10 A Bad Time for Boogers

Chapter 10 A BAD TIME FOR BOOGERS… Andrew slammed his foot down on the gas pedal. The Water Bug shot off. meep… "Baby Hawaiian island getting born here! All Hawaiian islands born from volcanoes," said Thudd. "Hot lava pour out on bottom of ocean. When lava get cool, turn into rock. Lotsa, lotsa rock pile up. Make island! Baby island take lotsa years to grow up. Maybe in ten thousand years, humans visit new island!" Pillow-shaped chunks of lava rocketed up toward the Water Bug. Clunk! Cachunk!

Lava rocks were crashing into the glass floor of the Water Bug and bouncing off the hood! Orange fireworks exploded around the Water Bug. Andrew couldn't tell if he was going toward the volcano or away from it! Then something strange started happening. Bop! Bop! Bop! The Water Bug was being pushed into calmer water. Someone was helping them! The bumping and pushing didn't stop until the Water Bug was away from the fountains of fire. Dark shadows shot up through the water. One of the shadows had a bite in its tail. "It's Nahu and his friend!" said Judy. The two dolphins tapped their noses on the windshield. "They pushed us away from the volcano!" said Andrew. "We love you!" said Judy, patting the windshield.

The dolphins looked like they were smiling! Clicks and whistles came through the speaker. Suddenly the compass in the middle of the steering wheel started blinking red. The compass needle was spinning around and around. "Uh-oh," said Andrew. "Something's wrong with the Super-Sniffer." glurp… "The Super-Sniffer has lava boogers!" said the Water Bug. Andrew peered out at the hood. The Super- Sniffer was twitching. glurp… "Cannot find the trail of the giant squid until boogers are removed." "This should be easy," said Andrew. He pressed the Octo-Tool button. "Remove boogers from the Super-Sniffer!" he commanded. The hood popped up, and tentacles slithered out. Two of the tentacles poked up into the Super- Sniffer's nostrils. They twisted around inside for a long time.

glurp… "Octo-Tool tentacles are stuck inside the Super-Sniffer," said the Water Bug. "Must remove tentacles. Must use the Nose Pick to remove boogers." "Nose Pick!" said Judy. "Yuck-a-rama!" "I think it's in the toolbox," said Andrew. Andrew crept between the seats to the tiny kitchen at the back of the Water Bug. He opened the cabinet under the sink and took out a metal toolbox. Inside the box were hammers and pliers and wrenches and screwdrivers. And there was a big fuzzy finger with a handle. "The Nose Pick!" said Andrew, pulling the fuzzy finger out of the box. "What are you going to do with that stupid thing?" Judy asked. "You can't go outside." "Just a minute," said Andrew, ducking back under the sink. When he came out, he was holding two football-sized green blobs covered with bumps.

Andrew handed one of the blobs to Judy. "We can go outside," said Andrew. "Just pull on these Bubble Duds over your clothes. They'll keep you dry and warm and let you breathe. "Look," said Andrew, pointing to the bumps on the green blob. "These are bubbles with air inside. And they can pull more oxygen from the water." Judy touched the blob. It was sticky and squishy. "You've got to be kidding," said Judy. "Um, no," said Andrew. "I need you to come outside and hold the flashlight so I can see the lava boogers and pull them out." Andrew unsnapped the mini-flashlight he always carried on his belt loop and handed it to Judy. "Cheese Louise!" said Judy. "Remind me to never, ever, ever let you talk me into anything ever again!" Andrew went back to the front seat. He slipped Thudd into a little plastic sack called the Bubble

Bag. The Bubble Bag would keep Thudd dry. Thudd was never supposed to get wet! Then Andrew took his blob and began to stretch it over his feet. He pulled it up to his waist, stretched it over his arms, and tugged it up to his neck. The Bubble Duds had pockets all over them. Andrew tucked Thudd into a little pocket over his chest and pressed the pocket closed. He put the Nose Pick into another pocket. Judy laughed. "You look like a big green frog," she said. "Come on, Judy," said Andrew. "Put on the Bubble Duds. Please." "Oh, all right," said Judy. She pulled the blob of Bubble Duds up over her clothes. "So how do we get out of here?" "Just press the button on the side of your seat," said Andrew. "Watch this!" He pulled the Bubble Duds over his head. Then he pressed the button on the side of his seat. FLAMP!