be built horizontally, not vertically."

"Horizontally?" Mr. Smith blinked. "You want thirty classrooms on the same story? Why?"

"Some teachers don't like that the library, cafeteria, and administration office will be on different floors," Louis explained. "Can't we fix that?"

Mr. Smith rubbed his forehead. "I'm not sure. A horizontal building means more digging, more concrete, more everything. I'm afraid we'll have to build vertically."

"Why?"

"Because building horizontally costs more time, more materials, and more money."

"More money?" Louis yelped. "We don't want to spend too much money!"

"Exactly," Mr. Smith said. He reached into the bag and took another hot dog. "Besides, a horizontal school would leave less room for outdoor space. You don't want a tiny playground, do you?"

"We need the playground to be as big as possible," Louis agreed. "All right, Mr. Smith. We'll build vertically."

Mr. Smith shook Louis's hand. "Very good. It will be a thirty-story building with thirty classrooms: one on each floor."

Louis rubbed his chin. "Then we'll need an elevator, won't we?"

"I'm afraid we don't have enough money for that," Mr. Smith said. "Everyone will have to use the stairs."

Louis frowned. "Hmm. Miss Mush might not like that."

"Is she the owner of the school?" Mr. Smith asked. 

"No," Louis laughed. "Miss Mush will be the lunch teacher."

"If the children can climb the stairs, Miss Mush can climb the stairs too," Mr. Smith declared.

Louis nodded. "You're right."