*Intercom Jingle*
"Good morning Aberdale Elementary students, today is a special Friday because it is the 2nd to last week of school before spring break begins, and next week will be the week in which the lucky class that raised the most money during the Aberdale Elementary bake sale will be selected for the all-expense-paid field trip to the Grand Canyon. After all of the funds have been turned in, we will announce the class selected at the end of the day."
*Intercom cutoff*
"Ok class, make a single file line to turn in your money from the bake sale"
In the past month Clarence sumo and Jeff have been working vigorously, selling various pastries and other desserts to get their class to the top.
For Jeff, it was for him to study and observe the geography, and besides, he finally saved enough to get a cell phone so he can take pictures of the whole thing.
For Clarence, it was the fun of the process of selling the product and the fun of the field trip itself. Which was going to be a week-long of adventures he couldn't miss out on.
And for Sumo, he kind of just followed along, anytime where he could not be doing schoolwork was worth it in his mind.
Anyway, each kid in the bake sale got the goal of selling all of their products for 100 dollars in total, Which Clarence, Sumo, And Jeff, of course, met, however, they were worried about the rest of their classmates, especially Belson and his friends.
"Hey guys," Clarence says as he plops his lunch tray down
"Hey Clarence," Sumo and Jeff says
"You think we will be picked," Clarence says
"Most of our class are girls so I would say yeah," Jeff says
"What's that supposed to mean?" Chelsea says with a threatening tone
"I-
"Do you assume just because we're women we'll sell more than the men?"
"Well chel-
"Because then I'd have to agree with you"
"Wha-
"I've seen what those other girls have done to sell those strudels… Anyways, how much did you guys sell?"
"We where All able to reach the 100 dollar goal" says Clarence
"What, How?!" Chelsea says bewildered
"Well I was able to sell half to Chad alone, and then I went door to door with Jeff" Clarence answers
"What about you Sumo?" Chelsea asks
"As soon as I got the stuff my brother's found them and ate them all and then my dad made them all pay for the food they ate."
"What about you Chelsea?" Jeff asks
"I sold half then got bored" Chelsea answers
"What, you just got Bored?" Jeff asks in anger
"Selling door to door gets boring and I didn't have any food-obsessed family members like you guys"
"I Didn't have any "Food Obsessed" family members and I was able to sell them all"
"You don't count jeff" Chelsea says
"Wha-"
"Besides, I'm sure we will get picked, like you said most of our class are women who actually have "Fun" selling the stuff".
"Ugh Ok." Jeff says
*Intercom Jingle*
" Good Afternoon Aberdale Elementary, Could We Please Have Everybody Meet In The Auditorium To See How Much We Have Raised And Which Class Gets The Trip"
*Intercom Cutoff*
All the classmates in a single file line crammed into the Auditorium.
As they all sit down, the principal takes the stage and clears his throat, ready to make the big announcement. The room falls silent and all eyes are fixed on the stage, eagerly waiting for the result.
"I am proud to announce that this year's bake sale was a huge success," the principal says with a smile. "With all the funds combined, we were able to raise an astonishing $2,000!"
The students cheer and clap, proud of their achievement.
"And now, without further ado, I would like to announce the lucky class that raised the most money and will be going on a field trip to the Grand Canyon next week," the principal says, pausing for dramatic effect. "And the winner is... Mrs. Baker's fourth-grade class!"
The students in Mrs. Baker's class jump up and cheer with excitement.
As they leave the auditorium, Mrs. Baker stops them. "Boys, I couldn't be more proud of you. You worked hard and you should be proud of yourselves, especially you sumo."
"Thanks, Mrs. Baker," the boys say in unison.
And the day went forward as usaul
The next week went by in a blur of excitement and anticipation as the class prepared for their field trip to the Grand Canyon.
Jeff, Clarence and Sumo couldn't wait to see all the amazing sights and go on adventures they had only ever read about in books.
"I've been looking forward to this for months," Jeff said as he packed his bag. "I can't wait to see all the geological formations up close and take tons of pictures.
"Me too, Jeff," Clarence chimed in.
"I just hope we get to go on a helicopter ride and see the whole thing from above."
"I'm just excited for the food," Sumo added with a grin.
"I heard they have all sorts of delicious things to eat at the Grand Canyon."
As the day of the trip arrived, the class met at the bus
As the day of the trip arrived, the class met at the bus
Mrs. Baker made sure all the students were accounted for and they were off
They stopped at a gas station/antique shop about 10 miles away from the grand canyon
Sumo went over to the snacks section, he was dying to get some food
while Clarence Jeff and Chelsea were browsing through the antiques section, admiring all the unique items on display. Sumo returned with a bag of chips and a soda, eager to share his snacks with his friends. As they sat on a bench outside the shop, munching on their treats, they heard a faint humming sound. Suddenly, a small UFO appeared in the sky and landed in front of them.
It was the new Remote control Supreme Court Squad: Extreme Ufo, and Jeff admired the toy in awe. This toy in particular was an exclusive, and not even available for purchase yet, however this store had them.
Jeff went over to the cashier "hey mister"
"Why hello pal?" The old cashier said
"Do you know where I could get the Remote control Supreme Court Squad: Extreme Ufo toy?" Jeff said eagerly
The old man didn't know what to say, he had know idea what he was talking about.
"Im sure its over by the toy isle in the back of the store" Old man
"Oh" jeff said discouraged
You see the field trip was only going to be here for a limited amount of time, and the store in question was big, but nonetheless he went searching anyway.
As Jeff searched through the isles, he stumbled upon a section filled with the most peculiar and antique toys. He couldn't resist but to take a closer look.
Suddenly, one of the toys caught his eye. It was a small, old-fashioned train set. It was unlike anything Jeff had ever seen before. It was made of wood, with intricate details and beautiful colors. Jeff was fascinated.
He picked it up and was about to show it to Clarence and Sumo, but when he turned around they were gone. Jeff realized that he must have gotten lost while searching for the Supreme Court Squad toy.
Jeff was panicking, isle upon isles, he couldn't find his way back
While this was happening Clarence and sumo
were exploring the store on their own. They had wandered over to the section with the model airplanes and were busy checking out all of the different designs. Suddenly, they heard Jeff calling out for them. They followed the sound of his voice and found him lost and disorientated.
"Don't worry Jeff, we're here now," Clarence said as he and Sumo came to his side. "Let's get you back to the others before Mrs. Baker starts to worry."
Although jeff seemed relieved at first, this relief would be shorted lived as they couldn't find there way out of the store
They walked down aisle after aisle, trying to retrace their steps but nothing looked familiar. They started to feel like they were walking in circles. Until they ran into Chelsea
"Lost too?" Chelsea said to the guys
"Yeah, we can't seem to find our way out of this store," Clarence said.
"Well I think I have a solution," Chelsea replied. "I overheard the cashier talking about a secret passageway that leads to the back exit."
"Really? Where is it?" Jeff asked eagerly.
"It's hidden behind a bookshelf at the back of the store. I can take you guys there if you want," Chelsea offered.
The three boys were grateful for Chelsea's help and followed her to the back of the store, where they found the secret passageway just as she had described.
However this secret passageway didn't lead out of the store, it led to behind the frozen foods, it was dark and empty, with no person seen working.
Suddenly, they heard strange noises coming from the back of the room. It sounded like something was moving around and making a racket. The three of them exchanged worried looks and hesitantly approached the source of the they got closer, they could see that it was a group of rats. They were chewing on some of the packaging and generally making a mess. The rats didn't seem to be scared of the kids and kept on scurrying about, ignoring them completely.
"When do you think was the last time they cleaned this place huh?" Sumo Remarked
Suddenly the rats started coming towards them. They started to back away slowly, but just as they were about to leave, they heard a creaking sound from the ceiling. They looked up and saw a large wooden board starting to come loose. It looked like it was about to fall and crush them all. They all started to run in different directions, but Chelsea called out for them to stop.
"Guys, come back!" she shouted.
"We need to work together to move this board before it falls."
The three of them rushed back to the board and started pushing it back into place. It took all of their strength, but finally, they managed to secure it back in place. They all breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Chelsea for thinking quickly. After a quick rest, the three of them continued their journey through the store, determined to find their way back to the rest of their class. They were determined to get back in time to catch the rest of the field trip and make it home safe and sound. However when they eventually got out of the cellar, the store was dark and completely desolate. It was like a whole different world with the only thing lighting up the store was the lights from the frozen food sections. The three of them looked around, confused. They had been lost for what felt like minutes and now it seemed like the store was completely abandoned.
"What do we do now?" Jeff asked, feeling a sense of panic starting to rise within him.
"I don't know," Clarence replied, "But I think we should try to find the exit. Maybe the store closed early or something."
Jeff pulled out his flashlight and started to pursue the empty store until they eventually found an exit. However the door was locked
"Great, now what?" Sumo exclaimed, frustration clear in his voice. "We can't just spend the night here. My parents are going to kill me if I don't come home on time."
"Calm Down Sumo" Chelsea said, shrugging him off. "We can probably find something to pry open this door, Jeff, go right, Clarence go left, I'll search around these shelves"
"And what am I supposed to do?" Sumo asked sternly
"Hold my flashlight" Chelsea said with a laughing tone
"Grrrr, fine" Sumo responded Reluctantly
The three of them went their separate ways, searching for something that they could use to open the door. Jeff and Clarence quickly returned empty handed, but Chelsea came back with a crowbar she had found in a storage room. With the crowbar in hand, the three of them were able to pry open the door and escape the store.
Once outside, they realized that it was already nighttime. They looked up at the sky, seeing stars twinkling above them.
And worst of all, it was freezing cold.
The end of the first chapter