Chapter 10
Fitting In
All the kids in the classroom gathered around Peter
and wanted to know what had happened, and what the creature
looked liked. He explained to his friends what he'd seen,
and then told Clara about the weird conversation Mr. McPhee
and the figure had had. At first Clara, did not believe
him, until Robert spoke up on his behalf. Clara was
confused and amazed.
"We must get to the bottom of this," said Clara.
"I know, but it can only be between us friends," said
Peter.
In the group Peter included Millie, not only because
she was a great person to be around, but her shades could
see through walls, and she could become invisible. That
would be a great asset to their gaining knowledge to find
out what was going on in Baja.
As the children rested, the bell rang; and it was time
to go to their next class, which was Water Horse. Clara
told Peter that he would love this class. He was very
excited; if his next class was anything like his first few
classes, he knew that he would have a lot of fun.
Water horse racing was one of the school's most
popular sports. Everyone wanted to take this class, but the
price of a water horse was very expensive, and only a few
hunters were trained to catch them. As Peter entered the
classroom, everyone turned around and pointed, as they had
now all heard about him. Peter was like a celebrity in his
school, but he was very shy and modest about his celebrity
status. Still, he played along with the game, hoping that
the fascination of him saving Baja would soon end or wear
off.
Every child ran up to Peter for a photo shot, and an
autograph. He forgot Clara was in the background as he got
carried away. When he noticed this, he immediately
acknowledged his friend Clara Cabbage. She was quite
pleased with his announcement, and immediately began to
blush.
"Why do you want to hang out with a girl, when you can
hang out with cool dudes like us?" said one of the children.
"Oh! Shut up, Larry," said Clara.
Larry was a tall skinny child, with his hair sticking
out all over his head. His pants were ripped and he wore a
big cowboy belt buckle. Larry was the son of Mr. Stewart,
and because of this, he got away with too much. Many of the
children thought he was cool, and wanted to hang out with
him. Jamyra even had a secret crush on him, but so did most
of the girls. Larry had no special powers or anything; some
said that he was the "black rain" over Baja, but the
children were not allowed to say that or they'd be sent to
the office.
Clara was still upset with Larry, and she opened her
mouth wide and let her green slimy bugs attack him. All the
children began to laugh. Larry was upset and went storming
out of the classroom. Then the teacher walked in and
immediately got the class quiet. She then stepped out to
see what was the matter with Larry. In the meantime, the
children wanted to know about the secret trip Peter and the
others had gone on.
Peter gladly explain what he got as a present, and
showed it off to the classroom. Then Clara, Ben, Millie,
and the others showed off their gifts. Some of the children
were very jealous; not many of them got to see a different
land that was so spectacular. Most of the time, the clock
took them to a land of mammals and dinosaurs, or a land
with only trees, or to something boring.
Peter thought that it would be cool to see dinosaurs
and plants, but the other children looked at him as being a
nerd. Then the teacher walked back into the classroom and
demanded that Ms Cabbage apologize to Larry. Clara did not
want to do it, but to avoid going to Mr. Stewart's creepy
office, she apologized with a fake smile on her face. Larry
did not accept it, and this made Clara even angrier.
"That was rude, Mr. Stewart," said the teacher.
She then thanked Clara for apologizing and asked
everyone to be seated and pay attention. She introduced
herself as Miss Moon. To Peter, she was the prettiest
teacher he had ever had. Her long blond hair, soft pale
skin, deep blue eyes, and nice body were all stunning. What
Peter didn't know was that Miss Moon made striking noises
with her long nails to get the class' attention; it was
like running sharp nails down the chalkboard.
"Here it comes," said Clara.
"What?" said Peter.
Before Clara could tell Peter to cover his ears, Miss
Moon ran her nails down the chalkboard, and the children
were in tears. Peter could feel his eardrums shaking
inside; his skin began to crawl and his eyes began to water
up.
"Oh! That hurts," said Peter.
"Must you do that?" said Larry.
Miss Moon introduce herself to Peter, and then Peter
to the entire class; some children began to clap and others
began to boo.
"Oh! They are just jealous," said Clara.
"Well I am glad to have a friend like you," said Peter.
Clara smiled; then Miss Moon told the children to go
and change for their next assignment, and then she told
Peter she would show him his seahorse. Peter was so excited
to see what his seahorse would look like; he ran into the
boys' locker room and changed quickly.
"Slow down, Peter, it is not that serious," said
Robert.
But Peter was too excited to negotiate with the boys.
They began to jokingly tease Peter as he ran out of the
locker room with his swimming trunks on backwards. The
laughter filled the halls, and many of the teachers came
out, ordering them to keep it quiet. Finally, Clara told
Peter that his trunks were on backwards. He was so
embarrassed; he began to blush until his face turned red.
He ran as fast as he could back into the locker room to
change, and came out within minutes.
"Well done. I see you got it together," said Michael
as he clapped his hands.
"Enough," said Miss Moon, as she escorted the children
to the swimming hall.
Peter was so excited that he talked all the way there.
"Blah, blah, blah, blah," said Sam as he made fun of
Peter.
But Peter did not mind, for he knew that Sam was
nothing more than a bully. As the children got closer to
the swimming hall, Peter could hear the sounds of the
seahorses; in his mind, he was wondering which one was his.
The children and their teacher came to a big golden door,
and each child was scanned by a bright light.
"What is that?" said Peter to Clara.
She explained that the light checked them for any
fleas or germs they could spread onto their seahorse. The
seahorses were very delicate and anything could cause them
to become sick and die. Clara explained to Peter that she'd
already lost one horse.
As the light went down the line, scanning everyone, i
t
stopped on Sam, and nudged him out of the line. The flea
detector light went off, and everyone began to laugh. Miss
Moon had to tell Sam to sit this session out. He was very
upset and began to hit the machine. Miss Moon called
security and had Sam escorted to the principal's office. He
did not go easily; he went kicking and screaming all the
way down the hall.
Everyone else passed the health test, and the golden
door began to open. It was like seeing paradise; there were
palm trees, coconut trees, the water was crystal clear, it
was like a big manmade lake for millions of miles. There
were caretakers in the water looking after the seahorses
and feeding them. It was like a fantasy island, white sandy
beaches, exotic creatures, and sunny bright skies.
Peter fell in love with the environment right away.
Miss Moon got the children in line to introduce Peter to
his new seahorse. She asked him to cover his eyes until she
told him to let go. Peter followed her command, and when
she told him to let go, he could not believe his eyes.
Standing in front of him was a bright orange seahorse, one
that had never been seen before.
This horse was purchased for Peter by his father. It
had a big gold pedant with the initials P.C. and its
pendant glowed in the sun. The seahorse was so beautiful
that Peter was lost for words. The seahorse was strongly
built, with big blue oval eyes, and weighed about 2000
pounds. It had long orange hair on its tail and head, just
like Peter. This seahorse looked to be between a seal and a
dinosaur.
Miss Moon asked Peter what he thought, but he was lost
for words. He continued to take in big gulps of air, as he
could not believe his eyes on how beautiful this creature
was. He began to stroke the hair on the seahorse, and it
giggled and rolled on its back like a dog. The seahorse
began to wag its tail; wanting to play with Peter.
"Play with me, Peter," said the seahorse.
"It also talks?" asked Peter.
"Yes, of course," said Michael.
Clara explained to Peter that seahorses speak in
bubbles; when the bubbles burst, that's when the sound and
words come out. Peter waited and saw that his seahorse was
letting out a huge bubble. He waited for the bubble to
burst and then he heard the words, "Play with me."
Peter was so impressed with his new pet that he wanted
to play right away; but Miss Moon informed him that he had
to learn how to feed, clean, and take care of his seahorse.
Peter was up for the challenge.
"Where do we began?" said Peter to Miss Moon.
Suddenly, Miss Moon handed Peter a bag of smelly
roaches; they were huge, weighing at least ten pounds, and
big and ugly. Their bodies were filthy and slimy, their
eyes looked like bat's eyes, and what an awful smell! But
this was the seahorse's favorite meal. Everyone had to feed
their seahorse at least fifty of these roaches. Peter's
stomach began to turn and he quickly ran in the bushes to
vomit.
Clara came running toward him. "Are you okay?"
Peter answered with a shake of his head, wiped his
mouth and went back to class. The other children began to
laugh, especially Michael and Larry. These two young men
wanted Peter to fail, but he had a great backup plan; he
had great friends in Clara, Millie, Robert, Ben, Zack, and
Nicholas.
His friends quickly gathered around him, showing him
all the tricks to feeding his seahorse. The key to feeding
a seahorse without smelling the roaches was to throw the
entire disposable bag in the water. Clara let Peter know
that the bags were made out of corn husks, and could be
eaten by the animals and broken down by the environment.
Peter was happy to hear this, and the class went on.
Many of the children wanted to know where the rare
seahorse came from. Miss Moon let the children in on the
history of the orange seahorses, which are only born once
every ten years, and are very rare to find.
"Your Dad must have paid a lot for this," said Zack.
Peter was kinda happy that he was the center of
attention, but this time he did not forget to include his
best friends. He and the rest of the children began to
groom their seahorses and play with them for a while. Peter
and his seahorse ran up and down the manmade beach, jumping
in and out of the water. His horse always wanted to play,
but Peter was tired; and the seahorse began to playfully
splash him with water from its tail. Peter began to giggle
and started playing again.
"I think I will name you Bouncer," said Peter, and the
seahorse clapped its seal-like fins and jumped back in the
water to play again.
Peter loved this school, he couldn't wait to go home
and tell his family. Then for the first time, Peter
realized that his family was off at war, and he began to
worry. But, because Waldorf was so much fun, he let his
worry slip away. Yet, in the back of his mind, his family
came first.
Nevertheless, it was time for the class to begin. Miss
Moon ordered everyone to get on their seahorse and get
ready to race. Michael did not like the idea of Peter
having one of the most fancy and expensive seahorses
around; so he talked with Larry to hatch a plan to make
Peter come in last place. But, before the race began, Miss
Moon pulled out a golden saddle for Peter to put on his
horse. The saddle glowed with the Baja colors; the codes
lit up on the saddle as they ran up and down the straps. It
was almost mesmerizing.
Peter gazed for a minute, and then came to his senses
and threw the saddle up onto his seahorse. He noticed that
even his initials were engraved into the saddle. This made
Peter feel even more special, and the new saddle made his
seahorse look even better. He was ready for the race, but
Larry and Michael had other plans.
Peter whispered in his seahorse's ear saying quietly,
"Let's beat them!"
The seahorse let out a loud scream, and the bubbles
with the words, "You bet," came bursting out of his throat.
This bonding was an amazing sight to see; Peter and
his new seahorse Bouncer having the time of their lives.
"On your mark, get set, go!" yelled Miss Moon.
The race was off; Peter and his classmates were in a
tight race. First, Clara would pull away, then Michael; but
out of nowhere came Larry taking off so fast it was as if
his horse was on a shooting star.
Clara knew that Larry was cheating and yelled, "You
cheater," and pushed her seahorse to run faster and faster.
The obstacle course was so beautiful; the classmates
had to race over high ocean waves, through caves, under
waterfalls, and through swap lands. This was where Larry's
seahorse slowed down; he had pushed his seahorse too far,
and the seahorse was tired. So, like a mule w
hen it is
pushed too hard; it stopped working and become very
stubborn and unruly. Larry could not get his seahorse to
move or even get up; it sat on the side of the swamp eating
the leaves and bugs. Larry was very upset and began to kick
the seahorse. It got up and ran off, leaving Larry stranded
by the swamp. He watched as his classmates passed him,
laughing.
He shouted at Michael, "You better win for us!"
But Michael was no match for Clara and her seahorse.
She also had one of the rarest seahorses in Baja, and she
treated her animal very well. In return, it treated her
well by winning many tournaments.
"Go, go!" said Clara as she shook the leash to her
seahorse.
Once again, Clara was in the lead, with Peter in
second and Michael third. Over and under bridges of water,
through mud holes and swamps; Clara managed to stay in
first place. She could see the finish line ahead.
"Just a little more to go," she said to her seahorse.
Clara's seahorse mustered up more energy, and pulled
away from the pack. Clara crossed the finished line first,
and then Michael and Peter were a close tie. First Peter
pulled away, then Michael, and at the last minute, Peter
heard Clara, cheering him on, and he found the strength to
make his seahorse move faster. Peter overtook Michael to
come in second. Miss Moon was very amazed to see how well
Peter and his seahorse adapted to their new environment. As
Peter and Bouncer made it to shore they were greeted with a
big hug by Clara.
"I am so proud of you, Peter," said Clara.
Miss Moon and the rest of the class gave Peter a warm
hand clap. He was very proud of himself and began to blush.
"Where is Larry?" Miss Moon asked.
The children pointed toward the swamp, and Miss Moon
sent the security fish to retrieve Larry. Security fish
were half man half fish; they glowed with the secret codes
of Baja all over their scaly skin. They had no feet, just a
fish tail; their upper bodies were human and the lower
torso was a fish. They were beautiful creatures, their fins
soft as feathers, and they came in many shades of colors
from yellow to green and in between. They wore an armor
breastplate that said, "Waldorf Academy". The security fish
went to get Larry; in the meantime, Larry's seahorse came
swimming up fast; something was wrong. The seahorse was
going too fast to stop; until suddenly it ended up on the
beach, belly up. Larry's seahorse began to vomit and poop
all over the place.
"What a horrible smell," said Clara.
Miss Moon and the remaining students went over to see
what was wrong with Larry's horse. As the class and their
teacher got closer, Miss Moon notice that Larry's horse was
throwing up horse flies. They're big and black, with a
mosquito-look and long suckers. But horse flies are also
fed to seahorse when someone wants to cheat; they make the
seahorse speed up too fast for its heart rate. With time,
the horse collapses and dies.
"I will see that Larry get suspended for this," said
Miss Moon as she rubbed the sick seahorse's belly.
Animal control was called, and they took the sick
seahorse away. When the security fish brought Larry back to
the beach with his other teammates, no one wanted to talk
to him; not even Michael.
"What have you done?" said Michael to Larry.
Larry shrugged his shoulders as Michael asked him the
question.
"You know the rule of Baja, no living thing is to harm
another," said Miss Moon, as she grabbed Larry by the ears
and sat him in the sand in a corner by a palm tree.
Miss Moon was so upset; she gave the children the rest
of the class period to go over to the wacky Fun Factory.
"Oh, Boy!" said the children as they jumped in the air
with excitement and laughter.
As the children got ready for their trip, Larry was
being hauled off to the principal's office by his collar.
"Let me go, now, I am going to tell!" said Larry to
Miss Moon.
Miss Moon did not care and continued to grab Larry by
the ear and take him to the principal's office. The
children began to laugh at Larry as they saw him acting
like a big baby. As they laughed, Larry promised to beat
them up after school; this got him into more trouble and
made Miss Moon pulled on his ear harder. Down the hall,
Larry shouted and threw a tantrum, but it was not fazing
Miss Moon who continued to pull him to the office.
"What is the wacky fun factory?" said Peter.
Zack explained that it was the happiest place in Baja,
and to get in you must have a pass, but a pass is six
thousand barks.
"That's $6,000 dollars in your world," said Ben.
"Why so expensive?" said Peter.
Ben and Zack explained to Peter that only the rich and
famous with there families were able to go to the Wacky Fun
Factory, because it was especially built for them.
"The rich are very snobbish," said Zack as he pushed
up his hands to his nose, showing how the rich turn up
there noses at the less fortunate.
Peter began to laugh and asked the boys how they would
ever afford to get in. Ben explained that Waldorf academy
gives away a few passes a year, and they were lucky this
time to get one. But then Zack thought of the wish he'd
made. He had golden tickets for him and his friends to
enter any amusement park they ever wanted. He ran to his
locker and searched for the tickets, and found them in
between his books, as they let off a glow.
Zack and his friends began to jump up and down, now
they could afford to stay in the Wacky Fun Factory longer,
because on a regular ticket time runs out, but on Zack's,
they had unlimited time for him and his friends.
"Come on, let's get Clara and Millie," said Peter.
The gang went to get Clara and Millie to tell them the
good news. They were so excited and began to jump up and
down in the hallway, until a teacher told them to quiet
down. The teacher's name was Mrs. Ghost, she taught anatomy
on how to be a ghost. Peter and his friends quickly
apologized and went on to the pit stop.
The pit stop was a moving machine that would take them
to the Wacky Fun Factory. When Peter saw this contraption
his eyes bugged out of their sockets.
"Oh! That is so cool," said Peter.
The pit was a runway made of candy colors; it was so
long that the children could not see the end, and the
cotton candy clouds blocked them from seeing what was up
ahead. As the clouds finally moved, a tall skinny man with
glasses and long blonde hair stood in front of them. Peter
became frightened and held onto Zack.
"Oh, you little girl, it's only Mr. Smorge, the
factory operator," said Robert, as he laughed jokingly at
Peter.
Mr. Smorge was pale and had a peculiar look to his
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br /> face.
"And who do we have here?" said Mr. Smorge.
"It's Peter Carrot-Top," said Ben.
"The Peter Carrot-Top that the whole of Baja is
talking about?" said Mr. Smorge.
"Yes, sir," said Ben.
"Well, step right up," said Mr. Smorge, as he pointed
to a brown wooden treasure box.
Peter was still afraid and hung tightly to his
friends. The big treasure box opened up and a magical red
carpet came flying out with a few of the Wacky Fun Factory
helpers. They were all dressed in clown outfits with bright
colors and hats to match. They brought the children
balloons and treats.
"Try these, it's our new candy, called Jolly bombs,"
said Mr. Smorge.
"What are jolly bombs?" asked Peter.
Mr. Smorge explained that jolly bombs were mouth
gushing, great tasting apple cherry flavored juice candies
that turned a child's entire mouth different colors. When
the children heard this, they ran up and grabbed handfuls
of the new candy that was making its debut in the Wacky Fun
Factory amusement park.
First Peter's tongue turned green, then Clara's blue,
Millie's was purple and the other children's were pink and
black. But that was not all to the jolly bombs; from now on
everything the children's lips and tongue touched would
turn the color of their jolly bombs. Robert tried his out
and took a bite of his pencil; it immediately turned black.
Then Peter chewed on his shirt, and his white shirt went to
green.
"That is really cool," said Millie.
The children began to jump up and down with
excitement; this was the trip of a lifetime. They got to go
to the park, and were the first ones to try out the new
jolly bombs before they hit the Baja market. The children
were so happy, and couldn't wait to see what the rest of
the amusement park would have. They began to walk up the
red carpet of the treasure chest, until they got to a
golden door, where Mr. Smorge immediately appeared again.
"How do you do that?" said Peter to Mr. Smorge.
"Well, we're all ghosts, we can move in and out of
everything. You should know that, Peter," said Mr. Smorge.
Clara jumped in and told Mr. Smorge that Peter had
been living in the land of the living humans, and was not
too familiar with ghost attitudes.
"Well, we will have to work on that," said Mr. Smorge.
He then asked for the children's tickets, and when he
saw the golden tickets, his eyes grew large.
"Where did these come from?" said Mr. Smorge.
The children explained, and immediately Mr. Smorge
wanted to buy them, but they were not for sale; none of the
children were willing to part with their tickets. When Mr.
Smorge got to Jamyra and her friends, they just had regular
tickets and Mr. Smorge told them that they were only on an
hour's pass, and if they had the golden tickets that they
would be able to stay as long as they wanted. Jamyra got
upset and demanded that Millie give her ticket to her, but
Peter jumped in and told Jamyra to get lost and Millie
would not give up her ticket. Jamyra gave Millie an evil
look and walked off.
"I will get you, Millie Spoon," said Jamyra.
Mr. Smorge explained to the children that whose names
are on the golden tickets are the only ones who can enter
on that card; so there was no need for Jamyra to get all
upset. Millie would not give her the golden ticket.
Nevertheless, the children were happy that they were going
to the Wacky Fun Factory.
"Come on, step right up, kids," said Mr. Smorge.
The children ran up the stairs and onto the carpet. A
great big golden door opened like the wings of a bird.
Jamyra was the first in line; she handed the attendant her
ticket, and was first through the doors. Then the remaining
children followed. Inside, the children got on a moving red
train, and the inside of it was nice and clean. The outside
was candy apple red with shiny metal silver outlining
everything.
The children could hear the "choo-choo", and they
watched as the train pulled away from the station. Then
they were lost in the clouds and couldn't see anything; the
academy was nowhere in sight. It was as if Peter and his
classmates went into a time warp. The train catered to
children and families; it had pink carpet, the interior
walls were made of candy, and the ceiling was painted to
look like a big bowl of chocolate pudding. It was so good;
Zack was tempted to lick the walls! That was, until Mr.
Smorge came by and tapped him on the head.
"Ouch! That hurt," said Zack.
"It was supposed to," said Mr. Smorge, as he kept a
better eye on the children.
Peter and his classmates could hear people talking,
but didn't know where it was coming from. So, Peter made
everyone be quiet so he could pinpoint where the voices
were coming from. He put his ear to the wall, and heard the
voices again.
"It's coming from the wall!" he said.
The others rushed over and began to listen; they
couldn't believe that the walls were talking, but they
were. Ben got in closer and removed a cookie display from
the wall, and then peeled back the candy wallpaper. What he
saw was unbelievable; there were tiny little people living
in the walls!
They were going about their daily lives as if
everything was normal. The other children jumped over to
see the tiny people. Then Mr. Smorge came by, but the
children were so intrigued with their new finding that they
didn't notice him behind them.
"They are called Toonies," he said.
The children jumped away from the hole, and went back
to their seats; blaming everything on Ben. But, Mr. Smorge
just chuckled and walked off.
"What are the Toonies?" asked Jamyra.
Mr. Smorge shouted back, "They are the oil that keeps
this train moving to the Wacky Fun Factory."
The children loved this adventure, and all the
experiences they were having. Servers dressed in candy
costumes began to bring them treats and snacks. Peter and
his friends gobbled down the desserts and fruit snacks, but
he couldn't help looking out the window. He noticed that
the train was flying through the air!
"This is impossible," he said.
"What?" asked the others.
Peter pointed out that the train was flying.
"Oh! How cool is that?" said Clara.
Off into the sky the train went like a big red rope
winding through the air; while the children's faces were
pushed up against the glass, looking out to see the skies.
The red train flew through a burst of cotton candy clouds,
all in different colors; there were blue, pink, red, black,
purple and many more. The smell of candy filled the train;
the children could almost taste the candy.
The train went down tunnels made of candy canes, and
&nbs
p; flew through waterfalls made of milk; the entire land
seemed to be made of candy. This was truly a wacky fun
ride. Down on the ground, the children noticed Ferris
wheels, rides galore, and an "all you can eat" candy sign.
The children began to jump up and clap.
Then a voice came on the train, "Quiet down, you
brats!" it was Mr. Smorge.
But Peter and his friends did not care; they just
wanted to have the time of their lives, they could hardly
keep still until the ride stop. As they were coming in for
a landing, golden belts came out of the seats and strapped
the children in.
"Welcome to the Wacky Fun Factory," said a voice on
the speaker.
The children once again shouted and clapped, but this
time they were not told to keep quiet. As soon as the
golden belts release the children, they were up in the air
and out of their seats waiting to un-board the train. Then
little elves came on board with candy balloons and large
lollipops. The elves were two feet tall and cuddly; they
had on the golden Wacky Fun Factory cast member badge, and
colorful uniforms. They began to sing the Wacky Fun Factory
song.
"Oh! Welcome to our world of joy, a world of toys for
girls and boys; we welcome you to our land of dreams, and
milky streams; with candy lands and little ant
farms,"(singing).
When the song was over, everyone began to clap and
couldn't wait to un-board. Peter was the most excited of
all his friends. The world of Baja was new to him, and he
wanted to experience every minute of it.
Then one of the elves came and announced, "Everyone
with a golden pass step this way."
Peter and his friends quickly stepped right on up. The
short, stout little elf looked up at Peter and his friends,
and scanned their golden passes over and over with the
magical glasses that popped out of his head. On the inside
of his glasses the word "authentic" floated off the ticket
and onto his eyes.
"These are authentic, let them go in," said the elf.
But Jamyra, Michael, Steve, and Sam had to stay back;
they only had a regular pass. Once again, Jamyra got upset
and turned the elf into a block of ice. For this
disruption, she was quickly handed over to the Wacky Fun
Factory security guards, and sent back to Waldorf Academy.
The guards were the most splendid thing Peter has ever
seen. They walked around with golden shields that had
different card symbols on them. One group was the ace of
hearts, and another came by that read the king of spades.
These guards never smiled or let their guard down. Their
big helmets covered their faces and all one could see were
their lips moving. Jamyra went kicking and screaming, as
usual.
"What an embarrassment," said Clara.
The children then got a lecture on how to behave in
public, by the senior elf. The speech went on and on, until
the children were nodding off asleep, and then the elf
stopped talking.
"Okay, kids, this way," the elf pointed the children
into the special magical cart that was only for people with
the golden pass.
Peter and his friends were excited, and then they got
into a bubble gum pink cart that was driven by a large pink
fluffy monkey. He had on a chauffeur's hat and a tight
jacket. Peter was amazed to see the size of such a
creature. The monkey chauffer greeted his passengers, and
opened the door for them. The bubble gum cart was amazing
inside. First, on the outside it was a shinny pink, and
that carried into the inside. The interior smelled like
bubble gum, and the seats were soft and cushiony plush. The
mats on the floor were also made from the same type of gum.
The children piled into the cart, and watched as it took
off.
"Hold onto your golden tickets, you will need them,"
said the driver.
The children held their tickets tightly, put them into
their pockets, and latched them with their buttons. Now it
was time for them to enjoy themselves. First stop was the
Blue Mountain. The children jumped out, and off they went
running. Blue Mountain was the place everyone wanted to be,
it was made up of different levels of surfing, an easy,
medium, hard, and very hard.
Peter and his friends were first in line because they
had the golden tickets; so they got special treatment
throughout the day at Wacky Fun Factory. In line, Peter and
his friends chose the medium surfing level. They put away
their bags and changed after meeting up on the slope. They
ran to the first wave.
Blue Mountain was spectacular; there were large
surfing waves, water so blue and crystal clear, and the
medium level was so big that it could hold ten thousand
surfers at one time. Peter and his friends were given
special boards, each fit one of the children's
personalities. Millie got a board that was all white with a
big green bear engraved on the front, and it talked to her.
"Cool," said Millie.
Peter got an orange board with a fiery red outline. It
was engraved with a lizard that also talked. Clara got a
blue board that had little white elves that all talked.
Robert got a black board that shot out different color
stars, and Zack got a purple board that turned into a
little submarine. Nicholas got a surfboard that was grey
and it shot water up into the air like a water hose. And
lastly, Ben got a yellow board that made big giant bubbles
in the water. The first water bubble that he made was so
huge that it caused a big tidal wave, but no one seemed to
mind.
Everyone was there to have fun, and since very few
people get a golden pass, the children were more
celebrities in their own rights. Peter was amazed to see
all the different kinds of people and ghosts in the Wacky
Fun Factory. There were people with fur, there were monkey
people, there were small elves, there were reptile people,
people that were half man half animal, there were visitors
who looked like real ghosts, and so forth. Peter's mouth
dropped open as he saw all the different groups of people
living in harmony together and having a great time.
"Close your mouth or you'll get flies," said Zack.
Peter and his friends began to chuckle and then they
took off to Blue Mountain. Peter could not get over the
beauty of the mountain; the large palm trees, the giant
birds that flew overhead, and the real lava volcano that
oozed out green slime gum. It was great to be a kid in the
land of the Wacky Fun Factory.
There were thousands of people in the water, swimming
and surfing, and just having a jolly old good time. Peter
and his friends jumped into the water; they were all ready
to surf. Pigeons came on a board surfing by. Clara's board
began to talk and tell her how to surf. She was excited to
hea
r her board talking, and put it up closer to her ear.
The image talking was like a 3-D hologram. It told Clara
and her friends to hit the waves, and so they did all.
The children began to surface. Robert's black
surfboard shot out stars, and the children in the water
began to try and catch them. Zack turned his surfboard into
a submarine and went under water where he saw large sea
snakes with golden crowns on their heads, large plants that
flourished on the bottom and blinked in many different
colors and then shot the colors into the air causing great
fireworks. Every time this happened, the crowd would cheer
and jump up to catch the falling colors.
Millie's board had a green bear, and when she touched
it, the hologram awoke and took her by the hands; and began
to surf with her. Peter's lizard hologram also came off of
his board, and began to teach him how to surface; the two
went flying through the air and riding the big waves.
"Weeeeeeeee," said Peter.
Meanwhile, Clara was followed by her army of hologram
elves that came off of the surfboard to surf with her, and
Nicholas programmed his surfboard to shoot water ten to
twenty feet in the air. The crowd went crazy, the children
had the entire park having more fun than normal, and Ben
had his surfboard making giant water bubbles that burst in
the air and water splashed all over the park. They created
giant surfing waves.
The children were having the time of their lives, but
a few of their classmates were extremely jealous and felt
that Peter, Clara, Millie, Robert, Ben, Zack, and Nicholas
were having a much better time than they were. So Sam and
Steve decided that they would steal two of the golden
passes from their classmates and go through the park
enjoying all the free things that they were getting.
While Peter and the rest of his classmates were having
fun, Steve and Sam went into the boys' restroom and took
Peter and Robert's golden passes. Sam was the first to
break into Peter's locker, and then he helped Steve to
break into Robert's and not be seen. Steve let his foot
grow large, and then give off an odor that was out of this
world. The stench knocked out anyone who was at the door
for a minute. This made them almost invisible, because when
Steve's foot let off an odor, it was always followed by a
green misty foam cloud, and the two could hide in the stink
cloud. The two boys were happy that they had pulled off
this heist, and began to give each other their secret
handshake. Everywhere the two boys went, the stench was
knocking out people for a minute.
"Sam, I am so glad you are immune to my toe jam," said
Steve.
"No, I am not immune; I am holding my breath," said
Steve as the two boys went laughing down the sidewalk of
the park.
The first place they stopped to use their golden
passes was Blackberry's Ice Cream Shop, one of the largest
shops in Baja. This was where tiny dwarfs made ice cream
for the park attendees; and the two boys ordered ten scoops
of blackberry ice cream, a yummy ice cream that was coated
with black chocolate and red strawberries. The ice creams
were over a foot tall, and Sam and Steve ate and ate until
the ice cream began to melt all over their arms in the hot
sun. The two boys had ice cream in their hair and all over
their faces; with the golden passes, they were treated like
royalty.
Their next stop was the Browler Hole, which was a
prehistoric town lost in a time warp that had been invaded
by the human species. The town consisted of large holes,
and in those large holes were different types of
entertainment. There were plenty for the visitors to do;
the town was untouched by time, it was perfect in every
way. Fresh breezes, tall trees that ascended into the
heavens, rocks that had different gods and spiritual
leaders carved into them, and tall statues made of wood and
stone. Everyone in the Browler Hole lived in harmony, with
cobblestone streets and flowers that sang and sprayed
fragrances into the air.
Browler Hole was built by small pezzers, which were
small two foot high red dwarfs. Their skin glowed with the
Baja symbols and was covered in mud because they were
diggers; they dug holes for a living. The pezzers were very
kind to mankind, and in return for their protection and
kindness, mankind was allowed to stay and live with the
pezzers. This land was immaculate; there was no trash on
the streets, the entire surroundings were clean and tidy.
There were millions of tiny houses made of straw and
mud; there were also life-sized shops and entertainment
made for the visitors. This side of the park was very
exclusive, and only members with a golden pass could enter.
The two boys showed their golden passes and were
immediately allowed into Browler Hole. The place itself was
another park within a park. It was huge and had acre upon
acre of land; Sam and Steve couldn't believe that they got
into this exclusive park. The two boys began to make fun of
Peter and his friends; laughing about how they would find
out that their golden passes were missing.
Browler Hole had a large watering hole; this was where
the prehistoric fish and animals were seen. For the first
time, the boys could see a bushel cat. It was being held
down by ten hunters; it must have been at least two
thousand pounds with a fluffy brown and white coat, paws
the size of moving carts, and long tusks that curled up in
the air. This animal was a cross between a cat, an
elephant, and a pig.
Sam and Steve ran up to see the creature; this was
their first time laying eyes on such a magnificent beast.
The lines were long, and Sam and Steve could not see too
well; it was too bad that in here everyone had a golden
pass. So, there was no special treatment. Nevertheless, Sam
and Steve waited their turns to touch the creature. It was
soft and fluffy, its fur blew in the wind, and the creature
was very docile. The boys were allowed to hug and take
pictures of themselves with the animal.
But, the really fun part of Browler Hole was riding
the "Goo Ride". It was a long slippery tar mud slide that
slid the visitors for miles, up and down, through hoops and
turns. The only thing needed for this ride was a tough
bathing suit. Sam and Steve jumped in line and put the
golden passes in their pockets; they were ready for the
slipping to begin.
Once in the line, each visitor was drenched in the goo
to make slipping easier. Sam and Steve accepted the goo,
and were thrilled to have black goo slime all over
themselves. But, some of the parents in the park was too
dainty to get dirty, and so were fine with having a great
time with their children without going on the ride.
Sam and Steve were having the time
of their lives.
Down the slide they went, slipping and turning; their
entire bodies drenched in black goo. This was a neverending
ride that kept on going and going. The boys slid
through rings of goo, then they went sliding down a steep
mountain into a puddle of goo. Up and down turns, through
and over hills; the screams of the boys were the sign that
they were having fun. Steve and Sam were truly excited when
they slid through different colors of goo; first there was
blue, then yellow, then red.
"Boy, this is fun!" shouted Sam as he slid by Steve.
After about an hour sliding and playing in the goo,
Sam and Steve got cleaned up and headed for Wally World,
their elite status as golden pass members allowed them
access to many of the exclusive areas of the park.
"Off to Wally World," shouted Steve.
The two boys were picked up in a shinning black flying
carpet transportation that seated eight. The red carpet was
laid out for the boys in the form of steps. One by one, the
boys climbed until they were at the very top of the ride.
In they jumped and showed their passes to the driver. A
little tiny old man was the driver, and it seemed as if he
could hardly see; he wore thick eye glasses that made his
eyeballs magnified even bigger. Steve and Sam were a little
nervous of the old guy driving them, and began to tease the
gentleman.
"Hey, old man, get us there safe, all right!" said Sam.
But the driver never answered and spitefully slammed
his foot on the pedal. Off the carpet ride flew, knocking
Sam and Steve on their butts. The driver began to chuckle
hysterically, while avoiding trees and huge flying bird.
"Off to Wally World," said the driver.
Sam and Steve were too busy hiding on the floor of the
ride, fearing for their lives as the driver missed trees
and birds by mere inches.
Meanwhile, at the Blue Mountain water hole, Peter and
his remaining classmates had had enough fun and were ready
to move on. They turned in their surfboards and headed to
the guest area to see where they could go next. The next
place was Wally World, a land that was describe on the map
as ten million feet up, and the only way to get there was
by the magic carpet ride. The land was said to be the home
of giants and their families; no humans had ever lived on
that land.
The map talked about the beautiful lagoons, and ribbon
colored skies. There was much to do in Wally World; there
were pit fights to watch, giant vs. giant, and there were
sky rides where each person saddled up a fly fish and took
to the skies. The first fish and its rider to cross the
line would win a great prize.
To Peter, this all sounded interesting. Little did he
know that Robert's and his passes were gone. Peter and his
friends had no idea of what was in store for them. As the
children left Blue Mountain and proceeded on their way to
the changing room, Michael casually walked over and began
snickering at Peter and his friends.
"Where are you lovely folks going next?" said Michael,
as he laugh louder and louder.
"We're going to Wally World," said Clara.
Peter invited Michael along, but he wanted to go
somewhere else and turned down the offer.
"You might not be going either," said Michael as he
splashed Peter and his friends with water from his wings.
"Oh, you are just jealous," said Zack.
Peter noticed that Michael was by himself and wondered
where his other partners in crime were. Things began to
look fishy, but Peter left Millie and Clara to head to the
changing room with the boys. Suddenly, a loud scream was
heard, and everyone ran into the hallway.
"My golden pass is missing!" said Robert.
Someone had stolen Robert's golden pass. Everyone
checked their passes, and Peter was missing his pass too.
He sat down on a bench and put his face in the palms of his
hands; he was clearly upset. His hair began to turn from
orange to deep reddish, and it stuck up as if it was ready
to shoot out fire.
"I knew Michael was acting strange. He knows who has
our passes," said Peter.
Clara and Millie heard the commotion and came running.
At this time, the news had traveled in the hallways. Clara
and Millie were shocked to find out that Robert and Peter's
golden passes were missing. So, after the children got
dressed, they walked up to the Wacky Fun Factory guard and
reported their passes missing. In the world of Wacky Fun
Factory, this was a big deal; the sirens went off all
through the park, and the clouds in the sky turned gray and
gloomy. The guards and the park officials took this very
seriously, which surprised the children.
One by one, a different guard came up to the children
and asked them to explain their story. Peter and his
friends told the same story over and over again; until
Peter got frustrated with all the questioning, as if he and
Robert were the ones who stole the passes! But the guards
cleared them and summoned Mr. Smorge.
"I knew you kids would be trouble," said Mr. Smorge.
But Peter explained to Mr. Smorge that Sam and Steve
had stolen their passes. Suddenly, Mr. Smorge summoned the
great searcher of the skies to locate Sam and Steve. A big
face appeared in the clouds that looked mystifying and
strange. Every time the voice spoke, his words formed in
clouds that came crashing down onto the children. The voice
had a loud thunderous voice.
"Who dares spoil the people's fun?" asked the voice.
"Sam and Steve," shouted Clara, as she was pulled back
by Mr. Smorge.
"That is no way to request the great searcher's help,"
said Mr. Smorge as he hid tiny little Clara behind him.
He explained to the great searcher that two golden
passes were missing, and that one belonged to the boy king
Peter Carrot-Top.
"Not the Peter Carrot-Top," said the voice.
"Oh yes! This is the one," said Mr. Smorge.
Then the great searcher of the sky made search dogs
out of clouds, and sent them forth to sniff out Sam and
Steve. The cloud dogs were like hounds; they were wild and
began running through the air looking for their targets.
"Woo, they are some big dogs," said Robert.
As the cloud dogs took off in the air, they were made
of clouds so huge that the entire park could see them and
thought it was a show. Little did they know that a pair of
thieves was on the loose. The crowd began to clap as the
dogs took off in search of their prey. Peter and his
friends were very upset and explained that they all wanted
to go to Wally World. But, because Peter had no golden
pass, they were being forced to stay put.
"Well, I think I can pull some strings," said Mr.
Smorge.
The children jumped up screaming and hopping with joy.
"Calm down, you little b
rats, I don't want people to
think I am nice," said Mr. Smorge.
"But you are," said Millie.
Suddenly, the red carpet ride came swooshing down to
pick up the children. Peter and his friends had a look of
relief and excitement on their faces; they all hopped in
the ride one by one. As Peter looked over to the right, he
saw Michael standing all alone.
"Would you like to go?" said Peter.
"I do not need your charity," said Michael.
Deep down, Michael really wanted to go, but his pride
got the best of him.
"Don't worry about him," said Robert.
But Peter was a different kind of person; if he had
fun, he wanted everyone to have fun. Whether they were his
friend or not, Peter loved everyone. But Michael was rude
and stubborn and didn't want to go. So Peter and his
friends pulled off and never looked back once. The children
were now on their way to Wally World, a land of dreams and
fantasy. The carpet ride went up into the air, flying into
the unknown. The children peeked out of the window and
looked at all the beauty of the Wacky Fun Factory.
From up high in the air, they could see how the
amusement park worked. It was hitched together with gold
and steel pipes all through the land. Workers were coming
and going through secret tunnels buried deep in the sands.
The park itself was built in a clear bubble that was made
of thick glass. To the children, this was amazing and
beautiful.
The children had forgotten about Sam and Steve for a
minute, and focused on the beauty of the park. Up in the
air the carpet ride flew, dancing around the trees in the
air, ascending and then descending, making the children
hold onto their seats. The carpet ride was a true ride in
itself. The children loved it; they were cheering and
clapping for the driver.
"Peter, did you know your mother grew these plants?"
said the driver.
The children looked around and saw the huge plants
crawling up the side of the ride. These plants moved with
the motions of snakes; they were quick and fast, and that
frightened the children for a minute, until one of the
plants got close to the glass and began to lick out its
tongue like a dog. The children began to laugh and waved
back to the plants as they slowly disappeared into the
clouds.
"No, I did not know my mother made these plants, sir,"
said Peter.
The driver went on to tell Peter that all of the
plants all over Baja were made by his mother, that Jane had
the power of the green thumb. Peter sat back and admired
his mother's work and gave a compliment to her.
"Yes, my mother is sooooo cool," said Peter as the
rest of the children laughed.
The ride suddenly took a turn up into a large
beanstalk, where the children saw fairies and tiny elves
with wings gathering sap in a bucket. The creatures waved
to Peter and his friends.
"What are they doing?" said Ben.
"Just gathering sap and stalk for their family," said
the driver.
Peter and his friends were amazed to see such
interactions going on with species that they had never seen
before. These fairies and elves were so small, about two
inches in height, so it took a swarm of them to collect the
sap. On their wings, the symbols of Baja glowed, and with
all of them in a group, they lit up the otherwise dark
stalk.
"Oh, they are so cute and precious," said Millie.
The driver looked back in his mirror and saw that the
children were having a good time, and he just smiled and
chuckled at how much the children were learning and
enjoying themselves. The driver then sped up, and the
carpet ride got faster and faster; up and away the ride
flew into the air. The children's seatbelts began to
tighten. The ride flew up into the air like a rocket, all
the children could see were different colored clouds of
dust; there were red, blue, green, orange and black dust
clouds that glittered in the skies. It was so colorful that
there was nothing else the children could see. But, the
driver had taken this route many times and knew where he
was going.
"Hang on, we have a thunder cloud coming," said the
driver.
The ride began to shake vigorously back and forth
faster and faster. The children were thrown around in the
ride like rag dolls; the seat belts gave out and Peter and
his friends went floating around in the ride.
"Hold on to something," said the driver.
The driver did not look panicked at all; apparently,
he had been through this before. But his main concern was
the children. The thunder cloud was a big burst of
sparkling dust that grew into a huge comet ball and burst
every now and then, causing a new thunder cloud to form. As
the children held on to a pole in the ride, and each other,
they couldn't help but look at the magnificent thunder
cloud. Even though it was dangerous, it was beautiful, and
when the cloud finally burst, colorful sparkles went
everywhere, and out of the thunder came a small group of
tiny rainbow colored bears. There had to be millions of
these tiny little bears. They jumped out of the cloud,
continuously spreading the sparkling dust through the air.
These tiny bears were giggling and laughing as they went
around starting thunder clouds.
"They might be cute; but they're dangerous," said the
driver.
"Well, why do we need them?" said Zack.
The driver explained that without these cloud bears
there would be no thunder clouds, and without thunder
clouds there would be no fresh air. The driver then pointed
to the right and showed the children that the colorful
sparkles from the clouds sucked up all the impurities in
the air and kept the air in Baja, and many worlds, safe
enough to breathe.
"Wow that is pretty neat," said Peter.
After a few seconds of aftershock tidal waves,
everything soon began to calm down, and the children and
their driver were back on route to Wally World.
"Few more minutes and we're in Wally World," said the
driver.
The children began to clap and whistle, they were
happy that they would finally be there. As they got closer,
they began to see huge giants sliding down beanstalks; some
were with their little ones, and others were going to work.
They had lunch boxes, tool belts and working hats. These
giants were huge and green; their green skin glowed with
the symbols of Baja; their tiny green ears stood above
their heads, and their big blue eyes were so penetrating to
look at. These were some of the most beautiful creatures of
Baja.
The ride swayed over for the children to get a better
look at the giants, and all they could see was a huge eye
looking at them. Millie began to scream and Clara covered
<
br /> her mouth.
"You don't want to scare them, do you?" said Clara.
Millie shook her head no, and Peter went up to the
window of the ride and began to wave at the huge creature,
and it waved back.
"Did you see? He waved at me," said Peter. He was so
excited that he could hardly contain himself. "Are we there
yet?"
"Just a few more minutes," said the driver.
The ride soared up into the air with a small burst of
help from a rocket plant. The plants were designed to burst
into the air every few seconds, and off the children went.
Their ride was flying into the air, and they were enjoying
every minute of it. As they were going up, the children
began to see a bright hole in the sky. The sun was shinning
bright, and they could see a large opening up ahead. When
the ride reached it, they landed on a long silver-lined
runway in the clouds. There were park workers ready to help
the children get off.
"Welcome to Wally World," said one of the workers, as
the children filed out of the ride one by one.
"Have a lot of fun," said the driver as he pulled off,
waving goodbye to the children.
Peter and his friends were all excited to be in
another part of Wacky World; and from all they had seen,
this place kept getting stranger and stranger by the
minute. But, the children were enjoying every minute of it.
However, not far from Peter's mind was the fact that Steve
and Sam stole his and Robert's golden passes.
As the children were walking to explore the park, they
noticed the pack of cloud dogs holding something in their
mouths like a rag doll. Then Peter saw Sam's fart balls as
he tried to get away from the dogs; they were coughing
because Sam's fart balls were unpleasant. The odor made the
dogs water at the eyes, but they still held onto Sam and
Steve.
People were running from the outrageous smell; the air
in the park turned a grayish green, and Peter and his
friends quickly covered their noses and ran toward the
commotion. As Peter and his friends approached, they saw
Steve kick off his shoes and grow his feet until they were
the size of the giants and let out his toe jams. Now the
park smelled like fart balls and toe jams! The park
security was called, and they came marching in as if they
were going off to war. One of them commended the cloud dogs
for catching their fugitives. The dogs began to wag their
tails as clouds of puff went everywhere, and then the
guards threw the dogs large pieces of bones. Each dog had a
bone to himself and they ran off, leaving Steve and Sam in
the care of the park guards. Peter and his friends ran up
to Sam and Steve.
"You jerks, you stole our passes," said Robert as he
began to check Sam and Steve's back pockets.
When he found them, he quickly pulled them out of
their pockets. The guards quickly confiscated the golden
passes, until Mr. Smorge arrived. As he walked in, Millie
ran up to him and apologized for her classmates, but he did
not want to hear that and told Millie to step aside. Being
a huge man around the park, Mr. Smorge stormed down the
sidewalks, grabbing Steve and Sam by the ear.
"You two brats, come with me," said Mr. Smorge as he
took Sam and Steve into a secret opening in the wall.
Then Mr. Smorge ordered the guards to give Peter and
Robert back their golden passes, and after their visit to
Wally World they had to return back to Waldorf Academy as
soon as possible. Everyone in the park was intimidated by
Mr. Smorge, and when he spoke, everyone jumped.
Peter and his friends decided to enjoy what was left
of the day; and what a great day it turned out to be. The
giants in Wally World were very pleasant; even though they
were huge, they always looked out for the visitors on the
ground. Wally World was beautiful; there were thousands of
birds in the sky writing letters and words in the air. They
even made pictures!
There were also tons of rainbows in the sky that burst
with colors and were edible. Peter and his friends began to
lick their sleeves and shirts; the rainbow bursts tasted
like candy, from strawberries to lemon, even sour apple.
The children were having the time of their lives. Even
though the day started off rough, it was beginning to look
very good.
After the rainbow bursts, the children headed to the
candy cave, where they got a golden bucket and were allowed
to dig for one of the sweetest candies in the world:
"YELLOW MELON". The yellow melon was worth a fortune on the
Baja market; it was a hard candy that was yellow on the
outside, but on the inside it was sweet melon candy sand.
The children ran into the cave and began to dig with
all their might; just a few pieces of yellow melon could
bring the children a big allowance back home in Baja. Peter
and his friends did more eating than saving, but the little
that they saved was well worth it back home. Every time the
giants walked the earth they would open up, and a burst of
yellow melon would sprout out of the ground. The visitors
would hit the floor as the hard candy sprayed into the air.
Once the candy landed, the visitors would fill their
buckets to the rim.
After a few hours in the cave, Peter and his friends
went on to see the giants' village. This was an eye opening
tour for the youngsters; there were big green giants with
their little big green families going about their daily
duties. Some were carpenters, some were tree pushers, which
was the giants going into the fields and pushing over trees
to make logs so their entire village could have wood to
burn to keep them warm. The giants were also fishermen,
guards, teachers and noble men. They greeted the visitors
of Wally World with respect and happiness.
The giants and the visitors co-existed without any
problems. Peter and his friends were even taken on a
beanstalk ride where they were placed on a giant's back,
and then the giant would slide down the long beanstalk like
a roller coaster.
"Weeeeee, this is fun," said Peter as he hung on tight
to the giant.
The beanstalks were long and strong; the giants could
slide down them with ease, but to the children it looked as
if the huge giants were going faster and faster. The
beanstalks went through cloud after cloud causing the
children to also get a mouthful of clouds and dust, but
they did not mind; they were enjoying themselves.
After the beanstalk ride, the children were taken to a
feasting table prepared by the giants for the park's
visitors. The meal was humongous; one turkey leg was the
size of the children! So, it took all of Peter and his
friends to eat one of the turkey legs. The giants began to
laugh as they saw the guests trying to pick up or eat a
turkey leg or other f
oods. Everything was extra super-sized.
It took Peter and all of his friends just to lift the
turkey. He climbed up on a big bowl of fruits and sat on a
huge grape as he nibbled at a large strawberry. Then,
suddenly, one of the giants picked up the bunch of grapes
with Peter stuck on the stems. The crowd began to scream,
fearing that the giant would eat Peter.
"Oh! It's okay, I will not eat you little buddy," said
the giant as Peter hung on by the stem.
The crowd began to laugh and clapped as the giant put
Peter back down.
"Woo! That was cool," said Peter.
"No, it was not, you almost got eaten by a giant,"
said Millie.
But Peter saw it as an adventure and began to laugh as
he shrugged his shoulders at the thought that he could have
been eaten.
It was getting late, and the clock began to chime for
Peter and his friends. Suddenly, Mr. Smorge arrived and
told the children they could only get on one more ride, and
then it would be time to go.
"But, there are tons of rides here," said Robert.
"Well, you have to choose one, or your time will run
out," said Mr. Smorge.
The children chose to go on the comet ride; because of
their golden pass status, they were moved up to first place
in the line. The children were jumping with excitement, and
couldn't wait to go on the ride. The other visitors looked
on as the children with the golden passes ran through the
line, but most of the onlookers wanted to get a look at
Peter, the boy king who would save Baja.
People began to look and point; Peter and his friends
were so amazed to see how many people from all over Baja,
and the many galaxies, had heard of Peter and knew who he
was. At this time, Peter was a local celebrity, but his
friends kept him grounded, and reminded him that he was
there to protect Baja and not for the fame and glory.
Clara grabbed Peter by the hand and they ran into the
comet ride, leaving the visitors behind stirring. The first
cart was open and available for Peter and his friends. The
ride began to start; the room became a misty black, it was
so dark the children could not see their hands in front of
their faces. Then a loud thundering noise echoed from the
back of the ride.
Suddenly, the children were startled by bright lights.
They began to open their eyes, and when they looked down
they were up on top of a solar moon. The moon was black and
green with yellow and white rings. The ride then shot like
a rocket into the air, and off the children went. The kids
began to scream from the excitement they were having from
the twists and the turns of the ride; the visual effects
were magnificent.
The children's senses were telling them that they were
on a real rocket, and they were experiencing a real deep
space voyage. But, in reality, the children were on a
simulation ride in a big glass ball. Millie and Clara held
onto Peter as the ride got faster and scarier. Zack was
screaming so much with his mouth open that spit was flying
all through the air.
"Watch your slobber," said Ben as he wiped Zack's spit
off of his face.
Yet, a little saliva did not spoil the children's last
ride; they continued to have fun and were grateful to get a
second chance. The comet ride went through the air like a
speeding rocket; it flew through the space rings. Then
there was a simulation of the comet ride being chased by a
space ship. Peter and his friends began to scream as the
ride got faster and faster.
As Peter looked back at their chasers, he noticed that
it was the same black hooded figure that he had been seeing
for some time now. He began to rub his eyes and opened them
again. Soon the hooded figure was gone, and Peter knew that
something was wrong, and as soon as he got back to Waldorf
he would be investigating it with his friends.
For now, Peter blocked out the hooded figure and
continued to have fun with his new best friends. Finally,
the ride was over and at the exit of the ride Mr. Smorge
and his team of helpers were waiting for the children in
the shinny red train.
"All aboard," said Mr. Smorge.
No one wanted to leave, and they begged Mr. Smorge for
a few more hours, but the answer was no.
"I have to get you kids back to your studies," said
Mr. Smorge as he made the children load into the train one
by one.
Their sad faces did not put a damper on Mr. Smorge
heart; he chuckled at the extent the children were going
just to stay a few more hours. But, he was a tough man and
did not fall for the sad puppy-eyes that kids make to their
parent and older adults. The children boarded the train and
waved goodbye to all the people looking on. These children
were now fan favorites everywhere, but then Michael came
crashing in, almost missing the ride. It was a good thing
that he had wings to catch up before the train went through
the secret tunnel.
Nevertheless, on the way back home, Michael never said
a word. He was upset that he did not get to go to the other
theme parks like the rest of his classmates, and he began
to sulk all the way back home. Because the children were so
good, Mr. Smorge let the little servant elves bring the
children gifts and lots of snack foods.
The children had t-shirts that said "look at me, I
went to Wally World" or "I am a golden pass member", they
also got fruit baskets that were made of giant fruits,
which was one big apple that was giant-sized. They were
built into a fruit basket to hold many more fruits. Then
there were candy baskets, robotic toys, and because Michael
was a part of Sam and Steve's stunt, he was limited to his
gifts. But Mr. Smorge still made sure that Michael got a
gift too. That was the first time in a long time that
anyone had ever seen a smile on Michael's face. He lit up
when Mr. Smorge called his name for his gift basket. After
a long day of fun, the children fell asleep and drifted
off. Then a loud horn blew and woke them up.
"We are here," said one of the elf servants as he held
the horn in his hands.
"Please don't blow it again, my ears are ringing,"
said Michael.
But the elf gave Michael attitude, and blew the horn
even louder, right in his ear. Michael went running off the
train. Peter and his friends gave Mr. Smorge a big hug and
thanked him for the trip. Mr. Smorge hid his emotions and
pretended he did not care, but the tough exterior soon
melted away, and he began to blush and waved goodbye to the
children as they walked down the royal red carpet.
The children stayed on the sidewalk until the red
carpet rolled up and the train had disappeared into the
abyss. Peter and his fiends were so excited by so much fun
that they'd had that they forgot about th
e moon duties they
had to do. But, waiting on the sidewalk was Captain Red. He
was a no nonsense behavior teacher; he wore a patch over
his left eye, and his short red hair shone in the sun. He
had an athletic build, and wore army boots and khaki pants
and a jacket. He carried a spider monkey on his shoulders
and a whip in one had. All the children at Waldorf Academy
were afraid of this man and never wanted detention with
him. Waiting on the side of Captain Red were Jamyra, Steve,
Larry, and Sam.
"Who is that?" asked Peter.
"It is your worst enemy," said Clara.
Captain Red sent his spider monkey to gather up the
children. The monkey jumped off Captain Red's shoulder and
onto the ground. The monkey began to twist and turn,
causing spider webs to form; it then shot out spider
webbing from its hands, and the web began to bind the
children together, shaking and pushing them into one group.
Michael tried to fly away, but the spider monkey sprayed
its web into the air and pulled Michael down. He was very
upset and began to kick and shout, and for this type of
behavior, he got even more moon duties.
"Get that nasty creature, its messing up my beautiful
wings," said Michael.
Peter and his classmates were covered in spider webs;
they couldn't move or talk, all they could do was listen to
what Captain Red had to say, and it was not good.
"Listen, all you brats; it's time for your moon
duties. I will have no misbehaving or escaping, or I will
send Jasper, my spider monkey after you," said Captain Red.
All of the children were dreading this moment, because
those who knew Captain Red, knew that he was not one to be
toyed with. He was strict and stern with the children; even
some parents thought that he was too harsh. But, Waldorf
Academy demanded discipline, and that's why most of the
wealthiest and admired children attend the school.
"This is not good for my first day at school," said
Peter as he mumbled through the spider web to Clara.
Captain Red ordered the spider monkey to let the
remaining children loose, and sent Peter and his classmates
to quickly get changed into their cleaning gear. He and his
friends had to put all the gifts and presents they got
away, and all their book bags into a secure locker; then
they had to get dressed in one of the ugliest uniforms in
all of Baja. They were dark old plumber's overalls that
were stinky and dirty. Then the children were to form a
line in the center of the school where everyone could see
them. One by one, the children marched in a straight line
with Captain Red leading, and shouting. "Left, right, left,
right."
Peter and his classmates were not happy at all, and
many of them were mumbling and complaining that they were
being humiliated in front of the entire school. Captain Red
led the children through the center of the school, where
their schoolmates taunted and teased them. The children
pointed at Peter and his friends; as the entire school
began to laugh louder and louder. Peter was embarrassed,
his cheeks began to turn red, but he was still excited to
see what moon duties were all about. Jamyra and Larry were
the least cooperative in the bunch, and for this they had
to stay longer and clean more moons.
"Oh you never learn, Jamyra; keep your mouth shut or
you'll get us all in trouble," said Clara as Jamyra acted
out in the center of the school.
"That tantrum is going to get you nowhere," said
Captain Red.
Jamyra finally stopped acting up and got in the
straight line, hanging her head low so that no one in her
classes could see her face. After the total embarrassment,
the children were led into a damp storage room where they
were allowed to get all their cleaning supplies. One by
one, they grabbed up their brooms, mops, and buckets. They
had polishing cloths and scrum brushes.
"Here, Peter, get some gloves, you're gonna need
them," said Ben.
Reality was now sinking in for Peter that he was going
to do some long manual labor. Nevertheless, Peter faced his
conscience and was ready for his punishment. After the
children got their cleaning supplies, they were taken to
the transport room where they were suited up into long
white overall-type protective clothing. Captain Red also
suited up, and when the children were done, he led them
through a long tunnel that never seemed to end. But, in
reality, the children were already walking in space; all
that was protecting them was a dark tunnel, because Baja
was built on the outskirts of space and time.
"How far are we going?" asked Peter as he whispered to
Zack.
"Not too far, we are already there," said Zack.
He then explained to Peter that they were in a secret
tunnel that transported cleaners to the moon. Many years
ago, when Baja was built, they made a promise to the
surrounding neighbors in space that they would keep the
moon clean, to shine light on their worlds. Without the
moon being clean, most of the surrounding planets,
including Baja would die in darkness, and all the plant
life and ghost spirit life would be lost.
Soon Peter understood the importance of moon cleaning,
and that it was a great way for the children to appreciate
their world. Then the walls of the tunnel opened up and
folded back, leaving the teacher and his students in space.
It was so beautiful and remarkable; there were thousands of
stars flying by the faces of the children in slow motion.
Inside, the children could see little worlds, each star
held a different world and different species.
Peter was mesmerized by the beauty of the tiny stars
that held the big worlds inside of them. He tried to catch
a star, but it floated by. There were also hundreds of
moons, and on the moons were workers cleaning them. The
workers waved to say hello to Captain Red and his
dentioneers; they all waved back. Peter could see the
workers cleaning and scrubbing; they were putting hard work
into cleaning the moons. When they were done, the moon
shone so brightly that Peter and his friends had to put
down the visors on their space suits. By doing this, Peter
could truly see the beauty of the moons, and why it was
important to clean them.
The workers got into every crook and cranny, making
sure that each moon was spotless. Peter turned around in
awe of his surroundings to gaze upon a thick black
substance coming toward him. He began to run back toward
his friends; the black substance looked like the hooded
monster he had seen before. The way it moved through space,
the shapes it formed as it move; Peter was really afraid,
until Clara explained to him that it was more likely a
garbage collector. It picked up all the dead moon bugs, and
all the dirt the
y cleaned and scrapped off the moon. This
moving phantom was there to protect the areas of space; it
ate all the waste and everything floating into space. Peter
was very inquisitive, and wanted to touch it, but he was
quickly stopped by Captain Red.
"Don't do that, boy, you'll be dragged into space and
eaten."
Peter quickly yanked his hands back and kept them to
his side. Because this was his first time on moon duties,
Captain Red and Peter's classmates explained all the do's
and don'ts to him. He sucked it up like a sponge.
Peter wanted to know everything there was about moon
duties; he found it very fascinating. After the black mass
disappeared and went somewhere else, Peter began to look
around. Space was so beautiful, there were different color
moons, like the colors of the rainbow; there were shooting
stars and flying space rocks that would burst into a parade
of colors and then let off a loud boom with a crackling
noise. It was like watching fireworks on a parade. Time in
space seemed to shift, and large holes appeared and then
closed quickly.
During a few of these episodes, Peter could see many
different worlds, and for a minute there he thought that he
saw Earth, and his old hometown. As he began to look even
harder, the hole quickly closed up, leaving Peter guessing
and wondering what he'd just seen.
"Okay, enough looking, young man; get back to work
immediately and I will inspect your work," said Captain Red
as he tapped Peter on the shoulder with a long stick and
pushed his cleaning bucket into his hands.
Peter was so into what he was looking at that Captain
Red's attitude did not faze him. Clara had to shake Peter
until he came to, and told him to get to work. But Peter
was in such shock at the wonders of space, until he
daydreamed into the abyss.
"Snap out of it," said Robert as he also shook Peter.
Then Peter came to. "This is so beautiful."
"So what? Get to work," said Robert.
Peter's classmates laughed at him. He was a little
embarrassed, but immediately got to work, while still
looking out of the corner of his eyes at all the beauty of
space. Peter mumbled under his breathe, "I am so glad to be
here."
Captain Red wondered if Peter was going crazy. "Stop
talking to yourself, son."
Peter immediately got back to work scrubbing and
cleaning the moon of debris and moon bugs. Some of the bugs
were disgusting and strange, some had big soccer eyes with
fur all over their bodies; some were covered in dust, and
decomposing. The foul odor that came from these creatures
was horrendous and gross. But Peter and his friends kept
cleaning the moon. Peter soon found out that cleaning the
moon was no easy matter, especially when Captain Red was
hanging over your shoulders making sure that every nook and
cranny was spotless.
Finally, Peter and his friends got a small moon clean;
the moon shone where there was once dust and debris. The
light was so bright that Peter could see miles into space.
He saw how the moon made plants live and grow. A huge black
space plant began to grow once the moonlight shone on it.
To the children, it was like watching Mother Nature in slow
motion. The plant stems rose out of the moon, then the
leaves began to grow, and then the petals and so forth;
until there was a complete plant.
Suddenly, a big moon bug came out of nowhere and ate
the plant and flew away. The children were caught a little
off guard; until Captain Red explained to them that that
was what Mother Nature was programmed to do, and that was
to feed the world. No matter how horrible it looked,
everything served a purpose.
The children quickly got back to work on the second
moon, and when they were done, Captain Red gave them the
okay to leave. But Jamyra, Steve, Sam, Michael, and Larry
all had to stay behind and do extra moon duties. They did
not like this, not one bit and put up a big fuss, but they
knew the more they complained and the more they acted out;
the longer they would have to stay and do a long list of
moons, and there were hundreds of moons. So, the remaining
children got to work scrubbing and cleaning while Captain
Red stood over them watching.
Peter and his friends were free from detention and
were on their way back home. School was out and the bell
rang; the children were full of excitement and ready to go
home. Peter wanted to stay at school, but was worried about
his parent fighting the war in the Ambassador Forest. He
and his friends met up in "The Center" to board their ride
and to say there goodbyes until the next day. Peter
explained to Clara how much fun he had had and didn't mind
the moon cleaning. Clara began to giggle at everything
Peter said, and then the teasing began on the way home.
"Peter and Clara sitting in the tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g,"
Millie, Nicholas, Zack, Ben and Robert sang.
"Oh! Shut up, you jerks," said Clara as she laughed at
the teasing.
Peter and Clara, from that day forward, were the best
of friends; and not forgetting the others: Millie, Zack,
Ben, Robert and Nicholas. This group of children became the
closet of friends and they never did anything without each
other from that day forward. Millie even stopped hanging
with Jamyra and all her brat friends; she was glad to find
a great group of friend that she could be herself around
and was never under Jamyra again. Jamyra was not happy with
this, but Millie was, and from this day on Millie and Peter
became good friends.
Peter Carrot-top Page 10
