A Frog's Way Home (The Calamity Girls Book 3)

Mr. X

Horrible Thai translations brought to you by Google Translate. Not sponsored BTW. -Mal.

One day, I helped clean the kitchen at the restaurant with my sister. "Is it just me or is anyone else feeling amped up since we fought the robot?" Mrs Boonchuy asked. "Kick that robot's butt, you mean!" Mr Boonchuy replied. "That was pretty wicked." Rosalina added. "Sounds like you caught a case of post-battle euphoria." Hop Pop explains. "Nothing like a brush with death to make you feel alive." Sprig added. "So, what's next?" Mrs Boonchuy asked. "I'm ready to fight!" "Hopefully nothing." Anne replied. "Anne's right." I explained. "Unless Andrias sends another robot, we're safe for now." "So, we're taking the Plantars to their first movie." Anne said. "Well, if anything comes up, we're ready." Mr Boonchuy explains. "I even broke out the old pull-up bar." As he attempts to do a pull-up, he breaks the bar and hurts his back. "Ouch." Rosalina commented. "Honey, be careful." Mrs Boonchuy warned. "Guys, leave the danger to us, okay?" I said. "Now, movie time!"

I took Hop Pop on my bike and rode with Anne to the theater. Walking inside, the Plantars were astonished by their surroundings. "Hello, sensory overload." Polly said. "Whoa, what is this? A church?" Hop Pop asked. "Yeah, pretty much." I replied as Anne sighed. "What's the matter?" Sprig asked. "Just thinking about my folks. I don't like the idea of putting those two in harm's way." Anne explains. "I know we took down that robot together, but they're still just parents, you know? They shop for groceries and coach little league tee ball." "Well, luckily today is a stress free day with no danger or conflict." I said.

Rosalina's POV

After Anne and Rowena took the Plantars to the movie theater, I continued to help out Anne's parents at the restaurant. We weren't very busy, but we did get a suspicious visitor. "Hello, welcome to Thai Go." I greeted. "Sawadi-ka." He replied. "Just a sec." I said, running to the kitchen to grab Mrs Boonchuy. "MRS B, THEY SPEAK THAI!" "Khuṇ phūd thịy dị̂?" Mrs Boonchuy asked. "Lĕkn̂xy thī̀ nī̀ læa thī̀ nạ̀n." He explains. "I was stationed in Phuket for a bit. We'll take one Pad See Ew. And while we're at it, have you seen any odd creatures walking around, probably disguised as humans?" He showed us a picture of the Plantars in the car. Anne and Rowena were mostly cut out of the picture, but I did recognize my sister's shoes. Mrs Boonchuy and I were paralyzed with fear. "What strange shapes they are. Haven't seen them." Mrs Boonchuy lied. "Who's asking?" "Oh, just your friendly neighborhood federal government." He replied, revealing a badge labeled: Special Agent Mr X. "That reference is from two franchises ago." I scoffed. "Yes, very nice. Hooray government!" Mrs Boonchuy cheered. "Ph̀x rĕw!" "Jeez, where's the fire?" Mr Boonchuy asked. Another agent came in with an alert on their computer. "Gotta go." Mr X said, paying for the food and left. "Is your stun gun charged, Jenny, tell me it's charged!" "Uh." Mr Boonchuy wondered. "We have to go now!" I exclaimed. "We'll explain everything on the way."

Once we got in the car, Mrs Boonchuy immediately tried to get a hold of Anne. Remembering that they were going to the movies, I sent Rowena a text. "She's not answering!" Mrs Boonchuy panicked. "They're at the theater." I explained. "We're gonna lose him in the traffic!" Mr Boonchuy exclaimed. "That's because you drive like an old man!" Mrs Boonchuy shouted, turning the wheel, avoiding the traffic jam near the edge of the road.

Rowena's POV

In the theater, Hop Pop was only complaining. "20 minutes of trailers?!" Hop Pop complains. "And you people call yourselves civilized." "Anyone else feel like this audio video experience is a little overwhelming?" Sprig asked in fear. "Entertainment that makes your ears bleed? I'm here for it, baby!" Polly shouts. "I have to admit, it is pretty difficult to hear anything." Anne said. "I thought I was imagining it." I added as the movie finally started.

After the movie came to an end, we were about to head back. "Well, it was no suspicion island." Hop Pop commented. "What did you say?!" Sprig shouted. "I thought the protagonist was pretty fun." Anne said. "Yeah, I like that she was very flawed and had room to grow." I added, pulling out my phone to see some texts from Rosalina.

Rosalina: Sis, we got a situation! There's this government agent that goes by the name, Mr X, who's on his way to the theater. He may or may not have asked us about strange creatures disguised as humans. If you guys see an ice cream truck, stay away from it!

Looking up from my phone, I see a man dressed up in a velvet suit, walking away from an ice cream truck. That must be Mr X. "Oh crud." Anne gasped, leading us to a theater. "Back inside, gang!" "No, not another one!" Sprig cried. Once we got inside, we sat down in hopes that we couldn't get caught. "Guys, there's a secret agent after us." I explained with a whisper. "We have to find a way out of this place without him finding us." All of a sudden, he was sitting in the row behind us. "Tell me, are you folks from the area, or just visiting?" Mr X asked. All of us rushed out of the theater and ran. "I think we lost him." Hop Pop said, panting. "Great, but don't stop." Anne whispered, quickly slowing down. "Wait, stop!" At the entrance, there was another agent scanning some people to leave. Anne suddenly gets an incoming call from her dad. She picks up her phone as it began to ring. "They're watching the exit." Anne explains. "We need to find another way out." "We're coming in to help." Mr Boonchuy said. "No!" Anne shouted. "I don't want you guys getting in trouble. We can handle it." "Anne, your mother says, hang on, I'm putting you on speaker." Mr Boonchuy said. "Okay, let's see, how do we do this?" "Khuṇ rū̂ h̄ịm welā thèā h̄ịr̀ læ̂w?!" We heard. "What?" I asked. "Oops." Mr Boonchuy panicked. I think I accidentally..." "Anne? Nạ̀n khụ̄x khuṇ? C̄hạn mị̀ dị̂ h̄ĕn khuṇ mā nān læ̂w. Khuṇ kạb Rowena dū p̄hxm lng. Khuṇ kin k̄ĥāw h̄rụ̄x yạng?" "Oh, hi, Grandma, yeah, just had a sandwich." Anne greeted her grandmother. "Mom, Dad, just stay in the car where it's safe, we'll meet you outside. Bye, Grandma, love you." "I've dealt with agents before, but they were incredibly dumb." I explained. "So what we're gonna need to do first is..." Mr X spotted us, causing us to run into a storage closet. "Oh crud!" Anne exclaimed. "It's a dead end." All of a sudden, the door knob started moving. "Everyone, hide!" Hop Pop panicked. We hid behind a couple of cardboard cutouts as Mr X came inside. Once he was distracted, we took the Plantars and ran, but not before he could grab Hop Pop by the foot. "What even are you?" Mr X asked. "And why are you so slimy?" "Rude!" Hop Pop exclaimed. Sprig lowered his face mask and launched some old reels at Mr X with his tongue.

Our only option left was to escape and hide in a stall in the women's restroom, which was pretty cramped. "Why are these doors so high up?" Anne asked. "Your big toe is in my eyeball!" Polly complained. "Watch it!" Sprig argued. "Your arguing is not helping." I said as Rosalina called me. "You've got the Rowboat." "Sis, Mr and Mrs Boonchuy and I came up with a plan to get you guys out of there." She explains. "Mr B also wanted me to say it's really good, too." Anne takes out her phone and dials her dad's number. "Guys, no. Seriously, we got this. It's five on one." Anne explains to her dad. "When he comes in, we'll rush him and run. See you soon." "Rowena, I think he called for backup." Rosalina said. "Holy frog abuse." I whispered, hanging up the phone. Mr X and the troops came in the bathroom. Before we could do anything, the power went out. That gave us time to escape through a vent, with some help from Mr Boonchuy. "I don't believe it, Dad, Mom, how did you..." Anne asked. "Well, parents have a special set of skills." Mrs Boonchuy explains. "First, your mother bought us some time." Mr Boonchuy continued. "While Mr Boonchuy and I got the frogs at the pet store down the street." Rosalina added. "And remember that one time we tried to fix the electricity?" Mrs Boonchuy asked. "Yeah." Anne replied. "Wasn't that a disaster?" "Yup." Mr Boonchuy explains. "We knew exactly what not to do." "You guys really did all of that?" I asked. "I don't believe it, I guess I misjudged you!" Anne exclaimed. "That's okay, sweetie." Mr Boonchuy said. "We forgive you." Mrs Boonchuy added. "Just know that we'll always be fighting by your side." Rosalina explains. "Thanks, Rosa." I said, hugging my sister. "But, wait, how did you know which bathroom we were in?" Anne asked. "Uh, parental intuition?" Mrs Boonchuy lied. "And maybe the tracking device we put on Hop Pop while he was sleeping." Mr Boonchuy added. Hop Pop lifted up his shirt to reveal a tracking device. "I was wondering what that was." He said. "What?!" Anne shouted. "Why Hop Pop?!" I asked. Polly ripped the tracker off, leaving Hop Pop screaming in pain.