The Christmas Party from the Black Lagoon (Black Lagoon Adventures series Book 9)
Page 1
THE
CHRISTMAS PARTY
FROM THE
BLACK LAGOON
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#9: The Christmas Party from the Black Lagoon
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from the Black Lagoon
The Black Lagoon
by Mike Thaler
Illustrated by Jared Lee
SCHOLASTIC INC.
THE
CHRISTMAS PARTY
FROM THE
BLACK LAGOON
To Tina Lee,
for all her T.L.C.
—M.T.
To Jaden, Seth, and little Roman—J.L.
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Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
e-ISBN: 978-0-545-37581-8
Text copyright © 2006 by Mike Thaler.
Illustrations copyright © 2006 by Jared D. Lee Studio, Inc.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc.
SCHOLASTIC, Little Apple, and associated logos are trademarks and/or
registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
First printing, December 2006
Contents
Chapter 1: Plan A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Chapter 2: Hunch Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..10
Chapter 3: Go for Broke . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Chapter 4: Deck the Mall . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Chapter 5: Mauled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Chapter 6: Ho, Ho, Oh! . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Chapter 7: Screamin’ Dreamin’ . . . . . . .. 27
Chapter 8: Change of Heart . . . . . . . . ... 30
Chapter 9: Sock It to Me . . . . . . . . . . .33
Chapter 10: The Tree Musketeers . . . . . .. 36
Chapter 11: The Turning of the Scrooge . 39
Chapter 12: The Reason for the Season . . 43
Chapter 13: Made by Hand . . . . . . . . . . 46
Chapter 14: Too Many Santas . . . . . . . . .. .53
Chapter 15: Presents of Mind . . . . . . . . ..56
CHAPTER 1
PLAN A
Mrs. Green says we’re going
to have a Christmas party. She
has put everyone’s name in a hat.
I pulled out Penny’s name.
Nobody wanted to trade me, so
now she and I have to exchange
presents.
I don’t know what to get her,
but I’m sure she’ll tell me. I hope
it’s in my budget.
6
7
If I had picked Eric, it would
have been easy. He’d want the
latest Captain Thunderpants
book, or an official whoopee
cushion.
8
If it had been Freddy, his
present would have been from
one of four major food groups.
But Penny is a girl. I don’t
know what girls want. But like
I said, I’m sure she’ll tell me.
9
CHAPTER 2
HUNCH TIME
Well, I was right. Penny sits
down next to me at lunch and
spends the entire noontime
giving me hints. She also gives
me a list just in case I missed
anything. It’s about four feet
long.
She wants something for
her Barbie collection. I make a
joke, “What about some Barbie
Wire?” . . . not appreciated. Or
she wants the latest Flower
Fluff Girl book, or some hair
curlers.
10
11
Boy, oh, boy, this is going to
be an education—to say nothing
about embarrassing. I’m glad
she doesn’t want pink nail polish,
or anything with polka dots. I
wish I had picked Eric.
12
CHAPTER 3
GO FOR BROKE
When I get home, I go over
Penny’s list with Mom. We
ponder the problem over milk
and cookies. She says when she
was a girl, she liked perfume
and the Beatles. Sounds like
smelly bugs to me.
13
It’s hard to picture Mom as a
little girl, but she says she was
one once. I’ll have to take her
word for it.
While munching on a chocolate
chip cookie, I go confer with my
piggy bank. I have exactly $2.98.
It seems I always have $2.98. I
think I’m stuck in a financial time
warp!
14
15
CHAPTER 4
DECK THE MALL
Mom and I go to the mall. She
says she’ll help me shop. The
mall is brimming over with
Christmas spirit.
There are forty Santas—short
ones, tall ones, smiling ones,
and grouchy ones. There are
two hundred reindeer and a
thousand elves.
It’s full of crisp jingles and
Kris Kringles—and it’s only
November. Christmas seems to
come earlier and earlier every
year. Eventually it will start in
January.
16
17
18
We make our way to the girls’
department. I’m glad Mom is
with me.
All of a sudden, everything is
pink, fluffy, and has feathers. It’s
like falling into cotton candy or
sliding down a birthday cake.
Everything has three flowers and
a bow.
Let me out! I’ve got to find a
dinosaur and get back to reality.
19
CHAPTER 5
MAULED
Well, our mall visit was not
very fruitful. I felt like I was
drowning in pink lemonade. Only
forty-four more shopping days
left till Christmas, and I still
don’t know what to give Penny.
Maybe I should write Dear
Abby Claus, or try Googling
“gifts for girls.” This is silly!
Why doesn’t Penny just buy
something she would like, and
I’ll get something I would like?
It would be a lot simpler.
20
21
But Mom says that’s not the
spirit of Christmas. She says it’s
about giving. I’m beginning to
think it’s about giving up.
22
CHAPTER 6
HO, HO, OH!
That evening there’s a movie on
the horror channel called Santa
Claws. It’s about a monster who
goes out for a slay ride.
23
I turn to another channel.
There’s a musical on called
Santa Jaws. It’s about an
overweight shark with a beard
that goes out caroling.
24
All the other channels are full
of ads telling me about things
I need to buy. Somehow, I don’t
think they’ve caught the spirit of
the season.
25
I think Christmas should be a
celebration . . . not a sell-ebration
I press the pause button. I need
a Santa pause.
26
CHAPTER 7
SCREAMIN’ DREAMIN’
That night I have a dream. A
singing shark is chasing me. I’m
in a Santa outfit and keep tripping
over my beard.
27
There’s also a big Christmas
tree ornament with a fuse, rolling
after me—it’s lit and sparkling.
Penny is running after me,
too, waving her list. As fast as
I run, they keep getting nearer
and nearer. They’re about to
catch me . . . when I wake up
sweating.
28
Now I’m glad Christmas comes
only once a year like my visit
to the dentist. It’s a lot like
pulling teeth.
29
CHAPTER 8
CHANGE OF HEART
The days fly by, and soon
it’s December. Mrs. Beamster,
our librarian, reads us a book
about Christmas. It’s called The
Worst Christmas Pageant Ever.
It’s funny!
30
In class, Mrs. Green says
Christmas isn’t about presents,
but about kindness. She
says all year people think
about themselves. Then comes
Christmas, and for one day,
they think about others.
They’re polite and considerate
of one another.
31
Then the day after Christmas,
they are pushing and shoving to
return the presents they don’t
want—wrong size, wrong color,
wrong present.
Mrs. Green says if the spirit
of Christmas lasted for 365 days,
the world would be a better
place. I bet all the shops at the
the mall would agree with her.
32
CHAPTER 9
SOCK IT TO ME
Mrs. Green said we all should
bring in a stocking to be filled
by Santa. I looked and looked
all over my house, but all I
could find that was clean was a
gym sock.
33
Doris brought in a leotard,
and Penny brought in pantyhose.
But Eric brought in the biggest
sock that I’ve ever seen. It must
have belonged to a dinosaur or
been an elephant’s nose warmer.
You could put a Mini-Cooper
in it.
34
Once we hung up our socks,
it was time to decorate the
Christmas tree. Everyone
brought in an ornament we had
made. I took an old tennis ball
and glued buttons on it. Freddy
baked a gingerbread Santa. Doris
made a little ballet dancer out
of ice cream sticks. And Derrick
made a star for the top. Eric said
he was still working on his
ornament.
35
CHAPTER 10
THE TREE MUSKETEERS
Mrs. Green made a big pot of
popcorn. Then we strung the
pieces together and placed them
on the tree. We ate as much as
we decorated with.
Mrs. Beamster came in to
see our tree and she read us
a poem called “The Night Before
Christmas.” I like the part
about . . . “When what to our
wondering eyes did appear, but
a miniature sleigh and eight tiny
reindeer.” She also read us a
book called The Polar Express.
In music class, we learned all
36
the words to “Rudolph the Red-
Nosed Reindeer.” Then we put
red balls on our noses and went
to all the other classes to sing it.
37
Our Christmas party is four
days away, and we’re starting to
have a ton of fun! By golly, it is
the season to be jolly.
38
CHAPTER 11
THE TURNING OF THE
SCROOGE
Well, I’m so confused. Is
Christmas about giving or living?
If it’s about being nice to each
other—that’s easy. It doesn’t
cost anything to be nice.
39
The next day Mrs. Green
shows us a video called A
Christmas Carol. It’s about a
grumpy old man who doesn’t
believe in Christmas. His name
is Scrooge and he only believes
in money.
40
Mrs. Green said, “Scrooge is
a miser, who causes a lot of
miser-y.” Anyway, he gets visited
by three ghosts . . . Christmas
Huey, Christmas Dewey, and
Christmas Louie. They give him
an accounting of his life, and
when he adds it up—he comes
out very poorly.
41
Scrooge has a change of heart
and starts spending his money
and his love to help other people.
And finally, his humbugs turn
into big hugs.
42
CHAPTER 12
THE REASON FOR THE
SEASON
After watching the video, I
&nbs
p; have an idea. I raise my hand.
“Yes, Hubie?” asks Mrs. Green.
“I have an idea,” I say.
“Yes?” Mrs. Green replies.
43
“Instead of giving presents to
one another,” I say, “why don’t
we put all our money together
and help people that need our
help?”
Penny jumps up. “I already got
you a present!” she shouts. “And
you better get me one.”
“That’s not the point,” I say. “By
the way, what did you get me?”
44
“I’m not telling,” Penny says,
holding up five fingers. “But it
cost a lot!”
“How much?” I ask.
“Five dollars plus tax,” says
Penny, wiggling her fingers.
“Humbug!” says Eric, wiggling
all of his.
45
CHAPTER 13
MADE BY HAND
Well, so much for peace on
Earth . . . back to the cash
register, and I’m way behind.
It’s cash or crash!
Miss Swamp, the art teacher,
suggests that we make presents
for one another. That sounds