The Inventor's Apprentice 2

by Tracey West

“I thought that might happen,” Gary says.

  He waddles over to a big box next to his desk and rummages around in it. “Here they are.”

  He takes out two pieces of clear plastic.

  “I designed these two rocket shields, but I worried they might get in the way of the rocket,” he tells you. “However, now I think some kind of shield is necessary. Which shield would you like to test first? One is lightweight, and one is heatproof.”

  You hold each shield. Heatproof sounds like a good idea, but it feels very heavy. You wonder if it will slow down the surfboard.

  If you test the lightweight shield, click here.

  If you test the heatproof shield, click here.

  “Send me to the future!” you say boldly. “I want to go where no penguin has gone before.”

  Gary opens the curtain. “Please, step inside.”

  You obey. The walls inside the booth are lined with twisted tubes filled with neon-colored liquid.

  “Cool,” you say. Then you have a thought. “Hey, has this ever been tested before?”

  “Yes,” Gary says. “But not with anything alive.”

  That doesn’t sound promising, but you’re not about to back out. Gary closes the curtain.

  “I will program your coordinates using a wireless control panel,” he tells you. “Then I will activate the machine.”

  You hear Gary fidget with the control panel. Then he begins a countdown.

  “Three . . . two . . . one . . .”

  The machine begins to shake. The liquid in the tubes begins to swish and swirl. Then it starts to glow! The glowing neon light spirals around the tiny booth, making you dizzy. There is a faint buzzing in your ears. The next thing you see is a strange tunnel of dim light opening up in front of you, out of nowhere. Without warning, you feel yourself being sucked inside!

  Suddenly, everything stops. You blink and realize you are inside the machine, but everything’s quiet. Your journey must be over!

  You step through the curtain. You are back in Gary’s workshop, and Gary is standing right in front of you. “Greetings!” you tell him. “I am a penguin traveler from the past!”

  “Yes, I know,” he says. “Your test was successful! Welcome to the future.”

  “Awesome!” you say. “So, what’s new on Club Penguin? Any new igloo designs? Is there a cool new party going on?”

  Gary chuckles. “I am afraid you have only traveled twenty-three hours into the future,” he tells you. “Things are very much the same as yesterday, except that you probably have a very hungry puffle waiting for you in your igloo.”

  “Oh, I forgot about Einstein! I’d better get home and feed it,” you say.

  “Wait!” Gary exclaims. “Before you go, have this.”

  Gary waddles over to his desk and reaches into a drawer. He takes something out and hands it to you.

  “Here,” he says. “A token of my thanks.”

  You look down and see a certificate in your hand. It reads “Official Inventor’s Apprenticeship.” You feel better already. You can’t wait to hang it up in your igloo and show all of your friends!

  THE END

  Back to Beginning

  You decide to hitch a ride with the purple penguin. You wait until he walks past you and then you jump up onto his boot. You grab on to the laces. He throws one more snowball, then waves good-bye to the green penguin.

  You feel like cheering as he heads down the path toward the Plaza.

  “Pizza! Pizza!” you whisper, but he has other ideas. He steps inside the Pet Shop.

  There are no other penguins in the shop. The first thing you notice is the playpen filled with puffles. They are huge! They’re twice as tall as you, and their mouths look . . . well . . . big enough to swallow you up.

  You look up at the purple penguin, hoping he’ll get moving. He takes a blue device out of the pocket of his coat and starts fiddling with it. The next instant—poof! He’s gone. And you’re left sitting on the ground.

  You’re not sure what happened. But you don’t have time to think about that now. The puffles in the pen seem very interested in you. Above the pen you see a curious red puffle on top of a post The red puffle hops down to the ground. Now it is hopping toward you.

  You run to the doors, but they’re too heavy to budge. You turn and look at the red puffle. It’s smiling. Maybe it just wants to be friends.

  At least you hope that’s what it wants. You’ve never read the ingredients on a box of Puffle-Os, but you’re pretty sure puffles are vegetarians.

  Right?

  THE END

  Back to Beginning

  You decide to try to fix it yourself, to impress Gary. You give it some thought. If water is splashing up and putting out the rocket flames, you need some kind of shield to keep the flames dry.

  You look around on the shore. There’s lots of snow, a plastic pail, some seashells . . .

  You pick up the pail. It could work as a shield to keep the water off of the rocket flames. You just have to make sure you don’t put the plastic too close to the flames, or it will melt.

  You work for a little while, making a shield from the pail. You attach it. It looks like it just might do the trick. Now all you have to do is test it.

  You paddle the board far out into the water. Then you start the rockets. They fire right up, and the surfboard goes shooting across the top of the water.

  You grip the board tightly and ride it on top of the waves. When you see a big wave approach, you lean back, and fly right over it!

  The farther you go out, the bigger the waves get. You are caught up in the rush. You keep surfing and surfing and surfing . . .

  Putt . . . putt . . . putt . . . putt . . .

  The rockets stop. You check them out. The problem isn’t the shield this time—it’s the fuel tank. You’ve surfed so far, you’re out of fuel.

  No problem, you think. I’ll just paddle back in to shore.

  But when you turn the board around, you gasp. You can’t even see Club Penguin!

  “I’m lost at sea!” you wail.

  There’s nothing for you to do but paddle and hope you see land soon. But on the bright side, once you get there, Gary’s going to be really proud of you!

  THE END

  Back to Beginning

  You just can’t wait.

  “Gary, before we start, I’ve got to show you something,” you say. “After I sent you those plans I actually designed my freeze ray. It’s right here in my bag!”

  You take the messenger bag off of your shoulder.

  “Impressive!” Gary says. “However, remember that this prototype you have made is still highly experimental.”

  “Of course,” you say, and your flippers are trembling with excitement. Gary is impressed!

  You are so excited that you open the messenger bag upside down without realizing it. Your freeze ray falls out.

  “Oh, no!” you cry. You reach out to grab it. But you’re too late. The ray clatters to the floor.

  Zap! An icy blast shoots from the ray. It hits Gary! Before you can turn off the ray, Gary is frozen solid.

  At first, you can’t believe what you are seeing. You reach out and gingerly touch Gary. He is ice cold. It looks like you have made an ice sculpture shaped like Gary—but you know it’s really him.

  For a quick second you’re proud of yourself. Your freeze ray works!

  Then panic sets in. You only tested it once before, on a pizza. That pizza is still back in your igloo, frozen solid.

  What will happen to Gary? Will he stay frozen forever?

  I’ve got to unfreeze him, fast! you think. You quickly run to the door of the Sport Shop and turn the “Open” sign to “Closed.” If a penguin walked in and saw this, it would be terrible.

  Then you take a deep breath and look at your ray. You designed your ray to unfreeze frozen things, too. But you have never tested the unfreezing ability of the ray. In fact, you’re not even sure how it works.

  You bring the freeze ray
to Gary’s desk and unscrew a tiny panel that opens up the inner compartment. There is a tangle of colored wires in there: yellow, green, red, and blue. Theoretically, the freezing will reverse if you switch around the wires that made Gary freeze.

  Think, think, think, you tell yourself. You know the yellow and green wires work together. But so do the red and blue wires.

  You know you need to switch two of the wires. But which two should you switch?

  If you switch the red and blue wires, click here.

  If you switch the yellow and green wires, click here.

  Your curiosity gets the best of you.

  “Um, maybe I should stay here and watch the Sport Shop for you,” you suggest.

  “Excellent idea,” Gary agrees. “This won’t take long. When I return, we will commence with your apprenticeship.”

  Gary puts down his coffee and hurries out the door. Through the window, you watch him waddle down the path that leads to the Town Center and the Plaza.

  You feel nervous. You won’t touch anything, you promise yourself. And just one little peek won’t hurt.

  You’re just not sure what to peek at first.

  If you look under the tarp, click here.

  If you try to open the door marked “Gary’s Room,” click here.

  “I should really go find Gary,” you decide. You start to walk across the Sport Shop when you realize you have a problem. Gary is all the way at the Plaza, in the Pizza Parlor. With your new teeny-tiny legs, it will take you forever to walk there! And you’re not even sure you can push open the door by yourself.

  Just then, the door swings open. A Tour Guide walks in. She’s pink and wearing a cap with a question mark on it. Three penguins waddle in behind her. You quickly hide behind a soccer ball.

  “Here in the Sport Shop, you will find the latest sports gear and clothing,” the Guide is saying to her group.

  Perfect! You can hitch a ride with her. With luck, she’ll take her group to the Plaza.

  “A new catalog is released about every two months,” the Guide is saying. She has her back to you. You jump on to her sneaker and grab tightly on to the laces.

  She leads the group out of the Sport Shop and down the snowy path to the Dock.

  “Here at the Dock, you can play Hydro-Hopper,” the Guide explains. You listen, trying to be patient. You will never get to the Plaza at this rate!

  “Next stop, the Coffee Shop,” the Guide says cheerfully. Thank goodness! At least you’re headed into the Town Center.

  You keep hanging on as she leads the group inside the Coffee Shop. The red stuffed couches look like big mountains. The coffee counter looks like a skyscraper.

  “Let’s go upstairs. I’ll teach you how to play mancala,” says the Guide.

  That is one detour you don’t want to take. You hop off the Tour Guide’s sneaker. You will try to hitch a ride from another penguin.

  You look up. A lime green penguin next to you is wearing a coat with big, soft pockets. He’s standing next to a stack of newspapers.

  “I sure could go for a slice of pizza,” he is saying.

  That’s just where you need to go! You scramble up the stack. From there, you should be able to hop right into his pocket.

  At that moment, another penguin comes in and grabs the newspaper out from under you. You go flying.

  “Aaaaaaah!” you scream, but you are so small nobody hears you.

  click here

  You tell the penguin, “No, thanks!” and run to the Coffee Shop.

  There it is—a green notebook on one of the tables. A server is about to pick it up.

  “My friend Gary left that here,” you tell him. “I’ll bring it to him.”

  “Thanks!” the server says.

  You can’t believe your luck. You leave the Coffee Shop and head for your time machine. In your hurry, you bump into a penguin.

  It’s Gary—from the past! “I was just coming back to get my notebook, but I see you’ve found it for me. Thank you.”

  You don’t know what to do. You are supposed to bring the notebook back to future Gary, aren’t you? Should you give this Gary the notebook instead—or make a run for it?

  If you quickly run to the time machine, click here.

  If you decide to try to explain things to Gary, click here.

  Even though the heatproof shield is heavy, you think it’s the best choice. Gary helps you attach it. Then the blue penguin in the jet pack flies you back to the Cove.

  Soon you are dangling over the blue ocean waves.

  “Ready?” he asks you.

  You turn on the rockets. “Ready!” you answer.

  Then he drops you. The surfboard is charged up and ready to go. You land on top of a crest of water and ride the wave.

  It’s awesome! The wave drops underneath your board, and you do a backflip, landing safely on the water below. The extra power from the rockets makes doing the trick easier. Confident, you decide to try a double backflip.

  “Cowabunga!” you cry. Then you steer the board over the waves. One . . . two . . . splash! You made it!

  “All right!” The rockets make surfing more fun than ever. You try some more tricks. You do a handstand on the board and try a coastal kick dancing while you’re upside down. It’s a little tricky to do at superspeed. You decide to stick to flipping.

  It’s a good decision. You soar over the waves, flipping backward and forward. After an amazing triple flip, you paddle the board back to shore.

  Some penguins crowd around you. “That was awesome!” they say. “Where did you get that board?”

  “Sorry. That’s top secret,” you tell them. Then you hurry back to the Sport Shop.

  Gary is very pleased with your report.

  “I could use a helpful penguin like you around here,” he says. “I am not quite ready for an official assistant yet. Perhaps someday. In the meantime, I’d like to call on you from time to time to help me test out new inventions.”

  “That would be great!” you say. Helping out Gary is a dream come true!

  THE END

  Back to Beginning

  You press the round button.

  Zap! The machine shoots out another laser. You dive off the shoe box to make sure the beam hits you.

  Your body starts to tingle once more. You watch, thrilled, as your body begins to grow. Soon you’re back to normal size.

  But your body is still tingling, and you keep growing. Soon, you’re taller than the machine. Then your head starts to graze the ceiling of the Sport Shop. Luckily, you’re thinking clearly. You quickly run outside the door.

  You keep growing . . . and growing . . . and growing. You don’t stop until you’re taller than the top of the two-story Sport Shop. You’re so tall, you can see the top of the Ski Hill!

  “Hello up there!”

  You look down to see Gary standing at your very big feet. A small crowd of penguins has gathered nearby, too.

  “Hi, Gary!” you call down. “I, um, got into a little bit of trouble.”

  “Looks like a big bit of trouble to me,” Gary says, chuckling. “Let me retrieve the Size-a-Tron 3000.”

  Gary goes inside the shop and comes out dragging the machine. He points the laser at you and pushes the big button. A green beam flashes quickly, and then burns out. Gary frowns. He examines the machine for a moment.

  “There appears to be a malfunction,” Gary says. “Fortunately, it’s fixable. We should have you back to normal in a few days.”

  “A few days!” you wail. “What am I going to do?”

  Gary smiles. “I would suggest ordering your pizzas with extra cheese,” he jokes.

  THE END

  Back to Beginning

  You remind yourself you’re here to learn from Gary. Besides, you love pizza too much to let the Pizzatron 3000 stay broken.

  “Of course I’ll go with you,” you say.

  You and Gary hurry to the Pizza Parlor. When you enter, a blast of warm air from the pizza ovens greets you. Relax
ing piano music plays. But the candlelit tables are all empty.

  The Pizza Parlor manager rushes over to greet you.

  “Gary, I’m so glad you’re here!” he says. “The conveyor belt on the Pizzatron 3000 has stopped moving. I can’t make any more pizzas. If you can’t get the machine working, I’ll have to close the shop!”

  “It sounds like a simple malfunction,” Gary tells him. “Let me see the machine.”

  You follow Gary and the manager through the beaded curtain leading to the kitchen. The Pizzatron 3000 has come to a dead stop.

  The main part of the machine is a tall metal box with an on/off switch. From there, pizza dough is dropped onto the conveyor belt. Toppings like sauce and seaweed are added. Then the finished pizzas drop off of the conveyor belt and are delivered to customers.

  “I will examine the motor,” Gary says. He points to a gear box underneath the conveyor belt. “The levers are in the wrong starting position. Can you reset them correctly for me?”

  You realize that Gary is talking to you.

  “Sure,” you say. You look down at the box.

  There are five levers attached to the box: two red ones, two green ones, and a blue one. You see that all five levers are pushed in. You know that some of them should be pulled out—you’re just not sure which ones.

  Gary starts to tinker with the motor, and you start to sweat. You must have made a million pizzas using the Pizzatron 3000, but you can’t remember which levers to pull out. But you do know it’s not the blue lever . . .