Chapter 8: Welcome to Lake Eerie

Lake Eerie was exactly like its name, eerie!  The only thing that was perfect at the camp was the welcome sign and the boss’s office, and that wasn’t much.  All of the cabins had little electricity, some of the windows were broken, and some of the doors hung on one hinge.

     The woods at the right side of the cabins looked cold, dark, and creepy all at the same time.  From only a few feet away, you could hear the birds screaming and the growling animals searching eagerly for food.

     The lake didn’t even look clear, and blue like in the brochure.  It was green, brown, yellow, black, and mucky like someone had dumped something into it. It stunk too.  Danny didn’t want to know what was poured into there, and hoped he would never find out.

     There was only one bathroom, and it was an outhouse.  Danny groaned as he glanced at the card to where his cabin was.  If it was nighttime and he had to go really badly, he would have to walk all the way from the back row of cabins to the front just to get to the outhouse.  Danny also realized that it was a huge problem for Chuckie, who only had one month of experience in potty training.

     ‘If I have to go at night,’ Danny thought, ‘then I’ll head to the bushes if I have to.’

     Before Danny could even tell Tommy, Chuckie, and Phil where their cabin was, Tommy suddenly cried,  “You guys, look!  It’s that S.T. Sohg guy we sawed on the TB!”

     Danny looked to where Tommy was pointing.  He was right.  Sitting at a picnic table, near one of the cabins, was no other than S.T. Sohg.

     The man sitting across from him looked awfully familiar to Danny.  He had a similar look to S.T., except he was a slight bit taller than him.  The man had a square chin, with a white beard and long white hair tied back into a ponytail.  He was dressed nicely, and he had a big smile on his face.

     “What’cha looking at Danny?” Phil asked.

     “That man sitting with S.T. Sohg.  I think I’ve seen him somewhere!  Don’t you think he looks familiar?”

     “No.” Phil answered.

     “Nuh, uh.” Chuckie said, shaking his head.

     “Not really!” Tommy exclaimed.

     Sam and Lil walked out of the camp’s main office and joined the group.

     “Guess what,” Lil cried, “me and Sam have to share a cabin with Angelica!”

     “I’m just glad you’re gonna be there with me Lil.” Sam groaned.  “I won’t be able to sleep for the next two months!”

     “If she says something mean to you guys,” Tommy lectured, “don’t hold back!  Look her straight in the eye and tell to stop whatever she’s doing!”

     “It really works?” Sam asked, with a surprised look on her face.

     Phil smiled.  “It only worked for Tommy a buncha times!”

     “Well then, we’ll try it!” Sam exclaimed.

     “Hey, Sam!” Danny cried.  “Doesn’t that man S.T. Sohg’s talking to look like anyone you know?”

     Sam looked at where Danny was pointing. “Oh, yeah!  That’s Vlad Masters.  You know, that billionaire we learned about in school?”

     “Wait a minute!  Did you say Vlad Masters?”

     “Yes.”

     “That’s my Dad’s old college pal!  I’ve seen lots of pictures of them together.  I thought I saw him somewhere!”

     “Wow, Danny!” Chuckie exclaimed.  “I’m sure your daddy will be happy to see him again!”

     Danny hesitated.  “Well, um, I’m not sure if that’s a great idea you guys!”

     “Why not, Danny?” Tommy asked.  “Don’t you want your daddy to see his friend?”

     “Well, yeah, I want him to.  But-,”

     “Then why don’t you want them to be happy?”

     “I want them to be happy.  It’s just that-,” Danny paused.

     “It’s just that, what, Danny?” Chuckie asked.

     Danny glanced at his friends.  They all had puzzled looks on their faces.  He wanted to tell them what happened that fateful day, but he wasn’t sure how the babies would handle it. 

     A few minutes passed before Danny finally spoke.  “Guess what, I’ll tell you the story.”

     His friends cheered.

     Danny held up both his hands. “But, not right now.  This story can’t be heard by anyone else.  Besides, we all have to get settled in our cabins before we can have any adventures!”  He motioned the babies to come closer toward him.  Danny’s voice then became barely more than a whisper.  “Meet me inside our cabin after dinner tonight.  You’ll hear the whole story!  Bring no one else!”

     With that, Danny grabbed his bags, and started his long walk toward his cabin, leaving the babies to wonder what his story was all about.

Rugphan

Chapter 7 Part 2

“Wow!” Tommy cried.  “There’s all sorts of neat stuffs in here!”

       The plane hadn’t even lifted off the ground yet, and the babies were already excited.  Angelica was sitting in the front of the plane, with her parents at her right.  Phil sat behind Angelica looking out the window, while Lil and Sam talked.  Chuckie sat directly behind Phil, looking around nervously, while Danny glanced up.  Jazz sat in the middle seat behind the boys, reading a book.  The rest of the parents sat across from the babies.

     “Tommy!” Danny gasped, when he saw him sitting in the luggage holder.  “Get down from there, you could get hurt!”  He paused.  “How did you get up there anyway?”

     Tommy giggled.  “I stood on one of the seat arm resting things, jumped up, hung on the handle, swung around to open the door, and climbed in!”

     “Well,” Danny said smiling, “I know you’re a master at unlocking things and opening doors, but I don’t think we’ll be needing it for awhile!  Now, let’s get you down!”  As he lifted Tommy off the luggage holder, Danny smiled and said, “You’re just lucky your parents didn’t catch you doing that.  They would’ve freaked out!”

     “Ah, my parents won’t freak out!” Tommy exclaimed, grinning.  “What does that mean anyway?”

     Danny laughed.  “It means they would’ve gotten scared because you’ve might’ve fallen.  Now, promise me you won’t do anything too dangerous while we’re on vacation.  We can’t have you keep getting injured for two months!”

     “No problem, Danny!” Tommy cried, plopping down on the middle seat.  “You can count on me!”  He turned around to look at Jazz.  “Hi’ya Jazz!  What’cha reading?”

     Jazz looked up at Tommy.  She understood some baby talk, but all she got out of that sentence was, “Daba Jazz!  Goo da reading?”  Jazz smiled, like she knew what he was trying to say, and tried her best to answer him.  Once she finished, Danny burst out laughing.

     “What’s so funny?” Jazz asked.

     “You told him you were reading about pigs fighting the British at the Battle of Jupiter Hill!”

     Jazz blushed.  “Hey, I got most of it right!  Let’s just face it Danny, I can’t speak to babies anymore!”

     Danny frowned.  “Tell you what, I’ll be your speaking person.”

     Jazz chuckled.  “Do you mean an interpreter?”

     “Yeah, that’s right!”

     “Fine by me!  I need all the help I can get!”

     Danny felt a tap on his left shoulder.  It was Tommy.  “Danny, the plane’s making noise!  We’re about to take off!” he cried excitedly.

     Danny turned away from Jazz and listened.  Tommy was right, the plane was making huge screeching sounds.  Danny quickly buckled up Tommy, Chuckie, and himself securely.  Sam did the same with her seatbelt, along with Phil and Lil’s.

     “Oh, no!” Chuckie cried.  “The plane’s gonna start flying soon?”

     “Don’t worry Chuck,” Danny said, grinning, “nothing is gonna hurt us this summer!”

     “Yeah!” Tommy exclaimed.  “So, hang on to your diapies babies, we’re going on bacation!”

Rugphan

Chapter 7 Part 1: The Fun Finally Begins

While his parents were putting their luggage onto the airport conveyor belt, Tommy and his identical twin friends Phil and Lil, were looking around the airport.

     They had never seen anything like this before.  There were all sorts of machines, bags and suitcases, beeping things, loud speakers, and people, lots and lots of people. 

      “Our firstest time on an arrow plane!” Tommy cried, excitedly.  “Thinks about it you guys!  We can watch the clouds go by, and we can eat what the arrow plane peoples eat, and we can play all sorts of fun arrow plane games.  Oh!  And I can also take pictures with the new clamra my Daddy gave me!”

     Tommy pointed to the blue camera that hung around his neck by a red string.  “See?  All I have to do is press this pretty red button here, and the picture comes out here!”

     “That’s cool Tommy!” Phil said, happily.  “But me and Lillian are looking forward to eating the stuffs that’s under the seats!”

     Lil nodded.  “It’s nummy!”

     “Wait a minute!” Tommy cried.  “You guys have been on an arrow plane afore?”

     “No.” Phil answered.  “But we figured that since the stuffs that we have founded under the car seats tasted good-,”

     “The stuffs under the arrow plane seats will taste even betterer!” Lil said, finishing her brother’s sentence for him.

     Tommy grinned.  Phil and Lil loved finding and eating gross things.  Bugs, worms, mud, anything they could get their hands on.  The twins would eat it all!

     “Hey,” Phil suddenly cried, “isn’t that Danny over there?”

     Tommy looked over to where Phil was pointing.  Danny and Sam were glancing around the airport, trying to find where the babies were.  Tommy waved over to them, and Sam eventually spotted him.

     “Hi’ya, Danny!” Phil and Lil chorused, when Danny and Sam were within earshot.

     “Hey, you guys!” Danny replied.  “Are you ready for your first vacation?”

     “Boy, are we ever!” Tommy exclaimed.  “This is gonna be fun!”

     Danny laughed.  “Oh, Sam, this is-,”

     “Wait,” she cried, looking at Phil and Lil, “don’t tell me!”  Sam pointed at each of the twins as she tried to guess their names.  “You’re Phil, and you’re Lil.”

     “How did you know?” Lil asked Sam.

     “Danny told me about you guys.”

     “No. I mean, you can tell us apart?”

     “Yeah, it takes more than just that pink bow in your hair to tell you two apart, right?”

     “Finally!” Lil cried, happily.  “Someone who understands me other than Phil!  It’s a mirrorable!”

     Sam giggled.

     “Oh, sister!” Phil mumbled, so Tommy could only hear him.  But he was still smiling anyway.

     “Hey, Chuck!” Danny suddenly called out.  “We’re over here!”

     Sure enough, Chuckie came toddling over.  “Hi’ya, guys!” he cried.

     “Hi’ya Chuckie!” Tommy replied.  “Why do you gots a paper bag?” Tommy was indicating to the paper bag his best friend was holding in his left hand.

     “Well,” Chuckie started, “my Daddy says since I’m afraid of high places, I should hold this bag on the plane just in case I get air sick.”

     “Don’t worry,” Danny exclaimed, “we’ll remember to move out of the way in case you start throwing up!”

     “Danny!” Sam cried, giving him a warning glance.

     “Don’t worry about me Sam,” Chuckie said, grinning, “that actually made me feel a whole lot betterer than I felt afore I gotted-,”

     “HEY YOU DUMB BABIES!”

     “AAAHHHH!” Chuckie screamed, running to hide behind Tommy.

     Angelica laughed hysterically.  “Man, I can’t believe you babies didn’t see me coming!  Especially you Fenton, I at least thought you’d have some common sense!”

     Danny sighed.  “Angelica, while we’re on vacation, can we at least try and get along?”

     “Let me think about that for a moment!” Angelica said sarcastically.  “No!” 

     She spotted Sam, and walked toward her.  “So, it’s Samantha right?”

     Sam’s eyes widened. She was trying her best to not burst out yelling at Angelica.  Sam absolutely hated being called by her actual name.  Whenever someone would call her Samantha, she would get so angry at whoever called her that, she would make them take it back the hard way.

     But Angelica seemed like the kind of person who wanted someone to get angry, so Sam pretended that she wasn’t bothered by it.

     “Yes.  But most people call me Sam.”

     “I see!” Angelica said, smugly.  “Do you like it when I call you Samantha?”

     “I don’t see why you can’t call me that.”

     “Okay, well do you like it when I do this?” Angelica took Tommy’s camera off his neck.

     “Hey!” Tommy cried, jumping up and down, trying to reach his camera.

     Sam grimaced.  “I don’t think Tommy really appreciates that.”

     “Well, how about this?” Angelica clunked Phil and Lil’s faces together.

     “Ow!” Phil cried.

     “Angelica!” Lil exclaimed, rubbing her head.

     Sam was starting to get a little mad now.  “No, not really!” she said, trying not to sound angry.

     “Oh, fine!” Angelica cried.  “I guess nothing really makes you upset!”

     “Nope, nothing!”

     “Ah, well.” Angelica sighed.  She started walking back toward her Mom and Dad.  Suddenly,  “HEY FENTON, THINK FAST!”  She pushed Danny, and made him fall to the ground.

     All of the babies stood dumbstruck.  Tommy and Sam ran over to Danny to make sure he was all right.

     “Someone looks angry now!” Angelica said, smiling and looking at Sam.

     Sam glared at her.  “You are one twisted, mean, little girl, you know that?”

     “Yeah,” Angelica answered, happily.  “I know!”  She skipped toward her parents, who were now loading their luggage onto the conveyer belt, and hummed happily to herself.

     “Are you okay Danny?” Tommy asked, as he and Sam lifted him up.

     Danny nodded.  “I’m okay.  Man, for a three year old girl, Angelica can push hard!”

     “There are so many things I could say about her right now!” Sam cried, while watching Angelica.  “But, I’m not going to!”

     “I still can’t believe she’s my cousin!” Tommy exclaimed.

Rugphan

Chapter 6: Keep Your Fingers Crossed

     “Mom,” Danny called, searching through the kitchen cupboards, “where’s the box of popcorn?”

       A few seconds passed before Maddie responded.  “In the bottom left cupboard, sweetie!”

     Danny walked toward the cupboard his mother had indicated, opened it, and rummaged through until he found the popcorn box.  He quickly grabbed a bag out of the box, took the plastic off the bag, and set it in the microwave.

     Just as Danny was about to press the start button on the microwave, Jazz walked into the kitchen.  “So,” she said smiling, “I heard Mom and Dad talking upstairs.  You’ve basically lost all of your hope on having a fun summer-,”

     “Yes.” Danny replied.

     “-so now you’re going to call some phone number you saw on the TV-,”

     “Uh, huh.”

     “-to try and win tickets to a camp you never even heard of until just this afternoon.”

     Danny nodded.  “Yep!  You’ve got that right sister!”

     Jazz laughed.  “Danny, you’re so strange!”

     “It may sound a little strange, Jazz, but I gave Sam a copy of the number.  She’s gonna try to win too!”

     “Wow,” Jazz said sarcastically,  “that’ll really increase your chances of winning!”

     “What’s that supposed to mean?” Danny asked, madly.

     “It means, you’ll have a point two percent chance of winning the trip.  That also includes the time it takes for you to dial the number.”

     “Don’t worry, Jazz!  I have speedy fingers!”  Danny wiggled his thumbs.

     “Yeah, speedy thumbs from playing all those Reptar video games!”

     “Hey!” Danny cried.  “Those are Reptar collectables!  You can’t just buy the video games and not play them!”

     “Whatever, Danny!” Jazz said, grinning, as she started walking out of the room.  “Just don’t get your hopes up!”

     Once his sister was out of the kitchen, Danny turned back toward the microwave.  “That’s weird,” he exclaimed, staring at the fully popped bag of popcorn,  “I don’t remember pressing the start button!”

     Danny suddenly remembered that the microwave was having problems ever since his dad had ‘fixed’ it.  Danny had heard his Mom talking about it the other day with Jazz.  Whenever someone would leave something in the microwave for a few minutes, it would start automatically.  The only thing was, he didn’t hear the microwave go off.

     Danny looked at the clock and shrugged.  He would worry about that later.  There was only five minutes until he could call in and try to win the contest.

     Danny quickly took his bag of popcorn out of the microwave, ran into the living room, and plopped on the couch.  Reaching over to a small round table to his right, Danny grabbed the phone off of the receiver, and dialed Sam’s number.

     Three rings went by before Sam answered.  “Hello?”

     “Hey, Sam, there’s only,” Danny checked his watch, “four more minutes until we have to call S.T. Sohg!  Are you ready?”

     “Don’t worry, Danny, of course I am!”

     There was a pause.

     “Danny?” Sam asked. “Are you still there?”

     “Oh, yeah,” Danny said, twisting the phone cord with his index finger, like he always did on the phone when he was anxious or nervous.   “I’m still here.  I was just thinking, what if we don’t win?  Then what will we do for the rest of the summer?”

     “Don’t worry about that right now!  Just do what I do when I’m in doubt.”

     “What’s that?”

     “When you call tonight,” Sam said slowly, “just put your chin up high, close your eyes, and keep your fingers crossed until your call is done!”

     “That’s all I’ve gotta do?” Danny asked.

     “Yep!”

     “And you really think this will work?”

     “I don’t know!  But you can at least try it.  It sometimes works.”

     “I’ll try it, Sam!  Thanks!”

     “No problem!”

     Danny put the phone back on the receiver and picked it up again.  There was now only one minute until calling time.  He quickly dialed the number.

     First ring….

     Danny was looking upward.

     Second ring….

     He closed his eyes.

     Third ring….

     Then he finally crossed his fingers.

     The forth and final ring…. “Hello?”

     Danny opened his eyes.  Did he actually make it through?  “H-Hello?”

     “Congratulations!” S.T. Sohg cried.  “You’ve won eleven tickets to Lake Eerie!”

      “ALRIGHT!” Danny cheered, into the phone.

      “What’s your name son?”

      “Danny Fenton!”

      “Well, Danny, thanks for calling, and you and your family and friends have a safe trip!”

     “We will!”

     Danny slammed the phone down on the receiver, and dashed upstairs to Jazz’s room.  His sister looked at him when he appeared in the doorway.

     “Sam was right.” Danny said trying his best not to smile.

     “What?” Jazz asked, looking back at her book.  “That you couldn’t win this contest?”

     “No.” Danny said grinning.  “She gave me some helpful advice, and I won.”

     Jazz lifted her head back up to look at him.

    “We should be leaving in about a week, so start packing!”

     A smile appeared on Jazz’s face when her brother said that.  “Unbelievable!”

Rugphan

Chapter 5: The Television Advertisement

 

     “Gee Danny,” Chuckie said sadly, “I’m sorry.  Sam told me and Tommy what happened to your hamster, and we was only trying to make you feel better, but I guess I made it worser, huh?”

     Tommy, Chuckie, Sam, and Danny were in Tommy’s living room, sitting on the couch.  Danny was still upset after what had just happened, but he was a little better now knowing that his friends were there for him.

     Danny sniffed.  “It’s okay, Chuck.  This isn’t your fault, it’s mine.”

     “How is this your fault, Danny?” Sam asked.

     “Because,” he answered, “I said my summer couldn’t get any worse, and whenever someone says that, something bad always happens!”  Danny suddenly started yelling.  “I JINXEDS IT!  I JINXEDS IT!  AND NOW SPEEDY’S GONE!”

     Tommy looked away from his playmate, at the remote control, then at the clock, and smiled.  “I know what’ll cheer you up Danny!” he exclaimed,  “Some good old Reptar epleesodes!”

     Danny grinned.  “Sweet!  Well, what are we waiting for, Tommy?  Let’s watch some Reptar!”

     Tommy smiled even bigger as he turned on the television.  “Hey!” Tommy exclaimed when the picture came on. “Where’s Reptar?”

     “Maybe you gots it on the wrong channel, Tommy.” Chuckie suggested.

     “It can’t be!” Tommy cried.  “My Mommy always leaves the channel with Reptar on for me.  And this is the time Reptar is always on!”

     “How do you know?” Danny asked.  “You can’t tell time!”

     “When the clock points at the same two numbers I know Reptar’s on!”

     “According to this,” Sam said, flipping through the TV paper, “a show called ‘The Rock Stars’ is on right now.”

     “Ah, man!” Tommy groaned.  “I forgotted it was summer!  All the olderer kid shows are on right now!”

     “Great!” Danny cried, jumping off the couch.  “Just great!  Reptar’s not even here to save my summer now!”

     “Don’t worry, Danny.” Sam said cheerfully, as she put the TV paper back on the coffee table.  “Your summer will turn around somehow!”

     “How do you know, Sam?” Danny asked, madly.  “I’ve been picked on by bullies, Tucker is in California, Speedy died, and now Reptar’s not on!  I just wish our summer could get a little better.”  He paused, and then continued. “I want you, me, even the babies to have a fun summer we’ll never forget!  I wish we could all be part of the action!”

     “Don’t forget the adventure!” Tommy exclaimed.

     “Oh, and don’t forget the nice hole to crawl under if any of us gets ascared!” Chuckie cried.

     “And it has to be fun too!” Sam added.

     Danny smiled.  “Yeah, we need something with all those things!  Something like-,”

     “Hello.” said a voice.

     Danny turned around.  He had forgotten that the television was still on.

     A man on the television was sitting on a chair, with his hands folded on a desk.  He had smooth, long, black hair tied in a ponytail and a long, curly, black mustache, blue eyes, and thick eyebrows.  He wore a nice, black suit, with a tie and dress shoes.  The man was also smiling, like he just won the lottery.

     “My name is S.T. Sohg, and I have a question for you.”

     “S.T. Sohg?” Sam asked, puzzled.  “What is he, some kind of sponge?”

     “Has your summer turned out poorly so far?” S.T. asked.

     “Yes.” Danny answered.

     “If it is, you must be very bummed.”

     “Tell me about it!”

     “Well, then do I have good news for you!” S.T. Sohg exclaimed.  “Call this number at eight o’ clock tonight, and you could win eleven plane tickets to Lake Eerie!  Kids twelve and under ride for free!  Remember many will enter, but one will win!”

     “We want something like that!” Danny exclaimed.  “Quick, Sam!  Grab me a piece of paper and something to write with!”

     Sam ran into the kitchen, and a few seconds later she came out with a sheet of paper and a pencil.  Danny quickly took them from Sam, and wrote down the number:

1-800- SUMMER-BUMMER

     “Why are you so eggsited, Danny?” Chuckie asked, puzzled.

     “Yeah, Danny,” Tommy exclaimed.  “Why are you writing down that phone number?”

     Danny finished writing, stood up, faced the babies, and smiled.  “Don’t you see you guys?  We can finally have a great summer!”

     “With a television advertisement?” Sam asked with a puzzled look on her face.

     “No!” Danny cried.  “With this phone number!  Didn’t you guys here what S.T. Sohg said? We could win eleven tickets to Lake Eerie!  That’s enough tickets for all of our parents, including Phil and Lil’s and Angelica’s.  Plus,” Danny continued, “we kids can ride for free!”

     “Do we really have to invite Angelica?” Chuckie asked, nervously.

     “Yeah!” Tommy exclaimed. “She’s my cousin!”

     “What’s wrong with her?” Sam asked.

     “She’s like a miniature Dash!” Danny explained.  “But still, I have to agree with Tommy, she is family.  We’ll have to invite her-,”

     “Danny,” Sam cried, “there are a ton of people entering this contest.  Just, how do you know if you’ll win?”

     Danny smiled.  “I have a hunch!”

     “Yeah,” Sam whispered, so Danny wouldn’t hear, “because your luck has turned around so many times in the past two days!”

     Tommy and Chuckie snickered.

     “I heard that, Sam!” Danny exclaimed, staring at the piece of paper he held in his hands.

Rugphan

Chapter 4 Part 2

“Wow,” Tommy’s best friend Chuckie Finster cried, “that’s just sad!”  He was playing a game called ‘Don’t Drop the Ball’ in the Pickles’ backyard with Tommy and Sam.  The point of the game was to catch the ball as many times as you can without dropping it.  Tommy made the game up.  The high score so far was four in a row.

     “So, Danny just came home from my house yesterday, and then he finded out that his hamster died?” Tommy asked, trying to catch the ball but missing.

     Sam nodded.  “He called me last night to tell me about it.  I think he might’ve been crying.”  She caught the ball when Tommy tossed it to her.

     “Danny was crying?” Chuckie asked, missing the ball once again, and watching Tommy run over to retrieve it.

     “That is sad!” Tommy cried.

     Sam nodded again.  “Right!  That why when Danny gets here, we’ve gotta be extra nice to him!  Play any games he wants to play, and whatever you do,” she continued, “don’t mention anything that will remind him of you-know-who!”

     “Who?” Tommy asked.

     Sam sighed.  “The hamster Tommy!”

     “Oh, right!  Got’cha!”

     Just as Tommy said that, Sam noticed Danny was in the Pickles’ house.  “There he is!” she cried.  “Act natural!”

     Tommy started bouncing his ball, while Chuckie took his glasses off and cleaned them on his shirt.  Sam didn’t have anything to do, so she quickly leaned against a tree that was in Tommy’s backyard.  She made it to the tree just when Danny shut the sliding glass door.

     “Hey, you guys!” Danny exclaimed.

     “Hi’ya, Danny!” the three of them replied.

     “What’s new?” Chuckie asked.

     “Nothing really.”

     “Oh. Well, what’cha wanna do?” Tommy asked.

     “I don’t know.” Danny answered, looking around.  “Do you wanna play in the sandbox?”

     “Sure, sounds like fun!”

     The four of them walked toward the sandbox.  When they got there, Danny asked, “What are you gonna build Tommy?”

     “I don’t know!” Tommy exclaimed.  “I guess I’ll dig a hole to New Seal land!”

     “Why there?”

     Tommy shrugged.  “To meet all the seals!”

     “What are you gonna build, Danny?” Sam asked.

     Danny paused for a moment.  “I’m gonna build a sandcastle!”

     They started working with the sand.  When Danny finished his work of art, Chuckie exclaimed, “Wow, great sandcastle Danny!”

     “Yeah,” Sam complimented, “very nice!”

     “I don’t see what the big deal is you guys!” Danny cried.  “It’s just a sandcastle!”  He didn’t get why they were being super nice to him all of a sudden. 

     “I know Danny,” Tommy said happily, “but it’s a big sandcastle!”

     Danny waited a few minutes before asking, “So, do any of you guys want to do something else?”

     “Sure!” Tommy exclaimed.

     “We can do anything.” Sam said.  “We could play tag, or hide and go seek-,”

     “Or your favorite game,” Chuckie interrupted, “silent speedball!”

     Danny suddenly burst out crying and ran into the house.

     “Wait a minute!” Chuckie cried, running after Danny.  “What did I say?”

     Sam stopped Chuckie by putting a hand on his shoulder.  “His hamster’s name was Speedy!”

     “Well, you could’ve told me!”

Rugphan