Chapter 17

Stephanie awoke to birds chirping outside her window. However, this morning she wasn't in a very good mood (teenage hormones you know) and was about to yell something out the window. Instead she mumbled under her breath and headed for the bathroom.

After her shower she felt a little better and went downstairs for breakfast. Uncle Milford was already downstairs eating some cereal. Stephanie pulled out a box of her favorite cereal and sat down.

"Everything all right, Stephanie?" Her uncle asked.

"I guess. I had a hard time sleeping last night. I kept having a dream about Sportacus being hurt but I couldn't help him. It has to be one of the weirdest dreams I've ever had." She answered and returned to her cereal.

"You know maybe you shouldn't have too much food before you go to bed. Last night when pounded down the leftovers I was a little worried." Uncle Milford told her.

"Yeah, you're probably right. No more cold macaroni and cheese before bed." Stephanie giggled.

There was a knock on the door and Stephanie got up to answer it. She let Amanda in and the two sat back down in the kitchen.

"So what do you want to do today?" Amanda asked.

"I don't know. Was there something you wanted to do?" Stephanie asked her new friend.

"Not especially but I had a great time the other day with Pixel, Trixie, Ziggy, and Stingy." Amanda told her. Stephanie got up and put her cereal bowl in the sink. When she turned around she saw a smile cross Amanda's face.

"What are you smiling about?"

"I was just thinking. Its ten am do you know where your above-average hero is?" Amanda asked. Stephanie laughed and shook her head.

"I'm kind of surprised that he hasn't dropped by yet. Shall we take a walk?"

"Not to the boats?" Amanda asked.

"No not to the boats, but to the airship!" Stephanie laughed.

"Oh so that one you get." Amanda laughed too.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss watching Johnny Depp for anything." Stephanie said as she held the door for Amanda.

"Personally, I was looking at Orlando Bloom. What does Sportacus have to say about your ogling habits?" Amanda asked as she and Stephanie headed for the airship. Stephanie just laughed and shook her head. Arriving at the airship, Stephanie shouted up to Sportacus.

"Hey, Sportacus are you coming down?" She got no response. Confused, she looked over to Amanda, who just shrugged her shoulders. After waiting ten minutes with no response, Stephanie decided to climb the ladder up into the airship. Amanda followed and the two quickly were inside the airship. But nothing prepared them for what they were about to find.

Robbie was watching the two girls climb the ladder through his periscope. He quickly turned up his speakers. Robbie was just in time to hear music to his ears.

Stephanie found Sportacus collapsed on the floor of his airship. She tried to wake him but couldn't. Amanda tried to help her but neither could seem to get Sportacus to come to. That's when Stephanie screamed.

Amanda turned to her friend and silenced her. Stephanie wasn't sure what to do. That dream she had had last night had become a reality.

"What are we going to do?" She asked.

"Well, the first thing is not scream. Screaming isn't going to help us. The second is find out what happened. He's still breathing. That's a good sign. I need you to look around and see if there is anything out of the ordinary. I'll turn him over and keep an eye on him." Amanda took command. Stephanie nodded and did as she was told. Looking around, she saw apples all over the floor of the airship. Then she saw one that had been bitten. Scooping it up, Stephanie looked at it more closely. It had a gooey substance in the center. Then she tasted the goo. It was pure sugar.

Quickly, Stephanie grabbed a real apple off of Sportacus' table. She went over to Sportacus and Amanda.

"I know what happened. He's having a sugar meltdown. We need to give him something healthy to get him to snap out of it." Stephanie told Amanda.

"I don't know much about unconscious people but I do know if we try to feed him that apple, there is a good chance he'll choke on it. Neither one of us is strong enough to give an unconscious Sportacus the Heimlich. There has to be another way. Besides that sugar has probably spread throughout his entire system. One apple isn't going to cut it. I suggest we get a doctor up here quick." Amanda told her. She could see the look of helplessness on Stephanie's face.

"I'm going to climb down the ladder and get the Mayor. We'll get the doctor and be right back. Stay with Sportacus." Amanda again took charge. She didn't wait for Stephanie to respond. Quickly she climbed down the ladder and ran to the Mayor's house.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Prod. Jerry Bruckheimer. Dir. Gore Verbinski. Perf. Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, and Orlando Bloom. DVD. Disney Film Studios, 2003.

To Be Continued…