8 School Is Out!

Chapter 8 SCHOOL IS OUT! Some of the octopuses were so big their tentacles could stretch across a room. Small, bumpy ones were curled up in corners of the cage. And there were hundreds of blue-ringed octopuses! A sign above the cage said: SOGGY BOB'S OCTOPUS SCHOOL AND PEARL FARM Inside the cage were life-size dolls. They looked like Andrew and Judy! The dolls were covered with clams and mussels and blue-ringed octopuses.

meep… "Octopus smart, smart, smart!" said Thudd. "Got big brain. Can learn lotsa stuff! Soggy Bob teach blue-ringed octopus that Drewd and Oody good to eat. That why octopus attack. Soggy Bob teach octopus other stuff, too. Look!" Large brown octopuses were opening oysters as big as pizzas. The insides of the oysters' shells glowed with shimmering colors. The octopuses were putting beads inside the oyster shells. meep… "Bead annoy oyster animal!" said Thudd. "Like when Drewd get pebble in shoe. Oyster cover bead with pearly stuff. Same stuff oyster use to cover inside of shell. Make pearl!" One of the octopuses opened an oyster. Another octopus watched. Then it picked up an oyster and did the same thing. meep… "Octopus learn from other octopus." In another corner of the cage, octopuses were opening oysters, taking pearls out, and putting them in buckets. Then they gobbled down the oysters!

The blue-ringed octopuses were gathering at the front of the cage. Their slitty little eyes watched Judy and Andrew. Their blue rings were glowing. "We don't want to hurt you, little buddies," said Andrew. "And we don't think you really want to attack us, either. So calm down." Judy shook her head. "Soggy Bob shouldn't be using the octopuses like this," she said. Andrew nodded. "Maybe we can set them free if we get the Water Bug back," he said. More and more octopuses were gathering by the door to the cage. Suddenly a tentacle reached through the cage and lifted the door latch. The door flung open, and a flood of octopuses rushed out!

Judy flattened herself against the sand. "The anemones will protect us, right?" she asked. "Eek!" yelped Thudd. "Too many octopus! Not enough anemones! Go fast, fast, fast!" Andrew and Judy paddled furiously. Most of the octopuses jetted away. But a crowd of blue-ringed octopuses followed them. "Over here!" said Judy. She squeezed into a crack in the coral wall. The edges of the wall were covered with anemones. Andrew hurried in after her. The octopuses gathered outside. They looked in, but they wouldn't pass the anemones. They waved their tentacles and jetted off. When Andrew and Judy hadn't seen any blue- ringed octopuses for a while, they crept out. "Whew!" said Andrew. "I think they're gone." "At least we haven't run into any of those sea wasp jellyfish," said Judy. Andrew scratched his head. "Uncle Al was trying to warn us about one more thing," he said.

"I wonder what it was." meep… "Lotsa danger near Great Barrier Reef," said Thudd. He pointed to his face screen. "Got lionfish." meep… "Lionfish got lotsa poison spines on back. Scorpionfish got poison spines, too," said Thudd. Thudd's screen blinked and showed a fish that looked like a pile of gray rags. "That's not a good-looking fish," said Judy. "What raggedy lips." meep… "Little fish see scorpionfish lips. Think food! Try to bite lips! Scorpionfish gobble up little fish." "I haven't seen any lionfish or scorpion-fish," said Andrew. "But look at these beautiful shells!"

Andrew swooped down to grab a shell. It was shaped like an ice cream cone with pretty brown zigzags. Suddenly there were lots and lots of shells. They were crawling along the sand. They were dive-bombing off the rocky walls—onto Andrew and Judy!