Super fun world, p.2
Super Fun World, page 2
“Dad isn’t a ratty rascal,” Milton said.
“I meant Noah, silly boy,” his mother told him. “If Dad watches Amy, I can go after Noah.”
“You mean we can,” Milton said.
“Yes, I suppose we can,” Mrs. Worthy said.
Mrs. Worthy took all her superhero gear out of her backpack. She tucked her Official S.O.S. Num-Num Launcher into her jeans. She also placed her Fabulous Ferret Finder hair scrunchie on her head. The F.F.F. was guaranteed to ferret out any ferret.
“Hey, Mom, do I get any gear?” Milton asked.
“I’m sorry, but these evil-fighting tools are for superheroes only,” Mrs. Worthy said. “They’re not for superheroes’ sons.”
“Mom, look at it this way,” Milton told her. “If you give me a gadget and I help save the world, that’s a good thing. The chief couldn’t possibly be mad, right?”
Mrs. Worthy considered what Milton was saying.
Milton continued. “And if I don’t have anything, and the world explodes or something, the chief would be mad. Well, he’d be exploded. But right before exploding, he’d be mad. Right?”
Mrs. Worthy couldn’t argue with Milton’s logic. So she reached into her backpack and gave her son . . .
“A harmonica, Mom?” Milton asked. “What am I going to do, play ‘Hot Cross Buns’ and bore Noah out of hiding?”
“No, Milton,” his mother answered. “That may look like a regular harmonica, but in fact, it’s a superpowered megaphone. Speak loudly into that and people will hear you all over the park.”
“A har-megaphone? Coooool!” Milton said.
“But do not, do not, do not use it unless absolutely necessary!” his mother warned. “Believe me, it’s loud.”
“Okay, Mom. Thanks!” Milton said as he tucked the device into his pocket.
Mrs. Worthy flipped the switch on her Fabulous Ferret Finder hair scrunchie, and it started beeping. She took a step forward and it beeped louder. Another step, louder. Then she turned to the right. Softer. She turned around to walk in the other direction. Louder.
She and Milton continued on that path until the loud beeping was replaced by a ding-ding-ding. Mrs. Worthy looked up and noticed that the scrunchie had led her to the business headquarters of Super Fun World.
“My Fabulous Ferret Finder says Noah is inside this building,” Mrs. Worthy said. “But why?”
“Gee, Mom,” Milton replied. “Maybe that’s where they keep the video equipment that Noah needs to use to put your picture on the big screen. He might be uploading it right now.”
Mrs. Worthy thought about that. Then she said, “Milton, give me the har-megaphone.”
Milton didn’t understand why she wanted it. He thought perhaps he was in trouble for something. But that wasn’t the case at all.
Instead, Mrs. Worthy put the har-megaphone far in front of her mouth and said softly, “Noah, come out here. We’ve got you cornered.”
But when Noah did come outside, he just blew them a sinister kiss and then scampered off.
“Let’s get him!” Milton shouted.
But Mrs. Worthy didn’t chase after the ferret. Instead, she led Milton into the building and found the video control center.
Milton was right. Noah had uploaded the photo, and it was set to display on the big screen at 8 p.m. . . . right before the fireworks!
“I’m afraid the photo is already programmed in, and it’s set to be shown at eight,” Mrs. Worthy said. “I’m doomed.”
“Doomed, Mom?” Milton asked. “I don’t think so! Follow me!”
Milton escorted his mother out of the building.
“Where are we going?” she wanted to know.
“There’s only one thing better than having a Fabulous Ferret Finder,” Milton told her. “And that’s having a genius son. I am one hundred percent sure I know where Noah is.”
With his mom following, Milton led the way to the main stage, just outside Princess Monica’s Castle.
“This is where they’re going to show my picture and ruin my superhero life,” Mrs. Worthy said. She pointed to the giant video screen above the Super Fun World stage.
“Right, Mom,” Milton agreed. “But . . . if Noah set that up, he’s certainly going to want to watch it, right?’
“You’re right, Milton. There he is!”
It was almost too easy. Noah was reclining on a park bench, staring up at the video screen with gleeful anticipation!
Milton and his mom tiptoed up behind Noah.
“Good thing I brought along my P.E.C.K.,” Mrs. Worthy whispered.
“Yeah, definitely, it sure is,” Milton whispered back, before adding, “What in the world is a P.E.C.K.?”
“My Portable Emergency Cage Keeper, of course,” Mrs. Worthy responded. “You grab Noah, and I’ll toss the self-opening P.E.C.K. onto him!”
“Okay,” Milton whispered. “On the count of three?”
“No, two,” his mother said. “At the Society of Substitutes, we know that time is of the essence. We always act on the count of two, since in a true emergency, there may not be time to count to three.”
“I could have counted to twenty-six during that explanation, Mom,” Milton pointed out. “But okay, let’s do it on the count of two. One . . . two!”
Mrs. Worthy jumped into action. And before Noah knew what was happening, he was safe and secure in the P.E.C.K.
The ferret squirmed. He curled. He twisted. But it all did no good; he quickly realized that he was trapped!
Noah was furious, but he knew that Mrs. Worthy couldn’t do anything to stop her photo from being shown on the big video screen. He also knew that she knew that, and he knew that she knew that he knew that she knew that.
Mrs. Worthy had to find a way to stop her photo and superhero identity from being dis-played on the video board. As she thought about what to do, Milton offered some suggestions.
Milton wasn’t sure what he’d said, but he was glad his mother liked it.
Mrs. Worthy pointed to the stage right below the video screen. She told Milton to wait for his dad and sister, then bring them to meet her backstage. She kissed her son, then ran off with Noah in the P.E.C.K.
A few minutes later, Milton’s father and Amy came by. Having visited Mr. Chicken’s Hilarious Henhouse 117 times, Mr. Worthy now walked like a chicken. In fact, it was more like a barnyard dance than a walk. What’s more, he struggled to speak, and clucked out his words instead. He told Milton:
Milton laughed. He laughed again when Amy clucked out the same message.
Milton then led his poultry parent and baby chick sister to the backstage area.
With Noah safely tucked away in the P.E.C.K., Mrs. Worthy quickly described her plan to her husband and daughter. She said:
“Don’t ask questions, just please do what I ask. I need to distract the large crowd. I’m thinking we could perform the song we did for the family talent show at Milton’s school. It was a big hit! Does everyone remember the lyrics?”
“Cluck,” said Mr. Worthy.
“Cluck, cluck,” said his daughter.
“Oh no!” said Mrs. Worthy.
“Mom,” Milton explained, “I think Dad and Sis spent a little too much time in Mr. Chicken’s Hilarious Henhouse.”
“Cluck 117 times cluck-cluck,” Mr. Worthy confirmed.
“I don’t think they’re going to be able to perform our big talent show song,” Mrs. Worthy observed sadly.
“You might be right,” Milton said. “But, Mom . . . what could be more distracting than a man and his daughter clucking around onstage?”
“Milton, you are a triple genius,” Mrs. Worthy said. Then she noticed that it was 7:58 p.m.; just two minutes before her superhero picture was going to be shown onscreen.
She grabbed the har-megaphone and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome tonight’s mega-talented special guests, The Chicken Family!”
Mr. Worthy led the family onstage. He was walking like a chicken and clucking. Amy was doing the same. So were Milton and his mom.
They danced and clucked. They clucked and danced. It was a crazy sight. A crazy, crazy, crazy sight. And it didn’t merely distract the crowd from looking at the screen—it sent them scurrying toward the Super Fun World exits.
When the clock struck 8 p.m., Mrs. Worthy’s superhero photo was indeed shown on the screen. But the good news was . . . there was absolutely no one there to see it.
Problem solved. So Mrs. Worthy took Noah, her son, and their two chicken-y relatives back to the Super Fun World Hotel.
Once they arrived, Mrs. Worthy asked Frank the polar bear bellhop to collect their bags from the storage room. In a flash, he brought their suitcases and Noah’s empty cage into the lobby.
As her husband and daughter clucked and pecked water from the fountain, Mrs. Worthy carefully put Noah back into his cage. Then she folded up the P.E.C.K. and put it away, hoping she wouldn’t need to use it again.
Just then, Ira walked by. He looked at Noah in his cage and screamed out, “Just as Grandpa said! Leave them alone and they’ll come home, wagging their tails behind them!”
No one knew what Ira meant. Besides, everyone was trying to figure out what to do about the two chicken-people who were now bathing in the fountain.
Compared to that first day, the rest of the vacation was quiet. Mr. Worthy and his daughter woke up just fine the next morning. No chicken-y behavior at all, though for some strange reason, Mr. Worthy suddenly enjoyed licking his fingers.
With Noah securely locked in the Megabolt-5000, the Worthy family spent a super fun week going on rides (not the Henhouse). They played games. They saw fireworks and shows. And they all had a blast.
The vacation week soon ended, as all vacation weeks do. And on the ride home, with his dad and Amy sound asleep in the back seat, Milton was curious about something.
“Hey, Mom,” the boy asked. “How come you really wanted to keep your superhero identity a secret?”
“Good question, Milton,” she said. “If Noah had exposed me as a real superhero, it could have prevented me from performing my future duties. Stopping bad guys—or bad ferrets, in this case—in their tracks requires the element of surprise. Being known as a superhero would take away any chance of that surprise. Get it?”
“I think so, Mom,” Milton told his mom.
“Remember, son,” Mrs. Worthy added, “to the world, I am a regular substitute teacher. It’s only when needed that I become a superhero.”
“Got it, Mom.”
“I can never allow anything to reveal that I am a superhero, son,” Mrs. Worthy said. “Nothing at all.”
Then she checked that her husband and Amy were still sleeping and put the SUV into SuperTurboDrive. It soared high above the highway and the trees and landed in the Worthys’ driveway within minutes.
Back at Beacher Elementary School on Monday, there was a funny sign from Mrs. Baltman put up in Room 311B. It read:
Milton thought that sign was hilarious. But the ferret he was carrying didn’t laugh one bit.
Milton told all his friends what a great time he had at Super Fun World. He made it sound like the best week ever.
The more Milton raved about Super Fun World, the madder Noah got. After all, Noah knew the truth. He knew he had escaped. He knew that Mr. Worthy and Amy had spent hours acting like chickens. And he knew he’d had a foolproof plan to expose Mrs. Worthy as a superhero (well, an almost foolproof plan).
Noah was too angry to chitter or chirp. Instead, he just sputtered some sinister sounds to tell the world that, without question . . . this wasn’t over. This wasn’t over at all.
The end.
(For now.)
Super Awesome Games
Think
Milton loves going on rides. If there are thirty-five rides at Super Fun World and Milton and his family are there for a whole week, how many rides does Milton have to go on every day in order to ride them all?
Feel
In the story, the family has to go onstage to foil Noah’s plans. Can you think of a time that you had to talk in front of a big group of people? Write about what happened and how you felt after.
Act
Milton’s dad and his sister, Amy, don’t like scary rides. What’s the biggest, scariest amusement park ride you’ve ever gone on? Draw a picture of the ride.
About the Author and Illustrator
Photo © Andrew Katz
ALAN KATZ has written more than forty books, including Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs, The Day the Mustache Took Over, OOPS!, and Really Stupid Stories for Really Smart Kids. He has received many awards for his writing, and he loves visiting schools across the country.
Photo courtesy of Alex Lopez
ALEX LOPEZ was born in Sabadell, a city in Spain near Barcelona. Alex has always loved to draw. His work has been featured in many books in many countries, but nowadays, he focuses mostly on illustrating books for young readers and teens.
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Copyright
S.O.S.: SOCIETY OF SUBSTITUTES #4: SUPER FUN WORLD. Copyright © 2021 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harperchapters.com
Cover art © 2021 by HarperCollins Publishers
Cover art by Alex Lopez
Logo design by Andy Smith
Cover design by Corina Lupp
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021939632
Digital Edition NOVEMBER 2021 ISBN: 978-0-06-290945-9
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-290944-2
ISBN 978-0-06-290943-5 — ISBN 978-0-06-290944-2 (pbk.)
21 22 23 24 25 PC/LSCC 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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Alan Katz, Super Fun World
