Chapter 9: The chapter titles don't match

Mark and Naomi came home to find that there is a new person in their slowly expanding town. It was a woman, blonde, young, and dressed in all white except for a red cross on her hat. A nametag on her chest read "Helen".

The Nurse has arrived!

After many warm welcomes and greetings, Edmund came up to Naomi and asked, "Hey, is it just me, or are we being watched?"

Naomi looked around, but didn't see anyone else. "No, it's just you."

"I feel like I'm being watched..." he muttered as he walked away.

An hour of talking with Helen (She's nice... in her own rough way), Naomi looked around for Mark, but couldn't find him. Suddenly, a crash was heard from behind their house. Sure enough, Mark was there amidst a pile of branches, eyes spinning. "Naomi?" he asked.

"Who else?" She pulled him to his feet. "What are you doing?"

"That Sandstorm in a Bottle... he forgot to tell me that it makes you spin like crazy." He held the bottle out to her. "Here, you try it." He fell backwards, right arm holding the Sandstorm straight up in the air..

She took the bottle, strapped it to her waist, removed the Cloud in a Bottle, and jumped. When she almost touched the ground, she activated the Sandstorm in a Bottle and...

The world spun around way too fast for her to see. Naomi flopped painfully to the ground, dizzy. Somewhere off to her left, she heard Mark say, "It's tough, right?"

"Yeah." she said, trying, and failing, to sit up. She decided to continue lying there until the world decides which way is up.

A minute later, Naomi gathered her strength and sat up, tossed the bottle back to Mark, then flopped back into the grass as a wave of nausea struck her. How could something spin you around like that? Naomi thought. That was what, eight times in two seconds? Wait. She (slowly) propped herself up on her elbows. How was I able to calculate that? Maybe I have some math talent?

She was distracted from her thoughts by The Nurse coming around the corner and saying, "What happened to you two? And what's with this sand?"

Mark lifted his head. "Hey, Helen. This mummy gave me a Sandstorm in a Bottle." He dropped his head. "I am SOOOooooo dizzy!"

Edmund and Garret also came around the corner, wondering where their new neighbor went. It took Garret a moment to figure out what happened, and another to explain it to Edmund.

Meanwhile, Helen was helping Mark up. When he was on his feet, she grabbed his shoulders and spun him around twice. "Whoa! The world stopped moving!" exclaimed Mark.

Helen moved on to Naomi. She helped her to her feet and spun her around twice. Seeing that she could see straight, Naomi said, "Thanks Helen!"

"It's my job." said Helen. Then she walked off.

Mark picked up the Sandstorm. "That was fun! Let's do it again!"