Pop Goes the Bubble Trouble Read online

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1 CLEANUP ON AISLE NINE

  CHAPTER 2 PRESTO PRIZE-O!

  CHAPTER 3 SHHWOOP!

  CHAPTER 4 THE CITY OF VENDING

  CHAPTER 5 OH CHUTE!

  CHAPTER 6 TINA’S TERRIBLE TALE

  CHAPTER 7 THE RESCUE CREW

  CHAPTER 8 A GIANT PLAN

  CHAPTER 9 BUBBLE TROUBLE

  CHAPTER 10 THE FRIENDSHIP DOOR

  THE GREAT BUNNY ESCAPE EXCERPT

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR

  To Bruce, whose stomach and joy for life know no bounds

  —G. S.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Cleanup on Aisle Nine

  SPLAT!

  I turn around just in time to see an orange tumble off the tippy-top of the orange pile and sploosh all over the floor.

  That’s the third one in two minutes!

  Mom and I are at the grocery store—one of the best places in the world. Obviously. Who doesn’t love food?

  But something keeps knocking the fruit over. And it’s not me! I pinkie swear!

  Just in case, I steer extra clear of the bananas.

  KER-SPLAT! KER-SPLUNK!

  Across the aisle, two peaches splatter to the floor like juicy yellow fruit bombs. And that’s when I see him, sitting on top of the peaches like a little purple monkey with antlers.

  “Posey!” I whisper loudly. “What are you doing up there?”

  “Shopping!” he shouts with a big sticky grin.

  He hops down from the pile in one giant leap, knocking over more fruit. Peach juice drips from his chin.

  “These samples are amazing!” he says, grabbing an apple and taking a huge bite.

  “Those aren’t samples!” I tell him, taking the apple out of his hand. “They are for sale. You have to pay for them first!” Obviously.

  “Oh,” he says, looking a little disappointed. “But I’m hungry!”

  I roll my eyes. “You should never go to the grocery store hungry. It makes you want to eat everything!”

  Then I swivel the cart around and catch up with Mom. She’s moved to the cereal aisle.

  “Ooh, Imagination Crunch!” Posey shouts, spying a rainbow-colored cereal box. He throws it into the cart. I quickly take it out and shove it back on the shelf.

  “Daisy,” Mom questions when I turn back around, “why are there Gooey Roll-Ups in our cart?”

  I grab the Gooey Roll-Ups and put those back too. “Sorry, Mom!” I turn and wag my finger at my imaginary friend.

  “Posey!” I whisper. “You have to stop!” But he ignores me.

  “Can I drive the cart?” he asks.

  “No,” I say firmly. “Remember, you are invisible, and it’ll look like nobody’s driving the cart.”

  Then Posey points at something on the other side of the store.

  “Hey, is that Jasmine?” he asks.

  I whip around to look for my best friend. “Where?”

  And before I can even blink, Posey grabs the shopping cart and zooms down the aisle.

  “Wheee!” he shouts.

  I race after him and whisper-shout, “Posey, STOP!”

  But it’s too late. WHAM!

  Posey smashes into a pyramid of canned corn. He looks at me with a sheepish grin. “Cleanup on aisle nine!”

  But it’s only sort of funny, because now we have to pick up his mess.

  “Are you okay?” I ask. “You could have majorly hurt yourself! Or someone else!”

  Posey looks down and watches a can of corn roll toward the wall. “Oops. I didn’t think about that.”

  I sigh and begin to pick up the cans and stack them back up.

  “It’s all right,” I say. “I know you didn’t mean for it to go badly, but sometimes you have to listen! Something super fun can become super unfun in a hurry!”

  Then my mom comes back from another aisle with a box of spaghetti.

  “There you are!” she says as I place the last can back on the top of the display. “Ready to go?”

  Posey and I both smile innocently, even though Mom can only see me.

  “Yep!” I say. “I am so ready to go.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Presto Prize-o!

  “Cash or credit?” the man at the checkout counter asks my mom. Mom pulls out her credit card.

  “We’re almost finished,” I whisper to Posey, but he’s gone. I don’t see him anywhere. Then I hear it.

  RATTLE. RATTLE. RATTLE. Posey is shaking the knobs on the vending machines with toys.

  “It’s nice to meet you!” he says to one of the machines.

  Then he does it to another one. RATTLE. RATTLE. RATTLE.

  “It’s nice to meet you, too!” He introduces himself to every single one.

  Of course, the rest of the real world only sees the handles turning . . . by themselves. Customers are mumbling as I race over and cover Posey’s hand.

  “Posey. What are you doing?” I ask.

  He looks up at me with his adorable grin. “I’m introducing myself to these magnificent machines and the cute little creatures inside them! But none of them are very polite. They haven’t said hi back!”

  I shake my head in disbelief.

  “That’s because vending machines and toys can’t talk!” I tell him.

  Posey’s eyebrows shoot up. “What do you mean, they can’t talk?”

  Posey just doesn’t get the real world.

  “Because they are not alive,” I say, pulling some change out of my pocket. “And you have to pay for them. Watch.” I stick the coins into the slot and twist the knob.

  Then I open the flap and let the capsule drop into my hand. “Ta-da! Presto prize-o!”

  Posey cups his hand over his mouth.

  “That’s ridiculous!” he exclaims. “In the World of Make-Believe no one takes Bubbles. And the Bubbles all talk!”

  I shake my head again and ask, “What are Bubbles? Is this another one of your silly tricks?”

  Posey put his hands on his hips. “This is not a trick!” he says. “Bubbles are just like the prizes in your vending machines, except they’re real. And they can talk. I can prove it.”

  Hmm. Real talking toys? Now this I’ve got to see!

  CHAPTER THREE

  SHHWOOP!

  “Milk!” I shout, handing a carton of milk to my mom. She puts it in the refrigerator. Mom and I always make a game out of putting the groceries away. Now it’s her turn.

  “Peanut butter!” she yells, passing a jar of peanut butter to me. I open the cupboard to put it away, and there’s Posey, sitting inside the cupboard.

  “Can we go upstairs now?” he asks.

  “No, not yet,” I tell him. “I’m helping my mom!” I close the cupboard door and hand Mom a bag of oranges. Then she passes me a jar of spaghetti sauce—and you-know-who is still in the cupboard!

  “Can we go up now?” Posey asks.

  I shove the spaghetti sauce onto the shelf beside him.

  “Does it look like I’m done yet?” I say, a little annoyed.

  Posey makes a pouty fish face and hops to the floor.

  “Okay, I’ll wait upstairs,” he says.

  When I’m done in the kitchen, I scamper upstairs. Posey’s waiting, pen in hand.

  “You sure took long enough!” he complains.

  I frown. “I told you, I had to put the groceries away before I could play. You need to listen to your friends.”

  Posey lets out a long sigh. “Sorry,” he says. “Can we go to the WOM now?”

  I nod, and Posey floats to my ceiling and draws a weird-looking door. It looks just like a flap on a vending machine!

  “Real kids first!” Posey says.


  He lifts the flap open and . . . SHHHWOOOOOP! I get sucked up like a vacuum.

  “WAHOOO!” I shout as I do a backward loop the loop. Then I slide out of the tube and onto a soft, bouncy floor.

  BOING! BOING! BOING!

  I flip-flop around like a fish before I come to a stop. Then I look for Posey, but he doesn’t pop out behind me, so I crawl back to the chute and peek inside. He’s not in there, either.

  “What are you looking for?” asks someone from above me.

  I look up and see a big blue hand floating inside a plastic bubble. The hand has a face and smiles at me.

  Did that toy just talk?

  Then the talking vending machine bubble toy asks, “May I give you . . . a hand?”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  The City of Vending

  The blue hand floats above me in his plastic capsule like a crazy see-through UFO, which stands for “unidentified flying object.” Obviously.

  “You can talk!” I say.

  The hand chuckles. “Well, yes. I suppose I can!” he says.

  I blush. “Are you a Bubble?” I ask, remembering why Posey brought me here in the first place.

  The hand wiggles all his fingers happily. “I am a Bubble, indeed! Call me Luke.”

  I stand, trying to keep my balance on the springy floor. “Nice to meet you, Luke. I’m Daisy. I’m waiting for my imaginary friend, Posey. He was right behind me and should be here any second.”

  Luke glances around. “Well, that may not be true,” he says.

  I bite my bottom lip because I am not fond of iffyness. “What do you mean?” I ask.

  Then Luke explains that I am in the city of Vending and that the topsy-turvy slides may start in one place and end up in another.

  I imagine lots of twisty-turny slides that go this way and that. “Do you think my friend Posey entered Vending by a different route?”

  Luke nods. “Yes, I do,” he says. “Would you like me to help you find him?”

  “Please!” I say.

  I take a wibbly-wobbly step on the bouncy floor. I swing my arms to get my balance, but it’s no use. I topple and bounce across the ground until I bump into an invisible wall. It’s glass!

  I press my hands against the glass wall as I stand up. Outside I can see the whole wide, dazzling World of Make-Believe! And then I realize something extraordinary. “Am I inside a giant vending machine?”

  Luke’s eyes light up. “That’s why we call it the city of Vending,” he says. “We have some of the finest views in the entire WOM.”

  He’s right. I can see for miles. “It’s beautiful!” I tell him. “But it’s hard to get around—the floor is so springy.”

  Luke snaps his fingers. “What you need is a bubble!”

  My eyes widen. “Oh, yes please! How do I get one?”

  Luke zooms in closer to me.

  “It’s easy!” he says. “All you have to do is say, ‘Bubble, bubble, on the double, keep me safe from any trouble!’ ”

  I repeat the words out loud, and a magical toy capsule surrounds my whole body. Suddenly I’m floating! I lean forward carefully, and I begin to fly! Sweet! When I lean left, I go left. When I lean right, I go right. It is truly magical.

  “Okay,” I say, “let’s go find my imaginary friend!”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Oh Chute!

  The city of Vending is filled with living bubble toys! But it also has shops, restaurants, and playgrounds. The center of Vending has a huge fountain. On the tippy-top of the waterspout there is something bobbing up and down.

  “Who could that be?” Luke asks. He points his jellylike finger at the fountain.

  I take a closer look. Then I LOL: Laugh. Out. Loud. I know who it is.

  “That is my friend Posey!” I cry. Then my silly purple buddy waves as he flips over and over on the waterspout. I roll my eyes and wave back. Three other Bubbles arrive to help Posey—a shiny red car, a sparkly ring, and a neon-green frog eraser! When they finally get him down, he flies over to me with his rescuers close behind.

  The shiny red car has a few words for Posey. “Hmm, I hate to burst your bubble,” he says, “but playing in the fountain is against the rules here.”

  Posey explains that he didn’t mean to—it’s just where his slide ended. Then the three Bubble friends look at one another and burst out laughing.

  “Well, that’s just bad design,” says the shiny red car. “My name is Carlo. This is Tina, the sparkling ring, and Bop, the glow-in-the-dark eraser.”

  Posey introduces both of us while I introduce Luke to everyone.

  “Hey, would you like to go on the Chutes?” asks Bop. “They are much more fun than riding on the town fountain.”

  Posey and I never turn down an invitation for fun.

  “Of course we want to go!” we say. Then we zip after our new friends.

  The Chutes are made up of a whole bunch of different slides. They swirl and spiral around the city like spaghetti noodles. Carlo flies to the top of one and zips down. Then it’s my turn. I curve one way and then another. Then I do a triple loop the loop. It’s the dizziest!

  “AGAIN!” I shout when I come to a stop. But first I have to fix my pigtails. Everyone waits for me. Obviously.

  “I’m curious,” Posey says. “If there are so many slides inside Vending, how do you get out?”

  This slide question seems to make all these Bubbles uncomfortable. Posey and I give each other a look.

  Luckily, Tina breaks the weird silence. “Most Bubbles never leave Vending,” she confesses. “Except my best friend, Downy the pom-pom. But that’s a strange story.”

  Well, I love strange stories, I think. “Can you tell us more?” I ask.

  The Bubbles look from side to side as if they’re worried somebody might be listening in. Then Bop presses his bubble close to mine.

  “We’re having trouble,” he whispers. “Trouble with holes.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Tina’s Terrible Tale

  “Holes?” Posey whispers—since it seems to be a whispery topic. “What kind of holes?”

  Carlo asks us to follow him. He leads us to a huge dark hole in the ground. It is surrounded by yellow caution tape. The hole seems to go down and down forever.

  “Hole-y moly!” I whisper.

  Posey and I take a step back for fear of falling in.

  “This hole appeared without warning,” Bop explains.

  I notice that Tina looks sad. “Are you okay?” I ask as tenderly as I can.

  Then she dabs her eyes with a handkerchief.

  “This is the hole my friend Downy fell into,” she says, trying not to cry. “And it’s all my fault! You see, Downy loves to sing. We were playing and she asked me to sing with her, but I wanted to race.”

  The ring looked down. “I didn’t listen to her and zoomed ahead. Downy chased after me. She asked me to slow down, but I still wouldn’t listen. When I looked back, the hole was here and Downy was gone.”

  Tina bursts into tears, and Carlo and Bop try to comfort her.

  “Now everyone in Vending is afraid of the holes,” Luke says. “Most Bubbles won’t even come outside to play anymore.”

  Posey turns and looks at me gravely. “What do you think is going on, Daisy?” he asks.

  I have no idea, but I’m very super-seriously thinking about it. I start to form a hypothesis, which is a fancy word for a guess about what happened. I look at the Bubbles. I look at their city. Then it hits me. We are inside a huge vending machine. And what do people want from a vending machine? I ask myself. They want toys.

  I raise my finger in an aha move to get the group’s attention.

  “Where I come from,” I explain, “kids collect toys from vending machines. I think someone outside of Vending thinks the Bubbles are toys to collect!”

  Everyone gasps.

  “Why would they do that?” Tina asks. “Toys are not the same thing as friends.”

  I try to explain my hypothesis. “Well, in the
real world, toys are fun and cool! Everybody wants toys. The only difference is that back in the real world, the toys are not alive.”

  Then everyone starts talking at once because we know we’re onto something.

  As we’re all blabbing away, a new dark hole opens up under Posey and—shhwoop!—it swallows him up.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The Rescue Crew

  “We have to rescue Posey!” I shout, jumping up and down and pointing at the hole. My new friends stare at me in total disbelief.

  Then I smile the biggest smile. Mom calls it my determined smile. When it flashes across my face, it means I am going to get the job done, no matter what.

  “Bubbles, this is the World of Make-Believe,” I say. “This is where dreams come true, magic exists, and wonderful adventures are waiting down every hole. Now let’s go find Posey and Downy!”

  As the others cheer I dive directly into the hole and—whoosh!—I zoom down the dark slide at lightning speed. I can hear my friends behind me, laughing as they slide down the chute too. My super-speech worked!

  Then I slow down. THWOMP! I run smack into a heavy vending machine flap. One by one the Bubbles pile into me, and the weight of all five of us pushes open the door.

  “Aaaaaaaaah!”

  We tumble into a thick forest and spy our first clue in the distance. It’s a giant girl . . . and she is holding a Bubble in her hand.