03 Antarctica or Bust

Antarctica or Bust Judy misted Mouse with her purr-fect cat spray. (Water plus oil-spill-approved dish soap.) She crossed Invent something off her bucket list. Her eyes fell on the words Go to Antarctica. Judy poked her head into Stink's room. "Hey, Stink, how much do you think it costs to go to Antarctica?" "I don't know. One flunked spelling test? Two not-turned-in homeworks? Three times interrupting Mr. Todd when he's talking?" "Not that Antarctica." Stink thought she was talking about the desk in the back of Class 3T where you had to go to Chill Out. "The real

one." "Oh. Let's see. More than you have in your piggy bank." "Ha! I bet you didn't know I have thirty-three dollars and forty-one cents saved up." "It costs thirty-three gazillion dollars to go to Antarctica. You'd need forty-one winter coats, too." The air went out of Judy. She slumped onto Stink's bed like a sock monkey that had lost its stuffing. "It's super far away, you know. Farther than it is to go to Santa's house at the North Pole." Stink spun his light-up globe and pointed to a continent at the bottom of the world that was shaped like a heart with one wing. "It's all the way down here at the South Pole." Judy searched her wildest imagination. "So

maybe five hundred dollars?" "More." "Seven hundred?" "More. Because they just found a giant squid down there that weighs seven-hundred seventy pounds and is as big as a minibus. Tons of people are going to want to go see it, so it will probably cost more now."

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"A thousand?" said Judy. Stink nodded. Sheesh! One thousand dollars. That was a lot of scratch. Bones. Bread. Dough. Moola! She'd better get started right away if she had even a slim chance of raising that many dead presidents by the fourth grade! That night after dinner, Judy called everybody back to the couch. Emergency Family Meeting time. Stink looked around for another mystery lump under a dish towel. But he didn't see any Judy inventions. "What is it this time?" he asked. "The Ouchless Band-Aid? The De-Electrifying Toothbrush?" "Ha-ha. Very funny, Stink. I called you all here to ask for a raise in my allowance." "No," said Mom and Dad. "No," said Stink.

"Not you, Stink." Judy gave him the not-ouchless hairy eyeball stare. "You haven't even heard my reasons. I have a whole speech and everything." "You just got a raise, Jelly Bean," said Dad. Judy hated it when Dad said no and called her Jelly Bean at the same time. It was so not fair. "She already got fifty more cents last month," said Stink. "Thanks a lot, Stinkbug," said Judy. For a little brother, Stink sure had a big mouth. "You may be excused, Stink, if you want to go to your room." "I'm fine here," said Stink. Plan B. "Okay, what if I did some chores for some extra money. I could unload the dishwasher sometimes. Or I could maybe put away my own laundry pile without anybody