Lost and Found

by Jarrett Lerner

  Welcome to ALADDIN QUIX!

  If you are looking for fast, fun-to-read stories with colorful characters, lots of kid-friendly humor, easy-to-follow action, entertaining story lines, and lively illustrations, then ALADDIN QUIX is for you!

  But wait, there’s more!

  If you’re also looking for stories with tables of contents; word lists; about-the-book questions; 64, 80, or 96 pages; short chapters; short paragraphs; and large fonts, then ALADDIN QUIX is definitely for you!

  ALADDIN QUIX: The next step between ready to reads and longer, more challenging chapter books, for readers five to eight years old.

  For Greg and Jim, friends as good as any

  Cast of Characters

  Geeger: a very hungry robot

  DIGEST-O-TRON 5000: a machine that turns the food Geeger eats into electricity

  Fudge the Hamster: Ms. Bork’s class pet

  Ms. Bork: Geeger’s teacher

  Tillie: a student at Geeger’s school, and Geeger’s first new friend

  Arjun, Olivia, Mac, Sidney, Suzie, Gabe, Roxy, Raul: other kids in Geeger’s class

  1 Meet Geeger

  Geeger is a robot. A very, very hungry robot.

  Geeger was constructed in a laboratory by a team of scientists. Then he was sent to a town called Amblerville. There, Geeger eats all the food that the rest of the townspeople don’t want.

  Rotten eggs, moldy bread, mushy fruit—you name it!

  Geeger has a brain, just like you. The only difference is that Geeger’s brain is made up of wires. Your brain, meanwhile, is made up of… well, gooey brain stuff.

  Most of the time, Geeger’s brain tells him to do just one thing:

  EAT! EAT! EAT! EAT! EAT!

  At the end of every day, Geeger plugs himself into his DIGEST-O-TRON 5000. The machine sucks up all the food that Geeger has eaten and turns it into electricity. The electricity then helps power the town!

  Now and again, Geeger gets confused and eats things he’s not supposed to.

  Like forks.

  And batteries.

  And toaster ovens.

  When Geeger does that, the DIGEST-O-TRON lets him know. The machine’s lights flash. Its sirens scream. WEE-oOoOo! WEE-oOoOo! WEE-oOoOo!

  Not too long ago, Geeger started something very new. He enrolled in school!

  Geeger has now been going to Amblerville Elementary School for two whole weeks. That’s not very long—but Geeger has already learned LOTS.

  For instance:

  Geeger has learned that Amblerville is a town on the planet Earth, and that Earth spins in circles around the sun.

  He’s also learned that the sun and Earth are part of a galaxy, and that that galaxy is called the Milky Way—but not because there’s any actual milk in it.

  One other thing that Geeger has learned:

  It’s not just kids and teachers (and one robot!) who spend their days at Amblerville Elementary School. There are animals, too!

  Like Fudge the Hamster, Ms. Bork’s class pet.

  Geeger is a BIG fan of Fudge. The hamster is cute. And fuzzy. And cuddly. And sometimes, he climbs up Geeger’s arm and onto the top of the robot’s head. There, the little guy runs laps around Geeger’s light bulb. The hamster’s tiny, fast-moving feet always make Geeger’s wires tingle with delight.

  Also, Fudge has great taste in food. His favorite thing to eat is old, brown, mushy bananas. And Geeger loves old, brown, mushy bananas too!

  Something else that Geeger has learned is that being a student requires LOTS and LOTS (and LOTS!) of energy. Which means it’s more important than ever that Geeger starts his day off right with a good breakfast.

  And so Geeger screws a brand-new light bulb into the top of his head and makes his way to the kitchen.

  2 Breakfast Time

  Geeger goes bonkers as soon as he enters the kitchen. He sees all the buckets and barrels and cartons and containers of spoiled and rotten and stale and expired food gathered there.

  EAT! EAT! EAT! EAT! HURRY UP AND EAT! his brain tells him.

  So Geeger eats!

  First he has:

  three boxes of crackers (stale)

  six avocados (rotten)

  and

  two and a half pounds of sliced Swiss cheese (moldy)

  “ECK-sep-TION-AL,” Geeger says, slinging the last slice of cheese into his stomach. That’s Robot for “exceptional,” which means: yum!

  But Geeger is still hungry.

  So he eats a little more:

  15 pancakes (slightly moldy)

  nine apples (soft and mealy)

  and

  11 eggs (rotten and STINKY)

  “ECK-squiz-IT,” Geeger says, cracking the last of the nasty eggs and dumping it into his guts. That’s Robot for “exquisite,” which means: super yummy!

  But Geeger is still hungry.

  So he eats A LOT more:

  four grapefruits (moldy)

  one bag of spinach (wilted)

  two zucchinis (slimy)

  one can of kidney beans (expired)

  three cans of cannellini beans (VERY expired)

  one TV remote control (missing several buttons)

  seven peanut butter granola bars (stale)

  two boxes of cereal (staler than stale)

  and

  one pack of rice cakes (pretty much the stalest thing in the whole wide world)

  “ECK-stror-DIN-AIR-eee,” Geeger says. That’s Robot for “extraordinary,” which means: holy cow, was that yummy!

  Geeger slams the door to his stomach shut and is just about to declare breakfast a success and get ready to go to school.

  But then a strange feeling comes over him.

  It’s a feeling he’s been experiencing more and more lately, ever since he started going to Amblerville Elementary School.

  It’s a feeling that he might have accidentally just done something wrong.…

  Geeger looks around the kitchen.

  But nothing appears out of place.

  “HMMMMM…,” Geeger says. Which is just Robot for: hmmmm.

  All of a sudden, the light bulb on top of Geeger’s head blinks brightly.

  Geeger has an idea.

  Opening the door to his stomach, Geeger peers inside. And past the pancakes, over the avocados, and across from the cannellini beans, he sees it—a TV remote, missing several buttons and now splattered with rotten egg and cracker crumbs.

  If Geeger could blush, he would be blushing right now.

  He’s just glad he’s not at school, where Ms. Bork and all his classmates could see that he ate something he shouldn’t have—again.

  Geeger sets the TV remote on the counter. Then he tells himself that he shouldn’t be too upset. After all, he realized that he’d eaten something he shouldn’t have just a couple minutes after he did it. It could’ve been worse.

  It could’ve been WAY worse.…

  Not wanting to think these thoughts any longer, Geeger grabs his backpack and heads for the door.

  3 One Whole Week

  As soon as Geeger steps out his front door, he hears someone shout, “GEEGER! Over here!”

  Geeger looks up and sees Tillie. She’s waiting for him right there on the sidewalk, just like she has every day since Geeger’s first day of school.

  Tillie smiles, and the light bulb atop Geeger’s head twinkles and shines.

  “Goood MOR-NING, TILL-eee,” Geeger says. He joins her on the sidewalk, and together they make their way toward Amblerville Elementary School.

  “It is a good morning,” Tillie says. She grins up at Geeger. “And do you know why?”

  Geeger looks around. The sun is shining. There are a few big, white, fluffy clouds in the sky.

  The trees are bending in a gentle breeze, a
nd Geeger has his best friend in the whole entire Milky Way by his side. Geeger can think of several reasons why it is a very good morning.

  But before Geeger can share any of these reasons with Tillie, she throws her arms up into the air and declares:

  “It’s been ONE WHOLE WEEK since you ate something you shouldn’t have! That’s why it’s such a good morning. You should be so proud of yourself, Geeger. I’m so proud of you!”

  The light bulb atop Geeger’s head—which has been shining all this time—suddenly goes dark.

  Geeger can’t help but think about the TV remote that he accidentally shoved into his stomach earlier this morning.

  “Geeger,” Tillie says. “Is something wrong?”

  Geeger gives his head a shake, hoping to knock his unhappy thoughts out of it. Then he turns his attention to something very, very happy.

  “Loook AT THIS,” he tells Tillie, shifting his backpack so that he can reach into it. And out from the biggest pocket he pulls…

  … a pair of old, brown, mushy bananas!

  Tillie’s face lights up.

  “Are those for Fudge?!” she asks.

  Geeger nods.

  “He’s going to LOVE them!” Tillie says.

  “I hooope SO,” says Geeger.

  “I know so,” says Tillie.

  Geeger drops the bananas back into his backpack, feeling a bit better about the day ahead of him.

  4 A Pair of Bananas

  Ms. Bork’s classroom is already crowded by the time Geeger and Tillie get there.

  Together, the friends head for their cubbies to put away their backpacks. But before he tucks his backpack away, Geeger removes one of the two old, brown, mushy bananas that he brought to school.

  Geeger hides the banana behind his back, then starts toward the back of the room, to where Fudge the Hamster lives.

  On his way, Geeger high-fives Arjun and waves to Olivia.

  He fist-bumps Mac and smiles at Sidney.

  He says “HIII” to Suzie and greets Gabe.

  He low-fives Roxy and nods to Raul.

  And then, at last, Geeger arrives. He steps right up to the big glass case with the brightly colored, hamster-size tunnels jutting out of it.

  Fudge scurries over to the front of his case the second he spots Geeger. He rises up onto his back legs and says,

  SQUEEEEEAK!

  SQUEAK!

  Geeger grins at the hamster. He keeps his hand holding the old, mushy, brown banana behind his back, but reaches his other hand down into the case.

  Fudge climbs aboard and quickly scurries up Geeger’s arm and onto his shoulder. There, the hamster rises onto his hind legs and leaps, landing on the side of Geeger’s head and clinging to it with his itsy-bitsy claws.

  A beat later, Fudge is up on top of Geeger’s head, running laps around the robot’s light bulb. The sensation makes Geeger’s wires tingle. The big battery in his chest gets warm. He feels happy and calm.

  Finally, the hamster climbs back down and into his cage.

  At which point Geeger tells Fudge, “CHECK THIS ouuut.”

  Geeger pulls the old, mushy, brown banana out from behind his back.

  Fudge sees the piece of overripe fruit and starts zipping around in circles.

  He’s moving so fast, his paws kick up the wood shavings that his case is filled with.

  Geeger giggles, then unpeels the banana and breaks it in two. There’s now a hamster-size piece for Fudge and a robot-size piece for Geeger.

  Reaching back into the case, Geeger picks up Fudge. He holds on to the hamster while the fuzzy little guy nibbles away at the fruit.

  And even though he just ate a gigantic breakfast, Geeger can’t help but get hungry at the sight of the piece of banana resting in his other hand. Before he even realizes what he’s doing, he tosses the thing down his throat.

  “ECK-sell—” Geeger starts to say.

  But he doesn’t get the word out before Ms. Bork calls, “Okay, class! Time to start our day!”

  Geeger knows what that means. Two seconds later, he’s sitting in his seat. He has his notebook out on his desk and a pencil in his hand. He’s ready to start the day!

  Ms. Bork sees, and gives Geeger a smile.

  “Today,” she tells the class, “we’ll continue learning about the weather. Can anyone—”

  “EEEEK!”

  Everyone spins around to look at Suzie. She was the one who shrieked.

  “Suzie?” says Ms. Bork. “What’s wrong?”

  “Look!” she says, pointing at the hamster case. “Fudge is missing!”

  5 Chaos in the Classroom

  There’s chaos in Ms. Bork’s class.

  Everyone is up out of their seats and hurrying over to get a look at Fudge’s case.

  “Where is he?!” cries Arjun.

  “What do we do?!” shouts Raul.

  Tillie reaches into the case and sifts through the wood shavings.

  Roxy and Sidney search all the tunnels.

  Geeger stands apart from the others, feeling scared and sad and confused.

  “What if he gets lost and we don’t ever find him?” asks Suzie.

  “What if he gets into the basement and has to battle the mutant rats who live down there?!” asks Gabe.

  “Class!” calls Ms. Bork. “Quiet down, please.”

  It takes a moment, but then everyone is silent.

  Ms. Bork takes a deep breath.

  “First of all,” she says, “there are no mutant rats in the basement. And we will find Fudge. We just need to be logical about it. He was in his case when I got to school this morning. That was only twenty minutes ago. Did anyone see him after that?”

  “I checked to make sure he had water,” Olivia says.

  “I gave him a quick chin scratch,” says Mac.

  Geeger knows he should tell Ms. Bork that he visited with Fudge right before class started. But he can’t move. He can’t speak. He is frozen with worry and fear.

  Suzie clears her throat.

  “Yes, Suzie?” says Ms. Bork. “Do you have something to share?”

  “I…,” Suzie begins. “I saw Geeger feeding Fudge an old banana. It was just a minute ago.”

  Every pair of eyes in the classroom turns toward Geeger.

  “Geeger,” Ms. Bork says. “Is there anything you want to tell us?”

  “WELL…,” Geeger says. “I—I WAS feee-DING FUDGE A BA-NA-naaa. AND THEN I GOT HUN-greee. SO I HAD SOME BA-NA-naaa. AND I MUST HAVE LOST TRACK of TIME. CLASS beee-GAN. AND I… I DO nooot RE-MEM-BER. THE NEXT THING I knooow, I WAS AT myyy DESK.”

  The rest of the kids look around at one another.

  Then Gabe says, “Geeger… you didn’t eat Fudge, did you?”

  Before Geeger can react, Tillie nudges him aside and leaps in front of him.

  “Geeger would NEVER do that!” she shouts at Gabe. “Geeger loves Fudge more than any of us do! More than all of us COMBINED!”

  “Class, enough!” cries Ms. Bork. “Standing around pointing fingers is not going to help us find Fudge. If he was here just a minute ago, he can’t have gotten far. Quickly, now—everyone, look around for him.”

  Geeger still feels frozen.

  But Tillie takes hold of his arm and pulls him along.

  6 Geeger Gets an Idea

  The class fans out across the room, pairs of kids staking out different areas to search. Tillie yanks Geeger away from all the others.

  “I can’t believe they think you’d ever eat Fudge,” she hisses.

  Geeger doesn’t answer.

  Instead he taps a finger against the door to his stomach.

  “MAY-beee…,” he says. “MAY-beee, JUST IN CASE, weee SHOULD CHECK?”

  Suddenly, Tillie seems more upset with Geeger than she does with the other kids.

  “Absolutely not, Geeger,” she says. “There’s no need. You did NOT eat Fudge. You probably just forgot to put him back in his case.”

  Tillie looks up at Geeger like she’s waiting for him
to agree with her.

  So Geeger says, “PROB-UB-leee…” Even though he doesn’t totally believe it.

  Tillie turns to face the rest of the room.

  “Okay,” she says. “Let’s be logical about this, like Ms. Bork said. You look high, Geeger, and I’ll look low.”

  Tillie drops to her knees and begins crawling around on the carpet.

  She peers into the gap between the bottom of the bookshelf and the floor. She checks behind the bins where Ms. Bork keeps all her art supplies.

  She looks under every:

  • backpack

  • notebook

  • lunch bag

  • sweatshirt.

  Geeger watches her, feeling more scared and sad and confused by the second.

  “How’s it going up there, Geeger?” Tillie calls to him.

  “Ummmmm…,” Geeger says. Then he hurries up and gets searching.

  He examines each and every bookshelf, and even slides out some of the books to make sure Fudge didn’t somehow get behind them.

  He inspects:

  • the scissors bin

  • the glue stick bin

  • the construction paper bin

  • the crayon bin

  • the marker bin

  • the googly-eye-and-glitter bin.

  He scans all the desks nearby, lifting up notebooks and binders and pencil holders and papers in case Fudge decided to squeeze himself under there.

  But the hamster isn’t in any of those places.

  And none of the other kids are having any better luck.

  “He’s not in the coat closet!” calls Arjun.

  “Or in the floor mat cabinet!” Sidney adds.

  “I found that eraser I lost last week!” says Gabe. “But not Fudge…”

  One by one, all the kids turn to look at Geeger.

  Geeger knows what they’re thinking, because he’s thinking the same thing. The kids have searched just about every place in the classroom that a missing hamster could be—except for Geeger’s stomach!