GoldieBlox Chapter Book #1

by Stacy McAnulty

  Copyright © 2017 GoldieBlox, Inc. All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019, and in Canada by Penguin Random House Canada Limited, Toronto.

  Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC. GoldieBlox and all related titles, logos, and characters are registered trademarks of GoldieBlox, Inc.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: McAnulty, Stacy, author. | Marlin, Lissy, illustrator.

  Title: Goldie Blox rules the school! / by Stacy McAnulty ;

  [illustrated by Lissy Marlin].

  Description: First edition. | New York : Random House, 2017. | Series: Goldie Blox and the Gearheads ; book 1

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016025778 | ISBN 978-0-399-55634-0 (paperback) | ISBN 978-0-399-55635-7 (lib. bdg.) | ISBN 978-0-399-55648-7 (ebook)

  Subjects: | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Media Tie-In. | JUVENILE FICTION / Humorous Stories. | JUVENILE FICTION / Science & Technology.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.M47825255 Gol 2017 | DDC [Fic]—dc23

  Ebook ISBN 9780399556487

  Visit us on the Web!

  randomhousekids.com

  goldieblox.com

  This book has been officially leveled by using the F&P Text Level Gradient™ Leveling System.

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  v4.1

  a

  For Lori Kilkelly —S.M.

  For Mary Viruleg, my math teacher who made me believe I could be an engineer —D.S.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  1. Officially Closed

  2. An Aluminum Cube Is Full of Potential

  3. Robot Tug-of-War

  4. Slim, Itchy Farts

  5. Wolves Drowning in Syrup

  6. A Three-Step Plan

  7. Dumpster Diving

  8. Automatic Envelope Licker

  9. Avocado-Chocolate-Bacon Smoothies

  10. Sixty-Seven Decibels

  11. An Ice Cream Dinner

  12. No One Is Going to Jail

  13. A Proud Higgs Bozon Cube

  14. Never!

  About the Author

  The first alarm clock rang. Goldie Blox snored on. The second alarm buzzed. Goldie didn’t lift an eyelid. The third alarm clock blared like a siren, and her bed’s ejection mechanism threw her across the room.

  She landed at the top of a slide. Two whirling mechanical arms pulled a T-shirt over her head and gave her a push. Goldie slid down into a pair of overalls. At the bottom of the slide, a spring shot her to the ceiling fan. She twirled around and around until her crazy hair was even crazier—exactly how she liked it. Then she let go and sailed off the fan and onto a trampoline. As she bounced, four toothbrushes cleaned her teeth before she jumped off and went flying again. She landed upside down in her laundry basket.

  “I’m awake. I’m awake!”

  Nacho, her basset hound, pulled her out of the basket. He licked her cheek.

  “I was supposed to land in my sneakers. And not upside down. I’ll make some adjustments for tomorrow.” Goldie scratched her pet under his chin. She tilted her nose up into the air. “Do you smell that?”

  Nacho sniffed his pawpits. If something smelled bad, it was usually coming from him.

  “It’s Dad’s famous cornflake, peanut butter, and bacon waffles! He only makes them on special occasions.” Goldie yanked on her sneakers. “Let’s go, Nacho.”

  She twirled down the fireman’s pole into the kitchen. It was two seconds faster than taking the twisty slide. Nacho jumped into a motorized shopping cart and rode the tracks right to his food bowl.

  Junie and Beau Blox, Goldie’s parents, sat quietly at the table. Goldie could tell right away that this was not a celebration.

  “Mom, Dad, what’s up? You didn’t go into the BloxShop, did you?” Goldie had left a bit of a mess—more like a disaster—in her workshop. Her food converter was still in the prototype stage. Instead of turning an orange into a lollipop, it had blown the orange to smithereens. Then it had blown up an apple, a watermelon, and two pineapples. The BloxShop looked like the inside of a blender.

  “What did you do, Goldie?” her mom asked. She shook her head. “Never mind. That’s not important. Sit down, sweetie.”

  Sweetie? This is serious, Goldie thought. She sank into a kitchen chair and took a deep breath.

  “The Blox School is officially closed,” her mom said. “I’m sorry.”

  “What? Why?” Goldie had been attending the Blox School since kindergarten. It wasn’t a big, normal school. Her mom was the only teacher, and each year there were just four or five students, including Goldie. The other kids were usually new to town and didn’t stay long.

  “Mayor Zander shut it down,” her dad said. “After you blew off the second story, the mayor was worried—”

  “I didn’t blow it off,” Goldie interrupted. “I accidentally sent the upstairs into orbit. It’ll land on Mars next year.” She’d only meant to shoot a small rocket into space, not the entire second story of the school. She wished she’d double-checked her calculations. Still, the launch had been epic. It even made the nightly news.

  “We know you’d never destroy something on purpose,” her dad said.

  “I’m sorry.” Goldie brightened. “But I bet we could fix it together.” Her dad worked for a construction company. It wouldn’t be the first time he had helped Goldie repair something.

  “That’s not the plan,” her mom said.

  “So…am I not going to school anymore?” The idea wasn’t awful. Goldie liked school, but without it, she’d have more time for engineering gadgets.

  “Of course you’re going to school,” her mom said. “You’ll be attending Higgs Bozon Prep.” HiBo only accepted gifted students. Kids who got into HiBo had to pass a series of long and difficult tests.

  “Here, have some waffles,” her dad said. “I added a dash of hot pepper to make them more exciting.”

  Goldie loaded her plate and covered the waffles with butter and syrup. “I’m not HiBo material,” she said through a mouthful of waffle. “I’m not a genius genius.”

  Goldie didn’t know her exact IQ. She could never sit long enough to finish the test. She was happy being a creative genius. Someone who would one day change the world—or accidentally cover it in maple syrup.

  “Remember, I went to Higgs Bozon,” her mom said. “And I’ve made a few calls to the school. You are officially looking at their new biology teacher. How’s that for timing?” Her mom finished a cup of coffee and poured another.

  “I’m not surprised.” Goldie swallowed a huge bite of waffle. “You’re an awesome teacher, Mom.” A piece of waffle stuck in her throat as she thought of something. “Don’t I have to take the tests to get into HiBo?” She shuddered.

  “Since I teach there now, you’re allowed to go to Higgs Bozon without taking the qualification exams,” her mom told her.

  “And don’t forget the best part,” her dad said. “You get to go to school with Li.”

  Li Zhang was Goldie’s BFFND—best friend from next door. They’d met when they were both in diapers. Goldie was still trying to invent something to erase that memory.

  “It’s going to be great,” her mom said.

  Goldie wanted to believe her. But it was hard to imagine that any school could be better than the Blox School.

  “When do we start?” Goldie asked.

  “The first bell rings in forty-five minutes,” her dad repl
ied. “And if you have a hard time, just remember my motto. When life closes a door, what do we do?”

  “Blast a hole in the roof!” Goldie yelled.

  Her dad laughed. “I was going to say open a window. But that works, too.” He gave her a hug. “Please don’t blast a hole in anything on your first day.”

  After breakfast, Goldie climbed the rope ladder up to her room. She filled a backpack with all her school supplies: her hammer, a tape measure, two screwdrivers, her graph-paper notebook that only had three unused pages, duct tape, and a can opener that was also a metal detector.

  “Wish me luck,” she said to Nacho, giving him a kiss goodbye.

  With her skateboard tucked under one arm, she stepped onto the window ledge and grabbed the zip line that connected her house to Li’s.

  “Three…two…one…Wheeee!” Goldie sailed over the yard and landed on Li’s front porch. She rang the doorbell and waited two entire seconds before letting herself in.

  “Hi, Mr. Zhang!” she shouted to Li’s grandfather. She had to yell to be heard over all the tick-tock noise. The house was full of hundreds of clocks, all handmade by Mr. Zhang.

  “Hello, Goldie. Would you care for some prune juice?” Mr. Zhang shuffled along the hall. He only got halfway before Li flew down the stairs and landed in front of Goldie.

  “Hey, G, what’s up?” Li asked.

  “Big news,” Goldie said. “I’m going to HiBo Prep with you.”

  “Excellent!” Li pulled on his cap.

  They said goodbye to Mr. Zhang and headed out the door. Li grabbed his hoverboard, and Goldie jumped on her skateboard.

  “Race you!” Goldie took off like a bolt of lightning.

  “You’re on!” Li yelled from behind.

  Goldie nearly fell rounding the first corner. Li was right on her tail. She weaved so that he couldn’t pass.

  “Eat my dust!” Goldie laughed.

  “Can’t,” Li shouted back. “I’m taking a shortcut!” He turned down an alley and zoomed out of sight.

  Goldie flipped a switch with her foot, and the skateboard’s jetpacks sparked to life.

  “Whoa!” Goldie shot past a bike and a motorcycle. A few seconds later, the school was in sight but Li wasn’t.

  Nice shortcut, Goldie thought.

  Suddenly, someone knocked her off her board. Goldie rolled across the grass, colliding with knees and elbows.

  “Hey!” she yelled when she stopped spinning.

  “Sorry.” Li groaned as he got to his feet. “Boards aren’t allowed on school property. I was trying to save you from getting in trouble before you even got to your first class.”

  “Thanks. I think.” Goldie plucked one blade of grass from her hair, leaving a dozen more behind.

  Li hid the boards behind a mailbox. Then he motioned for Goldie to follow him into HiBo Prep. It looked nothing like the Blox School. Everything from the floor to the lockers to the walls was white, black, or gray. A large aluminum cube sat in the middle of the front hall.

  Goldie read the sign in front of it. HIGGS BOZON PREP’S MASCOT. BECAUSE LIKE A STUDENT, AN ALUMINUM CUBE IS FULL OF POTENTIAL.

  She slid her hands over the cube.

  “What are you doing?” Li asked. “Don’t touch it.”

  “I’m looking for the secret button.” Goldie examined it from every side. “It must do something, like turn into a disco ball or a fog machine or a toaster oven. Don’t kids at HiBo like toast?”

  Li sighed. “It’s just a cube, G.”

  For now, Goldie thought. She’d draw ideas in her notebook later.

  In the main office, Goldie got her schedule. Li looked it over.

  “Bummer, we don’t have any classes together. But I’ll see you at lunch.” He walked her to her first class. It wasn’t anywhere near her mom’s new classroom. They might as well have been in different schools.

  “Don’t worry, G,” Li said. “You’ll be fine. Just don’t be too creative. At least not on your first day.” He gave her a fist bump. “See ya.”

  No sweat, Goldie thought as she took a deep breath and walked toward the classroom door. She also walked into a frowning boy with thick dark hair and square-framed glasses.

  He glared at her.

  “Sorry,” she said. “Didn’t see you.”

  “You new?” he asked.

  “First day. My name’s Goldie Blox.”

  The boy’s eyebrows shot up. He recognized her name. Bloxtown was named after Goldie’s grandmother, after all. “I’m Zeek Zander,” he said.

  Goldie recognized his name, too. “Are you related to Mayor Zander?”

  “He’s my dad,” Zeek said proudly.

  A small, shiny object floated behind Zeek. Goldie couldn’t believe she hadn’t noticed it right away.

  “Is that a phone?” she asked.

  “Not just a phone. It’s a Butler Phone.” Zeek smiled wickedly. “It’s part phone, part hovercraft. And it can do anything.” He clapped his hands twice and yelled, “Butler! Send a message to my parents that I want cookies after school.”

  “Done, Master Zeek. Anything else, sir?” The phone spoke with a British accent.

  “Tell me what the weather will be today in Norway.”

  “Cloudy but mild, Master Zeek. Would you like me to book you a plane ticket?”

  “Nah.”

  “That’s so cool,” Goldie said. “Did you invent it?”

  Zeek’s face wrinkled in confusion. “No. I ordered it online.”

  “Can I try?” Goldie asked.

  “No way. You don’t know—”

  But Goldie had already made up her mind. “Butler, play some rock music. And play it like you mean it.”

  “Yes, miss.” The sounds of an electric guitar and drums blasted through the hall. Goldie’s head bobbed to the beat.

  “Noooo!” Zeek yelled. “Butler, you don’t take orders from her.”

  The music stopped at once.

  “My apologies, Master Zeek,” the phone said, and it floated back a few feet.

  Zeek leaned over Goldie. “Never talk to my Butler Phone again.”

  Goldie folded her arms. “I can’t. Never is not in my vocabulary.”

  As Zeek and Goldie scowled at each other, the first bell rang. Or maybe Goldie was hearing a ringing in her ears from the loud music. She followed Zeek into the classroom and found an empty seat in the back row.

  After a few announcements, their teacher Mr. Greg began class with a quiz.

  “I’m an A-plus teacher, so I expect A-plus grades,” he said from his desk. Mr. Greg didn’t get up to hand out papers. Instead, a sleek robot rolled forward from the shadows. Across its chest was written TEACHATRON 5000. It zoomed through the class, and every student had a quiz within seconds.

  Wow, Goldie thought. I’d love to take that apart and see how it works.

  “You may begin the quiz,” Mr. Greg said.

  Since it was her first day, Goldie knew she might be behind. Still, she wanted to give it her best shot. She dug through her backpack looking for a pen or pencil.

  I must have one in here somewhere, she thought.

  No pen. No pencil. Then she remembered. She ran a hand through her crazy hair and pulled out a purple marker. It wasn’t just a marker. It was also a hole punch and a toothbrush. Goldie liked every tool to have more than one function.

  She read the first question on the test. I know this! She was about to write down the correct answer when Mr. Greg yelled from the front of the room, “What is that, Miss Blox?”

  Everyone looked up.

  Goldie froze, her hand inches from the test. “A marker.”

  “A marker? We only use click-o-matic pencils in this class. It’s rule number seventeen.” Mr. Greg pointed to a list on the wall.

  Goldie squinted to read it. “Wowzies! This class has one hundred twenty-three rules.” She couldn’t believe it. It would take her a year to come up with that many rules.

  “Remove that marker,” Mr. Greg ordered the Te
achatron 5000.

  The sleek robot rolled over to Goldie’s desk. The pinchy claws latched onto the marker. But Goldie refused to let go. Suddenly, she was in a tug-of-war with a robot. Unfortunately for the Teachatron, Goldie did not like to lose. She yanked as hard as she could.

  “Yes!” Goldie held the marker over her head. The robot’s arm was still attached to it.

  “Oh no!” Mr. Greg shrieked. “My darling.” He hugged the broken Teachatron and sobbed.

  “Whoopsie.” Goldie tried to hand Mr. Greg the robot arm. “I’m sorry.”

  Mr. Greg kept crying. “No, no, no.”

  “Hey, Zeek,” Goldie whispered. “Can I borrow a clicky pencil?” He had three sitting on his desk.

  “No. You need to come prepared.” Zeek refused to look at her.

  “I can’t go on!” Mr. Greg wailed. “Class is over.” He wheeled his Teachatron out of the room. The students stared, shocked.

  “You’ve ruined everything,” Zeek growled. “Who doesn’t bring a pencil to school?”

  A girl in a gray hoodie and pink glasses turned around in her seat. Goldie worried she might yell at her, too. But instead, the girl handed Goldie a new click-o-matic pencil.

  “Thanks, I’m—” The girl turned back around before Goldie could introduce herself.

  “What do we do now without Mr. Greg and the Teachatron?” someone in the front row asked.

  The students all shrugged.

  “We could dissect the Teachatron’s arm,” Goldie suggested.

  Twenty kids stared at her with their mouths wide open.

  “If we know how it works, it’ll be easy to reattach when Mr. Greg comes back.” No one agreed with her. But no one disagreed either. Goldie took the robot arm to the front of the room. She used her screwdrivers to take it apart. The entire class watched but said nothing as she removed wires and mini motors. Goldie was still fiddling with the arm when the bell rang and the class filed silently out of the room.

  Things will get better, Goldie thought.