She went on to tell Sam of Peter's new friend, Merseft
the genie, and yes, he was real.
"So the book does work," replied Sam.
"Yes, but he has yet to harvest its bigger powers. We
must watch him," said Jane.
The Carrot-Top household was very busy that morning.
They had a new day at school, and they had to try to save
one of the most secret forests of Baja, the Ambassador
Forest.
"Peter, get down stairs now," said Jane.
At first, Peter hesitated and didn't appear until the
next louder call of his mother. "Yes, Mother!" he said.
Jane ordered her son to get ready for his first day of
school. Peter begged his parents to let him go with them,
but they answered no. They told him that there would be
many more times for him to save Baja, but today was the
first day of school. Peter hung his head low in reluctance
to go, although he was excited. He wanted to be in both places at one time. But nevertheless, Peter had to get
ready for his first day at Waldorf Academy.
As Dingo chased Oscar through the house and the phone
began to ring. Peter was upstairs getting ready.
"Honey, your ride will be here any minute," said Jane
as she shouted to Peter.
He quickly got dressed and ran downstairs and ate his
favorite, mushroom pancakes and turtle eggs.
"Slow down, son," said Sam as he watched his son
gobble down his food.
Jane was just smiling and watching Peter, a proud mom
to see her son on the first day of school where he was very
happy to be, and where he would always fit in.
As soon as Peter finished eating his breakfast, there
was a loud roaring noise over the Carrot-Top's mansion.
Everyone stepped out to see what or who it was. They slowly
looked up into the sky as a big shadow was cast over their
house. It was Peter's ride to school in style. This flying
creature carried a disc on its back that was filled with
children. Peter could see his soon-to-be classmates looking
down at him.
"Wow, what is that?" asked Peter.
"It's your ride to school," said Sam.
The creature was so unique and huge. It was bright yellow and red in color with the mystical symbols of Baja
on its body. Then a jolly old man stepped out of the ride
as steps suddenly appeared in thin air.
"All aboard, all aboard," said the man.
Peter gave his parents a hug and quickly ran up the
stairs, looking back to get his parents' approval. He was
torn between leaving his family and starting life at a new
school. Peter could see all of his new classmates through
the windows of the disc, and the children on board were
also eager to see the boy king that everyone had been
talking about. As Peter reached the top of the stairs, he
waved good-bye to his family.
Then he was stopped by the driver. "May I see your
pass?"
Peter search and searched but could not find any kind
of pass. "I think I forgot it, sir," said Peter.
"Well, we will have to find you one," said the driver.
The driver reached into the same pocket that Peter had
searched and pulled out a golden pass. It was embossed with
Peter's picture in gold, and it glittered in the sun. His
parents could see it all the way on the ground.
Peter's eyes followed the gold pass as the driver
waved it in his face, back and forth went his eyes. The
pass was so temping to grab, but gently Peter took it out of the driver's hand. A smile came on the driver's face
telling Peter that he would be just fine, and he gave Peter
a gentle push on his back into the ride.
The loud bird squawked as it began to take off. The
massive wings had to pick up speed before it could lift
itself off the ground. Because of the size of the bird and
its wings, it kicked up so much dust in the air it made
seeing quite impossible, but Jane and Sam, with Peter's
grandparents, waved good-bye to their son.
The massive bird flew up into the air as the disc on
its back spun and glittered in the sun’s rays. Peter slowly
walked down the aisles of the ride. It was like stepping
into a futuristic world. All the children were neatly
dressed in their uniforms. The ride was equipped with
everything from talking gadgets to miniature robots picking
crumbs up off of the floor. There were attendants that
served drinks, juices and any food your heart desired. Kids
began to look and whisper. Peter began to brush his orange
hair back with his hands as a sign of nervousness, his
freckles increased as they multiplied in seconds.
Then a voice shouted, "Sit here, Peter!"
Peter followed the voice until he reached where it was
coming from. All the way to the back of the ride sat a
person that he had seen before. "Miss Clara Cabbage," he said. A beautiful girl with
fiery long red hair braided into two ponytails; her
mismatched shoes caught Peter's eye.
"Yes, Peter, it's me," said Clara.
Clara and Peter were shy with each other, but somehow
they seemed to make the best of friends. She reintroduced
him to the friends he met on the Captain Johnny ride.
“This is Robert Clark, Zack Bean, Nicholas Webster and
Benjamin Franklin, who is also known as Ben," said Clara.
Everyone gave a big hello to their new friend Peter.
The entire time, the children on the ride began to just
stare at Peter, until Clara got them to look away by
sticking out her tongue, and making green saliva bugs jump
out and fly into the air. The bugs let off a green smelly
odor, and the rest of the kids began to cough and cover
their mouths and noses.
"That is so cool," said Peter.
"Okay, my little ghosts, quiet it down," said the
driver.
Peter knew then that he would have no reason not to
fit in here. In his heart, he knew he’d chosen the right
school. Clara's last display gave the kids something to
talk about rather than look at Peter.
"If you think that is cool, look what Zack can do," said Clara.
But, Zack was a little shy. He was one of the easiest
people to make friends with. His bright blond hair set him
apart from the rest. He was hesitant to show off his
talents until Nicholas coaxed him into it.
"Oh! Come on, Zackey boy, you can do it! Show off
those useless talents," said Nicholas jokingly.
Once Zack got his courage up, he held his breath in
tight and began to blow and blow. Suddenly, a huge clump of
snot fell from his nose. Zack commanded it to turn into a
cute little puppy.
"Whoa! That is gross and cute at the same time," said
Peter.
The rest of the children on the bus began to choke and
gag, and yet some thought it was cool. Then a long slender
hand came across Peter's face. It was like rubber, and it
had at least ten watches that graced it, and they all
glowed with the symbols of Baja. Peter couldn't seem to get
those mysterious symbols out of his mind. The watches were
encrusted with sparkling rocks, and all had the face of a
different animal from tigers, bears, to seahorses, and many
more.
The watches were mystical to Peter's eyes. Whether it
was his imagination or not, the animal faces seemed to move, and when he glanced back at the watches, the faces
seemed to stop moving. Peter looked in the direction of
where the long arm was coming from and who it belonged to.
A skinny, Beanpole of a boy stood up, "Hi, Peter. My
name is Robert Clark."
Robert was very slender. Besides being skinny,
everyone noticed his dark, jet black hair, all slicked down
and greasy. He was at least seven feet tall, and he didn't
hesitate to show off his ability to disappear in thin air.
Robert was so slender, if he turned sideways, no one could
see him. He paraded up and down in the ride showing off his
talent. One minute you saw him, the next you didn't. One
minute his head would show with no body attached, or the
kids might see an arm or leg every now and again. The kids
were going wild clapping and cheering.
"Okay, kids, settle down,” said the driver.
Then a loud roar came from the back of the bus. It was
Nicholas Webster, the class clown; a little on the heavy
side with baggy clothing and thick eyeglasses.
Then a voice shouted, "That's all he can do is roar.
He has no talents."
Nicholas was sad because indeed all he could do was
roar, but Peter was impressed and started clapping. This
made Nicholas very happy and so proud of his roar that he roared so hard the windows on the ride cracked. Everyone
suddenly began to take notice of little old Nicholas, and
in the end, he got the last laugh.
"Last but not least, this is Benjamin Franklin. We
like to call him Ben," said Clara.
Peter waited with anticipation to see what Ben's
talents were. Suddenly Ben turned around and his entire
face was covered in fur, pure white fur. He had long blue
hair and piercing black eyes. Peter was a little shocked,
but played it off and gave Ben a handshake. Ben went on to
explain to him that he had a gene disorder that had made
him so special.
Out of excitement, Ben jumped into the aisle of the
ride to demonstrate his abilities and gift. Without a
thought, he changed into a huge white shaggy monster. He
was so big that his weight began to sink the ride and
squash anyone in his path. Ben began to burst out of his
uniform and shoes, but he didn't care, he wanted to show
off his talents.
"That's enough, Ben," said the driver, and within
seconds, Ben was his normal self with the exception that
his uniform was torn and he had holes in his shoes.
"That is soooo cool!" said Peter.
"Now, Peter, show us your talents," said Zack. "Oh! It's not that cool like yours are," said Peter,
but he wanted to fit in.
As everyone watched, Peter explained to the children
his talents of making large holes. Everyone wanted to see,
so Peter stood up and stretched his hands out of the
window. With a minute to concentrate, he began to make a
large hole in the sky. The kids were amazed; the sky had
opened up as if someone had sliced it. As they looked into
the hole in the sky, they saw things they had never seen
before, like a mystical land of fairies and seas that were
multicolored. Kids hurried to the windows wanting to get a
closer look.
"Wow, there are more worlds out there," said Clara.
Peter had made a great impression on his new friends.
But there was one thing he did not know how to do, and that
was how to close a hole. Once he opened one, it was hard
for him to close it. Many holes that Peter made never got
closed.
"Okay, Peter, that's enough," said the driver.
Peter immediately stopped, but he left behind another
open world that no one knew how to close. It was all in
harmless fun. The children on the bus kept looking back at
the magnificent display of a new world. Even the driver was
impressed, but the fun abruptly stopped when a voice yelled from the back.
"Is that all you got, Carrot-Flop?" This person was
making fun of Peter's last name.
Clara immediately recognized the voice and shouted,
"Oh! Shut up, Steve!"
All the children looked back, waiting on Steve's
response. Steve Capri was a big bully, bigger than most of
the children his age. He had one strand of hair that stuck
up from his head. No matter how he brushed it back, it
always seemed to stick up at attention. The children dared
not tease him; they knew that he was a rough-and-tumble
kid. But Clara was not afraid of him, and that made Steve
even more upset.
But like all of these children, Steve had a gift, and
his gift was smelly feet. He quickly pulled of his shoes,
and his feet began to grow huge, and then a black odor
choked the air. The children and staff on the ride began to
choke constantly. Even the driver had to suspend the ride
in mid-air to catch his breath.
The driver hurriedly walked down the aisle and grabbed
Steve by the collar, and took him into the restroom to put
his shoes back on. Steve was not going quietly.
He yelled at the driver like a spoiled brat, "I am
going to tell my parents! Do you know who my parents are?" "I do not care who your parents are. They left me to
take care of you, and that's what I am going to do," said
the driver.
As the driver and Steve left, the remaining children
raised their heads up slowly as they searched for clean,
fresh air.
"He is a stinker," said Clara to Peter.
They both laughed, until Steve's friends came forward
to confront Clara and her friends, "Laugh now, cry later,"
said Jamyra Jam. She was a skinny brown child. Her
complexion was flawless, and she had blue eyes and long
white hair. She was very pretty, but underneath that
prettiness was a bossy, spoiled little brat.
"Who is that?" Peter asked.
Clara explained to Peter that Jamyra Jam was the ice
princess of Waldorf Academy, and her parents were the
founders of the black moons.
"What are the black moons?" asked Peter.
Ben jumped in to tell Peter that the black moons were
discovered by the Jam family. The moons produced black dust
to keep Baja energy efficient without looking for other
fuels and dangerous substances. Because of the Jam family's
discovery, Baja had never worried about light or energy.
Everyone warned Peter to keep a distance from Jamyra, because once she got mad, she would turn anything into
solid ice, and it would take days to thaw. Peter gave a big
gulp and looked over his shoulder as he felt Jamyra staring
at him.
"Oh, don't worry, Peter. She's only allowed to use it
in emergencies. If she does without an emergency, she will
be in big trouble with the elders," said Zack.
Peter was relieved to hear that, and watched as Zack
pointed out all the other kids in Jamyra's group. There was
Millie Spoon, an anti-social girl who only showed one eye
because her hair was always covering the other. She was
very slender with waist-length long black hair and big
saucer eyes. Her gift was invisibility. Zack went on to
tell Peter that Millie was by far the nicest out of the
entire group. She only hung out with Jamyra and the others
because Steve Capri was her cousin.
Then Zack showed Peter a slender-built young man who
was very handsome, quirky and over confident. "His name is
Michael Beetle-Bug, but do not call him by his entire
name," warned Zack.
Peter watched with great interest as Zack explained
the cool kids to him. Zack went on to tell Peter how
Michael's family owned the beetle-bug farm, one of the
largest in Baja. The farm was responsible for producing beetles that protected vegetables and other foods. The bugs
were man-made and went out every day protecting many farms
in Baja from annoying pests.