Part 10 (1/2)
”No, that makes it sound like we spend most of our time sleeping in front of the TV,” my dad said. ”We need something daring and original, something that recalls our previous experience while taking us solidly into a bold new future.”
He suddenly rose to his feet. ”And I think I have it!”
I leaned closer to the door, eager to hear my dad's brainstorm.
”We'll call ourselves”-he paused for dramatic effect-”the New New Crusaders!”
CHAPTER NINETEEN.
What Goes Up ...
I tried not to think about the awful name my dad had given his new team. At school the next morning, my priority was to see that my team's fight was behind us. I ran into Plasma Girl and Tadpole just as I reached the main entrance. Before we could even say good morning, the school bus pulled up and Halogen Boy stepped out.
”Hey, guys.” He greeted us as if nothing bad had happened yesterday. ”Is the card still safe?”
”Stench isn't here yet,” I replied, ”but I'm sure it's fine.”
”I hope he leaves it at headquarters.” Plasma Girl shuddered slightly. ”I don't want it causing us any more trouble here at school.”
”You're right,” Tadpole agreed. ”Something as awesomely valuable as that will just tempt someone if we keep showing it off. After all, at best, there's only one other in existence.”
”Hey guyth, gueth what I got my handth on?”
Turning around, we all got sprayed with seeds as Melonhead approached us. Normally it would have annoyed us, but this time we were too stunned by what he was holding-a Professor Brain-Drain card identical to our own.
”He stole our card!” Tadpole shouted.
Before anyone could stop him, he had pounced on Melonhead, and they both fell onto the pavement. Tadpole was on top and, I believe, trying to wrap his hands around Melonhead's neck. Of course since Melonhead's neck is actually the widest part of his head, Tadpole wasn't going to get anywhere with that. Nevertheless, Melonhead fought back the best way he knew how, and Tadpole found himself being pummeled with watermelon seeds to such an extent that he had no choice but to back off, s.h.i.+elding his face from the barrage of miniature projectiles.
”Great thethame! Thtop athaulting me,” Melon-head sputtered. ”Thith ithn't your card, for crimany thaketh!”
”What else could it be,” Tadpole hollered as me and Hal restrained him.
”There is is another card, Tadpole,” Plasma Girl reminded him. ”Maybe Melonhead found it.” another card, Tadpole,” Plasma Girl reminded him. ”Maybe Melonhead found it.”
”Egthactly,” Melonhead said as he got back on his feet. ”Ekthept I didn't find it in a thtore. I bought it from thith weird-looking guy who offered it to me on the thtreet. I paid him twenty dollarth for it.”
”Then he he must have stolen it from us!” Tadpole raged as we continued to hold him down. must have stolen it from us!” Tadpole raged as we continued to hold him down.
Just then Stench arrived. He didn't even have time to speak before Tadpole shouted at him.
”Someone stole our card that you were supposed to keep safe!”
”It is safe,” Stench said, looking completely confused. ”I saw it less than ten minutes ago. It's just where we left it.”
”Thee!” Melonhead sprayed a slew of seeds directly into Tadpole's face before picking up his book bag and stomping off. In my opinion Tadpole deserved it. Before we could explain anything to Stench, the school bell rang and we all had to go inside.
Seeing Melonhead with the other card had been somewhat disturbing, but at least it was possible. What we discovered once we got inside the cla.s.sroom was cataclysmically, impossibly disastrous.
”Look what I found,” the Spore wheezed as he held up a Professor Brain-Drain card already covered in mildew. ”I only had to pay ten dollars for it.”
”You're kidding! I paid twenty-five dollars for mine,” Cannonball complained, coming in right behind me. Sure enough, he had one, too.
”Mine cost me fifty dollars,” wailed Lobster Boy. ”Plus my bike.”
Just then Transparent Girl came into the room. She had faded away to nothing but a pale outline, with the exception of her brand-new Professor Brain-Drain card.
”Look what I have,” she said. ”I tried to get it in exchange for my twenty-six AI cards, but the man who sold it to me wouldn't believe that I didn't have any money-partly because he could see the bills in my pocket. I ended up paying everything I had-sixty dollars. But it was worth it.”
”Really?” I said, at least getting some small amus.e.m.e.nt out of this catastrophe. ”Just look around.”
Transparent Girl didn't need to be visible for me to imagine her mouth dropping open at the sight of a cla.s.s full of Professor Brain-Drain cards. Puddle Boy was now displaying his as well.
”I bought three,” he informed no one in particular. ”The other two are safe in collector bags.”
As usual, the room was in an uproar when Miss Marble arrived. It took all her skills to get everyone to sit down in their seats.
”If everyone doesn't calm down, I'll have Princ.i.p.al Doppelganger down here in two seconds flat,” she threatened. ”Now what's causing the commotion this morning?”
”We've all found Professor Brain-Drain cards,” Cannonball announced proudly. ”Now we're all rich!”
”Is that so?” Miss Marble said as she gave me a sideways glance. From the look on her face I could tell [image]
she found this development as odd as I did.
”And just what did you pay for yours?” she asked Cannonball.
”Only twenty-five dollars,” he said proudly.
The cla.s.s once again erupted as everyone began shouting out how much he or she had paid. I gave a befuddled look to Stench and Plasma Girl, both of whom just shrugged. At that moment the Banshee shrieked that she had paid a hundred dollars for her card. As I wondered where she would have even gotten a hundred dollars, I felt a telltale rigidity running through my body. We had achieved a brand-new record in bad cla.s.s behavior.
”Okay, students,” Miss Marble said, rather calmly and patiently considering the situation. ”Today you're going to learn why we make children go to school. It is precisely to prevent you from doing the incredibly stupid sort of thing that you all did this morning.”
Miss Marble can sometimes be insulting, but today I think she had a point.
”As I said yesterday,” she continued, ”and as all of you clearly forgot-a.s.suming your brains even absorbed it to begin with ...”
”I absorbed it,” volunteered the Human Sponge, whose porous lips allowed her to mumble somewhat despite being frozen.