Peter Carrot-top

  Chapter 10

  Fitting In

  All the kids in the classroom gathered around Peter

  and wanted to know what had happened, and what the creature

  looked liked. He explained to his friends what he'd seen,

  and then told Clara about the weird conversation Mr. McPhee

  and the figure had had. At first Clara, did not believe

  him, until Robert spoke up on his behalf. Clara was

  confused and amazed.

  "We must get to the bottom of this," said Clara.

  "I know, but it can only be between us friends," said

  Peter.

  In the group Peter included Millie, not only because

  she was a great person to be around, but her shades could

  see through walls, and she could become invisible. That

  would be a great asset to their gaining knowledge to find

  out what was going on in Baja.

  As the children rested, the bell rang; and it was time

  to go to their next class, which was Water Horse. Clara

  told Peter that he would love this class. He was very

  excited; if his next class was anything like his first few

  classes, he knew that he would have a lot of fun.

  Water horse racing was one of the school's most

  popular sports. Everyone wanted to take this class, but the

  price of a water horse was very expensive, and only a few

  hunters were trained to catch them. As Peter entered the

  classroom, everyone turned around and pointed, as they had

  now all heard about him. Peter was like a celebrity in his

  school, but he was very shy and modest about his celebrity

  status. Still, he played along with the game, hoping that

  the fascination of him saving Baja would soon end or wear

  off.

  Every child ran up to Peter for a photo shot, and an

  autograph. He forgot Clara was in the background as he got

  carried away. When he noticed this, he immediately

  acknowledged his friend Clara Cabbage. She was quite

  pleased with his announcement, and immediately began to

  blush.

  "Why do you want to hang out with a girl, when you can

  hang out with cool dudes like us?" said one of the children.

  "Oh! Shut up, Larry," said Clara.

  Larry was a tall skinny child, with his hair sticking

  out all over his head. His pants were ripped and he wore a

  big cowboy belt buckle. Larry was the son of Mr. Stewart,

  and because of this, he got away with too much. Many of the

  children thought he was cool, and wanted to hang out with

  him. Jamyra even had a secret crush on him, but so did most

  of the girls. Larry had no special powers or anything; some

  said that he was the "black rain" over Baja, but the

  children were not allowed to say that or they'd be sent to

  the office.

  Clara was still upset with Larry, and she opened her

  mouth wide and let her green slimy bugs attack him. All the

  children began to laugh. Larry was upset and went storming

  out of the classroom. Then the teacher walked in and

  immediately got the class quiet. She then stepped out to

  see what was the matter with Larry. In the meantime, the

  children wanted to know about the secret trip Peter and the

  others had gone on.

  Peter gladly explain what he got as a present, and

  showed it off to the classroom. Then Clara, Ben, Millie,

  and the others showed off their gifts. Some of the children

  were very jealous; not many of them got to see a different

  land that was so spectacular. Most of the time, the clock

  took them to a land of mammals and dinosaurs, or a land

  with only trees, or to something boring.

  Peter thought that it would be cool to see dinosaurs

  and plants, but the other children looked at him as being a

  nerd. Then the teacher walked back into the classroom and

  demanded that Ms Cabbage apologize to Larry. Clara did not

  want to do it, but to avoid going to Mr. Stewart's creepy

  office, she apologized with a fake smile on her face. Larry

  did not accept it, and this made Clara even angrier.

  "That was rude, Mr. Stewart," said the teacher.

  She then thanked Clara for apologizing and asked

  everyone to be seated and pay attention. She introduced

  herself as Miss Moon. To Peter, she was the prettiest

  teacher he had ever had. Her long blond hair, soft pale

  skin, deep blue eyes, and nice body were all stunning. What

  Peter didn't know was that Miss Moon made striking noises

  with her long nails to get the class' attention; it was

  like running sharp nails down the chalkboard.

  "Here it comes," said Clara.

  "What?" said Peter.

  Before Clara could tell Peter to cover his ears, Miss

  Moon ran her nails down the chalkboard, and the children

  were in tears. Peter could feel his eardrums shaking

  inside; his skin began to crawl and his eyes began to water

  up.

  "Oh! That hurts," said Peter.

  "Must you do that?" said Larry.

  Miss Moon introduce herself to Peter, and then Peter

  to the entire class; some children began to clap and others

  began to boo.

  "Oh! They are just jealous," said Clara.

  "Well I am glad to have a friend like you," said Peter.

  Clara smiled; then Miss Moon told the children to go

  and change for their next assignment, and then she told

  Peter she would show him his seahorse. Peter was so excited

  to see what his seahorse would look like; he ran into the

  boys' locker room and changed quickly.

  "Slow down, Peter, it is not that serious," said

  Robert.

  But Peter was too excited to negotiate with the boys.

  They began to jokingly tease Peter as he ran out of the

  locker room with his swimming trunks on backwards. The

  laughter filled the halls, and many of the teachers came

  out, ordering them to keep it quiet. Finally, Clara told

  Peter that his trunks were on backwards. He was so

  embarrassed; he began to blush until his face turned red.

  He ran as fast as he could back into the locker room to

  change, and came out within minutes.

  "Well done. I see you got it together," said Michael

  as he clapped his hands.

  "Enough," said Miss Moon, as she escorted the children

  to the swimming hall.

  Peter was so excited that he talked all the way there.

  "Blah, blah, blah, blah," said Sam as he made fun of

  Peter.

  But Peter did not mind, for he knew that Sam was

  nothing more than a bully. As the children got closer to

  the swimming hall, Peter could hear the sounds of the

  seahorses; in his mind, he was wondering which one was his.

  The children and their teacher came to a big golden door,

  and each child was scanned by a bright light.

  "What is that?" said Peter to Clara.

  She explained that the light checked them for any

  fleas or germs they could spread onto their seahorse. The

  seahorses were very delicate and anything could cause them

  to become sick and die. Clara explained to Peter that she'd

  already lost one horse.

  As the light went down the line, scanning everyone, i
t

  stopped on Sam, and nudged him out of the line. The flea

  detector light went off, and everyone began to laugh. Miss

  Moon had to tell Sam to sit this session out. He was very

  upset and began to hit the machine. Miss Moon called

  security and had Sam escorted to the principal's office. He

  did not go easily; he went kicking and screaming all the

  way down the hall.

  Everyone else passed the health test, and the golden

  door began to open. It was like seeing paradise; there were

  palm trees, coconut trees, the water was crystal clear, it

  was like a big manmade lake for millions of miles. There

  were caretakers in the water looking after the seahorses

  and feeding them. It was like a fantasy island, white sandy

  beaches, exotic creatures, and sunny bright skies.

  Peter fell in love with the environment right away.

  Miss Moon got the children in line to introduce Peter to

  his new seahorse. She asked him to cover his eyes until she

  told him to let go. Peter followed her command, and when

  she told him to let go, he could not believe his eyes.

  Standing in front of him was a bright orange seahorse, one

  that had never been seen before.

  This horse was purchased for Peter by his father. It

  had a big gold pedant with the initials P.C. and its

  pendant glowed in the sun. The seahorse was so beautiful

  that Peter was lost for words. The seahorse was strongly

  built, with big blue oval eyes, and weighed about 2000

  pounds. It had long orange hair on its tail and head, just

  like Peter. This seahorse looked to be between a seal and a

  dinosaur.

  Miss Moon asked Peter what he thought, but he was lost

  for words. He continued to take in big gulps of air, as he

  could not believe his eyes on how beautiful this creature

  was. He began to stroke the hair on the seahorse, and it

  giggled and rolled on its back like a dog. The seahorse

  began to wag its tail; wanting to play with Peter.

  "Play with me, Peter," said the seahorse.

  "It also talks?" asked Peter.

  "Yes, of course," said Michael.

  Clara explained to Peter that seahorses speak in

  bubbles; when the bubbles burst, that's when the sound and

  words come out. Peter waited and saw that his seahorse was

  letting out a huge bubble. He waited for the bubble to

  burst and then he heard the words, "Play with me."

  Peter was so impressed with his new pet that he wanted

  to play right away; but Miss Moon informed him that he had

  to learn how to feed, clean, and take care of his seahorse.

  Peter was up for the challenge.

  "Where do we began?" said Peter to Miss Moon.

  Suddenly, Miss Moon handed Peter a bag of smelly

  roaches; they were huge, weighing at least ten pounds, and

  big and ugly. Their bodies were filthy and slimy, their

  eyes looked like bat's eyes, and what an awful smell! But

  this was the seahorse's favorite meal. Everyone had to feed

  their seahorse at least fifty of these roaches. Peter's

  stomach began to turn and he quickly ran in the bushes to

  vomit.

  Clara came running toward him. "Are you okay?"

  Peter answered with a shake of his head, wiped his

  mouth and went back to class. The other children began to

  laugh, especially Michael and Larry. These two young men

  wanted Peter to fail, but he had a great backup plan; he

  had great friends in Clara, Millie, Robert, Ben, Zack, and

  Nicholas.

  His friends quickly gathered around him, showing him

  all the tricks to feeding his seahorse. The key to feeding

  a seahorse without smelling the roaches was to throw the

  entire disposable bag in the water. Clara let Peter know

  that the bags were made out of corn husks, and could be

  eaten by the animals and broken down by the environment.

  Peter was happy to hear this, and the class went on.

  Many of the children wanted to know where the rare

  seahorse came from. Miss Moon let the children in on the

  history of the orange seahorses, which are only born once

  every ten years, and are very rare to find.

  "Your Dad must have paid a lot for this," said Zack.

  Peter was kinda happy that he was the center of

  attention, but this time he did not forget to include his

  best friends. He and the rest of the children began to

  groom their seahorses and play with them for a while. Peter

  and his seahorse ran up and down the manmade beach, jumping

  in and out of the water. His horse always wanted to play,

  but Peter was tired; and the seahorse began to playfully

  splash him with water from its tail. Peter began to giggle

  and started playing again.

  "I think I will name you Bouncer," said Peter, and the

  seahorse clapped its seal-like fins and jumped back in the

  water to play again.

  Peter loved this school, he couldn't wait to go home

  and tell his family. Then for the first time, Peter

  realized that his family was off at war, and he began to

  worry. But, because Waldorf was so much fun, he let his

  worry slip away. Yet, in the back of his mind, his family

  came first.

  Nevertheless, it was time for the class to begin. Miss

  Moon ordered everyone to get on their seahorse and get

  ready to race. Michael did not like the idea of Peter

  having one of the most fancy and expensive seahorses

  around; so he talked with Larry to hatch a plan to make

  Peter come in last place. But, before the race began, Miss

  Moon pulled out a golden saddle for Peter to put on his

  horse. The saddle glowed with the Baja colors; the codes

  lit up on the saddle as they ran up and down the straps. It

  was almost mesmerizing.

  Peter gazed for a minute, and then came to his senses

  and threw the saddle up onto his seahorse. He noticed that

  even his initials were engraved into the saddle. This made

  Peter feel even more special, and the new saddle made his

  seahorse look even better. He was ready for the race, but

  Larry and Michael had other plans.

  Peter whispered in his seahorse's ear saying quietly,

  "Let's beat them!"

  The seahorse let out a loud scream, and the bubbles

  with the words, "You bet," came bursting out of his throat.

  This bonding was an amazing sight to see; Peter and

  his new seahorse Bouncer having the time of their lives.

  "On your mark, get set, go!" yelled Miss Moon.

  The race was off; Peter and his classmates were in a

  tight race. First, Clara would pull away, then Michael; but

  out of nowhere came Larry taking off so fast it was as if

  his horse was on a shooting star.

  Clara knew that Larry was cheating and yelled, "You

  cheater," and pushed her seahorse to run faster and faster.

  The obstacle course was so beautiful; the classmates

  had to race over high ocean waves, through caves, under

  waterfalls, and through swap lands. This was where Larry's

  seahorse slowed down; he had pushed his seahorse too far,

  and the seahorse was tired. So, like a mule w
hen it is

  pushed too hard; it stopped working and become very

  stubborn and unruly. Larry could not get his seahorse to

  move or even get up; it sat on the side of the swamp eating

  the leaves and bugs. Larry was very upset and began to kick

  the seahorse. It got up and ran off, leaving Larry stranded

  by the swamp. He watched as his classmates passed him,

  laughing.

  He shouted at Michael, "You better win for us!"

  But Michael was no match for Clara and her seahorse.

  She also had one of the rarest seahorses in Baja, and she

  treated her animal very well. In return, it treated her

  well by winning many tournaments.

  "Go, go!" said Clara as she shook the leash to her

  seahorse.

  Once again, Clara was in the lead, with Peter in

  second and Michael third. Over and under bridges of water,

  through mud holes and swamps; Clara managed to stay in

  first place. She could see the finish line ahead.

  "Just a little more to go," she said to her seahorse.

  Clara's seahorse mustered up more energy, and pulled

  away from the pack. Clara crossed the finished line first,

  and then Michael and Peter were a close tie. First Peter

  pulled away, then Michael, and at the last minute, Peter

  heard Clara, cheering him on, and he found the strength to

  make his seahorse move faster. Peter overtook Michael to

  come in second. Miss Moon was very amazed to see how well

  Peter and his seahorse adapted to their new environment. As

  Peter and Bouncer made it to shore they were greeted with a

  big hug by Clara.

  "I am so proud of you, Peter," said Clara.

  Miss Moon and the rest of the class gave Peter a warm

  hand clap. He was very proud of himself and began to blush.

  "Where is Larry?" Miss Moon asked.

  The children pointed toward the swamp, and Miss Moon

  sent the security fish to retrieve Larry. Security fish

  were half man half fish; they glowed with the secret codes

  of Baja all over their scaly skin. They had no feet, just a

  fish tail; their upper bodies were human and the lower

  torso was a fish. They were beautiful creatures, their fins

  soft as feathers, and they came in many shades of colors

  from yellow to green and in between. They wore an armor

  breastplate that said, "Waldorf Academy". The security fish

  went to get Larry; in the meantime, Larry's seahorse came

  swimming up fast; something was wrong. The seahorse was

  going too fast to stop; until suddenly it ended up on the

  beach, belly up. Larry's seahorse began to vomit and poop

  all over the place.

  "What a horrible smell," said Clara.

  Miss Moon and the remaining students went over to see

  what was wrong with Larry's horse. As the class and their

  teacher got closer, Miss Moon notice that Larry's horse was

  throwing up horse flies. They're big and black, with a

  mosquito-look and long suckers. But horse flies are also

  fed to seahorse when someone wants to cheat; they make the

  seahorse speed up too fast for its heart rate. With time,

  the horse collapses and dies.

  "I will see that Larry get suspended for this," said

  Miss Moon as she rubbed the sick seahorse's belly.

  Animal control was called, and they took the sick

  seahorse away. When the security fish brought Larry back to

  the beach with his other teammates, no one wanted to talk

  to him; not even Michael.

  "What have you done?" said Michael to Larry.

  Larry shrugged his shoulders as Michael asked him the

  question.

  "You know the rule of Baja, no living thing is to harm

  another," said Miss Moon, as she grabbed Larry by the ears

  and sat him in the sand in a corner by a palm tree.

  Miss Moon was so upset; she gave the children the rest

  of the class period to go over to the wacky Fun Factory.

  "Oh, Boy!" said the children as they jumped in the air

  with excitement and laughter.

  As the children got ready for their trip, Larry was

  being hauled off to the principal's office by his collar.

  "Let me go, now, I am going to tell!" said Larry to

  Miss Moon.

  Miss Moon did not care and continued to grab Larry by

  the ear and take him to the principal's office. The

  children began to laugh at Larry as they saw him acting

  like a big baby. As they laughed, Larry promised to beat

  them up after school; this got him into more trouble and

  made Miss Moon pulled on his ear harder. Down the hall,

  Larry shouted and threw a tantrum, but it was not fazing

  Miss Moon who continued to pull him to the office.

  "What is the wacky fun factory?" said Peter.

  Zack explained that it was the happiest place in Baja,

  and to get in you must have a pass, but a pass is six

  thousand barks.

  "That's $6,000 dollars in your world," said Ben.

  "Why so expensive?" said Peter.

  Ben and Zack explained to Peter that only the rich and

  famous with there families were able to go to the Wacky Fun

  Factory, because it was especially built for them.

  "The rich are very snobbish," said Zack as he pushed

  up his hands to his nose, showing how the rich turn up

  there noses at the less fortunate.

  Peter began to laugh and asked the boys how they would

  ever afford to get in. Ben explained that Waldorf academy

  gives away a few passes a year, and they were lucky this

  time to get one. But then Zack thought of the wish he'd

  made. He had golden tickets for him and his friends to

  enter any amusement park they ever wanted. He ran to his

  locker and searched for the tickets, and found them in

  between his books, as they let off a glow.

  Zack and his friends began to jump up and down, now

  they could afford to stay in the Wacky Fun Factory longer,

  because on a regular ticket time runs out, but on Zack's,

  they had unlimited time for him and his friends.

  "Come on, let's get Clara and Millie," said Peter.

  The gang went to get Clara and Millie to tell them the

  good news. They were so excited and began to jump up and

  down in the hallway, until a teacher told them to quiet

  down. The teacher's name was Mrs. Ghost, she taught anatomy

  on how to be a ghost. Peter and his friends quickly

  apologized and went on to the pit stop.

  The pit stop was a moving machine that would take them

  to the Wacky Fun Factory. When Peter saw this contraption

  his eyes bugged out of their sockets.

  "Oh! That is so cool," said Peter.

  The pit was a runway made of candy colors; it was so

  long that the children could not see the end, and the

  cotton candy clouds blocked them from seeing what was up

  ahead. As the clouds finally moved, a tall skinny man with

  glasses and long blonde hair stood in front of them. Peter

  became frightened and held onto Zack.

  "Oh, you little girl, it's only Mr. Smorge, the

  factory operator," said Robert, as he laughed jokingly at

  Peter.

  Mr. Smorge was pale and had a peculiar look to his
<
br />   face.

  "And who do we have here?" said Mr. Smorge.

  "It's Peter Carrot-Top," said Ben.

  "The Peter Carrot-Top that the whole of Baja is

  talking about?" said Mr. Smorge.

  "Yes, sir," said Ben.

  "Well, step right up," said Mr. Smorge, as he pointed

  to a brown wooden treasure box.

  Peter was still afraid and hung tightly to his

  friends. The big treasure box opened up and a magical red

  carpet came flying out with a few of the Wacky Fun Factory

  helpers. They were all dressed in clown outfits with bright

  colors and hats to match. They brought the children

  balloons and treats.

  "Try these, it's our new candy, called Jolly bombs,"

  said Mr. Smorge.

  "What are jolly bombs?" asked Peter.

  Mr. Smorge explained that jolly bombs were mouth

  gushing, great tasting apple cherry flavored juice candies

  that turned a child's entire mouth different colors. When

  the children heard this, they ran up and grabbed handfuls

  of the new candy that was making its debut in the Wacky Fun

  Factory amusement park.

  First Peter's tongue turned green, then Clara's blue,

  Millie's was purple and the other children's were pink and

  black. But that was not all to the jolly bombs; from now on

  everything the children's lips and tongue touched would

  turn the color of their jolly bombs. Robert tried his out

  and took a bite of his pencil; it immediately turned black.

  Then Peter chewed on his shirt, and his white shirt went to

  green.

  "That is really cool," said Millie.

  The children began to jump up and down with

  excitement; this was the trip of a lifetime. They got to go

  to the park, and were the first ones to try out the new

  jolly bombs before they hit the Baja market. The children

  were so happy, and couldn't wait to see what the rest of

  the amusement park would have. They began to walk up the

  red carpet of the treasure chest, until they got to a

  golden door, where Mr. Smorge immediately appeared again.

  "How do you do that?" said Peter to Mr. Smorge.

  "Well, we're all ghosts, we can move in and out of

  everything. You should know that, Peter," said Mr. Smorge.

  Clara jumped in and told Mr. Smorge that Peter had

  been living in the land of the living humans, and was not

  too familiar with ghost attitudes.

  "Well, we will have to work on that," said Mr. Smorge.

  He then asked for the children's tickets, and when he

  saw the golden tickets, his eyes grew large.

  "Where did these come from?" said Mr. Smorge.

  The children explained, and immediately Mr. Smorge

  wanted to buy them, but they were not for sale; none of the

  children were willing to part with their tickets. When Mr.

  Smorge got to Jamyra and her friends, they just had regular

  tickets and Mr. Smorge told them that they were only on an

  hour's pass, and if they had the golden tickets that they

  would be able to stay as long as they wanted. Jamyra got

  upset and demanded that Millie give her ticket to her, but

  Peter jumped in and told Jamyra to get lost and Millie

  would not give up her ticket. Jamyra gave Millie an evil

  look and walked off.

  "I will get you, Millie Spoon," said Jamyra.

  Mr. Smorge explained to the children that whose names

  are on the golden tickets are the only ones who can enter

  on that card; so there was no need for Jamyra to get all

  upset. Millie would not give her the golden ticket.

  Nevertheless, the children were happy that they were going

  to the Wacky Fun Factory.

  "Come on, step right up, kids," said Mr. Smorge.

  The children ran up the stairs and onto the carpet. A

  great big golden door opened like the wings of a bird.

  Jamyra was the first in line; she handed the attendant her

  ticket, and was first through the doors. Then the remaining

  children followed. Inside, the children got on a moving red

  train, and the inside of it was nice and clean. The outside

  was candy apple red with shiny metal silver outlining

  everything.

  The children could hear the "choo-choo", and they

  watched as the train pulled away from the station. Then

  they were lost in the clouds and couldn't see anything; the

  academy was nowhere in sight. It was as if Peter and his

  classmates went into a time warp. The train catered to

  children and families; it had pink carpet, the interior

  walls were made of candy, and the ceiling was painted to

  look like a big bowl of chocolate pudding. It was so good;

  Zack was tempted to lick the walls! That was, until Mr.

  Smorge came by and tapped him on the head.

  "Ouch! That hurt," said Zack.

  "It was supposed to," said Mr. Smorge, as he kept a

  better eye on the children.

  Peter and his classmates could hear people talking,

  but didn't know where it was coming from. So, Peter made

  everyone be quiet so he could pinpoint where the voices

  were coming from. He put his ear to the wall, and heard the

  voices again.

  "It's coming from the wall!" he said.

  The others rushed over and began to listen; they

  couldn't believe that the walls were talking, but they

  were. Ben got in closer and removed a cookie display from

  the wall, and then peeled back the candy wallpaper. What he

  saw was unbelievable; there were tiny little people living

  in the walls!

  They were going about their daily lives as if

  everything was normal. The other children jumped over to

  see the tiny people. Then Mr. Smorge came by, but the

  children were so intrigued with their new finding that they

  didn't notice him behind them.

  "They are called Toonies," he said.

  The children jumped away from the hole, and went back

  to their seats; blaming everything on Ben. But, Mr. Smorge

  just chuckled and walked off.

  "What are the Toonies?" asked Jamyra.

  Mr. Smorge shouted back, "They are the oil that keeps

  this train moving to the Wacky Fun Factory."

  The children loved this adventure, and all the

  experiences they were having. Servers dressed in candy

  costumes began to bring them treats and snacks. Peter and

  his friends gobbled down the desserts and fruit snacks, but

  he couldn't help looking out the window. He noticed that

  the train was flying through the air!

  "This is impossible," he said.

  "What?" asked the others.

  Peter pointed out that the train was flying.

  "Oh! How cool is that?" said Clara.

  Off into the sky the train went like a big red rope

  winding through the air; while the children's faces were

  pushed up against the glass, looking out to see the skies.

  The red train flew through a burst of cotton candy clouds,

  all in different colors; there were blue, pink, red, black,

  purple and many more. The smell of candy filled the train;

  the children could almost taste the candy.

  The train went down tunnels made of candy canes, and

&nbs
p; flew through waterfalls made of milk; the entire land

  seemed to be made of candy. This was truly a wacky fun

  ride. Down on the ground, the children noticed Ferris

  wheels, rides galore, and an "all you can eat" candy sign.

  The children began to jump up and clap.

  Then a voice came on the train, "Quiet down, you

  brats!" it was Mr. Smorge.

  But Peter and his friends did not care; they just

  wanted to have the time of their lives, they could hardly

  keep still until the ride stop. As they were coming in for

  a landing, golden belts came out of the seats and strapped

  the children in.

  "Welcome to the Wacky Fun Factory," said a voice on

  the speaker.

  The children once again shouted and clapped, but this

  time they were not told to keep quiet. As soon as the

  golden belts release the children, they were up in the air

  and out of their seats waiting to un-board the train. Then

  little elves came on board with candy balloons and large

  lollipops. The elves were two feet tall and cuddly; they

  had on the golden Wacky Fun Factory cast member badge, and

  colorful uniforms. They began to sing the Wacky Fun Factory

  song.

  "Oh! Welcome to our world of joy, a world of toys for

  girls and boys; we welcome you to our land of dreams, and

  milky streams; with candy lands and little ant

  farms,"(singing).

  When the song was over, everyone began to clap and

  couldn't wait to un-board. Peter was the most excited of

  all his friends. The world of Baja was new to him, and he

  wanted to experience every minute of it.

  Then one of the elves came and announced, "Everyone

  with a golden pass step this way."

  Peter and his friends quickly stepped right on up. The

  short, stout little elf looked up at Peter and his friends,

  and scanned their golden passes over and over with the

  magical glasses that popped out of his head. On the inside

  of his glasses the word "authentic" floated off the ticket

  and onto his eyes.

  "These are authentic, let them go in," said the elf.

  But Jamyra, Michael, Steve, and Sam had to stay back;

  they only had a regular pass. Once again, Jamyra got upset

  and turned the elf into a block of ice. For this

  disruption, she was quickly handed over to the Wacky Fun

  Factory security guards, and sent back to Waldorf Academy.

  The guards were the most splendid thing Peter has ever

  seen. They walked around with golden shields that had

  different card symbols on them. One group was the ace of

  hearts, and another came by that read the king of spades.

  These guards never smiled or let their guard down. Their

  big helmets covered their faces and all one could see were

  their lips moving. Jamyra went kicking and screaming, as

  usual.

  "What an embarrassment," said Clara.

  The children then got a lecture on how to behave in

  public, by the senior elf. The speech went on and on, until

  the children were nodding off asleep, and then the elf

  stopped talking.

  "Okay, kids, this way," the elf pointed the children

  into the special magical cart that was only for people with

  the golden pass.

  Peter and his friends were excited, and then they got

  into a bubble gum pink cart that was driven by a large pink

  fluffy monkey. He had on a chauffeur's hat and a tight

  jacket. Peter was amazed to see the size of such a

  creature. The monkey chauffer greeted his passengers, and

  opened the door for them. The bubble gum cart was amazing

  inside. First, on the outside it was a shinny pink, and

  that carried into the inside. The interior smelled like

  bubble gum, and the seats were soft and cushiony plush. The

  mats on the floor were also made from the same type of gum.

  The children piled into the cart, and watched as it took

  off.

  "Hold onto your golden tickets, you will need them,"

  said the driver.

  The children held their tickets tightly, put them into

  their pockets, and latched them with their buttons. Now it

  was time for them to enjoy themselves. First stop was the

  Blue Mountain. The children jumped out, and off they went

  running. Blue Mountain was the place everyone wanted to be,

  it was made up of different levels of surfing, an easy,

  medium, hard, and very hard.

  Peter and his friends were first in line because they

  had the golden tickets; so they got special treatment

  throughout the day at Wacky Fun Factory. In line, Peter and

  his friends chose the medium surfing level. They put away

  their bags and changed after meeting up on the slope. They

  ran to the first wave.

  Blue Mountain was spectacular; there were large

  surfing waves, water so blue and crystal clear, and the

  medium level was so big that it could hold ten thousand

  surfers at one time. Peter and his friends were given

  special boards, each fit one of the children's

  personalities. Millie got a board that was all white with a

  big green bear engraved on the front, and it talked to her.

  "Cool," said Millie.

  Peter got an orange board with a fiery red outline. It

  was engraved with a lizard that also talked. Clara got a

  blue board that had little white elves that all talked.

  Robert got a black board that shot out different color

  stars, and Zack got a purple board that turned into a

  little submarine. Nicholas got a surfboard that was grey

  and it shot water up into the air like a water hose. And

  lastly, Ben got a yellow board that made big giant bubbles

  in the water. The first water bubble that he made was so

  huge that it caused a big tidal wave, but no one seemed to

  mind.

  Everyone was there to have fun, and since very few

  people get a golden pass, the children were more

  celebrities in their own rights. Peter was amazed to see

  all the different kinds of people and ghosts in the Wacky

  Fun Factory. There were people with fur, there were monkey

  people, there were small elves, there were reptile people,

  people that were half man half animal, there were visitors

  who looked like real ghosts, and so forth. Peter's mouth

  dropped open as he saw all the different groups of people

  living in harmony together and having a great time.

  "Close your mouth or you'll get flies," said Zack.

  Peter and his friends began to chuckle and then they

  took off to Blue Mountain. Peter could not get over the

  beauty of the mountain; the large palm trees, the giant

  birds that flew overhead, and the real lava volcano that

  oozed out green slime gum. It was great to be a kid in the

  land of the Wacky Fun Factory.

  There were thousands of people in the water, swimming

  and surfing, and just having a jolly old good time. Peter

  and his friends jumped into the water; they were all ready

  to surf. Pigeons came on a board surfing by. Clara's board

  began to talk and tell her how to surf. She was excited to

  hea
r her board talking, and put it up closer to her ear.

  The image talking was like a 3-D hologram. It told Clara

  and her friends to hit the waves, and so they did all.

  The children began to surface. Robert's black

  surfboard shot out stars, and the children in the water

  began to try and catch them. Zack turned his surfboard into

  a submarine and went under water where he saw large sea

  snakes with golden crowns on their heads, large plants that

  flourished on the bottom and blinked in many different

  colors and then shot the colors into the air causing great

  fireworks. Every time this happened, the crowd would cheer

  and jump up to catch the falling colors.

  Millie's board had a green bear, and when she touched

  it, the hologram awoke and took her by the hands; and began

  to surf with her. Peter's lizard hologram also came off of

  his board, and began to teach him how to surface; the two

  went flying through the air and riding the big waves.

  "Weeeeeeeee," said Peter.

  Meanwhile, Clara was followed by her army of hologram

  elves that came off of the surfboard to surf with her, and

  Nicholas programmed his surfboard to shoot water ten to

  twenty feet in the air. The crowd went crazy, the children

  had the entire park having more fun than normal, and Ben

  had his surfboard making giant water bubbles that burst in

  the air and water splashed all over the park. They created

  giant surfing waves.

  The children were having the time of their lives, but

  a few of their classmates were extremely jealous and felt

  that Peter, Clara, Millie, Robert, Ben, Zack, and Nicholas

  were having a much better time than they were. So Sam and

  Steve decided that they would steal two of the golden

  passes from their classmates and go through the park

  enjoying all the free things that they were getting.

  While Peter and the rest of his classmates were having

  fun, Steve and Sam went into the boys' restroom and took

  Peter and Robert's golden passes. Sam was the first to

  break into Peter's locker, and then he helped Steve to

  break into Robert's and not be seen. Steve let his foot

  grow large, and then give off an odor that was out of this

  world. The stench knocked out anyone who was at the door

  for a minute. This made them almost invisible, because when

  Steve's foot let off an odor, it was always followed by a

  green misty foam cloud, and the two could hide in the stink

  cloud. The two boys were happy that they had pulled off

  this heist, and began to give each other their secret

  handshake. Everywhere the two boys went, the stench was

  knocking out people for a minute.

  "Sam, I am so glad you are immune to my toe jam," said

  Steve.

  "No, I am not immune; I am holding my breath," said

  Steve as the two boys went laughing down the sidewalk of

  the park.

  The first place they stopped to use their golden

  passes was Blackberry's Ice Cream Shop, one of the largest

  shops in Baja. This was where tiny dwarfs made ice cream

  for the park attendees; and the two boys ordered ten scoops

  of blackberry ice cream, a yummy ice cream that was coated

  with black chocolate and red strawberries. The ice creams

  were over a foot tall, and Sam and Steve ate and ate until

  the ice cream began to melt all over their arms in the hot

  sun. The two boys had ice cream in their hair and all over

  their faces; with the golden passes, they were treated like

  royalty.

  Their next stop was the Browler Hole, which was a

  prehistoric town lost in a time warp that had been invaded

  by the human species. The town consisted of large holes,

  and in those large holes were different types of

  entertainment. There were plenty for the visitors to do;

  the town was untouched by time, it was perfect in every

  way. Fresh breezes, tall trees that ascended into the

  heavens, rocks that had different gods and spiritual

  leaders carved into them, and tall statues made of wood and

  stone. Everyone in the Browler Hole lived in harmony, with

  cobblestone streets and flowers that sang and sprayed

  fragrances into the air.

  Browler Hole was built by small pezzers, which were

  small two foot high red dwarfs. Their skin glowed with the

  Baja symbols and was covered in mud because they were

  diggers; they dug holes for a living. The pezzers were very

  kind to mankind, and in return for their protection and

  kindness, mankind was allowed to stay and live with the

  pezzers. This land was immaculate; there was no trash on

  the streets, the entire surroundings were clean and tidy.

  There were millions of tiny houses made of straw and

  mud; there were also life-sized shops and entertainment

  made for the visitors. This side of the park was very

  exclusive, and only members with a golden pass could enter.

  The two boys showed their golden passes and were

  immediately allowed into Browler Hole. The place itself was

  another park within a park. It was huge and had acre upon

  acre of land; Sam and Steve couldn't believe that they got

  into this exclusive park. The two boys began to make fun of

  Peter and his friends; laughing about how they would find

  out that their golden passes were missing.

  Browler Hole had a large watering hole; this was where

  the prehistoric fish and animals were seen. For the first

  time, the boys could see a bushel cat. It was being held

  down by ten hunters; it must have been at least two

  thousand pounds with a fluffy brown and white coat, paws

  the size of moving carts, and long tusks that curled up in

  the air. This animal was a cross between a cat, an

  elephant, and a pig.

  Sam and Steve ran up to see the creature; this was

  their first time laying eyes on such a magnificent beast.

  The lines were long, and Sam and Steve could not see too

  well; it was too bad that in here everyone had a golden

  pass. So, there was no special treatment. Nevertheless, Sam

  and Steve waited their turns to touch the creature. It was

  soft and fluffy, its fur blew in the wind, and the creature

  was very docile. The boys were allowed to hug and take

  pictures of themselves with the animal.

  But, the really fun part of Browler Hole was riding

  the "Goo Ride". It was a long slippery tar mud slide that

  slid the visitors for miles, up and down, through hoops and

  turns. The only thing needed for this ride was a tough

  bathing suit. Sam and Steve jumped in line and put the

  golden passes in their pockets; they were ready for the

  slipping to begin.

  Once in the line, each visitor was drenched in the goo

  to make slipping easier. Sam and Steve accepted the goo,

  and were thrilled to have black goo slime all over

  themselves. But, some of the parents in the park was too

  dainty to get dirty, and so were fine with having a great

  time with their children without going on the ride.

  Sam and Steve were having the time
of their lives.

  Down the slide they went, slipping and turning; their

  entire bodies drenched in black goo. This was a neverending

  ride that kept on going and going. The boys slid

  through rings of goo, then they went sliding down a steep

  mountain into a puddle of goo. Up and down turns, through

  and over hills; the screams of the boys were the sign that

  they were having fun. Steve and Sam were truly excited when

  they slid through different colors of goo; first there was

  blue, then yellow, then red.

  "Boy, this is fun!" shouted Sam as he slid by Steve.

  After about an hour sliding and playing in the goo,

  Sam and Steve got cleaned up and headed for Wally World,

  their elite status as golden pass members allowed them

  access to many of the exclusive areas of the park.

  "Off to Wally World," shouted Steve.

  The two boys were picked up in a shinning black flying

  carpet transportation that seated eight. The red carpet was

  laid out for the boys in the form of steps. One by one, the

  boys climbed until they were at the very top of the ride.

  In they jumped and showed their passes to the driver. A

  little tiny old man was the driver, and it seemed as if he

  could hardly see; he wore thick eye glasses that made his

  eyeballs magnified even bigger. Steve and Sam were a little

  nervous of the old guy driving them, and began to tease the

  gentleman.

  "Hey, old man, get us there safe, all right!" said Sam.

  But the driver never answered and spitefully slammed

  his foot on the pedal. Off the carpet ride flew, knocking

  Sam and Steve on their butts. The driver began to chuckle

  hysterically, while avoiding trees and huge flying bird.

  "Off to Wally World," said the driver.

  Sam and Steve were too busy hiding on the floor of the

  ride, fearing for their lives as the driver missed trees

  and birds by mere inches.

  Meanwhile, at the Blue Mountain water hole, Peter and

  his remaining classmates had had enough fun and were ready

  to move on. They turned in their surfboards and headed to

  the guest area to see where they could go next. The next

  place was Wally World, a land that was describe on the map

  as ten million feet up, and the only way to get there was

  by the magic carpet ride. The land was said to be the home

  of giants and their families; no humans had ever lived on

  that land.

  The map talked about the beautiful lagoons, and ribbon

  colored skies. There was much to do in Wally World; there

  were pit fights to watch, giant vs. giant, and there were

  sky rides where each person saddled up a fly fish and took

  to the skies. The first fish and its rider to cross the

  line would win a great prize.

  To Peter, this all sounded interesting. Little did he

  know that Robert's and his passes were gone. Peter and his

  friends had no idea of what was in store for them. As the

  children left Blue Mountain and proceeded on their way to

  the changing room, Michael casually walked over and began

  snickering at Peter and his friends.

  "Where are you lovely folks going next?" said Michael,

  as he laugh louder and louder.

  "We're going to Wally World," said Clara.

  Peter invited Michael along, but he wanted to go

  somewhere else and turned down the offer.

  "You might not be going either," said Michael as he

  splashed Peter and his friends with water from his wings.

  "Oh, you are just jealous," said Zack.

  Peter noticed that Michael was by himself and wondered

  where his other partners in crime were. Things began to

  look fishy, but Peter left Millie and Clara to head to the

  changing room with the boys. Suddenly, a loud scream was

  heard, and everyone ran into the hallway.

  "My golden pass is missing!" said Robert.

  Someone had stolen Robert's golden pass. Everyone

  checked their passes, and Peter was missing his pass too.

  He sat down on a bench and put his face in the palms of his

  hands; he was clearly upset. His hair began to turn from

  orange to deep reddish, and it stuck up as if it was ready

  to shoot out fire.

  "I knew Michael was acting strange. He knows who has

  our passes," said Peter.

  Clara and Millie heard the commotion and came running.

  At this time, the news had traveled in the hallways. Clara

  and Millie were shocked to find out that Robert and Peter's

  golden passes were missing. So, after the children got

  dressed, they walked up to the Wacky Fun Factory guard and

  reported their passes missing. In the world of Wacky Fun

  Factory, this was a big deal; the sirens went off all

  through the park, and the clouds in the sky turned gray and

  gloomy. The guards and the park officials took this very

  seriously, which surprised the children.

  One by one, a different guard came up to the children

  and asked them to explain their story. Peter and his

  friends told the same story over and over again; until

  Peter got frustrated with all the questioning, as if he and

  Robert were the ones who stole the passes! But the guards

  cleared them and summoned Mr. Smorge.

  "I knew you kids would be trouble," said Mr. Smorge.

  But Peter explained to Mr. Smorge that Sam and Steve

  had stolen their passes. Suddenly, Mr. Smorge summoned the

  great searcher of the skies to locate Sam and Steve. A big

  face appeared in the clouds that looked mystifying and

  strange. Every time the voice spoke, his words formed in

  clouds that came crashing down onto the children. The voice

  had a loud thunderous voice.

  "Who dares spoil the people's fun?" asked the voice.

  "Sam and Steve," shouted Clara, as she was pulled back

  by Mr. Smorge.

  "That is no way to request the great searcher's help,"

  said Mr. Smorge as he hid tiny little Clara behind him.

  He explained to the great searcher that two golden

  passes were missing, and that one belonged to the boy king

  Peter Carrot-Top.

  "Not the Peter Carrot-Top," said the voice.

  "Oh yes! This is the one," said Mr. Smorge.

  Then the great searcher of the sky made search dogs

  out of clouds, and sent them forth to sniff out Sam and

  Steve. The cloud dogs were like hounds; they were wild and

  began running through the air looking for their targets.

  "Woo, they are some big dogs," said Robert.

  As the cloud dogs took off in the air, they were made

  of clouds so huge that the entire park could see them and

  thought it was a show. Little did they know that a pair of

  thieves was on the loose. The crowd began to clap as the

  dogs took off in search of their prey. Peter and his

  friends were very upset and explained that they all wanted

  to go to Wally World. But, because Peter had no golden

  pass, they were being forced to stay put.

  "Well, I think I can pull some strings," said Mr.

  Smorge.

  The children jumped up screaming and hopping with joy.

  "Calm down, you little b
rats, I don't want people to

  think I am nice," said Mr. Smorge.

  "But you are," said Millie.

  Suddenly, the red carpet ride came swooshing down to

  pick up the children. Peter and his friends had a look of

  relief and excitement on their faces; they all hopped in

  the ride one by one. As Peter looked over to the right, he

  saw Michael standing all alone.

  "Would you like to go?" said Peter.

  "I do not need your charity," said Michael.

  Deep down, Michael really wanted to go, but his pride

  got the best of him.

  "Don't worry about him," said Robert.

  But Peter was a different kind of person; if he had

  fun, he wanted everyone to have fun. Whether they were his

  friend or not, Peter loved everyone. But Michael was rude

  and stubborn and didn't want to go. So Peter and his

  friends pulled off and never looked back once. The children

  were now on their way to Wally World, a land of dreams and

  fantasy. The carpet ride went up into the air, flying into

  the unknown. The children peeked out of the window and

  looked at all the beauty of the Wacky Fun Factory.

  From up high in the air, they could see how the

  amusement park worked. It was hitched together with gold

  and steel pipes all through the land. Workers were coming

  and going through secret tunnels buried deep in the sands.

  The park itself was built in a clear bubble that was made

  of thick glass. To the children, this was amazing and

  beautiful.

  The children had forgotten about Sam and Steve for a

  minute, and focused on the beauty of the park. Up in the

  air the carpet ride flew, dancing around the trees in the

  air, ascending and then descending, making the children

  hold onto their seats. The carpet ride was a true ride in

  itself. The children loved it; they were cheering and

  clapping for the driver.

  "Peter, did you know your mother grew these plants?"

  said the driver.

  The children looked around and saw the huge plants

  crawling up the side of the ride. These plants moved with

  the motions of snakes; they were quick and fast, and that

  frightened the children for a minute, until one of the

  plants got close to the glass and began to lick out its

  tongue like a dog. The children began to laugh and waved

  back to the plants as they slowly disappeared into the

  clouds.

  "No, I did not know my mother made these plants, sir,"

  said Peter.

  The driver went on to tell Peter that all of the

  plants all over Baja were made by his mother, that Jane had

  the power of the green thumb. Peter sat back and admired

  his mother's work and gave a compliment to her.

  "Yes, my mother is sooooo cool," said Peter as the

  rest of the children laughed.

  The ride suddenly took a turn up into a large

  beanstalk, where the children saw fairies and tiny elves

  with wings gathering sap in a bucket. The creatures waved

  to Peter and his friends.

  "What are they doing?" said Ben.

  "Just gathering sap and stalk for their family," said

  the driver.

  Peter and his friends were amazed to see such

  interactions going on with species that they had never seen

  before. These fairies and elves were so small, about two

  inches in height, so it took a swarm of them to collect the

  sap. On their wings, the symbols of Baja glowed, and with

  all of them in a group, they lit up the otherwise dark

  stalk.

  "Oh, they are so cute and precious," said Millie.

  The driver looked back in his mirror and saw that the

  children were having a good time, and he just smiled and

  chuckled at how much the children were learning and

  enjoying themselves. The driver then sped up, and the

  carpet ride got faster and faster; up and away the ride

  flew into the air. The children's seatbelts began to

  tighten. The ride flew up into the air like a rocket, all

  the children could see were different colored clouds of

  dust; there were red, blue, green, orange and black dust

  clouds that glittered in the skies. It was so colorful that

  there was nothing else the children could see. But, the

  driver had taken this route many times and knew where he

  was going.

  "Hang on, we have a thunder cloud coming," said the

  driver.

  The ride began to shake vigorously back and forth

  faster and faster. The children were thrown around in the

  ride like rag dolls; the seat belts gave out and Peter and

  his friends went floating around in the ride.

  "Hold on to something," said the driver.

  The driver did not look panicked at all; apparently,

  he had been through this before. But his main concern was

  the children. The thunder cloud was a big burst of

  sparkling dust that grew into a huge comet ball and burst

  every now and then, causing a new thunder cloud to form. As

  the children held on to a pole in the ride, and each other,

  they couldn't help but look at the magnificent thunder

  cloud. Even though it was dangerous, it was beautiful, and

  when the cloud finally burst, colorful sparkles went

  everywhere, and out of the thunder came a small group of

  tiny rainbow colored bears. There had to be millions of

  these tiny little bears. They jumped out of the cloud,

  continuously spreading the sparkling dust through the air.

  These tiny bears were giggling and laughing as they went

  around starting thunder clouds.

  "They might be cute; but they're dangerous," said the

  driver.

  "Well, why do we need them?" said Zack.

  The driver explained that without these cloud bears

  there would be no thunder clouds, and without thunder

  clouds there would be no fresh air. The driver then pointed

  to the right and showed the children that the colorful

  sparkles from the clouds sucked up all the impurities in

  the air and kept the air in Baja, and many worlds, safe

  enough to breathe.

  "Wow that is pretty neat," said Peter.

  After a few seconds of aftershock tidal waves,

  everything soon began to calm down, and the children and

  their driver were back on route to Wally World.

  "Few more minutes and we're in Wally World," said the

  driver.

  The children began to clap and whistle, they were

  happy that they would finally be there. As they got closer,

  they began to see huge giants sliding down beanstalks; some

  were with their little ones, and others were going to work.

  They had lunch boxes, tool belts and working hats. These

  giants were huge and green; their green skin glowed with

  the symbols of Baja; their tiny green ears stood above

  their heads, and their big blue eyes were so penetrating to

  look at. These were some of the most beautiful creatures of

  Baja.

  The ride swayed over for the children to get a better

  look at the giants, and all they could see was a huge eye

  looking at them. Millie began to scream and Clara covered
<
br />   her mouth.

  "You don't want to scare them, do you?" said Clara.

  Millie shook her head no, and Peter went up to the

  window of the ride and began to wave at the huge creature,

  and it waved back.

  "Did you see? He waved at me," said Peter. He was so

  excited that he could hardly contain himself. "Are we there

  yet?"

  "Just a few more minutes," said the driver.

  The ride soared up into the air with a small burst of

  help from a rocket plant. The plants were designed to burst

  into the air every few seconds, and off the children went.

  Their ride was flying into the air, and they were enjoying

  every minute of it. As they were going up, the children

  began to see a bright hole in the sky. The sun was shinning

  bright, and they could see a large opening up ahead. When

  the ride reached it, they landed on a long silver-lined

  runway in the clouds. There were park workers ready to help

  the children get off.

  "Welcome to Wally World," said one of the workers, as

  the children filed out of the ride one by one.

  "Have a lot of fun," said the driver as he pulled off,

  waving goodbye to the children.

  Peter and his friends were all excited to be in

  another part of Wacky World; and from all they had seen,

  this place kept getting stranger and stranger by the

  minute. But, the children were enjoying every minute of it.

  However, not far from Peter's mind was the fact that Steve

  and Sam stole his and Robert's golden passes.

  As the children were walking to explore the park, they

  noticed the pack of cloud dogs holding something in their

  mouths like a rag doll. Then Peter saw Sam's fart balls as

  he tried to get away from the dogs; they were coughing

  because Sam's fart balls were unpleasant. The odor made the

  dogs water at the eyes, but they still held onto Sam and

  Steve.

  People were running from the outrageous smell; the air

  in the park turned a grayish green, and Peter and his

  friends quickly covered their noses and ran toward the

  commotion. As Peter and his friends approached, they saw

  Steve kick off his shoes and grow his feet until they were

  the size of the giants and let out his toe jams. Now the

  park smelled like fart balls and toe jams! The park

  security was called, and they came marching in as if they

  were going off to war. One of them commended the cloud dogs

  for catching their fugitives. The dogs began to wag their

  tails as clouds of puff went everywhere, and then the

  guards threw the dogs large pieces of bones. Each dog had a

  bone to himself and they ran off, leaving Steve and Sam in

  the care of the park guards. Peter and his friends ran up

  to Sam and Steve.

  "You jerks, you stole our passes," said Robert as he

  began to check Sam and Steve's back pockets.

  When he found them, he quickly pulled them out of

  their pockets. The guards quickly confiscated the golden

  passes, until Mr. Smorge arrived. As he walked in, Millie

  ran up to him and apologized for her classmates, but he did

  not want to hear that and told Millie to step aside. Being

  a huge man around the park, Mr. Smorge stormed down the

  sidewalks, grabbing Steve and Sam by the ear.

  "You two brats, come with me," said Mr. Smorge as he

  took Sam and Steve into a secret opening in the wall.

  Then Mr. Smorge ordered the guards to give Peter and

  Robert back their golden passes, and after their visit to

  Wally World they had to return back to Waldorf Academy as

  soon as possible. Everyone in the park was intimidated by

  Mr. Smorge, and when he spoke, everyone jumped.

  Peter and his friends decided to enjoy what was left

  of the day; and what a great day it turned out to be. The

  giants in Wally World were very pleasant; even though they

  were huge, they always looked out for the visitors on the

  ground. Wally World was beautiful; there were thousands of

  birds in the sky writing letters and words in the air. They

  even made pictures!

  There were also tons of rainbows in the sky that burst

  with colors and were edible. Peter and his friends began to

  lick their sleeves and shirts; the rainbow bursts tasted

  like candy, from strawberries to lemon, even sour apple.

  The children were having the time of their lives. Even

  though the day started off rough, it was beginning to look

  very good.

  After the rainbow bursts, the children headed to the

  candy cave, where they got a golden bucket and were allowed

  to dig for one of the sweetest candies in the world:

  "YELLOW MELON". The yellow melon was worth a fortune on the

  Baja market; it was a hard candy that was yellow on the

  outside, but on the inside it was sweet melon candy sand.

  The children ran into the cave and began to dig with

  all their might; just a few pieces of yellow melon could

  bring the children a big allowance back home in Baja. Peter

  and his friends did more eating than saving, but the little

  that they saved was well worth it back home. Every time the

  giants walked the earth they would open up, and a burst of

  yellow melon would sprout out of the ground. The visitors

  would hit the floor as the hard candy sprayed into the air.

  Once the candy landed, the visitors would fill their

  buckets to the rim.

  After a few hours in the cave, Peter and his friends

  went on to see the giants' village. This was an eye opening

  tour for the youngsters; there were big green giants with

  their little big green families going about their daily

  duties. Some were carpenters, some were tree pushers, which

  was the giants going into the fields and pushing over trees

  to make logs so their entire village could have wood to

  burn to keep them warm. The giants were also fishermen,

  guards, teachers and noble men. They greeted the visitors

  of Wally World with respect and happiness.

  The giants and the visitors co-existed without any

  problems. Peter and his friends were even taken on a

  beanstalk ride where they were placed on a giant's back,

  and then the giant would slide down the long beanstalk like

  a roller coaster.

  "Weeeeee, this is fun," said Peter as he hung on tight

  to the giant.

  The beanstalks were long and strong; the giants could

  slide down them with ease, but to the children it looked as

  if the huge giants were going faster and faster. The

  beanstalks went through cloud after cloud causing the

  children to also get a mouthful of clouds and dust, but

  they did not mind; they were enjoying themselves.

  After the beanstalk ride, the children were taken to a

  feasting table prepared by the giants for the park's

  visitors. The meal was humongous; one turkey leg was the

  size of the children! So, it took all of Peter and his

  friends to eat one of the turkey legs. The giants began to

  laugh as they saw the guests trying to pick up or eat a

  turkey leg or other f
oods. Everything was extra super-sized.

  It took Peter and all of his friends just to lift the

  turkey. He climbed up on a big bowl of fruits and sat on a

  huge grape as he nibbled at a large strawberry. Then,

  suddenly, one of the giants picked up the bunch of grapes

  with Peter stuck on the stems. The crowd began to scream,

  fearing that the giant would eat Peter.

  "Oh! It's okay, I will not eat you little buddy," said

  the giant as Peter hung on by the stem.

  The crowd began to laugh and clapped as the giant put

  Peter back down.

  "Woo! That was cool," said Peter.

  "No, it was not, you almost got eaten by a giant,"

  said Millie.

  But Peter saw it as an adventure and began to laugh as

  he shrugged his shoulders at the thought that he could have

  been eaten.

  It was getting late, and the clock began to chime for

  Peter and his friends. Suddenly, Mr. Smorge arrived and

  told the children they could only get on one more ride, and

  then it would be time to go.

  "But, there are tons of rides here," said Robert.

  "Well, you have to choose one, or your time will run

  out," said Mr. Smorge.

  The children chose to go on the comet ride; because of

  their golden pass status, they were moved up to first place

  in the line. The children were jumping with excitement, and

  couldn't wait to go on the ride. The other visitors looked

  on as the children with the golden passes ran through the

  line, but most of the onlookers wanted to get a look at

  Peter, the boy king who would save Baja.

  People began to look and point; Peter and his friends

  were so amazed to see how many people from all over Baja,

  and the many galaxies, had heard of Peter and knew who he

  was. At this time, Peter was a local celebrity, but his

  friends kept him grounded, and reminded him that he was

  there to protect Baja and not for the fame and glory.

  Clara grabbed Peter by the hand and they ran into the

  comet ride, leaving the visitors behind stirring. The first

  cart was open and available for Peter and his friends. The

  ride began to start; the room became a misty black, it was

  so dark the children could not see their hands in front of

  their faces. Then a loud thundering noise echoed from the

  back of the ride.

  Suddenly, the children were startled by bright lights.

  They began to open their eyes, and when they looked down

  they were up on top of a solar moon. The moon was black and

  green with yellow and white rings. The ride then shot like

  a rocket into the air, and off the children went. The kids

  began to scream from the excitement they were having from

  the twists and the turns of the ride; the visual effects

  were magnificent.

  The children's senses were telling them that they were

  on a real rocket, and they were experiencing a real deep

  space voyage. But, in reality, the children were on a

  simulation ride in a big glass ball. Millie and Clara held

  onto Peter as the ride got faster and scarier. Zack was

  screaming so much with his mouth open that spit was flying

  all through the air.

  "Watch your slobber," said Ben as he wiped Zack's spit

  off of his face.

  Yet, a little saliva did not spoil the children's last

  ride; they continued to have fun and were grateful to get a

  second chance. The comet ride went through the air like a

  speeding rocket; it flew through the space rings. Then

  there was a simulation of the comet ride being chased by a

  space ship. Peter and his friends began to scream as the

  ride got faster and faster.

  As Peter looked back at their chasers, he noticed that

  it was the same black hooded figure that he had been seeing

  for some time now. He began to rub his eyes and opened them

  again. Soon the hooded figure was gone, and Peter knew that

  something was wrong, and as soon as he got back to Waldorf

  he would be investigating it with his friends.

  For now, Peter blocked out the hooded figure and

  continued to have fun with his new best friends. Finally,

  the ride was over and at the exit of the ride Mr. Smorge

  and his team of helpers were waiting for the children in

  the shinny red train.

  "All aboard," said Mr. Smorge.

  No one wanted to leave, and they begged Mr. Smorge for

  a few more hours, but the answer was no.

  "I have to get you kids back to your studies," said

  Mr. Smorge as he made the children load into the train one

  by one.

  Their sad faces did not put a damper on Mr. Smorge

  heart; he chuckled at the extent the children were going

  just to stay a few more hours. But, he was a tough man and

  did not fall for the sad puppy-eyes that kids make to their

  parent and older adults. The children boarded the train and

  waved goodbye to all the people looking on. These children

  were now fan favorites everywhere, but then Michael came

  crashing in, almost missing the ride. It was a good thing

  that he had wings to catch up before the train went through

  the secret tunnel.

  Nevertheless, on the way back home, Michael never said

  a word. He was upset that he did not get to go to the other

  theme parks like the rest of his classmates, and he began

  to sulk all the way back home. Because the children were so

  good, Mr. Smorge let the little servant elves bring the

  children gifts and lots of snack foods.

  The children had t-shirts that said "look at me, I

  went to Wally World" or "I am a golden pass member", they

  also got fruit baskets that were made of giant fruits,

  which was one big apple that was giant-sized. They were

  built into a fruit basket to hold many more fruits. Then

  there were candy baskets, robotic toys, and because Michael

  was a part of Sam and Steve's stunt, he was limited to his

  gifts. But Mr. Smorge still made sure that Michael got a

  gift too. That was the first time in a long time that

  anyone had ever seen a smile on Michael's face. He lit up

  when Mr. Smorge called his name for his gift basket. After

  a long day of fun, the children fell asleep and drifted

  off. Then a loud horn blew and woke them up.

  "We are here," said one of the elf servants as he held

  the horn in his hands.

  "Please don't blow it again, my ears are ringing,"

  said Michael.

  But the elf gave Michael attitude, and blew the horn

  even louder, right in his ear. Michael went running off the

  train. Peter and his friends gave Mr. Smorge a big hug and

  thanked him for the trip. Mr. Smorge hid his emotions and

  pretended he did not care, but the tough exterior soon

  melted away, and he began to blush and waved goodbye to the

  children as they walked down the royal red carpet.

  The children stayed on the sidewalk until the red

  carpet rolled up and the train had disappeared into the

  abyss. Peter and his fiends were so excited by so much fun

  that they'd had that they forgot about th
e moon duties they

  had to do. But, waiting on the sidewalk was Captain Red. He

  was a no nonsense behavior teacher; he wore a patch over

  his left eye, and his short red hair shone in the sun. He

  had an athletic build, and wore army boots and khaki pants

  and a jacket. He carried a spider monkey on his shoulders

  and a whip in one had. All the children at Waldorf Academy

  were afraid of this man and never wanted detention with

  him. Waiting on the side of Captain Red were Jamyra, Steve,

  Larry, and Sam.

  "Who is that?" asked Peter.

  "It is your worst enemy," said Clara.

  Captain Red sent his spider monkey to gather up the

  children. The monkey jumped off Captain Red's shoulder and

  onto the ground. The monkey began to twist and turn,

  causing spider webs to form; it then shot out spider

  webbing from its hands, and the web began to bind the

  children together, shaking and pushing them into one group.

  Michael tried to fly away, but the spider monkey sprayed

  its web into the air and pulled Michael down. He was very

  upset and began to kick and shout, and for this type of

  behavior, he got even more moon duties.

  "Get that nasty creature, its messing up my beautiful

  wings," said Michael.

  Peter and his classmates were covered in spider webs;

  they couldn't move or talk, all they could do was listen to

  what Captain Red had to say, and it was not good.

  "Listen, all you brats; it's time for your moon

  duties. I will have no misbehaving or escaping, or I will

  send Jasper, my spider monkey after you," said Captain Red.

  All of the children were dreading this moment, because

  those who knew Captain Red, knew that he was not one to be

  toyed with. He was strict and stern with the children; even

  some parents thought that he was too harsh. But, Waldorf

  Academy demanded discipline, and that's why most of the

  wealthiest and admired children attend the school.

  "This is not good for my first day at school," said

  Peter as he mumbled through the spider web to Clara.

  Captain Red ordered the spider monkey to let the

  remaining children loose, and sent Peter and his classmates

  to quickly get changed into their cleaning gear. He and his

  friends had to put all the gifts and presents they got

  away, and all their book bags into a secure locker; then

  they had to get dressed in one of the ugliest uniforms in

  all of Baja. They were dark old plumber's overalls that

  were stinky and dirty. Then the children were to form a

  line in the center of the school where everyone could see

  them. One by one, the children marched in a straight line

  with Captain Red leading, and shouting. "Left, right, left,

  right."

  Peter and his classmates were not happy at all, and

  many of them were mumbling and complaining that they were

  being humiliated in front of the entire school. Captain Red

  led the children through the center of the school, where

  their schoolmates taunted and teased them. The children

  pointed at Peter and his friends; as the entire school

  began to laugh louder and louder. Peter was embarrassed,

  his cheeks began to turn red, but he was still excited to

  see what moon duties were all about. Jamyra and Larry were

  the least cooperative in the bunch, and for this they had

  to stay longer and clean more moons.

  "Oh you never learn, Jamyra; keep your mouth shut or

  you'll get us all in trouble," said Clara as Jamyra acted

  out in the center of the school.

  "That tantrum is going to get you nowhere," said

  Captain Red.

  Jamyra finally stopped acting up and got in the

  straight line, hanging her head low so that no one in her

  classes could see her face. After the total embarrassment,

  the children were led into a damp storage room where they

  were allowed to get all their cleaning supplies. One by

  one, they grabbed up their brooms, mops, and buckets. They

  had polishing cloths and scrum brushes.

  "Here, Peter, get some gloves, you're gonna need

  them," said Ben.

  Reality was now sinking in for Peter that he was going

  to do some long manual labor. Nevertheless, Peter faced his

  conscience and was ready for his punishment. After the

  children got their cleaning supplies, they were taken to

  the transport room where they were suited up into long

  white overall-type protective clothing. Captain Red also

  suited up, and when the children were done, he led them

  through a long tunnel that never seemed to end. But, in

  reality, the children were already walking in space; all

  that was protecting them was a dark tunnel, because Baja

  was built on the outskirts of space and time.

  "How far are we going?" asked Peter as he whispered to

  Zack.

  "Not too far, we are already there," said Zack.

  He then explained to Peter that they were in a secret

  tunnel that transported cleaners to the moon. Many years

  ago, when Baja was built, they made a promise to the

  surrounding neighbors in space that they would keep the

  moon clean, to shine light on their worlds. Without the

  moon being clean, most of the surrounding planets,

  including Baja would die in darkness, and all the plant

  life and ghost spirit life would be lost.

  Soon Peter understood the importance of moon cleaning,

  and that it was a great way for the children to appreciate

  their world. Then the walls of the tunnel opened up and

  folded back, leaving the teacher and his students in space.

  It was so beautiful and remarkable; there were thousands of

  stars flying by the faces of the children in slow motion.

  Inside, the children could see little worlds, each star

  held a different world and different species.

  Peter was mesmerized by the beauty of the tiny stars

  that held the big worlds inside of them. He tried to catch

  a star, but it floated by. There were also hundreds of

  moons, and on the moons were workers cleaning them. The

  workers waved to say hello to Captain Red and his

  dentioneers; they all waved back. Peter could see the

  workers cleaning and scrubbing; they were putting hard work

  into cleaning the moons. When they were done, the moon

  shone so brightly that Peter and his friends had to put

  down the visors on their space suits. By doing this, Peter

  could truly see the beauty of the moons, and why it was

  important to clean them.

  The workers got into every crook and cranny, making

  sure that each moon was spotless. Peter turned around in

  awe of his surroundings to gaze upon a thick black

  substance coming toward him. He began to run back toward

  his friends; the black substance looked like the hooded

  monster he had seen before. The way it moved through space,

  the shapes it formed as it move; Peter was really afraid,

  until Clara explained to him that it was more likely a

  garbage collector. It picked up all the dead moon bugs, and

  all the dirt the
y cleaned and scrapped off the moon. This

  moving phantom was there to protect the areas of space; it

  ate all the waste and everything floating into space. Peter

  was very inquisitive, and wanted to touch it, but he was

  quickly stopped by Captain Red.

  "Don't do that, boy, you'll be dragged into space and

  eaten."

  Peter quickly yanked his hands back and kept them to

  his side. Because this was his first time on moon duties,

  Captain Red and Peter's classmates explained all the do's

  and don'ts to him. He sucked it up like a sponge.

  Peter wanted to know everything there was about moon

  duties; he found it very fascinating. After the black mass

  disappeared and went somewhere else, Peter began to look

  around. Space was so beautiful, there were different color

  moons, like the colors of the rainbow; there were shooting

  stars and flying space rocks that would burst into a parade

  of colors and then let off a loud boom with a crackling

  noise. It was like watching fireworks on a parade. Time in

  space seemed to shift, and large holes appeared and then

  closed quickly.

  During a few of these episodes, Peter could see many

  different worlds, and for a minute there he thought that he

  saw Earth, and his old hometown. As he began to look even

  harder, the hole quickly closed up, leaving Peter guessing

  and wondering what he'd just seen.

  "Okay, enough looking, young man; get back to work

  immediately and I will inspect your work," said Captain Red

  as he tapped Peter on the shoulder with a long stick and

  pushed his cleaning bucket into his hands.

  Peter was so into what he was looking at that Captain

  Red's attitude did not faze him. Clara had to shake Peter

  until he came to, and told him to get to work. But Peter

  was in such shock at the wonders of space, until he

  daydreamed into the abyss.

  "Snap out of it," said Robert as he also shook Peter.

  Then Peter came to. "This is so beautiful."

  "So what? Get to work," said Robert.

  Peter's classmates laughed at him. He was a little

  embarrassed, but immediately got to work, while still

  looking out of the corner of his eyes at all the beauty of

  space. Peter mumbled under his breathe, "I am so glad to be

  here."

  Captain Red wondered if Peter was going crazy. "Stop

  talking to yourself, son."

  Peter immediately got back to work scrubbing and

  cleaning the moon of debris and moon bugs. Some of the bugs

  were disgusting and strange, some had big soccer eyes with

  fur all over their bodies; some were covered in dust, and

  decomposing. The foul odor that came from these creatures

  was horrendous and gross. But Peter and his friends kept

  cleaning the moon. Peter soon found out that cleaning the

  moon was no easy matter, especially when Captain Red was

  hanging over your shoulders making sure that every nook and

  cranny was spotless.

  Finally, Peter and his friends got a small moon clean;

  the moon shone where there was once dust and debris. The

  light was so bright that Peter could see miles into space.

  He saw how the moon made plants live and grow. A huge black

  space plant began to grow once the moonlight shone on it.

  To the children, it was like watching Mother Nature in slow

  motion. The plant stems rose out of the moon, then the

  leaves began to grow, and then the petals and so forth;

  until there was a complete plant.

  Suddenly, a big moon bug came out of nowhere and ate

  the plant and flew away. The children were caught a little

  off guard; until Captain Red explained to them that that

  was what Mother Nature was programmed to do, and that was

  to feed the world. No matter how horrible it looked,

  everything served a purpose.

  The children quickly got back to work on the second

  moon, and when they were done, Captain Red gave them the

  okay to leave. But Jamyra, Steve, Sam, Michael, and Larry

  all had to stay behind and do extra moon duties. They did

  not like this, not one bit and put up a big fuss, but they

  knew the more they complained and the more they acted out;

  the longer they would have to stay and do a long list of

  moons, and there were hundreds of moons. So, the remaining

  children got to work scrubbing and cleaning while Captain

  Red stood over them watching.

  Peter and his friends were free from detention and

  were on their way back home. School was out and the bell

  rang; the children were full of excitement and ready to go

  home. Peter wanted to stay at school, but was worried about

  his parent fighting the war in the Ambassador Forest. He

  and his friends met up in "The Center" to board their ride

  and to say there goodbyes until the next day. Peter

  explained to Clara how much fun he had had and didn't mind

  the moon cleaning. Clara began to giggle at everything

  Peter said, and then the teasing began on the way home.

  "Peter and Clara sitting in the tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g,"

  Millie, Nicholas, Zack, Ben and Robert sang.

  "Oh! Shut up, you jerks," said Clara as she laughed at

  the teasing.

  Peter and Clara, from that day forward, were the best

  of friends; and not forgetting the others: Millie, Zack,

  Ben, Robert and Nicholas. This group of children became the

  closet of friends and they never did anything without each

  other from that day forward. Millie even stopped hanging

  with Jamyra and all her brat friends; she was glad to find

  a great group of friend that she could be herself around

  and was never under Jamyra again. Jamyra was not happy with

  this, but Millie was, and from this day on Millie and Peter

  became good friends.