Snack Food Hero

Chapter 23: Now or Never

"There she goes!" Carlos whispered and pointed at the moonlit silhouette of a woman wearing a dress. She walked off of the bus and into the woods.

"Not yet," said Bash. He knelt down and watched Ms. Frizzle slip into the trees for, he assumed, a midnight potty break.

Behind Bash, Duncan tapped on a mason jar and made faces at Liz, the lizard, who sat inside. "It won't be much longer," Duncan told Liz. "But I can't let you run off."

Suddenly Bash said, "Okay, let's go!" He pushed himself up and ran toward the Magic School Bus as fast as he could. Everyone, including all the kids, ran toward the school bus.

Inside the bus, Bash just the door just as Ms. Frizzle ran up and she planted her face against the glass.

"Open this door! This is my bus!" She banged her fists on the glass.

Bash locked the lever that opens and closes the bus door and then sat down in the driver's seat.

"We made it!" Yelled Rainbow.

"Not quite," said Lance, "we still have to get off the ground."

"Where's the lizard?" Asked Bash.

"She's a chameleon!" Yelled Keesha.

"Here you go!" Said Duncan. Duncan pulled back like a quarterback about to launch a football.

"No!" Yelled Bash.

But it was too late. The glass mason jar holding Liz was suddenly in the air, along with their future. The entire group sucked in air and held their breath.

Bash caught the jar in a cradle like a wide receiver and everyone exhaled in relief. He sat the jar on the dashboard near the front windshield.

Liz stood up inside the jar and scratched her head.

Bash looked at Liz and said, "Make the bus fly!"

Liz shook her head and kicked at the glass.

"We tried to tell you!" Said Arnold.

"But nope, you would not listen," said DA.

"You said you had an idea," said Keesha, "so come on!"

Bash pulled out his pocket knife and tapped it on the jar. The clink, clink, clink was followed by the sound of Ms. Frizzle throwing a heavy log through the glass in the bus door.

Ms. Frizzle yelled through the new hole in the door and Bash realized Carlos was right: her yelling did sound like dying cats. "I'll get every last one you!" She shrieked. Liz, in the jar, caught the old school teacher's eye. "Liz, if you dare make this bus fly I'll feed you to the birds just like I did your mother!"

Liz grabbed at her chest, feeling her heart shatter. The little chameleon shook her head and then waved at MS. Frizzle.

Bash heard the bus's engine roar to life and the ground tremble as the bus suddenly lifted off the ground. Dust flew out from under the bus, making it impossible for Ms. Frizzle to see. She held her hands to her face and coughed and hacked. Her blue dress, spotted with planets, comets, and galaxies, rustled violently in the wind as the bus, lights shining, rose up and out of her grasp.

"Don't leave me!" She yelled and shook her fists. "Don't you all leave me down here!" She fell down on both knees and pounded the ground with her fists. "Don't go and make me die alone," she sobbed. The bus and all her captives and hope of leaving this underground world flew away.

Inside the bus, Bash unscrewed the lid on the mason jar and everyone hailed Liz a hero.

"Liz, you've saved us!" Yelled Rainbow. "Does this bus have a radio? Let's celebrate!"

The bus floated carefully through caves and tunnels. Inside, they laughed, hugged, danced, and sang. It was the best moment Bash and his friends had had in a long time. The kids had fun run on the bus seats and jumping between them; Ms. Frizzle had never let them do that.

Liz held her eyes closed and slowly danced alone to the music. She was so deep in thought that she never anticipated what came next.

Duncan joined in with the kids, running around on the seats and jumping between them. During one careless jump, Duncan failed to see Liz dancing on the seat. He landed on her, taking her zen state to the deepest level: Liz was dead.

Suddenly the bus began shaking and the engine turned off.

"You killed the magic!" Yelled DA.

The bus, now ordinary, fell to the ground with a thud.