05 Gross Grub Club

Gross Grub Club The Moodys ate pizza at the picnic table on their back deck, under twinkly white lights and paper lanterns that Opal had strung up everywhere. "Nothing left but crusts," said Stink. "And some tuna fish for Mouse," said Judy. "Tuna-fish pizza is the best!" said Stink. "I hope you saved room for dessert!" Opal called. Mom and Dad eyed each other. "Stink, it's rude to read at the table," Mom said. "But check this out. Page thirteen. Bigfoot's bed!" Stink held up his book.

Aunt Opal came back outside, carrying a platter of hot-dog chunks in one hand and a bowl of bubbly, burping, orange-colored glop in the other. "Ta-da!" said Aunt Opal. "What is it?" Judy and Stink asked at the same time. "Tangerine fondue!" said Opal. "None for us, thanks!" said Dad. "We have to finish packing." "Hot dogs for dessert?" Judy asked, her mouth hanging open. "It looks like Bigfoot barf," said Stink. Judy cracked up. Opal stabbed a chunk of hot dog with a fork, dipped it in the glop, and popped it in her mouth. "Mmmm. I used to make this for your

dad when we were kids." Stink peered into the bowl. "Are those Froot Loops?" "Uh-huh. Dig in, guys!" "You first," Judy told her brother. "But it's so... oogley-boogley!" "This? This is nothing. When I was in Bali, I ate grilled cockroaches." "GROSSSSS!" Judy and Stink yelled at the same time. "Tell you what: if you BOTH take a bite, we can all be in the same club— the 'I Ate Something Gross' Club." Stink and Judy look at each other, bug-eyed. "Just one bite? And we're in the Gross Grub Club?" Stink asked. "For real?" "For real."

"Pass the hot dogs!" Judy said, grinning. At bedtime, Aunt Opal sat next to Judy on the top bunk, painting Judy's toenails in a rainbow of colors. "So then, after the Peace Corps, I trekked across the Sahara and after that I moved to Bali. Where I lived until about a month ago." Aunt Opal waved a fancy fan to

dry Judy's toes. "MEGA-cool! Is that where belly dancing's from?" "Bah-li, not belly." She laughed. "It's an island." Judy wiggled her toes. "So what's up for summer?" Aunt Opal asked. "Any exciting adventures I should know about?" Judy twirled the new mood ring on her finger. "Well, I was gonna have the best summer ever, but my friends wrecked it." Opal climbed under the covers of the bottom bunk. "I hate when that happens." "Seriously! We were going to do all these way-exciting dares and get thrill points. But Rocky's at circus camp and Amy went to Borneo." Opal turned off the light. Moonlight flooded the room. Judy snuggled down in bed with

Mouse on her stomach. "I LOVE dares," Opal said between yawns. "In Kenya, someone once dared me to ride in an ostrich race." "Did you win?" "My ostrich won— without me! I fell off at the starting line," Opal said sleepily. "You know what, Aunt Opal? You just gave me an idea." Konkkk-shu. A light snore drifted up from the bottom bunk. "I mean, what if we STILL did the dare chart, but made it into a race? Me, Rocky, Amy, and Frank?" Konkkk-shu. More snores. "We could each do our own dares and keep track of our points! First one to get to a hundred