9 Zap!

Chapter 9 ZAP! meep… "Flying fish!" said Thudd. Andrew gently picked up the flapping fish and slipped it out the window. "Look at these weird things," he said. The Water Bug was surrounded by transparent blue lumps the size of basketballs. "Looks like a bunch of weird party balloons," said Judy. "Noop! Noop! Noop!" said Thudd. "Jellyfish! Poison jellyfish. Called man-of-war. Got stinging tentacles! Hundred feet long! Big sting! Jellyfish not just one animal. Made up of lotsa little ones. Jellyfish like neighborhood. Some neighbors sting

food. Some neighbors eat food. Some neighbors make baby jellyfish!" Andrew scratched his head. "We'll have to go somewhere else to fix the Super-Sniffer," he said. "But right now I'm starving. Getting swallowed by a whale sure makes you hungry." "Me too!" said Judy. "I wonder what there is to eat around here," said Andrew. He unbuckled his seat belt and leaned over his seat. Instead of having rear seats, the back of the Water Bug had a tiny kitchen with a refrigerator, a microwave oven, a sink, and a cabinet. Andrew opened the refrigerator. Inside were piles of pizzas wrapped in plastic! "Neato mosquito!" said Andrew. "We've got Uncle Al's special pizzas!" As Andrew unwrapped a pizza, a white bird flew up from the water in front of the Water Bug. Big red feet slammed down on the hood of the Water Bug and walked up to the windshield. "It's the booby!" yelled Andrew.

Thwack! Thwack! It was pecking at the glass. "I think it misses us," said Judy. The booby pecked at the window again, flew off, and dove underwater. meep… "Booby hunt for flying-fish eggs!" said Thudd. "I'll stick with pizza," said Andrew, looking to see what kind it was. As always, the crust was bright green. Uncle Al made crusts that glowed in the dark. The pizza was covered with Uncle Al's super-lumpy tomato sauce, lots of different cheeses, and a pile of onions. Uh-oh, thought Andrew. Onions. Yuck. He pulled off all the onions and stuck them in a pocket. Then he put the pizza into the microwave oven and set the timer for two minutes. By the time Andrew pulled the hot slices from the oven, the sun had disappeared. Puffy white

clouds were being chased by black cloud mountains. Thudd pointed to the sky. meep… "Storm clouds," he said. "White clouds made of tiny drops of water. Storm clouds made of big drops of water. Big drops make storm clouds look black." Andrew handed Judy a slice of pizza. "We'll be safe in the Water Bug," he said. As they munched, the sky turned dark as a dirty sock. Fat drops of rain smacked the windshield. They closed the windows. A strong wind pushed the Water Bug along the waves, which were as high as a table. In minutes, they were as high as a refrigerator, then high as a ceiling, then high as a house! Then higher! Andrew stopped chewing his pizza crust.

As the Water Bug rode to the tops of the waves, long white fingers of foam poked at the windows. Then the Water Bug zoomed down the insides of the waves like a roller-coaster car. Suddenly zigzag fingers of lightning sizzled through the sky and crashed into the water. CRRRRAAAACKKKKK! came a bang of thunder. meep… "Water make electricity," said Thudd. "Little water molecules rub against each other. Electricity make lightning. Hotter than sun! Make air explode! Thunder happen! See lightning first

cuz light go fast, fast, fast! Sound go slow! Light travel million times faster than sound!" "Let's dive!" yelled Judy. "You're never supposed to be in a high place when there's lightning. The Water Bug sticks out above the water." Before Andrew could pull down the steering wheel, his skin began to tingle. His hair stood straight out from his head! A flash of dazzling white light surrounded the Water Bug! It was so bright that Andrew had to close his eyes. It was so bright that he could see everything in the Water Bug through his closed eyelids!