Life In The Gumball Machine – Vinnie And Gordy’s Return

by Maureen Bartone

  Violet didn’t care about the bizarre storm, or the blue, pink, and green lightning, or the loudest thunder she’d ever heard, or even the darkness. This was by far the coolest thing she’d done−ever!

  Once they’d neared the top of the gumball world and could almost touch the glass globe directly above them, Cecilia shouted to the children.

  “Get ready to let go!”

  31

  The Wait

  ALL WAS QUIET in the hot shed. Sitting on the dusty floor, Daisy and Michael leaned against the back wall, waiting for a sign−any sign−from their friends up in the gumball machine. Sammie’s head was cradled in Daisy’s lap, his eyes closed, and his body motionless. Daisy wiped a dot of perspiration from his forehead.

  The minutes passed and she was starting to worry. She turned to Michael.

  “How long have they been up there?”

  Michael looked at his watch. “It’s two-thirty. They’ve been gone about an hour.”

  She shook her head. “Ugh! I don’t think I can wait another hour. I’m really worried about Sammie. He hasn’t moved since they left.”

  Though Michael was just as worried, he tried to be brave.

  “I know. But I say we wait. Sammie isn’t any worse, and he’s sleeping. So, after another hour, I’ll put the nickel into the machine, and we’ll see what happens. If something goes wrong, we’ll get Sammie back home to your mom and dad.”

  Daisy straightened her back. “If something goes wrong? We’d better hope nothing goes wrong. We need to get them back home, Michael. What will we do if they don’t come back?”

  She took a deep breath as tears welled in her eyes.

  “Daisy. You need to stay positive. It’ll be fine,” Michael said. He gave her a small smile.

  “Okay. You’re right. I mean we know Sammie’s not really sick, right? He’s only sick because Vinnie is sick. I don’t quite understand what ‘cool’ magical thing happened between the three of them, but at this moment, it’s not cool at all.”

  Michael shook his head. “Not cool at all.”

  “Maybe someday−or maybe even today−we’ll understand. But now … ” She shook her head. “It’s almost too much to take.”

  After a few more minutes of silence, a noise from the gumball machine startled them. They were already backed against the wall of the shed, so all they could do was pull their feet in closer to their bodies.

  “What was that?” Daisy asked.

  “Something’s going on up there,” Michael said. He got on his knees and crawled closer, hoping to see something.

  “Be careful,” Daisy whispered.

  “I will.” Michael got to his feet and Daisy followed him. “Don’t touch it,” he said

  “Duh.”

  Without getting too close, they pushed out their necks to get a better look at the clear globe at the top of the gumball machine.

  “What the heck?” Michael said.

  They looked at each other and then back at the gumball machine.

  “It looks like some kind of storm,” Daisy said. “That can’t be good, Michael.”

  Michael took a long breath. “No, it can’t.” Then he pointed his finger. “Look! Did you see that?”

  “It looked like lightning−blue lightning!” Daisy said.

  Their mouths hung open as they stared. The whole globe was like a dark gray soup with black clouds swirling through it, covering the entire globe so they couldn’t see anything except for the occasional blue lightning.

  Michael raised his eyebrows as he pulled his head back. “Whoa. This is bad.”

  “Michael−what do we do?”

  He saw Daisy’s fear, so he tried to hide his. He took hold of her hands. “We wait. That’s the plan and we’re sticking to it.”

  Daisy shook her head and looked over at Sammie who was starting to stir.

  “Daisy−we’re sticking to the plan!”

  32

  Free-Fall

  HIGH ABOVE THE GUMBALL WORLD, Cecilia again ordered the three children to let go of the lightning bolt, but they refused. She grew impatient. They were not obeying.

  “I said let go!”

  The lightning bolt jerked up and down.

  Patrick shrieked. “W-h-a-t?!”

  Joe and Violet turned wide-eyed and looked at Cecilia.

  “Is she crazy?” Joe yelled.

  “No way! No way! Joe, I can’t jump. I can’t!” Patrick screamed.

  But before anyone could do or say anything, the tip of the blue lightning bolt where the kids were dangling started to dip. They felt their stomachs leap to their throats. Except for their tight grips on the lightning bolt, the rest of their bodies hung in the air, their legs kicking uselessly as they tried to hang on. In seconds, they felt their fingers slipping.

  Patrick was the first to fall. Joe and Violet heard his high-pitched scream fade as he fell farther and farther below.

  “A-a-h-h!”

  Violet was next. This time, she wasn’t laughing. Her piercing scream was the last thing Joe heard before she disappeared into the darkness.

  “A-a-h-h!”

  Though he grunted and gasped, Joe knew it was useless. He was going down. His fingers burned as they slipped a bit further. He tried to tighten them around anything he could grab and tried to calm his breathing. His heart pounded in his ears as he slipped again and his fingers lost the battle. His body fell back and rushed downward. His feet and arms flew out in front of him, and his stomach jerked up toward his throat.

  “A-a-h-h!”

  It was a free-fall through a darkened sky. He turned his head in different directions but saw nothing. Only blackness. The roaring in his ears was an endless explosion.

  This won’t end well.

  He thought about his mom and dad, his sister Daisy and his little brother Sammie. Would he ever see them again? His tears blew away in the wind.

  THE FREE-FALL THROUGH THE BLACK SKY seemed endless. Patrick, Violet, and Joe grew tired of screaming and let their voices turn to small rattles and whimpers. The darkness consumed them. They couldn’t even see their hands in front of their faces. As the marshmallow-rain continued to pelt their bodies, the velocity of their fall increased. Their hands and legs twisted in furious circles as they fought for air.

  Patrick cried as he wondered how much longer it would be before he finally crashed. His stomach seemed to have rammed into his throat and it was so hard to breathe. That scared him more than anything. He couldn’t take much more.

  After a few minutes, he noticed the sky had brightened a bit. The blackness turned to gray and the marshmallow-rain turned to mist. Best of all, they could finally see their surroundings. Below them, they saw trees, purple grass, and tiny houses that dotted the landscape. But everything was coming up way too fast.

  Their screaming reignited as they saw the ground speeding up to greet them.

  “A-a-h-h!”

  Strangely, Patrick fell the fastest. He could now see that Violet was directly above him. He couldn’t see Joe, but he heard his screams, so he knew he was on his way down too. Patrick scanned the area below. Things were starting to look familiar, and directly below him, was Pudding Hill!

  Oh please let me land in the pudding pond!

  He knew if he landed in the pudding pond, the thick, pink, gooey pudding would soften the blow. He could almost smell the strong scent of bubblegum.

  “P-l-e-a-s-e!”

  Patrick’s screams were heard by no one as he plummeted−swirling and flip-flopping down … down … down. Unfortunately, he didn’t land in the pudding pond.

  Instead, some strange force twisted his body and he took a sharp left turn.

  No! I never can catch a break!

  After that turn, he fell straight down, zooming faster than ever, and then−boom! He landed hard and felt his glasses come loose from his head. He reached out and caught them. They jiggled and bounced around in his fingers until he was able to get a good grip on them. He didn’t put them on because he knew w
hat was in store up ahead.

  Though he couldn’t see as well without his glasses, Patrick knew that he was right back where he was exactly twenty-four hours earlier−at the top of the Pudding Hill slide. The pink, sloppy pudding underneath him helped him slip and slide and made him swirl, as his twisting and turning speed-ride began once again.

  Yesterday, he was so afraid to jump onto the slide, he almost didn’t do it. Now, it was as if it was the easiest thing he’d done all day. He was so relieved to be on solid ground and not free-falling from the sky, that this time, he decided to relax and enjoy the ride.

  As he flew around the curves of the slide, he felt his thin hair blowing behind him as the squishy pudding under his body rushed him down and around. The wind roared in his ears as he watched the colorful gumball trees whiz by on either side of him.

  Shortly after Patrick’s ride began, he heard a loud banging noise and felt the slide shake and wobble from side to side. He cranked his head up and sideways and saw Violet on the slide above him sliding and swirling down and around.

  How could we both land on this slide and not on the ground?

  VIOLET’S HARD LANDING took her breath away.

  “Ugh!”

  She wasn’t sure, but she assumed she was on Pudding Hill. She reached down and touched the pink, sticky stuff she was sitting on and brought it to her nose. It smelled like bubblegum.

  Yep. This is Pudding Hill. Thank goodness I made it!

  She saw Patrick up ahead and called out to him.

  “Patrick! Are you okay?”

  Patrick turned his head to look up at her. He gave her the thumbs-up and turned back to face forward.

  Okay, that’s good. Violet’s safe. Now, come on Joe. You’re next.

  It wasn’t long before Patrick and Violet felt the pudding slide rumble and thunder as Joe’s large body landed on it directly behind them. Patrick gulped a huge breath.

  Okay. We’re all safe. Excellent!

  Now it was time to focus on the ride down. Patrick’s hands were shaking and his nerves were like jelly. He was so relieved that that was over, but this crazy journey in the gumball world never seemed to end, because now they were racing down this slide at top speeds!

  BEHIND PATRICK, Violet breathed a sigh of relief. She was so glad they all made it safely from the free-fall, it didn’t matter what happened next. They were all on solid ground−well sort of. She breathed deeply as she tried to calm her nerves and take in her surroundings. The sky continued to lighten and she could see a forest of gumball trees racing past her on either side. She relaxed and started to enjoy herself. It felt like a ride at the amusement park. She finally felt more at home and started laughing and even cheering again.

  “Whoo-hoo!”

  Her braid flew and bounced behind her as she giggled and laughed.

  “This is the best day ever!”

  AS JOE LANDED on the slide, he felt pain in his backside. His heavier weight forced him to land hard. He felt his whole body jolt−even his teeth−but he didn’t care about the pain. He was so relieved to have landed and still be alive!

  What just happened? Was I actually on a lightning bolt with a crazy green peacock? How did I end up on this sticky, gooey slide?

  He wasn’t sure, but he assumed this slide-thing they were on was the pudding slide everyone had been talking about.

  He frowned as he swirled down and around the pudding slide. This trip was pointless if they didn’t have the gumball dudes. Without them, they couldn’t fix their cracked shells in the pudding pond at the bottom of this slide, which also meant Sammie wouldn’t get fixed either. Joe thought about his little brother and wondered how he was doing back home.

  33

  Sammie

  IN THE DIM SHED, Daisy paced the short distance from one wall to the other, while Michael sat on the dirt floor, wiping the dust off his legs. He’d never been so bored. He looked over at Sammie. His eyes were closed and his breathing steady. He looked peaceful.

  After walking back and forth a few times, Daisy walked over to the gumball machine, bent forward and crooked her ear to listen for any more signs of activity. After the storm, the globe had cleared and they could once again see the gumballs surrounding the glass.

  She turned to Michael. “Nothing new.”

  Her stomach was twisted in knots. She was about to give in and insist they take Sammie home, when his little body straightened and stiffened, and then his leg jerked. Sammie then sat up and called out Joe’s name. Daisy jumped back and Michael got to his knees and took two steps away.

  Sammie looked at Daisy and Michael, smiled, and laid back down, his eyes closed.

  “Michael−what is wrong with him?!”

  The whole incident was over quickly and Sammie once again was still, but Daisy lost her control.

  She put her hands to her cheek. “What was that all about?” she asked. “This is bad. Very bad!”

  “I’m not sure what just happened,” Michael whispered. “I think he’s dreaming. I mean, he called out to Joe. That has to be all it is. Just a dream. He looks okay now.”

  They crept toward Sammie who was, once again, motionless.

  “Make sure he’s breathing,” Daisy said.

  Michael put his hand in front of Sammie’s face and felt his warm, steady breathing.

  “Yep. He’s fine. I’m telling you, it was just a bad dream.”

  “I hope you’re right. That was weird.”

  They sat down next to Sammie, unsure of what was going on, or what they should do.

  “What time is it now?” Daisy asked.

  Michael looked at his watch. “Three o’clock. We’re getting there. Just a little bit longer.”

  Daisy sat down beside Sammie. She took his hand and watched him sleep.

  “I hope it goes quickly.”

  34

  The Toss

  HIGH ABOVE PUDDING HILL, Cecilia soared, humming a beautiful melody that filled the sky and brightened the gumball world. As the sun appeared from behind the dark clouds, the drooping flowers and trees stretched toward it. Cecilia positioned the lightning bolt in a downward direction, as it sped toward the ground. Her brightly colored feathers blew behind her. She leaned forward and continued to sing as she headed toward Pudding Hill to deliver her two sickly gumball passengers.

  ON PUDDING HILL, Patrick thought he heard music as he sped down the swirling slide. He looked up and saw Cecilia on her lightning bolt. She was headed straight for him.

  Uh-oh!

  He wanted to run, but he was still sliding around and down with no way of stopping or getting off. The lightning bolt closed in on him as Cecilia’s singing grew louder.

  Oh boy. She’s coming back for me!

  He wiggled and scrunched and ducked down into the slide, but it was useless. He couldn’t hide. The lightning bolt was flying right above him. He put his hands to his face and braced his body for pain. Just when he thought the lightning bolt would crash into his body, it stopped and hovered directly above him−and then followed him as he continued his ride.

  He lowered his hands and looked up. After a second or two, he saw something roll over the edge of the lightning bolt and fall through the sky. It was big and round and gray.

  Oh my gosh! She’s throwing Vinnie at me!

  As the gray blob continued to plummet toward him, Patrick saw arms and feet sticking out of it. Yep. It was definitely Vinnie. And it wasn’t tiny Vinnie from back home. It was life-sized Vinnie heading straight for him!

  Closer … closer …

  Boom!

  Cecilia had made the perfect drop. Vinnie, still unconscious, landed hard, right in Patrick’s lap, crushing the breath out of him. Still clinging to his glasses, Patrick wrapped his arms around his gumball friend’s large waist. He looked down to see Vinnie’s closed eyes and his lifeless and cracked body. He thought about Sammie, who must be in the same terrible condition.

  Patrick snapped to attention. He was in charge. He had to do this right. He knew
he couldn’t lose his grip on Vinnie as they entered the pudding pond, because otherwise, Vinnie would sink and drown. He could not let that happen. Vinnie and Gordy−and Sammie−were counting on Patrick to step up, stop being afraid, and take charge−for once in his life.

  I can do this. I’m not a baby anymore. I’m eleven years old and I am not afraid!

  He felt his legs turn to rubber and knew he couldn’t just tell himself to be brave. The trick was to face the fear and do it anyway.

  Don’t run away. Plow through.

  He’d heard that once−from his dad.

  As he neared the pudding pond, he felt calm and confident. He looked to the sky just as a flock of colorful gumball birds flew overhead. He concentrated on them, listened to Cecilia’s beautiful melody which filled the gumball sky, and took deep breaths. He now knew he could do this.

  From above him, Patrick heard Violet’s joyous laughter as she swirled around the pink, sticky slide. He couldn’t understand her fearlessness, but he admired it. Maybe that was why he had a crush on her, but he couldn’t think about that right now. He had to focus and concentrate if he was going to save Vinnie, Gordy, and Sammie.

  DIRECTLY ABOVE VIOLET, Joe was freaking out. He was amazed at the speed he was traveling. The strong wind roared in his ears and took his breath away as he felt himself go airborne and then crash back down, as he twisted and turned, down and around. The slide was a little tight for him, but he knew to keep his hands and feet inside. He was going so fast that, at times, he felt himself hovering just above the slide and then−crash−he was back down again. After a while, he heard singing coming from high above. It was beautiful and it helped him relax and enjoy the sticky ride.