Some students began to congregate outside the door to the girls' washroom, wondering what all the angry screaming was about. Among them were Brain, Fern, and Prunella.

"Sue Ellen must be having a really bad day," Brain remarked.

"She's a Gemini," said Prunella. "According to her horoscope, she's suffered a severe personal setback."

The voice from the girls' room no longer sounded like Sue Ellen at all... indeed, it seemed barely human.

"I'm going in," said Fern helpfully. "Maybe she'll talk to me about it."

As she reached for the door, someone opened it from the inside.

Fern recoiled in horror. The other students gasped collectively.

The doorway was filled by a large, angry rhino girl, squeezed into Sue Ellen's clothing almost to the point of suffocation. Orange hair puffs adorned her head. Her nose, which was not quite as large as Binky's, featured one horn instead of two. And she had only one thing on her mind...

"WHERE'S BINKY?" she roared.

The kids stepped back, horrified, as Rhino Sue Ellen lumbered about, glancing from side to side in search of her enemy. Her large nostrils breathed in and out rapidly, creating a surprisingly refreshing breeze.

Brain stood forward and confronted her. "Sue Ellen, listen to me! You're not thinking straight! You must control your savage animal instincts!"

"Tell me where Binky is!" she barked at him.

"Why?" Brain asked. "What are you going to do to him?"

Sue Ellen didn't answer, but started to sniff the air. "I smell Binky!" she said after a few seconds of sniffing. "That way!"

She charged toward the school's rear exit while Brain and Fern chased after her, struggling to keep up with the fast-moving rhino girl.

"Wait! Stop!" Fern cried after her. "Listen to us! We're your friends!"

Behind the school, Rhino Binky was consulting with Rattles, while Molly and some of the other Tough Customers looked on.

"From now on, this school will be run my way," Binky proclaimed. "The rest of you can help if you want, but I call the shots, you got it?"

"Uh...sure, Binky," said the nervous Rattles. "We're behind you all the way. Isn't that right, guys?"

The other Tough Customers nodded their assent.

"Great," said Binky. "Now, our first goal is to eliminate homework...."

As Binky explained his master plan, he glimpsed out of the corner of his eye a large crowd of students and teachers heading in his direction.

And in front of the crowd, another rhinoceros...

"Oh...my...gosh..." muttered Binky as he turned his head for a closer look.

"What is it?" asked Molly. "What's happening?"

"Omigosh," said Binky, his voice filled with fear. "Sue Ellen's a rhino. I'm dead meat. I've gotta get out of here!"

Rattles slapped him on the back. "Come on, Binky. You're not afraid to fight a girl, even if she is a rhino."

By this time Rhino Sue Ellen had trudged to within three yards of Binky's position.

"Binky Barnes, you are DEAD!" she roared angrily.

Binky struggled to beat back his fear. He confronted the rhino girl, trying hard to appear sure of himself. "Bring it on, girl, bring it on. We'll see who's dead."

Binky's defiant words only made Sue Ellen angrier. She decided to intimidate him by demonstrating some tae kwon do kicks and punches...but the first time she attempted a side kick, she lost her balance and fell forwards on her face.

Binky laughed. The Tough Customers laughed. Some of the kids in the crowd laughed.

Binky started to circle around her. "It's not the same now that you're a rhino," he gloated. "Your center of gravity has shifted. You'll have to train all over again."

Sue Ellen pushed herself up and struggled to her feet, but Binky could see that the confidence was draining from her face. He continued to circle around her, as she rotated to face him.

"We don't have to fight," said Binky calmly. "What are you angry about, anyway? I was nice to you for a long time, and then I humiliated you once. Big deal. It won't happen again, now that you're one of us."

"What do you mean?" Sue Ellen grumbled.

"Look around you," Binky went on. "You and I aren't the only kids who have changed. Something's happening to this city, and it's wonderful!"

Binky fell silent, hoping that Sue Ellen would respond positively. Instead, she turned and walked away from him, sulking.

As she passed by, Fern tried to get her attention. "Sue Ellen, talk to us!"

"Leave me alone!" she cried bitterly.

Brain and Fern followed her at a safe distance as she rounded the corner of the school. They watched her storm past the front entrance, pushing over garbage cans, uprooting plants, and even smashing a hole in a car window with her horn.

"This is bad," Brain said to Fern. "Very bad."

"On the contrary," said Prunella, who had caught up with the pair, followed by Arthur, Buster, Muffy, and Francine.

"What do you mean, Prunella?" asked Brain, surprised.

"Alan, this is one of those situations where the laws of reason don't apply," Prunella went on. "People don't start turning into rhinoceroses because of some scientific principle. The answer is to be found on the metaphysical plane."

"Sounds like mumbo-jumbo to me," Muffy griped.

"I still say it's the first stage of an alien invasion," said Buster.

"Let me finish," said Prunella impatiently. "You see, the universe is always trying to better itself by creating more positive vibrations and eliminating negative vibrations. In this case, it's decided that certain people need to be replaced by rhinoceroses."

"That's crazy!" Brain retorted. "How can you call a human turning into a rhinoceros an improvement? Rhinoceroses are mindless jungle beasts!"

"Mindless jungle beasts are here for a reason," Prunella continued. "Otherwise, the universe would have eliminated them by now. You see, everything has a balance..."

"I've heard enough!" shouted Brain. The other kids backed a few steps away from him.

"If you don't like what I have to say," Prunella shot back, "then come up with your own scientific explanation, Mr. Brain."

"I don't have one," said Brain sadly. "But one will be found, eventually. Science will prevail."

"I knew it!" Prunella exulted. "You can't explain it! You and your scientific methods are nothing when matched against the desires of the universe!" Having said this, she raised her arms and gazed into the sky. "And if the universe desires that I should become a rhinoceros, then so be it!"

The other kids barely had time to roll their eyes when Prunella suddenly clutched her throat, unable to breathe. She sank to her knees, her eyes glazing over...

"Something's wrong with her!" cried Arthur. "Muffy, your cell phone!"

As Muffy dialed the emergency number on her cell phone, the prostrate Prunella started to change shape. The kids couldn't believe how quickly the transformation took place. When it was complete, they stepped backwards in shock and horror.

"We've got another rhino," said Muffy into her cell phone. "It's a jungle out here."

(to be continued)