Super fun world, p.1
Super Fun World, page 1
Dedication
To Simone, Andrew, Nathan, and David . . . superheroes all.
—Alan Katz
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Chapter 1 Coming Home
Chapter 2 On the Road
Chapter 3 Checking In
Chapter 4 Gone!
Chapter 5 Super Fun!
Chapter 6 Taking Action
Chapter 7 Noah’s Plan
Chapter 8 Find That Ferret
Chapter 9 What’s a P.E.C.K.?
Chapter 10 Backstage
Chapter 11 Poultry in Motion
Chapter 12 And Finally . . .
Super Awesome Games
About the Author and Illustrator
Back Ad
Copyright
About the Publisher
It should have been a joyous bus ride home. After all, it was a Friday afternoon before the start of vacation week. Mrs. Baltman’s sign had told her students she wouldn’t see them again for nine days.
But as the bus creaked along Stagecoach Circle, Milton Worthy thought about something that Mrs. Baltman had said. It was nine words she’d said only to him, and he was pretty sure those words would ruin his entire vacation:
“Milton, please take Noah home for the vacation week.”
When the bus stopped, Milton grabbed his stuff and clumsily got off in front of his house. His mother opened the front door and smiled widely, ready to share a vacation-starting hug with her son.
But when she saw what he was carrying, she too had nine words to say:
“Why in the world did you bring Noah home?”
“I didn’t want to, Mom,” Milton told her. “But Mrs. Baltman said that someone had to watch our class ferret over the break.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Mrs. Worthy said. “But why not your friend Morgan? Or Max? Or David? Or anyone else?”
“I suggested them, believe me,” Milton responded. “But Mrs. Baltman knows that Noah has a habit of escaping. She also knows that if he tries to take over the world again, only our family can stop him.”
“I suppose that’s also true,” Mrs. Worthy told her son. “While Max’s father is an apartment building super, and Morgan’s sells hero sandwiches, I’m the only superhero in the neighborhood.”
Milton agreed. Then he asked the question that had been rolling around in his brain since he got the Noah news:
“Does this mean our first-time-ever family vacation to Super Fun World is canceled?” Milton asked. “Please say no, please say no, please say no.”
“No,” his mother said.
“No, you’re not saying no?” he asked. “Or no, it’s not canceled?”
“No, it’s not canceled,” Mrs. Worthy assured him. “We’ve all been looking forward to it for months. We already paid for the theme park tickets and hotel. We’ll just take Noah with us—we can’t let two pounds of fur keep us from eleven tons of fun.”
Milton jumped up and down and gave his mother the vacation-starting hug she’d wanted earlier.
Noah, however, wasn’t nearly as gleeful. And oddly enough, he expressed his displeasure in exactly nine words:
“Blotz-chitter-errp-chitter-blotz-mucky-freg-freg-nepp!”
Mrs. Worthy was wearing her official Society of Substitutes ferret decoder ring, so she knew that Noah said . . .
“You think you’re taking me to Super Fun World. But when I get there, it won’t be ‘super’ for you. It won’t be ‘fun’ either. And as for the ‘world’ part—yes, there will still be a world. And it will be mine, all mine.”
Clearly, Noah had the amazing ability to say a lot in only nine words.
The next morning, the Worthy family left bright and early. Mr. and Mrs. Worthy sat in the front seat, and Milton and his sister, Amy, were buckled into the back seat. Noah was tucked safely in the SUV’s rear cargo area. His steel-reinforced Megabolt-5000 cage was locked tightly shut.
As soon as the family car left the driveway, Milton asked his mom for the Super Fun World map. He wanted to study it so that he could plot out each day’s activities. But Milton’s mother told him that, unfortunately, she had tucked the map into the outer pocket of her backpack. It was in the cargo area, alongside the other suitcases . . . and Noah’s cage.
Milton knew he couldn’t reach the map while buckled into his seat. He just shrugged and told his mom that he’d look at it when they got to the hotel.
Hearing where the map was made the only ferret in the car quite joyful. Noah slyly managed to sneak his paw through the bars of his mega-locked cage. And then he skillfully grabbed the Super Fun World map and quietly slid it into his cage.
As Mr. Worthy steered the car onto the highway, Milton’s father yelled, “Here we go!” Then he invited everyone to sing the song from the Super Fun World commercial:
Not just fun, but super fun
Super fun for everyone!
Rides and games and shows and food
To put you in a super fun mood!
Moms and dads and boys and girls
Head on down to Super Fun World!
Milton adored that song. He’d sung himself to sleep with it for weeks (though he did wonder why they rhymed girls with World). No matter; he was sure their rides and games and shows and food would be even better than their jingle.
Noah, of course, didn’t sing along. But he did enjoy the noise the singing made—it covered up the map-unfolding sound in his cage.
Noah spent the rest of the trip studying the map. Busily licking and scratching to mark the areas that would be important to his quest for world domination, he chittered happily. He nibbled a few num-nums, then chased around his cage with excitement.
Meanwhile, Milton and Amy played tic-tac. (The little girl didn’t have the patience to go all the way to toe. Instead, she yelled, “I win!” each time she got two in a row. And sometimes one in a row.)
Something like that usually would’ve driven Milton crazy. But somehow, knowing that the family was on its way to Super Fun World allowed him to ignore her silliness.
“This is going to be the greatest trip ever. Ever. E-V-E-R,” Milton said aloud, momentarily forgetting that Noah was with them.
“Bleg. Bleg. B-L-E-G,” Noah said aloud, not caring that the Worthy family was with him.
As Mr. Worthy parked in front of the hotel, Milton yelled, “We’re heeeeeere!” Three bellhops dressed like polar bears swooped in and started removing everything from the SUV’s cargo area. Before the four Worthy family members could exit the car, their bags (and Noah’s cage!) were whisked away to the hotel.
The Worthys stepped up to the check-in desk. A super friendly desk clerk welcomed them by name, smiled an extra wide Super Fun World Hotel smile, then gave them some bad news . . .
“You can’t check into your room for two more hours.”
“What?” Milton exclaimed.
“I said, you can’t check into your room for two more hours,” said Melody the clerk. “But you’re all welcome to have a super fun time in our super fun lobby.”
“What is there to do in the lobby?” Milton asked her.
“There’s a super fun couch, super fun chairs, super fun footstools, and some super fun magazines,” Melody said. “Go enjoy yourselves, and come back for the keys to your super fun room at three.”
“Couch?” Mrs. Worthy asked.
“Chairs?” her daughter asked.
“Footstools and magazines?” Mr. Worthy asked.
“We want real super fun, and we’ll only find that inside the gates of Super Fun World!” Milton said. “Let’s go!”
“Now?” Mr. Worthy asked his son.
“Why not?” he replied. “We have prepaid tickets. We can go to the park, then come back tonight. The room will still be here, right?”
“You’re right,” Mrs. Worthy said. “And so will the couch, the chairs, the footstools, and the magazines.”
“So . . . let’s go to Super Fun World!” all four Worthys shouted.
Mr. Worthy asked Melody to have the polar bear bellhops put their things in storage. He told her they’d be back to check in later that evening.
Melody agreed, and the family watched as their bags—and Noah’s cage—were carried to the storage area. Milton gave Noah a see ya later wave as Ira the polar bear bellhop carefully placed Noah’s cage on a shelf.
But as Ira turned to leave, Noah started whining and crying. His blubbering made Ira blubber too. And if there’s anything sadder than a blubbering ferret, it’s a grown man who’s blubbering while wearing a polar bear costume.
Ira couldn’t stand to see the ferret so upset. He asked Noah if he was hungry.
Noah shook his head no.
Ira asked Noah if he was thirsty.
Noah shook his head no.
Ira asked Noah if his tummy hurt.
Noah shook his head no.
Ira asked Noah if he needed a good stretch.
Noah nodded his head yes.
“Gee, I’d be glad to let you out for a minute, buddy,” Ira told the ferret through his tears. “But this cage is the Megabolt-5000. There’s practically no way to open it without detailed instructions.”
Noah spun around several times with glee, then tipped the cage’s hangtag toward Ira’s face. On the hangtag was the Beacher Elementary School address. And behind that, Ira found . . .
. . . detailed instructions.
So Ira dried his own tears and did the one thing he shouldn’t have done. He reached for the Meg
“There, little guy,” Ira said. “Give yourself a good little stretch, then we’ll put you back inside the Megabolt-5000.”
Noah hugged Ira in appreciation. For about.0337 of a second. Then Noah giggled a sinister giggle and leapt out of the polar bear bellhop’s grasp. He zipped off, climbing over suitcases, shelves, desks, and pretty much everything in his way.
“Um, er, wait, ah, I mean, come back, please,” Ira said as he started to blubber again. “Why, that ferret tricked me!” he told himself. “But I’ll fix this mess, or my name isn’t . . .”
He looked down at his name badge.
“Ira.”
Ira put on his official polar bear thinking cap. He thought about reporting the runaway ferret to the head of the polar bear bellhops.
He considered running around the hotel in search of the critter.
He pondered going to the local pet store and buying a replacement ferret.
“A ferret is a ferret is a ferret,” Ira told himself. “The family will never know.”
But then Ira realized that it wasn’t the most honest approach to fixing the problem. So he thought some more, and remembered something his grandfather had once told him:
“Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep and doesn’t know where to find them. Leave them alone, and they’ll come home, wagging their tails behind them.”
Ira knew that ferrets weren’t exactly the same as sheep. But he had confidence in his grandfather’s words. So he put the whole situation out of his mind and went to have a snack.
Meanwhile, at Super Fun World, the Worthy family was having . . .
What else? Super fun!
Milton and his mom had already been on seven rides, including the Fuming Flume of Doom and the Roaster Toaster Coaster. (Mom almost lost her backpack—and her lunch—on that coaster.)
Amy and Dad had taken five trips through Mr. Chicken’s Hilarious Henhouse. And each time they exited, Mr. Chicken wished them the best of cluck.
It wasn’t that Mr. Worthy was afraid of thrill rides. It was just that he suffered from a sore back, so he volunteered to experience the tamer attractions with Amy.
Plus, he was a little afraid of thrill rides.
Mr. and Mrs. Worthy agreed that the family members would meet at the entrance to Princess Monica’s Castle at 7 p.m.
“I think we’ve got time for a couple more rides, Milton. What’s your pleasure?” his mom asked. She was secretly hoping for a long ride on a park bench—to relax. But she knew that Milton was determined to take on every heart-stopping ride in the park.
Milton looked at his map, which was a little scrunched because he’d squeezed it so tightly while riding Mission to Boingo.
“Double Dip Dilemma looks good,” he answered. “Unless you’d rather try the Stomach Rumble Grumbler.”
“They both sound delightful,” Mrs. Worthy said through gritted teeth as she tightened the buckles on her backpack.
Milton saw that the line was shorter on the Grumbler, so that was where they went.
A few moments later, they were fastening their seatbelts and lowering their shoulder harnesses.
“Please remember that you will be upside down during most of this ride,” the attendant announced. “Keep your hands inside the car at all times. Please tuck your phones securely in your pockets. And if you have fake teeth, be sure to keep them in your mouth. Last week, someone’s dentures went flying, and they ended up biting a woman down on the ground.”
The ride started. The car that held Mrs. Worthy and Milton went up . . . up . . . up the track. Then it went down . . . up . . . down . . . and upside down. It stayed upside down for a long time, which didn’t make Mrs. Worthy feel so great.
Milton, on the other hand, repeatedly squealed with glee. He even yelled, “Now this is super fun!”
Then . . . without the ride having moved at all, Milton began to shriek. It wasn’t an I’m loving this shriek. Rather, it was a something’s wrong, very wrong, very, very wrong kind of sound. He uttered a phrase that combined “Oh no!” with “I don’t believe it!” and “It can’t be!”
Mrs. Worthy thought that Milton was terrified of the ride. But it wasn’t the Stomach Rumble Grumbler that made him howl with fear.
It was . . .
Noah!
While upside down on the ride, Milton spotted the evildoing, sinister ferret running through the park.
Just as soon as the Stomach Rumble Grumbler stopped, Milton told his mom what he had seen. She tried to convince him that he had probably just spotted one of the park’s costumed characters. But Milton said he knew that it was Noah, ready to cause trouble. Big trouble.
Mrs. Worthy led Milton into a quiet area just behind the Franks-A-Lot hot dog stand. She told her son that there was no time to lose.
“Though I’m usually a superhero substitute teacher, I think I’d better go into evil-fighting mode at once,” she told him. “With so many people, and so many rides, there’s so much chaos a nasty ferret could cause!”
“I understand, Mom” Milton said.
“There’s just one problem,” Mrs. Worthy moaned. “If I turn into a superhero right in public, everyone will know my secret identity!”
“Mom, there are costumed superhero characters all over this park. No one will know you’re a real one!” Milton pointed out.
Mrs. Worthy thought that was an excellent point.
Milton watched breathlessly as his mom reached into her backpack and put on her Society of Substitutes transmitter helmet. She pressed the communicator button and called Chief Chiefman at headquarters. Surely the chief would know what was up with Noah—and what to do about it.
“I see. Yes. I see. I understand. Oh my. Wow. Yes, I see,” Mrs. Worthy said into the communicator. “Goodbye, Chief. And thank you.”
As Mrs. Worthy disconnected the call and put her helmet back in her backpack, Milton asked his mom if it was a serious problem.
Mrs. Worthy told him yes, quite serious. But this time, Noah wasn’t actually seeking to rule the world. Or the country. He wasn’t trying to take over the town, or even Super Fun World. He had one very specific target in mind, and he had a plan to make his dream a reality.
Noah was solely interested in getting rid of . . .
Rose Worthy!
“I was right to worry about protecting my superhero identity, Milton,” Mrs. Worthy said. “Noah wants to expose me as a member of the Society of Substitutes.”
“Would that be bad, Mom?” Milton wanted to know.
“Bad? It would be terrible!” Mrs. Worthy replied.
She said that revealing her true superhero identity would be a big first step toward Noah’s goal of total world domination.
Milton asked why, and she said there was no time to explain at the moment. First, they had to stop Noah.
“According to Chief Chiefman, Noah has snapped a photo of me in my full superhero gear. He plans to put that photo on the big video screen during Super Fun World’s fireworks show tonight.”
“That’s great!” Milton beamed.
“What’s great about it?” his mother wanted to know.
“It means we can stay for the fireworks!” Milton cheered.
“Never mind that,” Mrs. Worthy said. “We’ve got to catch that furry fiend and stop him before he discloses that I’m a real-life superhero!”
“Gotcha, Mom,” Milton said. “Look, it’s six fifty-five. We are supposed to meet Dad and Sis in five minutes.”
“You’re right, Milton. I’ll text Dad and tell him to take Amy to Mr. Chicken’s Hilarious Henhouse. We can meet them later.”
Mrs. Worthy quickly texted her husband the message. He immediately wrote back:
Mrs. Worthy wrote back:
“Poor Dad,” Mrs. Worthy said, adding, “but that ratty rascal has to be stopped!”
