20 Vile Pumpkins!

CHAPTER TWENTY Vile Pumpkins! Catalyst (noun). Substances that speed up a chemical reaction by providing a better pathway from the reactants to the products. Think of them sort of like wilderness guides. They know all the shortcuts! BACK IN THE LAB, Mom and Liam greeted me. "We've been anxiously waiting here hoping that you would get out on time," said Mom. "You did it. Congrats!" "Thanks," I said. "I didn't realize you knew about the escape room the entire time." I bit my lip. "I should have told you about it." "We can talk about it later," said Mom. "You know your father is going to want to have a long chat about this. It's not like you to keep anything from us. We did try to give you an opportunity at dinner to tell us." I hung my head. "Yeah. I remember. I'm really sorry." "I know," she said softly. "But it looks like you worked really hard to make it all right."

Liam hugged my waist. "You're alive!" he shrieked. "I thought you had gotten eaten by ghosts and monsters." "Well, there was one ghost," I admitted, then explained about the steam cleaner. "I'm glad it wasn't a real ghost and just a speriment," cried Liam. "Experiment," corrected Mom with a smile. "Yay! No ghosties!" yelled Liam. Ms. Daly put her fingers to her lips. "Nobody can talk about what happened in the escape room. What happened in the lab stays in the lab." "We don't want to spoil the surprise for the other kids," explained Mom. Liam's lips curled down into a pout. "Now I know. And I'm a kid. I'll never get to go to an escape room." Mom ruffled Liam's hair. "Don't be silly. When you're in fifth grade, Ms. Daly will make an escape room for you. And Daddy was talking about going to an escape room as a family. Maybe over winter break when we visit Grandma Dort and Grandpa Jack in Texas." "Yay!" shrieked Liam. Then he looked at me with shining eyes. "You beat the bad guys." "Thanks," I said. "But I wasn't so sure it would happen."

"Really?" said Birdie. "You seemed so confident." "Well, I was literally sweating," I admitted. "Me too," said Jeremy. "Me three," said Memito. "Me four," said Elijah. "Me five," said Phoenix. "Me six," said Birdie. "Big-time." Ms. Daly announced, "I have an offer that I think you won't refuse. If you agree to work as a team again, you can make a second pumpkin vomit during the Fall Festival on Friday. Julia, Avery, and Skyler as the winners of the Fall Science Challenge will stand in front, but all of you can be up onstage, too. The winners from the other half of the class will be showcasing a glow-in-the dark pumpkin later in the evening. And the rest of the kids will be demonstrating a drumming routine after that. So are you up for handling a Vomiting Pumpkin?" Everyone looked at each other. "Yes!" we all shouted. On Friday afternoon the Fall Festival had kicked off in a big way. And while kids and families could enjoy all kinds of booths, treats, and carnival

games, we headed into the gym area for our show. That meant everyone from the escape room, plus Julia's group, of course. Basically, all the kids in our Fall Science Challenge group. Julia and I were carrying the jack-o'-lanterns. And, naturally, we were all wearing our lab coats, gloves, and goggles. Last night, with some help from Dad, I had carved my group's pumpkin with a giant mouth and big round eyes. It was in the gym, so families could watch while they played some of the carnival games that were actually inside. There were all kinds of wonderful things laid out on a table for the silent auction, and they were even raffling off a bicycle. Plus, there was fun stuff like face and nail painting. Phoenix looked a little sad when she spotted a craft table. "I want to make a bracelet for Avery," she said, "just like this one." She pointed to the macramé one on her wrist. She frowned. "But I can't because of my hand." "That's okay, we'll help you later," said Birdie. "Definitely," I said. "You guys are the best," she said. Up onstage, a group of first graders performed a falling leaves dance. "So cute," gushed Birdie.

"I know it," said Julia. "It's hard to believe we were ever that little." "I wasn't," said Skyler, and we all laughed, since he's always been the tallest boy, even in kindergarten. "I can't believe Liam will be in first grade next year," I said. Each kid was dressed in golds, oranges, and yellows. They twirled around and sang a song about fluttering, falling leaves. "Okay, once they're done," said Ms. Daly, "the fourth graders are going to sing a couple of songs out front, which gives me enough time to get all set up." And before we knew it, we were walking onto the stage, ready to put on a truly disgusting show. As Ms. Daly promised, Julia's group was right up front and we were in the back, but I didn't mind. I was just happy to be up there doing science. "We're going to be so gross," said Birdie, who stood on my right. "Agreed," I said. "We're going to be disgusting." "Vile," added Phoenix, standing directly to my left. Avery, who was in front of Phoenix, gave a little twirl. Her short blonde braids twirled, too. "And sickening."

"Don't forget foul," said Julia from the front. "The most gross, disgusting, vile, sickening, and foul ever," called out Jeremy from Birdie's right. "Yeah!" shouted Memito and Elijah, who stood next to Jeremy. "You're ready?" asked Ms. Daly. "Definitely!" I said, pumping my fist into the air. On the other side of the gym, there was a spooky cakewalk. Paper pumpkins had been cut out and taped to the floor in the gym for the spooky cakewalk path. Parents and kids were walking around the path while a volunteer dressed in an apple costume played "Monster Mash." But while our demo was going on, the apple stopped the cakewalk so everyone could watch. I was so excited. Ms. Daly cleared her throat and grabbed the microphone. "Are you ready for the Vomiting Pumpkins demo?" she asked. The audience cheered. She pointed to our two tables. "These pumpkins ate way too much candy last night, and now they are sick to their stomachs," said Ms. Daly, "so we're going to see what happens when you eat too much candy."