“Are you alright, George?”
“Yeah, I am fine,” insists the dazed janitor.
“Maybe we really should get you to the nurse. This is the second time you have fallen in the last few minutes.”
George lights up like a Christmas tree.
“Wait. The second time?”
“Yes . . . okay, let’s go see Nurse Placebo,” insists Ashley.
“No, no, I’m alright, Ashley. I just need a glass of water and I’ll be fine.”
“You are a strange man, George. Okay. But if you fall one more time . . .”
“Yes. One more time and I will escort myself to the nurse’s office. I promise. What is that you are eating, by the way?”
“It’s leftover grilled eggplant from my dinner last night. It’s my favorite. Do you want some?”
“No thanks. I’m not really hungry right now.”
George remembers the giant purple building he just saw in Pumpland.
“Eggplant is your favorite?” repeats George.
“Yes, I love it!”
Ashley leaves the teacher’s lounge as George pulls the comic book from his back pocket and flips through its pages as the frames all of a sudden start to move. Like watching a live movie unfold in front of your eyes. “Wow! The frames actually move?” Out of nowhere the Captain himself appears and starts going through the pages with George.
“Yes, George, the frames move in real time. See George, this magic comic book lets you see what’s happening with the kids here in the real world. All you have to do is open it up and you’ll see what’s going on right now in this moment.”
“Really?”
“Here . . . look for yourself.”
George sees Guido and Myron sitting in detention with Ms. Barkelott, while the next frame shows Mr. Blunt fixing his bad toupee in the mirror, and finally, Mr. Svelte digging up the soccer field while Coach Moe shakes his head in disbelief.
“Okay, so how do we get these kids in shape?” asks George.
“Simple, we’ll teach them in my world to make them better here in your world.”
“What? What do you mean?” says George.
Little Captain Pump lands on George’s shoulder.
“I picked you to be my representative here in the real world, George, because you genuinely care for these kids . . . just like I do.”
“Why do you need a representative here anyway?”
“Well, here is the thing George. You are the only one that can see and hear me in your world. To everyone else I am invisible. In fact, I don’t even exist.”
“So you mean I am the chosen one?”
“You could say that. So what do you say George? Are you in?”
George furrows his brow as he mulls over the Captain’s proposal.
“Okay, count me in,” says George proudly.
“I knew I picked the right man for the job! It’s going to be great, George. I am going to help you get these kids on a path to health and wellness.”
George looks at him. “How are we going to do all that?”
“You’ll see, but right now I have a date with Tina Turnip. Can’t keep her waiting, you know.”
With that, Captain Pump disappears into the magic book while George is left standing there a little confused.
“Me, a superhero’s representative?”
The powerful voice of the Captain resounds in George’s ear.
“Remember, we are a team now . . . and whatever you do, don’t lose that book!”
CHAPTER FIVE
The Beginning of a Superhero’s Representative
The friendly janitor flips through the Captain Pump comic book as he enters the hallway outside the teacher’s lounge. “This is unbelievable. To think me, a real superhero’s representative.”
His eyes fixed on the page’s scrolling frames, George sees Mr. Blunt barreling down the hall in a haste when all of a sudden, “Look out, you big oaf!” then a horrendous BOOM! The muscular custodian collides with Mr. Blunt and then CRASH!!! He sends the math teacher flying into the lockers, knocking his toupee askew.
“Why don’t you look where you’re going, you giant klutz!” says Mr. Blunt as he stomps off, quickly tugging his toupee back into place. “Sorry, sir,” whispers an apologetic George.
As Mr. Blunt rounds the corner, still trying to fix his toupee, George makes his way down the corridor. Broom in hand, he starts to sweep up the hallway littered with candy bar wrappers and empty chip bags.
He steps on a piece of discarded chewing gum, now stuck to the bottom of his boot. He stares down the hall at the parade of junk food trash and shakes his head. “Help these kids get fit and healthy? This is not going to be easy.”
“Maybe not, but it is sure going to be fun,” echoes Captain Pump from deep inside the pages of the magic comic book.
“I’m going to regret this,” George mumbles. Ashley calls from behind.
“Who are you talking to, George?”
“Who, me? No one . . .”
“I’m worried about you, George. You have been acting pretty weird ever since you fell off that ladder and hit your head.”
“No need to worry about me. I am fit as a fiddle.”
“I have been thinking about what you said earlier, about the kids.”
“Oh, that! Don’t mind me . . . The kids are fine,” says George, reluctantly.
Ashley is shocked at George’s sudden indifference.
“Oh, okay? Well, see you later then, George.”
“Wait, Ashley, come back!” yells George as she disappears around the corner.
“I am such an idiot!” mutters George.
“I’ll say!” pipes up a disappointed Captain Pump. “Why didn’t you tell her the truth?”
“You mean that I talk to a foot-tall cartoon character who claims to be a fitness superhero who lives in a giant carrot in some magical land where everyone is fit and healthy?”
“Yes!” affirms Captain Pump.
George storms off. The Captain follows him, hovering over his head.
“There is nothing wrong with having a fitness superhero on your side, and especially nothing wrong with having a beautiful and caring friend here in the real world.”
George turns on a dime, grabs the little dynamo out of the air and looks him square in the face. “You leave Ashley out of this.”
George lets him go and continues down the hall as the Captain straightens his cape and lands in front of George’s face.
“Don’t you ever grab me like that again. I may be small but I will take you on anytime. Do you understand?”
“Sorry.”
“Okay. Apology accepted. What is wrong with you?”
“I am scared to tell Ashley . . . she’ll think that fall did something to my brain if I tell her the truth.”
“The truth is always the best way to go, George. Lying only gets you into deeper and more serious trouble . . . every time!”
“I’m not lying. I’m just withholding information, that’s all.”
Captain Pump narrows his eyes and looks at George. “Spin it any way you want, George. You’re still not telling her the truth!”
“I’m not going to tell her. Case closed!”
“Fine. I can’t force you to tell her or do anything for that matter. I can only tell you what I think, and then it’s up to you to make your own decision.”
“Did you come here to help the kids or to bug me?”
“You can’t help others until you help yourself, George!”
Captain Pump disappears into the comic book in George’s back pocket, leaving George standing there in thought.
“RING RING! RING! The school bell sounds as kids come flying out of their classrooms. A steady chatter fills the halls as they filter past a confused George.
“Basner! Hey, Basner!” yells an irritated Ms. Barkelott. “The toilet is overflowing in the boys’ bathroom.”
“Be right there, Ms. Barkelott.” George shakes his head. “I should have been
a gardener.”
George is plunging the toilet when Guido and Myron come into the bathroom.
Meanwhile . . . in PUMPLAND . . .
Captain Pump flies over his domain and gets a flashing red alert on his superpowered CP watch. He pulls a quick U-turn over the mountain tops and beelines into his carrot headquarters. As he sits at his control desk, his “real world” monitor shows Guido and Myron in the bathroom as George comes out of the stall holding the plunger. Captain Pump listens in on the conversation through his real world monitor.
“All good, boys?” asks George.
“Yes sir, thank you for asking, Mr. Basner,” Guido answers politely. George leaves the bathroom.
Captain continues to watch the real world monitor as Guido and Myron continue to talk.
“That is not fair,” says Guido. “She embarrassed us in front of everyone.”
“Yeah, she embarrassed us,” agrees Myron.
“I have a plan to get back at her after school.”
“Yeah! Yeah! A plan,” agrees Myron.
As the two plan their revenge, Captain Pump zips out of his window and takes off into the Pumpland sky. His super-powered Pump Fit watch flashes bright red, indicating trouble ahead.
Back in the REAL WORLD . . .
George sits at his desk in his janitorial storage room, or as he likes to call it, his office, having his morning protein shake looking at the newsfeed on his phone. He grabs a big meaty sandwich from his lunch bag and is about to take a bite when Captain Pump appears out of nowhere, hovering over his sandwich, inches from his mouth.
“We have a problem,” announces the Captain.
“Where did you come from?”
“The magic comic book in your back pocket . . . like always.”
“I know where you came from . . . Geez! Can you please stop popping up everywhere like that?”
“Have a look at this.”
Captain Pump pulls out his tablet and plays George a video of Guido and Myron plotting their revenge on Ms. Barkelott. George shakes his head.
“Don’t get discouraged, George. This is a good thing.”
“A good thing?” asks George. “How is knowing that two of your students are plotting revenge on their principal a good thing?”
“Because, genius! Now that you know what they are doing, you can stop it before anything bad happens.”
“Oh yeah! Didn’t think about that.”
“Speaking about thinking, have you given any thought to letting Ashley know about . . .”
George puts down his sandwich and sighs.
“It’s not that I don’t want to tell her, but who would believe me? I mean, I’m having a hard time believing it myself.”
The captain pats him on the shoulder.
“Give it some time, buddy. But for now, we have a situation to take care of.”
George pulls the magic comic book from his back pocket.
CHAPTER SIX
The Plot Thickens
Across the street from CP Elementary is Snack’s Corner Store, a hangout where the students have gathered for years. It’s a junk food jungle with shelves full of candy, chocolate, and specialty sugar-infested treats that everyone loves. Guido and Myron walk in while the friendly owner, Mr. Snackadou, pops out of the back room.
“Hello, boys,” greets Mr. Snackadou. “Great timing! I just got in a new shipment. These are too good to pass up and they are only for my favorite customers. They are one of a kind, you know!”
The store owner shows the boys a tray full of specialty candies, bags of gooey treats, and chocolates.
“Wow! Thanks, Mr. Snack. These look really great!” says Guido. We’ll take them all. Pay the man, Myron.”
“Yeah, really great,” agrees Myron as he hands the sugar supplier the money.
“Nice doing business with you boys,” replies Mr. Snack.
The boys smile and head back towards the school. Myron stuffs his face with the newly bought treats.
“Easy, Myron! Don’t eat all our profits. We can charge a premium for these babies,” confirms Guido.
“Yeah, a premium,” agrees Myron with powdered sugar covering his shirt.
Captain Pump and George peer into the magic comic book as they witness the exchange of goods. George is fuming mad!
“I had no idea they were selling this stuff! That explains all those weird wrappers.”
“One problem at a time,” says the Captain. The attack on Ms. Barkelott is our priority right now. This is what we are going to do . . .”
Captain Pump whispers into George’s ear when his CP watch starts to vibrate and flashes a bright red light.
“Oh no.”
“What’s wrong?” asks a concerned George.
“Gotta go, George!”
With that, Captain Pump disappears into the pages of the magic comic book while George continues to watch Myron and Guido in the school yard ironing out the last details of this afternoon’s attack.
“So we’re all good?” asks Guido.
“Yeah, yeah we’re good,” affirms Myron.
“We strike when the bell rings. Got it?” asks Guido.
“Yeah, yeah when the bell rings,” agrees Myron.
Meanwhile . . . in PUMPLAND . . .
Captain Pump flies over the CP Tower, an impressive mushroom-like structure that stands in the middle of town where, along with creating Pumpsters, it houses the scientists and researchers of Pumpland.
A red light flashes from the top of the needle on the peak of the tower as the captain glances at his CP watch, still flashing bright red. As he approaches the tower in full flight, its top flips open and the Captain disappears into its mouth.
A state-of-the-art facility equipped with wall-to-wall flat screens, monitors, and giant digital maps of the surrounding areas. Posted on the screen is a “Wanted” wall displaying the bandits that pose a threat to the Captain and his land . . . none more dangerous than the notorious . . . Freddy Fudge.
Freddy Fudge is a huge and menacing creature who looks like a giant gooey chocolate treat. A cross between Bigfoot and a fudge brownie, he hypnotizes his prey with his gruesome eyes and entices them with sweet, fattening treats. His ultimate goal is to get the kids of Pumpland to join his band of junk food addicts.
The Captain gets briefed by his Pumpster patrol.
“What do we have?” asks the concerned, caped fitness guru.
“Captain, this was just posted on PumpTube. It’s already gone viral. You need to see this.”
One of the security Pumpsters hits play. Freddy Fudge appears on the screen.
“Citizens of Pumpland. It is I, Freddy Fudge, your sweet tooth’s favorite friend. Soon you all will be my subjects. I will infest the whole land with my sugary ways. No one is safe . . . and I mean no one. Captain, that includes you. So beware and prepare . . . the sweet invasion is near. I will make junk food reign from there to here. Mwahahaha!”
The captain stands stoically, looking around at his Pumpster patrol. “This must be stopped. I want a full report on my desk in the morning. Freddy Fudge needs to be unsweetened.”
Captain looks at his watch, which still flashes red. “Oh no! Guido and Myron.” In a flash, the Captain flies out of the tower into the Pumpland sky at lightning speed.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Ready, Aim, Learn!
Back in the REAL WORLD . . .
RING! RING! RING! The bell rings to signal the end of the school day. The kids fly out of their classrooms. George empties a garbage can as Captain Pump flies out of the comic book in his back pocket.
“C’mon, George!” yells the little superhero with great haste. “They’re headed to the parking lot!” The Captain grabs George by the collar and pulls him through the back door to the parking area where Guido and Myron hide behind the dumpster next to the parked cars. Ms. Barkelott exits the school and heads toward her vehicle, hands full with bags.
Guido motions to Myron. “Get ready. Here she comes,” says Guido. The boys
take their position at the corner of the dumpster ready to launch the attack. Myron reaches in his bag and pulls out two cartons of eggs. He hands one to Guido.
“Cool! You got the extra-large ones too,” says Guido.
“Yeah, yeah, extra-large,” affirms Myron.
Ms. Barkelott stands at her car door, fishing for her keys in full view of Guido and Myron. Each one is armed with a big white projectile. They give each other a final look as they wind up and . . . out of nowhere, George appears.
“Hey! What are you two doing here?”
“Nothing, Mr. Basner. We were just picking up loose garbage and throwing it in the dumpster. Weren’t we, Myron?”
Myron looks at Guido, a little confused. “Yeah, yeah, throwing it in the dumpster.”
“Really? I suppose you found those eggs among the garbage?” asks George.
“Huh? Oh, yeah!” answers Guido.
“Time for a little trip.”
George opens the magic comic book as Captain Pump pops out when . . . SWOOP!!! The book suddenly sucks the unsuspecting duo and George into its pages.
The captain leads the way as the group screams at the top of their lungs, crashing through each page, one by one.
The three fall uncontrollably. Guido and Myron continue screaming as George covers his eyes. Meanwhile, Captain Pump punches through the pages like a heavyweight champion until they reach the end of the book. Then . . . BOOM!! Guido, Myron, and George come flying out the back cover of the magic comic book and crash-land into the animated world of Pumpland.
The Adventures Of Captain Pump, Book 1 Page 2
