GoldieBlox Chapter Book #1

by Stacy McAnulty

  “That’s a good idea,” Goldie said. “You look nice, by the way.”

  “Thanks. We should be a team,” Ruby said. “And if you’re ever interested in a makeover, just let me know.”

  “I’m good with my overalls.” Goldie stepped over next to Ruby. “But I’d love to be a team. Who wants to join us?”

  Li arrived on his hoverboard. For someone with a million clocks in his house, he always managed to be late.

  “Li and I will be our own team,” Zeek said. “Li, me, and Butler Phone.”

  “I’m honored, Master Zeek,” the Butler Phone replied.

  “That leaves you, Val,” Goldie said. “Which team do you want to join?”

  Val looked at the boys and then at the girls. She pulled her hood up and pointed at Nacho. “I pick the dog.”

  Nacho stopped licking his butt and smiled.

  “Nacho can be a big help,” Goldie said. “Sometimes.”

  “I was going to take some measurements for the roof.” Val patted Nacho. “I’m sure the dog will come in handy.”

  The crew made a plan to gather supplies and meet back at the site in a few hours.

  “Thanks, Gearheads. This is going to be fan-blastic.” Goldie tried to get the teams to put their hands together in a huddle. Only Nacho was interested in a pre-building cheer.

  The Butler Phone, Li, and Zeek took off right away.

  “So,” Ruby said. “Where should we go for supplies? The mall or one of those big hardware stores? Please say the mall. Please say the mall!”

  “Nope.” Goldie smiled. “I know the perfect spot. It’s way cheaper than any store.”

  Ten minutes later, Goldie dove into a dumpster behind a construction site.

  “That’s disgusting,” Ruby said.

  “No, it’s not.” Goldie’s head popped up out of the debris. “It’s creative recycling. It’s not like there’s moldy cheese or dirty underwear in here. Come on.”

  Goldie began tossing stuff into a pile: wood, broken tiles, pieces of carpet, half a box of nails, and more.

  “Are you sure there’s nothing gross in there?” Ruby asked. She peered over the edge.

  “It’s all good,” Goldie said as she flung out a length of rope.

  Ruby put one foot over the dumpster wall and then the other. “I can’t believe I’m doing this! I hope no one sees me.” Her feet landed on a pile of cardboard.

  “Look at all this cool stuff they were just going to throw out,” Goldie said, grabbing some bricks.

  “So what do we need?” Ruby asked. “And why didn’t you tell me to bring gloves?”

  “Anything. Everything. Whatever you think we can use.”

  In no time, the girls had dug through the entire dumpster. Their pile of stuff was taller than both of them combined. Then Goldie noticed something in the corner.

  “Hey, grab that cable,” she said to Ruby. “I bet we can use it for something.”

  “Sure.” Ruby bent over and wrapped her fingers around the black cord. But it wasn’t a cord.

  Ssssssss!

  It was a snake! It hissed at Ruby, showing its pointy fangs.

  “Ahhhhh!” Ruby screamed and threw the snake at Goldie.

  “Ahhhhh!” screamed Goldie. She usually liked snakes and critters, just not when they were being thrown at her head.

  Goldie stumbled back in the dumpster as the snake flew over her left ear. Her feet tangled in an old carpet. Cardboard and wood went flying. She landed headfirst in a cracked toilet tank.

  “I’m stuck!” she shouted.

  Ruby went from pinched and angry to amused. Her giggling echoed through the dumpster.

  Goldie couldn’t help it. She laughed, too.

  “I hope that toilet’s not used,” Ruby gasped, wiping tears from her eyes.

  “I hope that snake’s not still in here,” Goldie said.

  That got Ruby’s attention. She pulled Goldie from the toilet, and they were out of the dumpster in two seconds.

  The girls filled wheelbarrows with their loot and walked back to the school. It was time to rebuild.

  But when they returned, Li and Zeek had already started. Sort of.

  “What is that?” Goldie pointed to a giant machine that was part crane, part robot.

  “It’s a BuildBot,” Zeek explained. “I ordered it from Cube Co. We’ll have this school rebuilt in no time, and then you’ll be out of my life forever.”

  The BuildBot had already completed the second level. Everything was gray, sleek, and square.

  “Bot, take five,” Goldie said. “We’ll handle it from here.” She pulled on her safety goggles, and Nacho carried over a toolbox. They got to work.

  Sawing.

  Drilling.

  Nailing.

  Building.

  Not surprisingly, they did very little measuring. Except Val. She placed every roof tile perfectly.

  They continued through the day and the next day. Finally, the Blox School was complete. It wasn’t huge, just five classrooms (including Val’s music room and Ruby’s clean room that had nothing in it), a cafeteria, bathrooms, and an epic climbing tower. There was plenty of space for learning and creating. From the outside, it looked like the result of a hundred different architects. It was really the work of five.

  “This is legendary,” Li said.

  “Totally,” Goldie agreed.

  Everyone loved the new school, except Zeek. “How soon before you’re gone?”

  “Soon,” Goldie said. “But we need to do something else first.”

  The building was ready, but the Blox School needed funds to keep it open and for any future repairs. Goldie had the perfect idea for raising money—a gadget sale. It would be like a yard sale, but instead of broken lamps and chipped dishes, they would be selling awesome inventions.

  The morning of the sale, Goldie put up tables in her front yard and covered them with old sheets. She set out some of her favorite creations. An automatic envelope licker. A doggy backpack with a built-in pooper scooper. A ketchup-and-mustard gun. And a fork that changed into a spoon with the click of a button.

  Val arrived first. She carried a dozen flutes, a beat-up saxophone, and three clarinets, and pushed a miniature grand piano.

  “I don’t have anything for the gadget sale,” Val said. “But these are some old instruments.”

  Goldie’s eyes lit up. “You don’t have any gadgets yet!” She dragged Val and the instruments into her BloxShop. Then she tossed Val a pair of safety goggles before firing up the blowtorch.

  Val watched in amazement as Goldie tore apart the instruments and then put them back together in a Frankenstein creation.

  Goldie offered the first one to Val.

  “No way,” Val said. “It’s probably some crazy dog whistle that will start a stampede of rhinos.”

  “I wish. But no.” Goldie blew into the instrument. The shop filled with a melody. The instrument looked like a flute but sounded like a grand piano—an off-key piano.

  “You need to cut off exactly a half inch from the end,” Val said. “And then it will be in tune.”

  Goldie followed Val’s instruction, and the horn was perfect. Together, they created a bunch of them.

  “You should keep one for the Blox School,” Val suggested. “For music classes.”

  “That’s a great idea!”

  When they went back outside, Ruby was busy setting up her booth APPS BY RUBY RAILS. She’d designed two new apps just for this occasion. One app selected the perfect nail polish color based on the user’s favorite ice cream flavor. The other app was a master schedule for busy students. It helped fit in everything from homework to clubs and sports to favorite TV shows.

  Ruby demonstrated. “I can do everything I want to do if I only sleep for thirty-seven minutes a night,” she said proudly.

  “That’s thirty-six minutes longer than I thought you slept.” Goldie shook her head.

  Val set out the instruments while Goldie tried to put prices on everything.
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  “I can’t decide between ten dollars and two thousand dollars,” Goldie said, holding up the ketchup-and-mustard gun.

  “If only there were numbers between ten and two thousand,” Val joked.

  Li wasn’t selling gadgets. Instead, he had created a one-of-a-kind obstacle course for skateboarders in his front yard. It looped. It zigged. It zagged. It had a fifty-foot drop at the end.

  “I wanted to have a moat with alligators,” he said. “But the zoo said alligators were not available for sale or loan.”

  “Is that safe?” Val asked.

  “I calculated everything perfectly,” Li said. “Though you should still wear a helmet and knee pads.”

  “I wouldn’t do that obstacle course if I was in a tank,” Val said.

  Nacho worked the cash box. If anyone tried to steal, they’d get slobbered on.

  Zeek was the last to arrive. He set up his station with the touch of a button. The small briefcase he carried transformed into a shiny storefront.

  “What are you selling, Zeek?” Goldie asked.

  “Math homework,” he answered proudly. “I’ll do any math homework for one hundred dollars a page. Anything from kindergarten to college.” Zeek laid out three super-complicated calculators.

  “That’s a lot of money,” Ruby said.

  “I guarantee A-plus work.” He pointed to a sign that said just that.

  “Hey, look. Our first customer,” Li said.

  A car pulled over on the side of the road, and a family of four got out. The boy and the girl rushed over to Li’s obstacle course.

  “How much? How much?” the girl asked.

  “You can experience this physics-phenom for only fifty cents,” Li said with a smile.

  The boy reached into his pocket, but his mom grabbed his arm.

  “I don’t think so. Looks too dangerous,” she said.

  “Thank you,” Li said, taking it as a compliment.

  The mom guided her kids over to Ruby’s booth.

  “You’ll never wonder what nail polish to wear ever again,” Ruby explained.

  “No, thank you.” The mom joined the dad in front of Val’s instruments. The little girl picked up an instrument. But instead of blowing into it, she banged it like a drumstick.

  The dad yanked it away and said, “Sorry.”

  They weren’t interested in Zeek’s math homework for hire either. If the Gearheads were going to have their first sale, it would be up to Goldie.

  “Perhaps a doggy backpack is what you’re looking for?” Goldie suggested, and picked up her pooper-scooper invention.

  “We don’t have a dog,” the dad said.

  “Can we have that dog?” the boy asked, pointing at Nacho.

  “No,” Goldie and the mom both answered.

  “An automatic envelope licker?” Goldie held it up.

  “Do you have any old lamps?” the dad asked. “I collect old lamps.”

  “Sorry, this isn’t a yard sale,” Goldie explained. “It’s a gadget sale.” She watched the first potential customers walk away.

  “It’s early, Gearheads,” Goldie said. “Don’t lose hope. Here comes someone else, and we’re not going to let her get away.”

  A woman in an oversized hat and a purple dress walked up the road. Everyone started talking to her at the same time.

  “Slow down. Slow down,” she said with a smile. “Maybe you can help me. I’m looking to buy blenders.”

  “Blenders and old lamps. That’s all anyone wants.” Val threw her hands in the air.

  “My name is Miss Maggie,” the woman continued. “And I’m opening Bloxtown’s first smoothie shop, Frothy Formulas.”

  “I love smoothies!” Goldie yelled. “Will you have avocado-chocolate-bacon smoothies? But I don’t like my smoothies with sesame seeds. That would be gross.”

  “I’ll be able to make any kind of smoothie you like.” Miss Maggie winked at Goldie. “With or without sesame seeds.”

  “Where is your shop?” Ruby asked.

  “I don’t have a place yet. I’m certainly on the lookout. But most of the locations I’ve seen are too expensive.” Miss Maggie shook her head sadly.

  “No duh,” Zeek sneered. “Have you done any of the math, lady? If you calculate the cost of a store in Bloxtown and the cost of avocados, chocolate, bacon, and other supplies, you’d have to charge about twenty dollars a drink.”

  “That can’t be true,” Goldie said.

  Zeek stared hard at Goldie. “Never doubt my math.”

  “I don’t doubt your math skills,” Goldie said. “But I doubt your being-nice skills.”

  Miss Maggie sighed. “I know it seems impossible, but I’m not going to give up. I’ll find a way.” She said goodbye and turned around. The gadget sale’s only customer walked back down the street.

  “We’re off to a slow start,” Goldie said.

  “It’s not even a start. We’re off to a stop,” Val said.

  “I knew this was a bad idea,” Zeek said. “You’re full of bad ideas, Goldie.” He started packing away his calculators.

  Goldie’s heart sank. Zeek couldn’t be right. “We can’t give up,” she said.

  “I’m not giving up,” Ruby said. She whipped out her minicomputer and pointed the tiny camera at Val. “Play the flute thingy.”

  And Val did. The yard filled with a jazzy piano sound that made everyone dance—except Zeek. He only tapped his toe.

  “Fab! Now, Li, show off your obstacle course.” Ruby pointed the camera in his direction.

  Li jumped on a skateboard and zoomed through the course he’d designed. He rode it perfectly. He got some serious air on the final jump and sailed over their heads before landing softly.

  “That was a ten!” Goldie yelled, holding up all her fingers.

  “They should call you Gravity,” Ruby said.

  “Or Anti-Gravity,” Val added.

  “I like it. Li Gravity.” Li gave them all a thumbs-up.

  Ruby recorded a video of Zeek doing mind-blowing math problems. And he never even used one of his fancy calculators.

  At last, Ruby filmed Goldie and her inventions. Goldie demonstrated each. Nacho even helped out on cue, pooping while wearing the backpack. The pooper scooper took care of the pile in a flash.

  “Now what are you going to do?” Goldie asked when they were done.

  “Give me a minute.” Ruby tapped away on the minicomputer. They all watched, waiting for something big to happen. “And. There. It. Goes.” She looked up and smiled.

  “Where did it go?” Goldie asked.

  “To everyone on my network,” Ruby said.

  “You think that’s going to help?” Zeek laughed. “This is never going to work.”

  “Never isn’t in my vocabulary,” Goldie said.

  “Is useless in your vocabulary?” Zeek asked. “I bet not even two people watch the video. I bet—”

  But before Zeek could finish his sentence, a bus pulled up. Then several cars and a trolley. The road was jammed.

  “That’s what I’m talking about!” Goldie gave Ruby a hug. They were in business.

  The next week, Goldie walked down the halls of Higgs Bozon Prep with her head held high. They’d earned enough money at the gadget sale to reopen the Blox School.

  “Hey, Zeek.” She waved.

  “You’re still here?” he moaned.

  “Hopefully not for much longer.” Goldie and the Gearheads just needed permission from the mayor to open the school.

  “The sooner, the better,” Zeek said.

  “The next step is up to you,” she reminded him. “We need a meeting with the mayor.”

  “My dad is a very busy man.”

  “Hey, Butler Phone,” Goldie said. “Can you send an invitation to Mayor Zander? Dinner. Tomorrow night.” Then she gave the address to the Blox School. “But don’t mention my name or the Blox School. I want it to be a surprise.” Goldie suspected the mayor wouldn’t show up if he knew the reason for the dinner.


  “Certainly, Miss Blox,” the Butler Phone replied.

  “Hey, you don’t take orders from her,” Zeek snapped.

  “Sorry, Master Zeek,” the phone said.

  “I’m going to convince your dad to open the school. Will you help me?” Goldie asked Zeek.

  Zeek snorted. “Good luck. My dad never changes his mind. Never.”

  “Or I could just stay at Higgs Bozon.” Goldie smiled. “Maybe I could join your young geniuses club? Or your math team?”

  “No!” Zeek said. “Butler Phone, send the invitation to my father. We need to get rid of Goldie.”

  “Thanks, Zeek.” She patted him on the back and walked toward the cafeteria.

  Li wasn’t there. He had a meeting with the physics team. Goldie worried she might have to sit alone, but then Ruby and Val waved her over.

  “Sit, Goldie,” Ruby said. “We’re working on our presentation for the mayor. Check this out.” She tapped on her minicomputer and a hologram of the Blox School appeared over the table.

  “Awesome!” Goldie touched the image with one finger, but of course, there was nothing there.

  Val was writing in a notebook. She had pages and pages of text. Her taco lay untouched.

  “What’s that, Val?” Goldie asked.

  “She’s writing our speech,” Ruby answered for her.

  Goldie stared. “That has to be five thousand words. You’ve never said that many words in your life, Val.”

  “Never had to,” Val said.

  The girls laughed.

  “You know what else we need?” Goldie said as she dug into her plate of spaghetti. “Special effects. Like a fog machine and a laser light show.”

  “How about you make a few posters,” Val suggested.

  “Talking posters,” Goldie said. “Val, that’s terrific!”

  Goldie jotted down the idea in her notebook. Then she took a big drink of her chocolate milk. The spaghetti, the milk, and the excitement crashed in her stomach, and she let out a huge BURP! It made the entire cafeteria go quiet.