by Kara West
But then a loud sound made us both jump.
Dr. Dash pulled his phone out of his pocket.
“Er—excuse me, Mia. This is a call I have to take.”
So I waited patiently under a tree. And when he came back, he looked really worried.
“Sorry. Where was I?” he asked as he scratched his eyebrow. “Being shadowless will be uncomfortable, but you just need to be careful,” he said. “The bad news is that we have to put the search on hold. I’ve been called into a secret runaway-train operation!”
Okay, hold on. Did you hear that?
I know I’m in quite a pickle myself. But a runaway train? Now that I’m a superhero, I know an emergency when I hear one. So we agreed to put the search on hold, and I headed back to the PITS. Really slowly.
When I finally made it inside, Penn and Allie were waiting for me. So I told them my shadow was missing, but Dr. Dash would help after taking care of a secret mission. Now, I wasn’t too worried about the waiting . . . until a random note fell out of my locker.
It said:
Oh boy. I don’t know what I just walked into. But I have a feeling I should have never called Hugo a sore loser.
CHAPTER 7
THE BAD LUCK DAY
At regular school the next morning, I was back on the soccer field. But today, I was moving super-slowly and was in no mood to play.
“Oh no. Looks like it’s going to rain, huh?” Eddie asked.
“Uh, yeah. Thanks, Captain Obvious,” I shot back.
Okay. So I didn’t mean to be rude. But I didn’t want to think about the weather.
When the whistle blew, I ran toward the ball. But I could barely walk! In fact, my legs wouldn’t even move.
So, unlike last time, I was not Mia, the soccer star. I was Mia, the benchwarmer, who couldn’t play.
After the game, Eddie came over to check on me.
But I couldn’t tell him that I’d lost my shadow. It was too risky that others could hear. And I had bigger problems on my mind. So as soon as the bell rang, I left without saying good-bye.
At the PITS, I ran into the one person I didn’t want to see. Hugo Fast was standing in the middle of the Compass. If he knew that I really was a slowpoke now, he’d use it against me. So I slowly turned around to leave. But I bumped right into Allie and Penn and landed right on my butt!
As my friends helped me up, I told them my plan. I couldn’t wait for Dr. Dash. The search had to start now.
And since a team was faster than doing it alone, we decided to split up outside. Penn flew over the trees but found nothing, while Allie turned over heavy, fallen tree trunks.
As for me? I had no choice but to trail behind. And tell them where to look.
“Hey, Mia! I found something!” Allie called out excitedly.
Please, please, please be my shadow, I thought.
She was pointing to a big black circle on the ground.
I inched closer and poked it with my fingers. It was wet and super-shiny.
“Ugh. Since when do I look like a puddle?” I snapped as I fell in.
I knew Allie and Penn were trying to help. But this search was a total bust.
And I was now officially out of time.
At dinner that night, I told my parents about my day full of bad luck. My friends didn’t understand, but my mom and dad would see it from my side. Or at least I thought they would.
“You have a bigger problem than your missing shadow,” my mom said.
I looked at her, totally not following.
“Mia, losing your shadow makes things hard. But it’ll come back,” my dad explained.
My mom nodded. “I know there’s a lot going on, but it sounds like you’ve been pretty mean. Always remember that it’s hard to find good friends.”
CHAPTER 8
SLOW AND STEADY
The next morning was another gray and gloomy day. After the last PITS dismissal bell, I was stretching on the QT when Hugo showed up.
“Wow, so you came,” Hugo said. “I thought you would chicken out.”
“No, I’m not a chicken,” I replied.
“And I don’t like being called a sore loser,” Hugo snapped back.
So I actually was pretty nervous. But I needed to act cool. I wiped my sweaty hands at my sides.
“All right,” Hugo said. “On my count, we’re going to do twenty laps.”
“What? Twenty laps!” I cried.
If I’d failed at five laps, how was I going to do twenty?
“Running the team relay race by ourselves is the only way to see who the real winner is,” Hugo said with smirk.
Now I really wanted to run away. But I knew I literally couldn’t escape.
So there was only one option: I had to run the race . . . even if I lost horribly.
I took a deep breath and looked ahead. But then two figures flew down and landed right in front of us!
It was Allie and Penn. With pom-poms!
They gave me a wink and then ran over to the sidelines as Hugo started counting down.
“Three . . . two . . . one. GO!” he yelled.
And just like that, the race was on. Hugo passed me five times before I even finished the first lap. I was going super-slow, but sweat still dripped down my face. I didn’t even have blue-and-yellow sparks behind me! So I was feeling pretty down as I started my third lap.
“Mia, stay focused and steady!” Penn yelled from the sidelines.
“Yeah, and keep the pace!” Allie added.
Hearing her voice calmed me down. During the team race, Allie hadn’t let Hugo bully her into going fast. And like Dr. Dash had said, pacing was the secret to superspeed!
I smiled and gave Allie a thumbs-up.
I was finally ready to finish this—whether I lost or not.
CHAPTER 9
CONNECTING THE PIECES
I was ten laps in when I realized it was starting to get easier.
I had no idea why. But like Dr. Dash told us, building speed was most important. Maybe while I was walking in the woods yesterday, I’d actually been preparing for today!
Whatever it was, I was definitely feeling better.
I felt a burst of speed and glanced behind me. The yellow and blue sparks were starting to come back!
As I rounded a curve, that’s when I saw it.
A weird-shaped black blob was trailing behind me.
It looked like a person’s hand . . . and then I realized it was a piece of my shadow!
I looked up at the sky. The big, dark clouds had finally parted. With the sunlight in my face, I kept on running as the black blob got bigger and bigger. Soon my full shadow was following behind me! I clenched my fists and realized they were totally dry. Who knew your shadow helped you from getting gross and sweaty!
With my body back up to speed, I easily sped around the track nine more times. Then finally, it was my last lap. I was trailing behind Hugo by just a few feet. I pushed as hard as I could, but Hugo passed the finish line first.
So, in the end, I lost again. But it was okay. I still felt great.
“Congratulations, Hugo,” I said, catching my breath. “And I’m sorry I called you a sore loser.”
“Yeah, whatever. But this time, I won fair and square,” he said.
I nodded. Then Penn and Allie joined me, and Hugo left for the PITS.
“Oh, Mia, what a great race!” said a voice from behind.
I turned around and saw Dr. Dash.
“Sorry we couldn’t find your shadow together, but it looks like you didn’t need me!”
“It’s because my friends helped me remember what was most important,” I said, turning to Allie and Penn.
Then we all high-fived. And our shadows did too!
“One more thing,” I said. “Sorry about snapping at you before. I was worried about finding my shadow, but that’s no excuse for being a bad friend.”
“That’s okay,” Penn said.
“Yeah, we understand,” Allie said.
&
nbsp; “Thanks, guys. You’re the best,” I said with a big smile. “But now that this race is over . . . the last one back to the PITS is a total slowpoke!”
CHAPTER 10
THE FINAL RACE
By the time we had our next class with Dr. Dash, I’d secretly been racing everywhere.
And good thing, too, because our next class was harder.
“All right, students! Today we’re taking it to the next level! We’ll have hurdles like before, but they will have an extra surprise.”
Then he pushed a few buttons on his wristband. And all of a sudden, a whole group of superhero teachers landed in front of us, each with a brightly colored ball. One of the balls burst as Dr. Sue Perb landed, spraying water everywhere!
Oh boy. Giant water balloons!
“You’ll also have to look out for us!” Dr. Dash cried excitedly. “Everybody, ready?”
Half of us cheered. Half of us groaned. And I was totally ready.
We were put into the same teams from before. As expected, Hugo wanted to take charge. And that was fine with me as long as I had my shadow.
Dr. Dash blew his whistle and soon, Allie was off! She wasn’t the fastest, but she was steady and jumped over every hurdle and balloon!
Penn went second. He had trouble with the same hurdles as last time, but he still got us into first place.
Then it was my turn.
I started slowly, making sure I wasn’t pushing too hard. Luckily, I was feeling strong, so I picked up speed. In the end, I avoided every single obstacle!
Then, like before, Hugo was the last runner on our team. His speed was good, but he couldn’t focus on the hurdles and the balloons at the same time—so almost every single water balloon hit him. By the time he finished his final lap, he was soaking wet.
“Okay,” Dr. Dash said at the end. “Time to calculate the number of missed hurdles per team.”
We all held our breath and waited.
“Congratulations! The team in first place is Allie, Penn, Mia, and Hugo!”
We all cheered.
Allie tapped me on the back. “This is because of you! You ran so well and avoided every single hurdle!”
“Oh, it was a team effort!” I said. “And also, I actually owe a lot to Hugo. If he hadn’t dared me to race him again the other day, I never would have done so well!”
Hugo just scowled as a trail of water followed behind him. “You just had some good luck today,” he said. Then he walked away in a huff.
And you know what? He was right. I was lucky. But not the way he thought.
I was lucky to have great friends.
And I was even luckier that those friends knew how to be a good friend to me, even when I wasn’t. Because after all, true friends support one another, even on the gloomiest of days. Just like Penn, Allie, and my best friend, Eddie.
That’s when I realized I wasn’t done with my apologies. I still owed one to him for being rude during our last soccer game!
There was so much to explain, and this apology couldn’t wait for a single extra second.
But thank goodness I now know how to run superfast.
Keep reading for a preview of
Mia Mayhem Breaks Down Walls
by
Kara West
My room is a mess. I’m digging around in my closet because I’ve ripped another shoelace.
This is the fifth one I’ve ripped in two days. The fifth! For some reason, they keep tearing in half when I try to pull the bunny ears through the loop.
Don’t ask me why. The only answer I’ve got is this: Disasters, even tiny little shoelace-size disasters, follow me around everywhere.
They happen during the day at regular school. And they also happen after school, at the Program for In Training Superheroes, aka the PITS. That’s the top secret training academy where I learn how to use my superpowers!
Yeah, you heard me right.
My name is Mia Macarooney, and I. Am. A. Superhero!
But at the PITS, I go by Mia Mayhem.
And guess what? So far, I’ve learned how to fly and run with superspeed.
But here’s the thing: Even superheroes sometimes have shoelace trouble.
So that’s why I was holding one of my dirty old sneakers when my mom walked into my room.
“Hey, sweetie. There’s something I want to give you,” she said as she sat down.
“Is it a new shoelace?” I asked.
“No, it’s way better than a shoelace,” she replied.
Then she held out a small box.
Continue Reading…
Mia Mayhem Breaks Down Walls
Kara West
ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR
KARA WEST would love to be a superhero, mostly so she could ask squirrels what they’re so nervous about. She lives in Chicago with her own cats, who, unlike Chaos, spend more time sleeping than causing trouble. Thank goodness.
LEEZA HERNANDEZ has illustrated several books for young readers including New York Times bestselling author John Lithgow’s Never Play Music Right Next to the Zoo. Mia Mayhem is her first chapter book series. When Leeza isn’t causing her own mayhem, she’s hiding in her art lair and drawing. Her tabby sidekick, Jaspurrpurr, is usually supernapping close by. If Leeza were granted a superpower, she’d speak and understand any language in the galaxy.
Visit us at simonandschuster.com/kids
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Kara-West
Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Leeza-Hernandez
Little Simon
Simon & Schuster, New York
IntheMiddleBooks.com
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
LITTLE SIMON
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First Little Simon hardcover edition May 2019
Copyright © 2019 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Also available in a Little Simon paperback edition
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
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Designed by Laura Roode
Jacket design by Laura Roode
Jacket illustrations by Leeza Hernandez
Jacket illustrations copyright © 2019 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: West, Kara, author. | Hernandez, Leeza, illustrator.
Title: Mia Mayhem vs. the super bully / by Kara West ; illustrated by Leeza Hernandez.
Other titles: Mia Mayhem versus the super bully
Description: First Little Simon paperback edition. | New York : Little Simon, 2019. | Series: Mia Mayhem ; 3 | Summary: Mia is excited about her first superspeed training class, but a bully on her relay team leads her to lose her shadow and, worse, to snap at her friends.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018052797 | ISBN 9781534444737 (paperback) | ISBN 9781534444744 (hc) | ISBN 9781534444751 (eBook)
Subjects: | CYAC: Superheroes—Fiction. | Running—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | Bullying—Fiction. | Shadows—Fiction. | African Americans—Fiction. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Action & Adventure / General. | JUVENILE FICTION / Readers / Chapter Bo
oks.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.W43684 Mr 2019 | DDC [E]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018052797
