Bernie Bridges has always dreamed about going to PPP—the exclusive Preppy Prep Prep school. All the kids at PPP are rich, rich, rich! And if there is one thing that Bernie loves it's money, money, money!

But how will Bernie get to PPP? All he and his buddies have to do is win the National School Make-a-Great-Invention Contest, and off they go to PPP for a week to compete in the final round. There's just one problem—their best ideas are a Hamster on a Stick and a light-up comb!

With a little scheming and a lot of luck, Bernie and his guys manage to win their school contest. But when they get to Preppy Prep Prep, Bernie must come up with yet another invention—this one cleverer than the first. No sweat!

But the filthy rich PPP kids are smarter and sneakier than any kid at Rotten School.

Has Bernie finally met his match?

Rotten School #11: Punk'd and Skunked

By R.L. Stine

HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Copyright © 2007 R.L. Stine
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9780060788308

Chapter One

"Dudes, here's a spelling lesson," I told my friends. "How do you spell excitement?"

Belzer scratched his head. "Does it start with an X?"

I patted him on the back. "Nice try."

Belzer grinned his lopsided grin. "It was a lucky guess," he said.

"Yo, Belzer," Feenman said. "Do big noses run in your family?"

"I've heard that joke," Belzer said.

Feenman grinned. "Who's joking?"

"Give it a rest," I said. I pulled Feenman, Crench, Belzer, Nosebleed, and Billy the Brain into the Common Room. "This is how you spell excitement," I said.

"B-E-R-N-I-E."

That's me, see. I'm Bernie Bridges. Some people call me Grandmaster Dude, King of All the Fourth Graders. But I'd never say anything like that. I'm waaay too modest.

But when I have news, I have NEWS. That's why I dragged all my guys into the Common Room. It's a big room with couches and chairs, a TV, and a game table. It's like our living room.

You probably go home every day after school. But Rotten School is a boarding school. That means we live here, in a dorm. It's actually a falling down, old house called Rotten House. It's the best dorm on campus—mainly because Bernie B. lives here.

Oops. There I go, being modest again!

My friend Beast was chewing a couch cushion. It took three guys to pull him away.

Beast is a good guy. But we're not sure if he's really human. He's too hairy to be a human. And last week he got caught chewing his initials into a tree trunk.

I like him. But I keep my fingers away from his mouth.

I stood at the head of the game table. "Dudes, I know you're wondering why I invited you here," I said.

Crench rolled his eyes. "Bernie, we know why," he said. "You want to have a poker game tonight. But we can't."

"We're broke," Feenman said. "You already took all our money. I swear!"

I made a spitting sound. "Forget poker games," I said. "That's small potatoes. I've got something BIG. Something exciting with a capital X!"

Now I had their attention. I pulled open my school blazer so they could see my T-shirt.

They all stared at it. Belzer sounded out the letters.

"Bernie, what's your problem?" Nosebleed asked. "Why does that say PPP on it?"

Beast tossed his head back and hee-hawed. "P-P-P. Get it? Get it?"

Crench tugged the front of my shirt. "If you have to go pee-pee, why wear a shirt about it?"

I pushed his hands away. "Crench, what did I tell you about trying to make a joke?

Do you want to strain your brain for life?"

"Well, what does PPP stand for?" Billy the Brain asked.

Yes! I even stumped the class brainiac!

"I'll tell you," I said.

But it'll take a whole chapter to explain it. Keep reading, everyone. . . .

Continues...

Excerpted from Rotten School #11: Punk'd and Skunkedby R.L. Stine Copyright © 2007 by R.L. Stine. Excerpted by permission.
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