Chapter 9
New Friends
The first day of school was going quite well for
Peter. He had met his new friends and some associates that
were very much the opposite of him, but he was having a
great day.
Mr. Hunter gave his class their first assignment by
cutting open a sea pig. Each student had their own pig; the
creature was bright pink with white polka dots, bitty ears,
no feet or arms, just a body that looks like a big balloon;
and small little eyes that sunk into the back of its head.
Of course Jamyra was in the corner squirming and
screaming; begging Mr. Hunter to let her dissect something
else, but she could not pull her charm on Mr. Hunter. She
had to dissect the sea pig or do extra hours of moon
cleaning. Jamyra was not happy with this and threatened to
tell her parents. That did not faze Mr. Hunter, and she had
to dissect the sea pig. The entire classroom began to laugh
at her weakness until it came to order with Mr. Hunter
slapping the ruler on the desk.
"Quiet, and I mean it!" said Mr. Hunter.
It was the first day in his class, and everything was
going fine. But Mr. Hunter forgot to tell the children that
the sea creature held inside its belly green slime. The
minute each child cut into their sea pig, the slime was all
over them; from head to toe. It was nasty and stinky, and
the slime was soon all over the walls and desks. Some
students, like Peter and his friends, thought it was cool,
while other students like Jamyra were upset and did not see
the humor in it.
Jamyra began to cry and ran out of the classroom
complaining about her hair. Millie went after her to calm
her down, but Peter and his friends stayed and finished
their dissection. Mr. Hunter got great joy in seeing some
of the students upset, but he was also pleased to see the
many that stayed and finished their assignment. He gave all
the students time to go and wash up for their next class.
The children ran out of the classroom; many couldn't wait
to get the stench off of them. The boys ran to their
restroom and the girls did the same. It took forever for
the girls to get cleaned and dressed.
Meanwhile in the boys' restroom, Sam Salmon the bully
began to pick on Peter by calling him names like "Peter
Flop-a-Lot, dumb," and many other stupid comments. Peter
just ignored him, until Sam started shooting green slimy
fart balls at him.
The restroom was so smelly that kids ran out holding
their noses. Sam let out a big fart ball and it engulfed
Peter and took him straight into the air. The odor was so
horrific that Peter could not breathe. He knew he had to
get out of the fart ball, and quick. He saw the edge of the
door open and pushed the bubble on the door's tip to burst
it. As it burst, down came the slime from the fart ball.
Sam thought that it was hilarious and couldn't stop
laughing. Peter was very angry and ran to his backpack and
pulled out his magical book calling on Merseft.
"Master, what can I do for you?" asked Merseft.
Peter commanded Merseft to sew Sam's mouth shut, and
with a blink of an eye, Merseft made Sam's mouth disappear.
He couldn't talk and was afraid of Merseft and his powers.
Sam ran to the mirror and found he had no mouth. It was
gone; more like it disappeared into his skin. Peter quickly
put his magic book away as Sam ran out of the restroom and
through the school wildly. By then, a crowd had gathered,
and the teachers were called in to handle the situation.
Peter tried to explain to the teachers that were
gathered around him what really happened, but Mrs. Maryanne
LaFloor, a math teacher, grabbed him by his collar and sent
him to the headmaster's office.
Peter was a little bit upset. It was his first day of
school, and he was getting called to the headmaster's
office. As he walked along; Sam was caught running and
crying by one of the teachers who saw that his mouth was
missing. The teacher also began to scream and sent Sam to
the nurses' station.
After this excitement, the school guards ushered all
the children back to their regular classes. Peter meanwhile
sat patiently as he waited in Mr. Stewart's office. Peter
had been to his office before and hated it. Mr. Stewart's
office was just too spooky.
As Peter was waiting, another student came running and
crying out of the headmaster's office. Peter was shocked to
see this student cry because he was a big green giant with
four arms. Peter wondered what Mr. Stewart would do to him,
if he'd made a giant cry.
Then the secretary came over and said; "Peter Carrot-
Top, Mr. Stewart will see you now."
Peter was very much afraid. He gulped, and his legs
began to shake as he walked into Mr. Stewart's office. As
he entered, he quickly began to explain to Mr. Stewart what
had happened. But Mr. Stewart was furious, and told Peter
that he did not want to hear it.
Just as Peter was getting his sentence out, Mrs.
LaFloor brought Sam into the office. Peter saw that Sam was
uncomfortable and he began to feel sorry and apologized to
Sam for closing his mouth.
"Now, if you promise not to pick on me, I will release
your mouth," said Peter.
Sam quickly agreed and Peter pulled out his magical
book. When Mr. Stewart saw the book, his eyes glowed and
were fixed on it. Peter called to Merseft to release the
spell. When Merseft appeared, the people in the room were
amazed. Merseft quickly looked around and began to get an
eerie feeling.
"Hey, Peter, can I talk to you for one minute?" asked
Merseft.
Peter looked confused as he followed Merseft into the
corner where the genie told him that this office had an
evil aura. Peter agreed with Merseft. He quickly removed
the spell off of Sam and returned his mouth to normal.
Before Peter could close his magical book, Sam was up to
his old tricks again.
"I am going to get you, Peter Carrot-Top," said Sam as
Mrs. LaFloor dragged him out of the room.
But before everything was said and done, Mr. Stewart
told Sam and Peter they had extra hours of moon duty. Sam
was very upset and wanted to hit Peter, but he saw the
headmaster looking at him. Peter was fine about the extra
hours of moon duties because he didn't know what lay ahead
of him.
As Sam left the office kicking and screaming, Mr.
Stewart wanted Peter to stay around and show him more about
his magical book. Peter was not too sure, and asked to
leave as he hugged his school bag. Mr. Stewart was not
giving up. He wanted that magic book for some reason. But
Peter was no fool; he knew something was not right and ran
out the door with his magical book clinging to him. The
minute Peter left Mr. Stewart's office; the walls opened
; and out walked the hooded figure, breathing very rapidly.
"That is the magical book of the elders. How did a
child get the book I have ordered you to get?" the hooded
figure asked.
"Good question, I have no idea," said Mr. Stewart.
"Well, we must get it in my possession," the figure
explained to Mr. Stewart.
Then it went back into the walls and disappeared. Mr.
Stewart was pacing his office and pondering how a young lad
could have the book of the elders. He was cautious not to
make any sudden moves that would cause suspicions. Mr.
Stewart kept a close eye on Peter through his looking
glass, which was a silver mirror that could see all around
the entire school and Baja. He just had to say the person's
name and the mirror found them, no matter where they were.
Mr. Stewart repeated Peter's name twice and the mirror
immediately found Peter in his classroom. Mr. Stewart
watched through the looking glass every move Peter made. He
wanted to know where the magical book was, but Peter never
displayed it again.
Back in his math classroom, Peter was very quiet. This
was not the first impression that he wanted to make. Mrs.
Dragon was Peter's math teacher. She had three heads that
constantly argued with each other. The three heads seemed
to weigh Mrs. Dragon down. She walked with a hump in her
back and her spine protruded out, pushing out of her body.
Each of the three heads was different. One looked like a
witch with a mole by her lip, the second was a very
beautiful young woman, and the third one had no face, only
a mouth and tiny ears that stuck out on the sides. There
were a few strands of hair on its head, but when the heads
got to fussing with each other, they pulled on the little
strands of hair until there was no more.
The students found this amusing and hardly got any
work done in Mrs. Dragon's class. This was amazing to
Peter. He had never seen a sight like this. He was shellshocked.
When the heads asked Peter a question, he could
not respond because his mind was more focused on the three
heads.
"Well, Mr. Carrot-Top, if you can not concentrate,
maybe we will have to move you to Mrs. LaFloor's math
class," said head one.
"Oh! No, Mrs. Dragon! I love this class," said Peter
as the children began to laugh at him.
Finally, it was break time and the children met in
"The Center". Peter told Clara how spooky Mr. Stewart was,
and Clara agreed with him, stating that most of the people
in Baja said he had gone mad, but she never finished
telling Peter why Mr. Stewart had gone mad, she quickly
changed the subject and asked Peter how he'd made Sam's
mouth disappear. Peter told Clara the secret along with
their other friends. Ben wanted Peter to use the genie to
make their moon cleaning time fast forward, but Peter was a
little leery about using the genie to cheat. Nevertheless,
he wanted to make friends, and told Ben that he would think
about it.
"Great," said Ben.
"But you can't tell anyone," said Peter.
Ben agreed and told Peter that he would see him later.
Peter and Clara watched as Robert entertained the crowd
with his skinny tall body by stretching into anything from
balls to long poles and acting as if he was a plastic man.
The children whom he was entertaining seemed to be
impressed and cheered, but when the cheering got too loud,
immediately the guards came. Robert disappeared behind a
pole where the guards could not see him; he was so skinny
he could hide behind a vine and not be seen, and the other
children scattered and disappeared into the crowds.
Robert was behind the pole making fun of the guards as
they patrolled the area, but they could not see him. Some
of the other children could, and they began to laugh as
Robert constantly made funny faces behind the guards' backs.
"What are you guys laughing at?" on guard asked.
"Oh, nothing," said Clara, and the guards went on
their way giving Robert an opportunity to come out and join
his friends.
They all began to laugh at the guards; this was the
beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Peter and his friends had Mrs. Laura Dean next on
their class schedule. They were not happy about that, Mrs.
Dean was a tough teacher and did not fool around. The
children hurried off to class and quietly sat in their
assigned seats.
"Peter, I will like you to sit in the front, since you
have been starting so much trouble on your first day of
school," said Mrs. Dean.
Peter quickly moved, obeying his teacher, but looked
back at his friends. Mrs. Dean was teaching history, and
today they would go on a field trip. The class began to
cheer, but Mrs. Dean quickly put an end to that. As the
class was waiting on their assigned world to explore, Mrs.
Dean was having trouble keeping her form. She was over 200
years old, but tried to pass herself off as a twenty-five
year old. Sometimes she can not hold form and the spell
wears off, and when it did; she became the ugliest creature
you have ever seen! Her face turned into a mummy, dried
bones and flesh fell from her body, she had no teeth or
hairs, just a few strands; and every once in a while her
bones would crack and break.
She then quickly called for the beauty fairies by
looking into the huge mirror on the wall and summoned them.
The mirror had codes that Peter quickly jotted down on his
piece of paper. Meanwhile, the fairies came flying into the
classroom in packs, with magical oils and misty sprays.
Then Mrs. Dean was all better again. Not only did she look
younger, but much meaner.
After that small mishap, Mrs. Dean pretended as if
nothing took place, and went on with her teaching as usual.
She took out a huge magical clock that was covered in gold,
with diamond encrusted numbers and hands that told the
time. The base was like a stairway that allowed a person to
climb up it to set it. The clock began to glow with the
symbols of Baja.
Mrs. Dean chose Peter to be the one to set the clock,
but he did not know what to do. She informed Peter that he
needed to know the history of Baja and be prepared for
class. But, nevertheless, she taught Peter how to use the
clock, which entitled a person to freeze time; because
where they will be going, time needed to stand still. Peter
ran up the stairs of the clock and manually moved the hands
of time. The clock began to glow, and then a huge bright
light shot out of it, and suddenly everything in the
classroom was frozen in time.
Peter only noticed this when the classroom became very
eerie and quiet. As he looked over his shoulder, everything
was lifeless, and suspended in time. Robert playing with
his ten watches was motionless, Jamyra combing her hair was
suspended in time, but the grosses were Zack slinging snot
boogers into the air. The only people who were not affected
were Mrs. Dean, because she was as old as time, and the
person setting the clock, Peter.
Mrs. Dean came over to him and held his hands as he
slowly turned the dials of the clock. Suddenly, everything
was back to normal and the students did not know what had
happened.
"Wooow," said Peter.
Mrs. Dean informed him that the dial is only to be set
once the time is established for the field trip to begin.
Then it was time to pick the destination, and Mrs. Dean
called on Millie; she was so shy and nervous that she
disappeared into thin air. Jamyra constantly held up her
hands for Mrs. Dean to pick her, but instead, she picked
Michael. He flew up to the front of the class with his
powerful wings, brushed his hair forward to make it spike
into the air, and then took time looking at himself in the
mirror.
"Oh, would you get on with it?" said Mrs. Dean.
Michael walked up to the chalkboard and put his palm
print on it. The board began to glow, and then out came a
golden map. It flew out like a flying carpet, and was made
of pure gold. All the drawings on it were outlined in
sliver; anyone would think that this map would be heavy,
but it was as light as a feather.
Peter's eyes became enlarged when he saw the
spectacular map. Michael reached up with his hands, and as
he was going to spin the compass, Robert stretched his
Beanpole of a hand all the way to the front of the class
and spun it. Michael was very upset, and began to get
angry. The compass spun and spun until it finally landed on
Sliver Bridge.
Michael ran across the classroom and began to jump on
Robert, when Mrs. Dean stopped them and gave each child
more hours of moon duties. They were both unhappy, and the
entire class began to laugh. Mrs. Dean made them hush.
Peter quickly raised his hands and asked. "What is
Sliver Bridge?"
Mrs. Dean explained to Peter that no one knew; the map
picked somewhere special to go every day, and no one had
explored these worlds. Peter and his classmates thought
that it was very cool, and began to jump for joy, until
Mrs. Dean had a headache.
"Settle down, children, you're acting like a bunch of
savages," she said as she hit her ruler harshly on the desk.
Now that the golden clock was set and the map had
picked its destination, it was time to leave. Mrs. Dean
offered the children a few snacks that they could take with
them; cotton candy worms, mac-A-doodles, and crackling eggs.
"What is mac-a-doodles?" said Peter to Clara.
She responded by telling Peter that mac-a-doodles were
macaroni baked inside a hot dog, and covered with melted
cheese.
"Wow! That sounds good," said Peter.
Then Clara went on to explained that crackling eggs
were scramble eggs that crackled and popped while you're
eating them, and they can only come from one bird in Baja,
the cherry blue bird. Peter thought that all of this was
very fascinating. Then Sam ran in front of the line and
grabbed all the crackling eggs before anyone else could get
any.
"You pig," said Jamyra.
Then Steve came forward and let his feet out and his
toe jam filled the entire classroom.
"You are so gross," said Ben.
The scent was so overwhelming that Millie once again
disappeared. Mrs. Dean was called in and gave Steve more
moon time, and told the children that they needed to be on
their best behavior. She let the children know that they
were going to an unknown part of Baja, and they needed to
show respect.
"We will, Mrs. Dean," said the children.
She decided to take another teacher with her and chose
Mr. Oliver McPhee, who was second in command at Waldorf
Academy. Mr. McPhee was very strict, and wore his glasses
on the bridge of his nose. Yet he had no eyes or mouth; he
was pale and skinny in color, his skin looked as if it was
stretched and tight on his body. Even though Mr. McPhee had
all of these afflictions, he could see, hear, and move
normally. There was no getting passed this teacher with
anything; many had tired, and got harsher sentences of moon
duties.
All the children knew of Mr. McPhee and his
strictness, and knew how far to go with him. Clara made
sure Peter was informed on what he could and couldn't get
away with. After everyone got their snacks together, it was
time to leave. With a secret press of the codes on the map
by Mrs. Dean, a bright light flashed through the classroom,
and then an archway appeared. The children were excited,
but also nervous.
The golden clock was set and it was time to walk into
the unknown. With a deep breath, the children and teachers
walked through the arch; Peter and Clara were the first to
go in, and the sight was amazing. Everything was still, the
clock had paused time, and now it was time for the children
and their teachers to explore the world they had enter.
Peter was excited; this was the most amazing thing that he
had ever experience.
There were a number of sliver arches in this land, as
far as the eyes could see. The doorway that they entered
from led to a long silver bridge; it glowed with the
symbols of Baja. Michael, with his cocky attitude, demanded
that he put the first step on the bridge. As he did so, he
began to run back; something had frightened him badly. The
children began to laugh, but deep down inside they were
afraid too.
Peter went forward and looked around; the place was so
beautiful and magnificent. There were trees that produced
golden apples; the skies were bright blue and white, large
birds flew in the skies, and there were tiny little
mushroom houses that held fairies. What frightened Michael
so badly was that the silver bridge was built many miles
up, and the only thing one can see when looking down was
clouds and hilltops, and cannons filled with large snakes
and dragons.
As Peter got closer and pushed the clouds out of his
way, it was a sight to see. There was a huge troll giant
guarding the bridge. The giant was chained to a rock, but
had enough room to move around. Peter was frozen by the
size of the creature, and in came the entire class to look.
"Oh, that is so beautiful," said Mr. McPhee.
The giant was filthy and muddy; he carried a big long
club in his hands, and saliva dripped from his mouth. It
was a good thing everything was frozen in time, because the
size of the saliva would hurt someone! Sam went over and
stuck his hands through the glob of saliva, and played in
it.
"Oh! Don't you ever touch me," said Jamyra.
"Now, children, no fighting," said Mrs. Dean.
Everyone was impressed by th
e size of this creature;
it must have been thousands of feet tall. As the classmates
and their teachers crossed the bridge, it began to glow,
and the glow became brighter and brighter. Suddenly, an
angelic woman appeared with a glow around here; the most
gorgeous beauty one could lay their eyes on. She was
covered in all white clothing, wings that expanded eight
feet in length, and skin so pale it was almost white. She
never said a word; just smiled and watched as the children
and their teachers crossed the bridge.
"How come she is not still in time?" said Millie.
Everyone was in shock as this was the first time they
had heard Millie speak.
"You can talk?" said Mr. McPhee.
But to answer Millie's question, no one knew why the
woman could move. Maybe it was a force stronger than the
clock, which was able to un-pause itself. As the group
finally came to the end of the bridge, they were greeted by
even more beautiful surroundings. The children's eyes grew
large with excitement as they saw huge stone caves that
were made into homes, and out the windows, the students saw
small people. They had human features, but their bodies
were covered in dust balls that came in all different
colors. There were white, red, blue, pink, black, and many
more colors. Because their bodies were made of the dust
balls, this made their bodies light, and some of them were
flying into the air. It seemed like they used the wind and
the breeze to get around; even the tiny babies were having
fun.
To Peter and his friends, this was truly an adventure;
as they looked around, the place featured cannons that
swept millions of miles down, and there were people flying
large birds with saddles on their backs. This seemed to be
the way of transportation, and because everything was
frozen in time, the children got a closer look at the
cannon flyers. All the riders seemed to be wearing the same
uniforms; some had jackets with the Baja symbols that
glowed, and others just had jackets with no symbols. Maybe
these were the ones in training. The birds were huge, with
large wingspans and long beaks; their bodies were short
like a pig, but with just enough room for the riders. Over
in one corner, it seemed like the riders were either
attacking or confronting another unknown rider. This rider
was different from the rest; his bird was black, with red
glowing symbols, and the rider was all in black with a hood
that covers his entire body.
For a minute, Peter was startled; it seemed like the
figure on the black bird was staring at him, and his eyes
were moving. Peter blinked for a minute, and the rider and
his black bird were gone. Peter tried to tell his friends,
but no one had seen the rider but him; everyone was
admiring something else.
Deep down in his guts, Peter knew something was wrong,
but continued to observe. As the students walked even
farther, there was a big castle made of glass, but yet no
one could see inside. The children ran toward the castle,
but were cautioned by their teachers to take it slow and be
careful. Then, before they could get to the bride of the
castle, out of the corner of their eyes they noticed huge
giants tending the land, cleaning the castle walls, and
toting stacks of hay on their backs. The giants seemed to
be workers for the castle. They looked like the ones Peter
first saw when he was coming to Baja. They were large and
green, some had large ears and some had horns; they all had
the glowing Baja symbols, and their clothing seemed to be
made of fine cotton that had been woven with golden thread.
Everyone was afraid; these creatures were huge and
they had no expressions on their faces. Peter went up to
one and measured his feet against the giant's feet. The
other children played around the giant because, for the
most part, they were told to stay away from the giants of
Baja. So, this was like a daredevil stunt, and they were
the stars.
The children were having the time of their lives,
seeing things they only imagined and dreamt about. Peter
could not help but admire the castle with its glass domes
and doors, and the bridge was made out of thin glass. He
looked, and he saw fairies blowing sand and turning it into
glass to repair the bridge; it seems like everything
surrounding this castle was made of glass. But, this glass
was magical. As the children got closer and looked through
it, they saw the words "make a wish". The children pointed
at the words, and the teachers came over to see what the
fuss was all about.
"Now, be careful what you wish for," said Mr. McPhee.
Each child pushed their faces up to the glass, and
wished for something. Jamyra wished for a diamond crown; it
was so beautiful, it glowed with the symbols of Baja, and
it was crystal clear; an envy to the eye. Inside was
inscribed, "If you tell a lie, the crown will be stuck to
your head, and grow out of control until the truth is told".
Steve wished for some cool sneakers for his stinky
feet. The sneakers were red and white with angel wings that
made them fly. Steve began to test them out in the magical
land, and up, up, and away he went. Millie was very shy,
and wanted dark shades to cover her eyes. Getting her to
the glass was a chore. Finally, the kids got her to say her
wish again with confidence.
"Come on, Millie, you can do it," said Clara.
Millie closed here eyes and her wish was granted; the
shades where white with tinted lens, with Baja symbols on
the edges and the rim. Millie was so cool; she started to
have a little more confidence. But, the shades were not for
confidence or protection; she could see through walls and
any objects, once the shades were on her. These shades were
made only for her eyes.
"Way to go, Millie," said Mrs. Dean.
Michael wished for armor to protect his wings, and it
was granted. The armor glittered in the sun's rays; it was
blue with Baja symbols, and was made of the finest steel
metal. The children helped him put his wing armor on; and
when they did, the sight was breathtaking, it was very
beautiful. Michael began to fly around faster and faster
than ever, he loved his new wing armor. Sam quickly jumped
in and asked for a lifetime supply of slim gum.
"There is no such thing as slim gum," said Peter.
But before he could get the words out of his mouth,
the slim gum appeared. Sam began to chew the gum
immediately, and blew slim all over the children. Mrs. Dean
took him by the ear and pulled him off into a corner. Sam
went yelling and screaming while the rest of the children
laughed as they were covered in gooey slim.
"Well, it's much better than fart balls," said Millie.
Robert asked for another watch, only this one he
wanted to make it s
now. Suddenly, a golden watch appeared
on his arm.
"Not another watch," said Jamyra.
The watch was made of the finest jewels: rubies,
diamonds, emeralds, and other gems. The band was made of
the finest leather, which was red in color. Robert then set
the hands of the watch to snow and snow appeared in the
air! But, because it was natural, it was frozen in time
like everything throughout this enchanted land.
Zack then asked for seven golden tickets that would
last a lifetime to enter the largest carnival park in Baja.
They would be for him and all his new friends. Everyone was
so touched and moved; the tickets appeared in a magical
box, inlaid with velvet, and they shone in the sunlight. On
the tickets were lifetime memberships, and all of his
friends' faces were chiseled in gold and silver; yet the
tickets were flexible and soft. Zack then passed out the
tickets to his friends, which were Robert, Peter, Clara,
Ben, Nicholas, Millie, and one for himself. The children
accepted the gift with honor.
It was then Clara's turn. She held onto the glass wall
and wished for a golden sword that shot fire. A moment
later, it appeared! The sword was so pretty, as it shone
with the purest of silver and edges of gold. The Baja codes
and symbols glowed on the sword and then, before Clara
could test it out, a magical glove appeared, to match the
sword. It had the same Baja symbols and codes.
Clara slipped her right hand into the glove, held the
sword in the air and shouted, "Fire come forth!"
It did so; but because fire was part of nature, it was
also frozen in time until the children returned to the
classroom and took the magical clock off of pause. As Clara
called forth the fire, it was in the form of a large dragon
that many could see from miles away. She was so happy, like
a kid in a candy store.
Then it was Nicholas' turned. He asked for an art
pencil that would never run out of lead, as he was an
artist. A golden pencil appeared in his hands; it was just
like an ordinary pencil, but the rubber was protected by a
golden cap, and the pencil was made of hard steel that
could never break. There was even a golden case for the
pencil. Nicholas began to draw a flower in the air, and
within a few seconds a real flower appeared. Once again,
because it was part of this world, and time was paused
here; it just stayed suspended in the air.
"This is way cool," said Nicholas as the children
admired his drawing.
The flower was so beautiful; the colors were so bright
and lovely.
"This may be your calling," said Mr. McPhee.
Ben then rushed to the wall and wished for a super
cape; he was very specific, he wanted it red, with a big B
on the back. At first, the wish took a while to produce.
Ben began to get sad as he though his wish was
unattainable, but as in life, all good things take time. A
black box appeared with the Baja symbols; Ben watched as
the symbols glowed. He followed the codes with his eyes and
then opened the box. The cape jumped out and tied itself to
Ben's clothing. It began to blow as if a strong breeze was
passing through it. The cape had everything Ben asked for,
the big B was black and it also glowed with the codes of
Baja.
"Up, and away," said Ben. The cape picked him up and
flew him around. "Woooooooo, I love it," he said.
Then, last but not least, it was Peter's turn.
Everyone wondered what the boy king would ask for. Out of
the corner of his eyes, Peter saw Mr. McPhee writing down
everything that was going on.
"What is that you're writing?" said Peter.
"Oh! Nothing," Mr. McPhee replied.
But indeed, it was something. Peter went up to the
wall, paused for a second, and said his wish. He wished for
a box of one thousand little army soldiers that would be
under his command and his command only. He also added that
the little soldiers would only fight for good and not evil.
A short smile came across Mrs. Dean's face; she was proud
of his choice. A trunk-sized box appeared; it was also
black, with the Baja codes and symbols, and it only opened
to Peter's thumbprint. When it did, it was a great
surprise; the tiny little soldiers stood about six inches.
They were all dressed in armor, equipped with swords and
helmets, and the army had girls and boys whose skin glowed
with the Baja symbols.
The soldiers were all different colors, they could
fight in all different positions, and they were stacked in
the box like dominos, all nice and neat. Peter commanded
them to come out, and the soldiers jumped out of the box
one by one; they truly looked like a miniature version of
an army force.
They all saluted Peter and asked, "Who do we attack,
in the name of good?"
"No one yet, this was just a drill," said Peter.
This was too much for Ben, and he fainted into Mrs.
Bean's arms.
"Peter, that is so awesome," said Clara.
Peter then commanded the army back into their box;
each member of the little army knew their spot, they jumped
back into the box, and it magically closed.
"I lived for this day," said Peter.
"Ben, you are too heavy, get off of me," said Mrs.
Dean.
All the children were happy with their gifts. They
played around for a while, but it was time to move on and
explore the land even more, but the children were hungry
and asked to pull out their snacks. The classmates and
their teachers rested for a while. As they sat and ate
lunch, Peter was still impressed with his cotton candy
worm; Steve ate his crackling eggs, some of the children
ate lunch, while others fidgeted and played around with
their new toys. Peter could not take his eyes off of his
box of one thousand toy soldiers.
"Can you believe this, Clara?" said Peter.
"This is so amazing," said Clara.
But Mr. McPhee wanted the children to eat up so they
could go exploring before time ran out. The children
gobbled up all their fizz pop, mac-a-doodles and crackling
eggs, and were ready to go again.
Once again, the classmates walked in a group, leaving
the teachers behind to watch. The children talked amongst
themselves of how great it was to have come on this trip,
and their new gifts, but Peter's senses were telling him
something else; his red Carrot-Top hair began to stand up
on his head.
As Mrs. Dean and Mr. McPhee continued to talk in
private, whatever they were saying was very secretive,
because when one of the children looked back, the teachers
pretended like they were not talking at all. They began to
act strange, twisting their thumbs, or pointing to the air,
and there was nothing there. So, Peter kept a closer eye on
them, but wanted to enjoy his trip. After walking for a few
/> minutes, the children and their teachers came across a
jungle filled with wild birds, monkeys, snakes, and other
unidentified creatures.
"What in the hell is that?" said Steve.
Millie quickly pulled off her shades, and Peter and
his friends' eyes bugged out. This was a one-of-a-kind
specimen.
"You watch your mouth, Steve," said Mrs. Dean.
But, they were surprised. It was about eight feet
tall, green in color with black polka dots, and it had to
weigh at least a thousand pounds. Its features were like an
earthworm, but a million times bigger; it was spewing some
type of green foam from its mouth, and it seemed to be
trying to get away from something.
As the children and their teachers examined the
creature, they noticed that the big worm was being attacked
by small little Zulu tribe people. They were the size of
ants, and they attacked the creature by the millions. The
people had spears, ropes, fire, and knives. They were on
this thing like flies on a carcass, but everyone noticed
that the creature had no glowing symbols of Baja.
So, they discussed amongst themselves that this
creature was created just for food. Peter got on his hands
and knees to see the Zulu-like people up close; then all
the other children followed suit. The tribe was so
beautiful; they wore their warrior hats, and golden shields
and breastplates. Their arrows were made from red ruby;
their skin was dark in color, and they all had blue eyes.
Their hair was jet black and braided into one, with the tip
of the braids covered in a golden latch or bow.
Their sandals were made of tough hide and dyed to the
color of their choice. Peter was up so close that he could
even see the sweat on the brows of the Zulu-like people. He
wanted to touch them, but was stopped by his teachers, in
fear that with one wrong move, Peter could probably kill
one of the people because they were so tiny. They looked
like a colony of ants.
"Something is wrong," said Clara.
"And what is wrong now?" said Sam sarcastically.
Clara explained to the group that the Zulu-like people
looked like they were harvesting for a long hibernation.
Why else would a colony of people go after a meal that
could last them for years? Sam dismissed it by calling
Clara a do-gooder. But Clara and Peter noticed the
difference. Peter now knew in his heart that something was
wrong and maybe, just maybe, he was the one that would have
to save Baja.
Peter wiped the look of worry off of his face, and
pretended as if nothing was wrong. The children quickly
followed the line of the Zulu-like people to find out where
they came from. A few feet down through a small passageway
cut in the jungle lay a huge mound. It was made of thick
black dirt; there were thousands of mounds as far as the
eye could see. This black dirt was made up of sparkling
gold dust and diamond chunks. It looked as if the Zulu-like
people were storing energy; the diamonds were a powerful
source of energy and light. On the right and left side of
the mounds stood two larger-sized Zulu people; they were a
little taller and bigger, at least two feet tall, and much
larger in size, but had all the same characteristics of the
smaller Zulu-like people. The larger ones seemed to be
guarding the homes of the smaller tribe members, and in
return they got food and half of the harvest. The taller
Zulu-like people stood at attention, guarding the mounds
with persistence and honor. To the human eye they were
small, but to the tiny eyes of the Zulu tribe people, they
were giants.
Peter and his classmates were please with their
findings, and suddenly the loud clock began to chime, it
was the clock Peter had set at school; it was letting the
children and their teachers know that it was soon time to
be heading back.
"Oh! Just a couple more hours," said Jamyra.
"No, because if we do not make it out in time, we will
get caught up in a time warp," said Mr. McPhee.
Jamyra was none to happy; she walked off like a spoil
brat stomping and kicking. The two teachers just shook
their heads in disgust with Jamyra's attitude.
"Just a few more minutes and it will be time to go,"
said Mrs. Dean.
The children broke free and started looking around as
quickly as they could; they wanted to get in all the sights
they could see. Mrs. Dean sat on the grass while Mr. McPhee
went over by a large tree and started acting strangely, as
if he was talking to himself. Peter and Robert saw this
commotion and immediately went over secretly. They hid
behind a big tree and watched the conversation between Mr.
McPhee and himself. Some of the words that Mr. McPhee was
saying became a little distorted to Peter and Robert; they
could only make out a few of them, which were: "the seven
chosen have picked out their gifts".
Peter and Robert looked at each other in amazement,
and began to questions in their minds whether or not they
had made the right choices. Robert used his long slender
body to quickly move closer, without being seen by Mr.
McPhee. As he came into view, he saw Mr. McPhee talking to
a hooded stranger. Robert could not see a face for this
person; all he could see was that this person was dressed
in all black and carried a scary walking stick. Mr. McPhee
continued to talk to this person.
Robert slipped back to Peter and whispered to him what
he had seen. Peter then remembered that he too had seen
this hooded person more than once, and it was becoming very
strange. As he and Robert started to leave, Peter stepped
on a branch that made a loud crunching noise, and Mr.
McPhee quickly came around the tree and began to look
around. Peter was saved by Robert's quick thinking and
elastic arms that grabbed Peter out of the shrub area and
back with all the children. When Mr. McPhee came out, he
was still looking around, wondering if anyone had heard him.
"What's wrong, Peter? You look like you have seen a
ghost," said Ben.
"Hush, and act normally," said Peter to Ben.
The children played it as if nothing had happened, and
Mr. McPhee was left wondering what was the noise he'd
heard, and where it came from. He glanced the children over
to see if he could spot the one who made the noise; he had
become so paranoid, but none of the children gave him what
he wanted, and he looked very disturbed and confused.
"Children, it's time to head out," said Mrs. Dean.
The children got up, and formed a line and started
walking back in the direction that they had come from.
Robert began playing with his now eleven watches, speeding
the hands around and around. He did it so much and so long,
the watch let off a bright glow that knocked the children
to their feet. Mrs. Dean and Mr. McPhee co
uld not believe
their eyes, it was as if the sun landed and burst in front
of their eyes, the rays were so bright. Millie's shades
came in handy to protect her eyes. Then suddenly, it was
dark and then light again.
The children jumped up in wonder and amazement at what
had just taken place. Robert looked at his arm and his
watches were glowing in order, up to down, and so forth;
the faces of the watches became brighter, and he tried to
take them off, but the latches could not come off. Once
Robert put a watch on his wrist they remained for the rest
of his life!
As the children and their teachers looked around, they
noticed that time had been disturbed and everything was
beginning to move slowly. The huge giants were moving
toward the children and their teachers.
"Run, run!" said Mrs. Dean.
All the children began to run, faster and faster,
until Sam couldn't keep up, his weight was holding him back.
"We are putting you on a diet, once we get back," said
Mrs. Dean.
Sam smirked it off, and kept on looking back. When he
saw that the giants were getting closer, he then mustered
up the strength and began to run as fast as he could.
Millie and Jamyra were the first to cross the bridge, but
the big monster troll was now coming alive, and he began to
raise his huge club in the air to hit the children and
their teachers. Yet, because time was still moving slowly,
it gave the children and their teachers enough time to miss
being hit. But, one person was stuck behind, and that was
Steve, always the last one. He even let Sam beat him across
the bride. As Steve was coming across, his shirt got hooked
by the troll's club, and up in the air he went. Peter
immediately jumped into the air and held onto Steve's legs.
Then Clara jumped onto Peter's leg and they managed to
break Steve loose by tearing his shirt from the spikes on
the club. But, they did not notice that they were very high
in the air, and down they came, falling.
Sam quickly began to chew on his slim gum and blow a
big bubble of slime to catch his falling classmates.
Suddenly, the children fell into the slime bubble gum and
began to bounce around; slime was everywhere, and the
children were covered from head to toe, but they were safe.
Sam loved the fact that he had a real chance to use his
slime gum; it was so cool to him. He was very proud of
himself that he had saved the day, and not Mr. goodie-twoshoes
Peter.
Yet, Peter was happy they didn't get hurt, and let Sam
take all the credit. But, they had to hurry; time was now
moving really fast, and the magical door they came through
was closing very quickly.
"Run, children," said Mr. McPhee.
The children ran faster and faster, constantly looking
back; time was speeding up, and they were far away from the
magical door entrance. But, the children and their teachers
continued to run. Peter was the last in line, to keep his
friends and classmates from lagging behind. Suddenly, he
got an eerie feeling to look back, and when he did, he saw
the hooded figure coming his way!
Time was speeding up so fast, Peter could see the
figure moving, for some reason this thing also knew how to
manipulate time, even though everything was in slow motion;
Peter could still see the figure moving, and making evil
facial gestures. The large black bird it was riding on
began to scream and everyone heard the piercing sound and
quickly turned around.
"Keep moving," said Mrs. Dean.
The children ran faster and faster. Peter noticed some
of the symbols coming off of the bird and he kept them in
his mind. They were not like the symbols of Baja, and they
glowed bright red as if they were on fire. As the children
ran, they could see the passageway into their classroom.
One by one, they ran through the magical door, and as Peter
was the last to enter, the hooded figure latched onto his
shirt.
As Peter turned around to look, he saw the figure up
close. He began to scream; the figure was so ugly and
hideous. Peter began to scratch and kick until he was
loose. He ran through the door and fell onto the classroom
floor. There was still a second left on the clock, and the
hooded figure managed to push his hands in and grab Peter's
leg. He and his friends began to fight the hooded figure
off until the time ran out, and the magical door closed.
Because the hooded figure's hand was still in the door at
the time of closing, it was sliced off! The cut was so
clean, as if a sharp laser had cut it. The hand fell on the
floor; the children began to scream, and as they screamed,
the hand began to move and chase them all through the
classroom, until Clara got a chair and smashed it. Black
and green guts oozed out of the hand, then fumes filled the
rooms; then from the door they'd entered came a loud cry.
The children covered their ears and ran out of the
classroom.
"Whoa, that was the coolest day I have ever had," said
Michael.
"Oh! Shut up," said Mrs. Dean.
The children were shaken up, and it was a good excuse
to take a short recess.