The Getaway (Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 12)

by Jeff Kinney

  night of our vacation in a tiny room. And I had

  to share a bed with Rodrick, who was sticky from

  popsicle juice.

  200

  Saturday

  When we woke up in the morning, I figured we

  were in for a long day. Our flight wasn’t until

  8:00 p.m., and there was nothing to do at

  the airport. But at breakfast, Mom and Dad

  surprised us.

  They said we were gonna go BACK to the resort

  for the day.

  Mom and Dad had talked it over the night before,

  and neither one of them liked the way things had

  ended. They decided they wanted to have a “do

  over” and leave on a high note.

  Mom said the most important thing was that we

  get that family picture. She said she knew the

  PERFECT spot on the beach, and as soon as we got

  to the resort we were gonna head straight there.

  201

  I thought the whole thing was a crazy idea,

  because I didn’t see how we were even gonna get

  past the front desk. But Dad said he had a plan,

  and he’d tell us what it was when we got there.

  We took the free shuttle back to the resort,

  and we watched that video again. I realized the

  reason everything looked so FUN was because they

  never showed any actual FAMILIES.

  When we got off the bus, Dad told us his master

  plan to sneak onto the property. And I gotta

  say, it wasn’t really that impressive.

  But it actually WORKED. Once we got past

  the lobby, we went to the pool area. There wasn’t

  anyone swimming, because they were still filling it.

  We quickly found out where everyone ELSE was—

  down at the beach. But it was so crowded, no one

  looked like they were having any FUN.

  203

  Mom wanted to get the family picture, but she

  didn’t want other people in the shot. So we went

  to the sand dunes, where nobody else would be in

  the background.

  But that’s where we ran into Rodrick’s girlfriend.

  I felt kind of BAD for Rodrick, ESPECIALLY

  after Mom asked the girl to take our picture with

  her camera.

  204

  I’m not sure we’re gonna be able to use the photo

  as our Christmas card anyway, since Mom usually

  likes everyone to be SMILING in those.

  After the family picture was out of the way,

  we went back down to the beach. Rodrick was

  sulking, but the rest of us had FUN.

  205

  We worked up an appetite, and we were ready

  to eat. The problem was, the security guard had

  taken our room keys when he kicked us out of the

  resort. So we couldn’t actually PAY for anything.

  A family in one of the cabanas had some leftover

  pizza and fries. So we used what we learned from

  the birds and helped ourselves to some food.

  After that, Dad said we needed to start heading

  back. Mom wanted to get a few more pictures at

  the sand dunes before we left, so we went there.

  206

  But I think we pushed our luck, because we ran

  into some OTHER people we knew.

  The second that family saw us, they ran off, and

  I knew they were gonna report us to security. So

  we left the scene as fast as we could.

  I don’t know where the REST of my family

  went, but I headed toward the BEACH. I

  figured there were so many people there, I could

  just blend in. But when I saw a security guard

  running toward me, I PANICKED.

  207

  I ran into the water and swam to the area where

  the windsurfers were. I had no idea how to USE

  one of those things, but I thought it was my

  only shot at escaping.

  I got on the board, then pulled the sail up

  out of the water. And as soon as the sail was

  upright, I started MOVING.

  I found out the way to steer the thing was by

  pulling on the big handle that ran across the sail.

  I figured as long as I was headed AWAY from

  the beach, I was doing OK.

  208

  Then a big gust of wind caught the sail, and I

  didn’t have enough strength to steer it the way

  I wanted it to go. I was moving FAST and

  picking up speed.

  Up ahead, there were some buoys that marked a

  roped-off area of the water. I pulled back on

  the handle with all my might, but I couldn’t avoid

  the ropes.

  I guess there must’ve been a fin on the bottom of

  the windsurfer, because something got caught on

  a rope. And when it did, the whole thing tilted

  over and splashed into the water.

  209

  I tried to stand the sail back up, but it

  was hard to do it in the choppy water. Then

  something brushed by my LEG, and I FROZE.

  Two seconds later a FIN appeared, and then

  another, and another. I was completely

  surrounded, and I thought I was about to

  become lunch for a school of sharks.

  210

  That’s when I realized I was in the DOLPHIN

  enclosure. I was so happy that I forgot all

  about how I got there.

  But when a security boat pulled up alongside me, it

  brought me back to reality.

  I gave up on windsurfing and swam for shore.

  But the beach was a lot less CROWDED than I

  remembered it being a few minutes before.

  211

  I found out WHY when I got there. I’d

  accidentally crossed over to the WILD SIDE.

  And those guys didn’t look too happy to see a kid

  with a camera on their private beach.

  Now security guards were coming at me from every

  direction, and I hightailed it out of there. It

  wasn’t just the security guards who were after

  me, though. It was the SUNBATHERS, too.

  212

  I sprinted across the sand into the pool area,

  which looked a lot like the one on OUR side, only

  the pool had WATER in it.

  I had a pack of people right behind me. So I

  jumped over a stone wall and took cover in a

  cluster of bushes.

  When I pushed through to the other side, I

  thought I was in the clear. But then I came

  smack up against the WALL.

  213

  There was a HOLE in this part of the wall,

  and you’d never believe who was on the other side

  of it.

  I got my family’s attention and told them I

  needed help.

  214

  Then I put my fingers in the hole to try to pull

  the board loose. Dad pushed from the other side,

  and the wall actually opened a crack. But it wasn’t

  big enough for me to squeeze through.

  I could hear the security guards on their walkie-

  talkies right on the other side of the bushes,

  and I knew it was just a matter of SECONDS

  before they found me.

  So I tried climbing UP the wall, but I couldn’t

  get a foothold. Then I saw Rodrick’s HEAD pop

  over the top. He reached out his hand, and I

  jumped to grab it. He started to haul
me up, and

  I thought I might actually make it.

  But then a seven-legged SPIDER crawled out of

  Rodrick’s bathrobe and down my arm, and I lost

  my grip.

  When I hit the ground, I thought I was done

  for. But then the section of the wall I was

  trying to get over came crashing DOWN. I

  was lucky I didn’t get crushed by the stampede

  pouring in from the Mild Side.

  216

  We took advantage of all the confusion and made

  our way to the exit. There was a security station

  at the side of the resort, and the only reason we

  were able to slip past the guards was because of all

  the craziness going on over at the Wild Side pool.

  Once we were off the property, we flagged down a

  cab and asked the driver to take us to the airport.

  We hit some turbulence on the flight back, but

  after everything ELSE we’d been through, a

  little rough air didn’t even faze me.

  217

  Sunday

  It’s been a few days since we made it back home,

  and Mom’s already working on the photo album. And

  from the pictures, you’d think we had a great time.

  But any chance of us ever going BACK to the

  resort is completely gone. I went on the website

  to show Rowley where I spent my Christmas

  vacation, and there was a big picture of my family

  on the home page.

  I couldn’t read the words that went with it, but

  I’m pretty sure I got the general idea.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thanks to everyone at Abrams, especially Charlie Kochman, who cares as much about book twelve as book one. Big thanks to Michael Jacobs, Andrew Smith, Chad W. Beckerman, Susan Van Metre, Liz Fithian, Carmen Alvarez, Melanie Chang, Amy Vreeland, Samantha Hoback, Alison Gervais, Elisa Garcia, and Josh Berlowitz.

  Thanks to Jason Wells and Veronica Wasserman for your friendship. Thanks to Kim Ku for breaking new ground in Wimpy Kid design.

  Thanks to the whole Wimpy Kid team: Shaelyn Germain, Anna Cesary, and Vanessa Jedrej. Thanks to Deb Sundin and the staff at An Unlikely Story.

  Thanks to Rich Carr and Andrea Lucey for your support and friendship. Thanks to Paul Sennott for all your help.

  Thanks to Jess Brallier for your mentorship and for getting me started as an author.

  Thanks to everyone in Hollywood, including Sylvie Rabineau, Keith Fleer, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Elizabeth Gabler, David Bowers, and Greg Mooradian.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Jeff Kinney is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and a six-time Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award winner for Favorite Book. Jeff has been named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. He is also the creator of Poptropica, which was named one of Time magazine’s 50 Best Websites. He spent his childhood in the Washington, D.C., area and moved to New England in 1995. Jeff lives with his wife and two sons in Massachusetts, where they own a bookstore, An Unlikely Story.