by Nancy Krulik
Big trouble. Because suddenly, George’s feet ran onstage and started dancing—right in the middle of Louie’s solo!
Louie glared at George.
“George, get off the stage!” Mrs. Kelly hissed from behind the curtain.
George wanted to get off. But the burp wouldn’t let him. His body started spinning around in circles like a snowflake being blown around in a blizzard. A few people in the audience giggled. Some started clapping.
Louie’s face turned bright red. He was really mad. But he kept on singing. “I send chills down your spine, blow needles off the pine . . .”
George spun faster and faster. More people laughed. They thought it was part of the act.
Bash! George spun right into Louie.
Crash! Louie fell to the floor.
The audience laughed harder.
“I’m going to get you, Snowflake!” Louie shouted as he scrambled to his feet and ran toward George.
George’s feet took off running. Louie
chased after him. The audience cheered.
“Snowflakes, go out there,” Mrs. Kelly shouted to the kids who had gathered backstage to watch what was going on. “Do your dance again. Do anything. Just distract the audience.”
Whoosh! Just then, George felt a blast of air rush out of him. It was like someone had popped a balloon in his belly. The super burp was gone. But Louie was still there. And he looked mad enough to knock George clear to the North Pole.
George had to do something!
“See, your song made a blizzard,” he said, pointing to the dancing snowflakes. The audience cheered louder.
Louie stopped chasing George. He smiled at the audience and took a bow.
A few minutes later, the curtain had come down, and the show was over. But Louie was still angry. “You did it again, George.”
“Why are you mad?” George asked. “We got more applause than anybody.”
Louie thought about that. “You mean I did,” he said finally. “It was my song!”
“Okay, okay,” George said. Then he ran back into the boys’ room to get out of that costume as fast as he could. George didn’t want to think about the Holiday Spectacular ever again. After all, there were more important things to think about. Like how tomorrow was Christmas Eve. That meant presents, good food, and best of all, no more school for two weeks.
Talk about spectacular!
“Is it time?” George asked his parents excitedly. There was a huge pile of presents beneath the tree. Every year, George got one gift on Christmas Eve. He had to wait for Christmas morning to open the others.
George’s dad smiled. “I guess by twenty-one hours, it’s officially Christmas Eve,” he said, reaching under the tree. “How about I give Mom her gift first?”
George’s mouth didn’t say a word. But his face must have said a lot because his parents started to laugh. His mom reached under the tree and then handed George the first box.
“Thanks,” George said as he tore the paper off and opened the box as fast as he could.
Weird. The box was completely empty except for a small photograph of George and Kevin Camilleri, George’s best friend back when he’d lived in Cherrydale.
“What’s this?” George asked his parents.
“That’s your gift,” his mom explained.
Huh?
“We’re giving you Kevin for Christmas,” George’s dad explained. “He’s flying into town on December 26 and staying until New Year’s.”
“Awesome!” George exclaimed. “This is an amazing gift!”
George was really happy. It was starting out as a great Christmas! And with Kevin around, New Year’s Eve would be even better. Unless, of course, the new year brought new burps. Then there might be trouble. Bubble trouble. And George had no idea how he’d ever explain that to Kevin.
“What time is it now?” George asked his mother for about the gazillionth time on Monday morning. It seemed like they’d been waiting at the airport forever, but there was still no Kevin Camilleri in sight.
“It’s three minutes later than the last time you asked.” George’s mom laughed. “His flight will be here soon. Hang in there.”
George was tired of hanging in there. He’d been hanging in there since last night when his parents made him go to bed at his regular bedtime even though it was still Christmas and he was too excited to sleep.
George was a little nervous about seeing his old best friend. He wondered if Kevin had changed. Did he still eat tomatoes all the time? Was he still into karate? And the really big question—was George still his best friend?
George still thought of Kevin as his best friend, even though he had another best friend, too—Alex. George just figured Kevin was his Cherrydale best friend, and Alex was his Beaver Brook one.
Zip. Zip. Zip. George slid the zipper on his new leather jacket up and down. He loved that sound. He pulled it fast. Zip, zip, zip. He pulled it slowly. Ziiiip. Ziiiip.
“George, stop,” his mother scolded. “You’re going to ruin your new jacket. And you’ve only had it since yesterday.”
That was true. The jacket had been waiting for George under the tree on Christmas morning. He’d been wanting it for months! And that wasn’t the only awesome gift George had gotten. His uncle had sent him the new Caveman Battle 2 video game. George only got to play the game two times yesterday, which was a bummer because he had wanted to get really good at it before Kevin came.
Zip. Ziiiiiip. Zip.
“There he is!” George’s mother shouted suddenly.
Sure enough, there was Kevin, walking toward them with a flight attendant.
“GEORGEROONIO!” Kevin shouted.
“KEVSTER!” George shouted back. He raced over to his buddy. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
“Me neither,” Kevin said.
“It’s good to see you, Kevin,” George’s mom said as she signed a form the flight attendant had handed her. “Let’s get your luggage.”
“Okay,” Kevin said. “I checked one bag. But I carried my important stuff on the plane in this backpack.” He patted it.
“What do you have in there?” George asked.
“Nothing now,” Kevin told him. “It was filled with tomatoes. But I ate them all on the way here.”
George grinned. Same old Kevin.
The boys followed George’s mom to the luggage carousel. The belt was moving, and there were already a few pieces of luggage traveling around and around.
“I hope mine didn’t get lost,” Kevin said. “That happened once.”
“I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about,” George’s mother assured him.
But she was wrong. There was something to worry about. George had just started feeling something big and bubbly taking a trip up his belly.
The super burp was back! And from the way those bubbles felt, it was ready to burst out any minute. The bubbles galloped on George’s gallbladder. They circled his spleen. They trampled over his tongue. George shoved his fist into his mouth and tried to punch the bubbles back down where they belonged.
“George, get your fingers out of your mouth,” his mother said. She pulled his arm by the elbow.
And then . . .
The megapowerful super burp escaped. It was so loud that pilots flying at thirty thousand feet must have heard it.
“Awesome!” Kevin cheered.
“George, what do you say?” his mother asked.
George opened his mouth to say “Excuse me.” But that’s not what came out. Instead, George’s mouth announced, “Ride the carousel!” His rear end plopped itself down on the luggage carousel. Now George was riding around with the luggage.
“George!” his mother exclaimed. “Get off there this instant!”
Kevin was doubled over, he was laughing so hard.
“Whose is this?” George’s mouth shouted.
“Mine!” a girl in a green and yellow jacket told him.
“Here ya go!” George’s mouth said. His hands tossed her the bag. Then he picked up a black bag with a big red ribbon on the handle.
“That one’s mine,” a woman in a gray overcoat said.
George’s hands threw the bag to her.
“Thanks,” the woman told him. “I’ve never been to an airport with luggage service before.”
“Yo, Georgeroonio!” Kevin called to him. “The red suitcase is mine.”
George grabbed the bag and tossed it to Kevin. Soon bags were flying everywhere.
“Can you get my green bag next?” a teenager in a hooded sweatshirt asked.
“Sure thing!” George’s mouth exclaimed. His legs started to run for the green bag.
“Hey, kid! Get off of there!” a security guard shouted out suddenly. He leaped onto the luggage carousel and started chasing George. George’s feet began to run. His legs hopped over bags on the moving luggage carousel.
“Oomf!” The security guard groaned as he tripped over a huge black suitcase with wheels.
“Hey, watch it!” a man shouted. “I’ve got my camera in there!”
“Sorry,” the security guard apologized. He scrambled to his feet.
George’s feet kept running. And then . . .
Whoosh! George felt all the air rush right out of him. It was as though someone had popped a giant balloon in the bottom of his belly. The super burp was gone. But George was still on the luggage carousel. He leaped off before he could get in any more trouble.
“That was hilarious!” Kevin exclaimed, running over to George. “You haven’t changed. You’re still clowning around.”
George hadn’t meant to clown around. But how was he supposed to explain the super burp to Kevin, the guard, or his mother? He looked up at the guard and opened his mouth to say “I’m sorry.” And that’s exactly what came out.
“You’re going to have to take that troublemaker out of here,” the security guard told George’s mother.
George frowned. Troublemaker? More like bubble maker. Of course, that was pretty much the same thing.
“You’re here for a whole week!” George said excitedly as Kevin unpacked his things.
“Yeah, I was so psyched when I found out that the regional karate tournament was in Beaver Brook,” Kevin said.
“What?” George asked.
“Didn’t your mom tell you? There’s going to be a big karate tournament at the Beaver Brook martial arts center on Wednesday.” Kevin pulled a white karate uniform out of his bag along with a bright green cloth belt.
“Whoa! You’re a green belt?” George asked.
Kevin nodded proudly. “I earned it last month. I’m going to be competing against other green belts in the sparring and board-breaking competitions. You’re gonna come and watch, right?”
“Definitely,” George said.
Just then, the phone rang.
“George, it’s Alex,” his mom called up to him.
“Who’s Alex?” Kevin asked.
“My friend,” George said. “I wrote to you about him.”
“He’s not the rich kid with the sneakers that have wheels, is he? The mean guy who plays guitar?” Kevin asked.
“No, that’s Louie,” George said. “He’s not my friend. Alex is the really smart guy.”
“Oh,” Kevin said. “Yeah. I remember you writing about him.”
“Be right back,” George told Kevin as he hurried into the hall to the phone.
“Hey, Alex,” George said.
“Dude, you wanna come to the skating rink with Chris and me?” Alex asked.
“Um . . . sure,” George said. “Let me just check with Kevin.”
“Who’s Kevin?”
“My best friend from Cherrydale,” George explained. “I told you about him. The guy who loves tomatoes. He’s visiting. Isn’t that cool?”
“Uh . . . sure, I guess,” Alex said. “Did he bring ice skates with him?”
“He can always rent a pair,” George replied.
“Maybe he’s tired from flying,” Alex said. “He might want to take a nap or something.”
“Nah, he’s wide awake,” George said. “I’m sure he’ll want to come.”
“Oh, okay,” Alex said. “Then Chris and I will meet you both there.”
That was weird, George thought as he hung up the phone. It almost sounded like Alex didn’t want to meet Kevin.
Nah. He was probably just imagining it.
“This is a pretty small rink,” Kevin said later that afternoon as he and George laced up their skates.
“Yeah,” George agreed. “But there’s a great café. They serve these cheese fries that are the best ever.”
“There are cheese fries at the pizzeria in the Cherrydale Mall now,” Kevin told George. “They’re covered in mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce. Jeremy, Kadeem, and I split an order last week. None of us could eat the whole thing by ourselves. It’s huge.”
Hearing about the guys from his old school made George feel homesick for Cherrydale.
Just then, Alex skated over to greet them. “Yo, dude, hurry up and get on the ice,” Alex said. “We’re gonna make a train. You don’t want to be the caboose.” Alex paused for a minute and looked at Kevin. “Oh, hi,” he added.
“This is Kevin,” George said. “Kevin, this is Alex.”
“Hey,” Kevin said.
The two boys stared at each other.
“Okay,” George said finally, breaking the silence. “Let’s go, Kevster.”
“Um . . . we move pretty fast when we skate in a train,” Alex told Kevin. “I’m just warning you.”
“That’s all right,” Kevin said. “I skate fast.” The boys all skated over to where some of George’s other friends were already starting to go around the ice.
Julianna was at the head of the train. Chris was holding on to her, Alex was holding on to Chris, George was holding on to Alex, and Kevin was holding on to George. That made Kevin the caboose.
“Okay, we’re going around the turn,” Julianna called back to the other kids.
“Wahooooo!” George shouted as the train of skaters went around the rink.
“Awesome!” Kevin cheered.
By the time the train broke up, George was totally out of breath. But Kevin seemed fine. In fact, he was talking a mile a minute.
“You remember that time we all did a backward train, and Suzanne landed on her rear end?” Kevin said. “Man, was she mad.”
George started to laugh.
“Who’s Suzanne?” Alex asked.
“She’s this girl in Cherrydale,” George said.
“There are no words to describe Suzanne,” Kevin said. He and George laughed harder.
“Whatever.” Alex rolled his eyes. “I’m going to skate with Julianna,” he said. “You coming, Chris?”
“Sure,” Chris said. He turned to Kevin. “See you around.”
George watched as the two boys skated off. Alex was sure acting weird today. He couldn’t figure out what it was all about. Then, the very next moment, he heard a horrible sound—a screeching noise so annoying, it made his hair stand on end.
“Oh, Georgie!” Sage cried out. “There you are!”
Kevin gave George a look. “Georgie?” he repeated.
George shook his head. “Don’t ask.”
“I’ve been waiting to show
you my new skating skirt. I got it for Christmas,” Sage said as she twirled around. Then she smiled at Kevin. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend, Georgie?”
“Kevin, this is Sage,” George said.
“You’re Georgie’s friend from his old school,” Sage said. “Alex said you were coming to the rink. I’m glad you’re here. I want to know all about what Georgie was like when he lived in Cherrydale.”
“He wasn’t any different,” Kevin said.
But that wasn’t true. Not at all. Ever since he moved to Beaver Brook, there was something very different about George: the magic burps. And right now one was bouncing around in the bottom of his belly! There were hundreds of tiny bubbles that ping-ponged their way into his chest and bing-bonged their way up into his throat. And then . . .
“Whoa! Nice, Georgeroonio!” Kevin exclaimed.
There were lots of words to describe the magical super burp, but nice wasn’t one of them. Crazy was a better word. And that’s what the super burp wanted to do. Go craaaazzzyyyy!
George’s feet began spinning him in a circle on the ice. His arms shot up in the air like a figure skater. It was as though George were an old-fashioned puppet, and someone else was pulling the strings.
George’s leg stuck itself out behind him, like he was a ballerina on ice. Then he began to skate backward.
“Watch out, everyone!” Louie shouted as he skated out of George’s way. “Weirdo freak on skates coming through.”
George began to twirl on the ice. Skaters dashed right and left, trying to get out of his way. No one wanted to be knocked over by a whirling, twirling tornado on ice.
George’s feet jumped up in the air. His body began to spin in a double axel.
Unfortunately, George didn’t know how to do a double axel. Neither did the super burp. But that didn’t stop it from trying!
Thud! George landed right on his rear end and slid across the ice. Then he hopped back up onto his feet and started dancing around the rink—in the wrong direction.
