The Road to Newtopia (The Calamity Girls Book 2)

A Day at The Aquarium

After the eventful sleepover from last night, we were yawning all the way to the throne room. "Oh, boy, wonderful to see you all again." King Andrias greeted. "So, ask me if I found anything about the box." "Did you..." Anne started. "Bingo!" He interrupted, causing everyone but Marcy to fall on the floor. "Okay, that woke me up." I said as King Andrias revealed a giant book. "It's the music box!" Sprig gasped. "According to this book, it's a magical artifact that is thousands of years old, apparently, my ancestors used it to visit entirely different worlds, they were peaceful explorers, scientists if you will." King Andrias explains. "These three stones are the key to getting it working again, they need to be recharged." "Recharged, how?" Anne asked. "The book mentions three different temples, each channeling a different kind of energy." He replied. "And once the stones are recharged..." "We'll have a way home?!" I asked. "Steal my thunder, why don't you, but yes." King Andrias replied. "I don't believe it, a real chance to get home." Anne cheered. "Right, now let's get out there and conquer these bad boys!" Marcy exclaimed. King Andrias stopped us. "Let's reign those snails in for a second, the book only gives the location of one temple, besides, you still have a lot of preparing to do before you set off." He explains. "Good point, gotta get equipped for a mega quest like this, armor to buy, maps to study, weapons to forge, this is gonna take a few days." Marcy said. "Few days, huh?" Hop Pop asked. "Well, I hate to say it, but we really need to get back to Wartwood, the harvest is coming up and we can't miss it." "Okay, MarMar, me, Rowena, and the Plantars will head back to Wartwood, and when you're ready, we can just meet up." Anne suggested. "Whoa, whoa, it doesn't really make sense for you and Rowena to go back to Wartwood." Marcy said. "Say what now?" We asked. "The last thing we should do is separate again, now that we're so close to finding our way home." Marcy explains. "I guess that's true." I said. "But, we, uh, need to go to Wartwood, to, uh, get the music box." Anne added. "Right HP?" "Technically, yes." Hop Pop replied. "Nonsense, once Hop Pop gets the box back, we'll just send a servant to pick it up, more efficient that way." Marcy explains. "Yeah, but..." Anne started. "Guys, right now, you have to follow your head, not your heart, The Plantars got you guys here, to me, it's time to let them get back to their lives." Marcy interrupted. "Why don't you guys take the day to say goodbye?" We all formed tears in our eyes. "Do you folks want a giant tissue?" King Andrias offered. "Seriously, you will not believe the size of these tissues, I'll get you one."

Back at the hotel, all of us were still upset about the separation. "Hey, guys, c'mon, it's not like this is goodbye forever." Anne said. "You don't know that." I sighed. "You know what, gang, Anne's right." Hop Pop explains. "The least we can do is have a fun last day together, now c'mon, let's pick an activity, there's the opera house, the colosseum, the aquarium." "There's an aquarium, that's perfect!" I exclaimed. "Anytime we were feeling gloomy back home, the aquarium would always make us feel better, there's nothing more peaceful than being surrounded by water and sea creatures." Everyone agreed. "Let's go have fun and not think about our crippling sadness!" Sprig cheered.

We arrived at the aquarium to enjoy ourselves. "Aw, look at the beaver bugs, they're so cute." Polly cooed. "What'd I tell ya?" I asked. "The perfect place to relax and take our minds off..." Suddenly, a creature scared us from the water, but it looked strangely familiar. "Check this out, it's the same kind of eel that attacked you kids when the basement flooded, remember?" Hop Pop asked, looking at Anne, Sprig and I, looking through the photos. "Kids?" "Those were good times, weren't they?" Anne sighed. "Yeah, it's too bad that they're over." Sprig whimpered. "No, no, Sprig!" I snapped politely. "Fight the sadness, fight it, come here, buddy, everything's gonna be fine." Anne and I started to whimper, holding on to Sprig in our arms. "Okay, river room is a bust, let's keep going." Hop Pop said, pushing us towards the next room.

We walked it off for a while underneath a bunch of sea creatures in order to calm down. "Okay, if we're going to have a sadness free day, we need to avoid anything that might trigger our very delicate emotional states." Hop Pop explains. "Actually, this is pretty peaceful." Anne said. "Yeah." Sprig added. "So soothing." Polly comments. We walked up to a tank, which was pretty relaxing, until a kraken swam across. "Hey, look, a kraken." Sprig pointed out. "It is, Anne, Rowena, it's like the one you tried to cook up at Stumpy's." Polly frowned. "Who knew fish sauce and fear of death went so well together?" Hop Pop asked as we all started sobbing. "Okay, that's enough!" I exclaimed. "Time to change rooms everybody." We stepped into another room. "Oh, cool, a marine geology exhibit." Anne said. "Nothing to remind us of our adventures in here." "Wow, this coral is so neat." Sprig commented. "Oh, look, that stalk looks exactly like..." "Hop Pop's cane!" We gasped. "Oh, no, that one looks like Domino 2!" Anne gasped. "That cannibal couple from the inn!" Sprig exclaimed. "Mud men!" Polly cried. "Grubhog!" I cried. "Zapapedes!" Hop Pop froze. "Who knew coral came in such variety?" I cried. "That's pure frog abuse!" "I'm gonna miss your annoyingly funny catchphrase!" Sprig bawled as some other guests looked at us weird. "Excuse me, folks, but I'm gonna have to ask you to leave, your misery is scaring the kids." The security guard explains. "Sorry, guys, looks like our grand plan for a sadness free day at the aquarium is a total bust." Anne sighed. "Well, if you folks are feeling blue, you could try the stingray stage show, that always cheers me up." He suggested. "A stage show?" Anne asked. "Those are the best." "Wait, did we have any run ins with stingrays, or anything slightly resembling a stingray?" I asked. The Plantars nodded.

At the show, we watched a few tricks from the stingrays. "Alright, give it up for our stingrays, Sugar Ray, and Billy Ray!" The trainer announced. "And now, for the main event, I'll need a volunteer." Sprig raised his hand as he was chosen. "What's your name and where you from?" She asked. "Sprig Plantar from Wartwood." Sprig replied as Anne filmed him. "Well, Sprig Plantar, all you gotta do is hold this fish in your hands and hold it out over the tank." She explains. "And the stingray will jump out and eat it?" Sprig asked. "Usually, but we have a very special guest today, everyone put your hands together for Wanda the water snake!" She explains as a water snake appears from above the water. Anne and I both gasped. "Well, that's pretty cool, wait, what's wrong?" Hop Pop asked. "It looks exactly like the water snake that almost ate me, Rowena, and Sprig." Anne explains. "What, when?" Hop Pop asked. "That was the day you tried to lock us in the house!" I sobbed. "I knew it, you three always disobeying and causing trouble!" Hop Pop cried. "That was the day I realized you guys weren't gonna eat us!" Polly bawled. "Now, Wanda will now leap up and eat the fish right out of this lucky kiddo's hand, and so long as he doesn't do anything to surprise her, this should be perfectly safe!" The trainer announced. "Oh, no, Sprig's about to...!" Anne shouted as the snake sees him crying and goes back under, as well as taking out the board he was standing on. "We've got to get Sprig away from that snake!" I exclaimed. "Oh, you've got nothing to fear from ol' Wanda, the gal's afraid of her own shadow." The trainer explains as we sighed in relief. "It's the rays you should be worried about, they love the taste of frog flesh." "Sprig, you set em up." Anne said. "I'll knock em down!" Sprig replied as I handed him a board and we attacked the rays, finishing them off by releasing them both.

After that, we got kicked out of the aquarium for life. "Oh, man, that was classic!" Sprig exclaimed. "We stung those stingrays!" Polly shouts. "Well, we didn't have a relaxing day at the aquarium." Anne said. "But now, we got a perfectly us memory to cherish." Hop Pop continued. "But seriously, that trainer should've explained the stingrays love of frog flesh, that had frog abuse written all over it." I said as we all began to laugh.

It was finally the end of the day. I knew the day we'd say goodbye to the Plantars was coming, but I didn't expect it to be this soon. Anne and I helped them load the last of their stuff into the fwagon. "Have a safe trip back, Plantars." Marcy said. "Let us know when you get the music box and we'll send someone to go get it." "Thank you, kindly, Marcy." Hop Pop replied as they all came over to us to hug. "No more tears, y'all, we'll see each other again." "Will we though?" I asked. "When." "I don't know, but we're family, and family always finds each other." Hop Pop explains. "Sprowanne against the world!" Anne, Sprig, and I exclaimed as we gave him a final hug as they departed for Wartwood. "I'm sorry, guys, this just made the most sense." Marcy explains. "We know, logical thing to do." Anne sniffed, hugging me. "You know, the more I think about it, maybe sending a servant to get the music box isn't such a good idea, we need some people to look after that thing the second Hop Pop gets it back, some people we trust." Marcy said. "Marbles, are you saying...?" I asked. "I'm sure I can handle the preparations here by myself, I'll just pick you guys up on the way to the first temple." Marcy explains as Anne and I hugged her tight. "Thanks, Marcy." Anne whispers. "Now go, follow your hearts." "Okay, later, bye!" We called as we ran through town to catch up with the Plantars.

We caught up with the fwagon at the gates. We ran in front of Bessie to stop her from moving. "What the, girls?" Hop Pop asked. "We're coming with you to Wartwood." I explained. "Both of us." Anne added. Sprig cheered. "Glad to have you back, girls." Hop Pop said. "Hop on up here, sisters!" Polly shouts. "Thank frog, I really didn't know how I was going to make it without you guys!" Sprig cried. "Now, c'mon, let's go home." I said as we drove farther away from Newtopia, and closer to Wartwood.