Nicky Lane is covered with freckles, and Andrew Marcus is very jealous. Andrew is so jealous, he can’t concentrate in class because he is always counting the freckles on the back of Nicky’s neck. Andrew knows that if he had his own freckles to count, he would stop getting in trouble for not paying attention to Miss Kelly.
Frustrated at his lack of freckles, Andrew asks Nicky how he got his. Nicky tells Andrew that people are just born with them. Sharon, who hears and knows everything, tells Andrew that she has a secret recipe for freckle juice. She drank a little herself, and that’s how she got the six freckles on her nose. Sharon promises to sell Andrew the recipe for fifty cents, which is five weeks worth of Andrew’s allowance.
Andrew says no, but reconsiders when he realizes his mother won’t know when his neck is dirty and make him wash if he has freckles. The next day in class, they make their trade. Miss Kelly catches them passing the recipe and takes it from Andrew to hold until the end of the day.
At three o’clock, Andrew gets the freckle juice recipe from Miss Kelly and races home. His mother is at the neighbor’s house, and he has just one hour to make the awful concoction. Andrew drinks the freckle juice and gets very sick to his stomach.
His mother finds him and sends him to bed after scolding him for not cleaning up his food mess.
Andrew is so ill, he stays home from school the next day. He keeps checking, but no freckles appear. Too embarrassed to go back to school without freckles, he draws some on his face with a marker.
The other kids all laugh at Andrew’s blue freckles. Miss Kelly claims she has a secret recipe for freckle removal, and sends Andrew to the bathroom with a packet and face washing instructions. Andrew knows Miss Kelly is trying to make him feel better.
When Andrew comes back to class with no freckles, Miss Kelly tells him he is very good looking without them. Nicky asks Miss Kelly if he can have the recipe, too. Miss Kelly says no, because Nicky’s freckles make him special, and he looks wonderful just the way he is. Sharon whispers to Nicky that she has a secret freckle-removing recipe that has been in her family for years, and that is why she doesn’t have any. She tells Nicky she will sell it to him for fifty cents.