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Chapter 2: The Journey

Over in Birdwell Island, Clifford and his friends, T-Bone, Cleo, and Mac, were playing freeze tag. It wasn't snowing there, but it was still cold. Cleo tagged Mac.
"Freeze!" she said. Mac stood still as a statue, and Clifford touched him. "Unfrozen!" he said.
"Catch me if you can, guys!" Cleo called. She started laughing.
"There's no other dog as fast as me," Mac bragged as he gave chase.
"This'll be more fun in the snow," T-Bone said.
"I agree," Clifford replied. "I'm glad we all have leisure time now that Emily Elizabeth just got out of school for break."
"I'm gettin' kinda cold," Cleo said. "Let's go into Clifford's doghouse and play some Xbox 360 games."
"Great idea," the others replied. They all set off for the doghouse.

Back on the bus, T.J, Spinelli, Mikey, Gretchen, Vince, and Gus were looking out the windows at the rural environment along the Interstate, which was blanketed in white snow. Christmas music was playing on the bus' radio. Cornchip Girl was hugging a stuffed Clifford of hers, so Gelman knocked it out of her hands.
"Hey! That's mine!" Cornchip Girl whined.
"My old man don't believe in Clifford or his lousy friends," Gelman jeered.
The kindergarteners, all covered in tribal tattoos, were throwing paper balls and shouting, so Spinelli yelled, "QUIET, YOU DEVILS!"
"That's better," Gus said. "Now I can concentrate more on this magazine about military antiques."
Miss Finster's pink Ford Thunderbird drove up alongside the bus, startling the gang. Randall was sitting in the passenger seat alongside her.
"You didn't tell me that Finster was going to Birdwell!" T.J. said.
"Maybe she's just going somewhere else to visit her family or friends or something," Vince replied.
"We're driving past the small town of Quackenbush in upstate New York," Gretchen told the gang. "We have approximately 250 miles to the Massachusetts coastline."
"So we don't have far to go?" Mikey asked.
"Not really," T.J. said.
"Miss Finster had better have family off of one of the next exits," Spinelli muttered.
The bus had to take the next exit because the gas tank needed to be refilled. The BP gas station still had the sign with the shield and the yellow letters from the 90's. It was 4:45 p.m.
"What the-?" T.J. began. A little boy in a red long-sleeved shirt walked out the door of the BP. He was eating a peanut butter sandwich. Principal Prickly received bad luck when a pile of lumber fell onto his red-orange 1969 Chevy Camaro SS convertible. "Gaaa!" he hollered. The sandwich kid "Disapparated," as some people would call it.

The bus crossed the mighty Hudson River. Later, Mikey took out his laptop, logged into his e-mail, and started typing a new message:

Dear Santa,

We're almost there. We're driving past Norwalk, Connecticut. I'll write to you later.

~Mikey Blumberg

He clicked "Send" and the message was sent to the real Santa.

It was 6:00 when the bus reached Boston. It drove over the white cable-stayed bridge downtown and took the next exit. The ferry port was a couple of streets away. The bus stopped next to a booth, and the driver paid the fee. He drove slowly onto a ferry that seemed to be animated differently. The kids ran out and looked over the edge of the railing at the ocean. Miss Finster saw Mr. and Mrs. Spinelli's cars, and her eyes became big as headlights. Spinelli's parents got out of their cars, and the ferry started moving.
"Bob! Flo!" Miss Finster said with a grin.
"It's a pleasure to see you here, Muriel," Mrs. Spinelli said.
"Same here," Miss Finster replied.
"You know," Mr. Spinelli interrupted, "there's an upcoming spelling bee at Birdwell Island Elementary School's auditorium, and we thought you might come."
"Sure, I'll think about it."
Ten minutes later, T.J. and his pals were looking through their binoculars to find a distant piece of land with new skyscrapers, a lighthouse, a boardwalk, and a Ferris wheel. "It looks better than before!" Gus said. "It's like a dream come true. Wait! I hear something familiar."
"I began to know that children and teens became interested in this whole Clifford craze," the voice said. The gang got closer to the voice, and it was none other than a woman with glasses and brown hair in a bun. Dr. Quilty! She turned towards the gang. "Hey, guys! Long time no see!" she said.
"Man, it's great to see you again!" Spinelli said, shaking Dr. Quilty's hand.
"Same to you," Dr. Quilty replied. "We're approaching our destination. Let's make a video together." T.J. got his camcorder and started filming.
"This is Birdwell Island," Dr. Quilty said. "I'm very excited that our fellow friends from Third Street School are with me during this holiday season." The camcorder showed T.J. and his friends, then it came back to Dr. Quilty. "It's so splendid to enter another TV show. Happy holidays from Quilty Productions!"
"Alright guys," Mikey said. "This is my time to shine." The ferry stopped when it touched the pier, which was full of Birdwell Island citizens and dogs. Mikey took a deep breath and began to use the Voice.

"Is this the EEEEEEEEEEEEE..."

Everyone turned at Mikey's sustained note, even people inside their houses. Dogs turned, too. Windows cracked.

"...EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEND?"

People and children applauded loudly. Mikey took a bow and waved.
"You might listen to my poetry, but I come from Third Street School in Ohio," Mikey announced.
"Wow! What a voice!" Clifford said to his friends.
Miss Finster spotted Mr. Bleakman in the crowd. "Horace!" she said.
"Muriel!"
"What a total surprise," Miss Finster said. "We haven't seen each other since we were kids. A sibling reunion!" Miss Finster, believe it or not, was Mr. Bleakman's sister.

"Okay, gang," T.J. announced when Clifford, T-Bone, Mac, and Cleo were in Cleo's backyard. "Gus made this point earlier today, but it seems that the dogs don't talk to the humans. Form out." The gang ran up to the dogs. "Hey," he said to Clifford. "I'm T.J. Detweiler from Recess. How's it hangin'?"
"Cross your fingers," Gretchen said. Was Clifford going to respond with a bark, or was he going to talk like a human being?
Clifford became surprised, and he began to speak.
"Hey, Teej! I know you and I'm a fan of that show!"
The six protagonists suddenly applauded ecstatically.
"YES!" Gus whooped. "The dogs CAN talk to us!"
Vince walked up to T-Bone. "What's up, T?" he said.
"You remember my nickname that Cleo gave me? Gosh!" T-Bone said.
Mikey walked up to Cleo. "Hey there, Cleo, most fluffy-uffy-docious pooch in the world. I'm your number one fan!"
Cleo gasped. "Mikey Blumberg! Your show is like a god to me! Lemme give you a hug." Mikey knelt down to Cleo, and they both hugged.
"Hey, Spinelli," Mac said. He and Spinelli shook hands. "I hear that you like to be tough," he added.
"Yeah, most of the time," Spinelli said. "Especially when something's going wrong. I hope I'm not gonna be in another Finster situation."
"Oh, don't worry," Mac said, putting his hand on Spinelli's shoulder. "She's just a mindless old lady. Everything will be perfect, okay?"
Spinelli nodded. "I've got another class with Mademoiselle Povlova tomorrow. I'd rather make up my own dance moves."
Emily Elizabeth Howard walked up to everyone. "You guys are from Third Street, right? Recess is the best show ever!"
"Thanks a lot, Emily," Gus said.
"Join the fun, Emily Elizabeth!" Clifford called.
"Clifford?" Emily Elizabeth said. "Since when did you all talk?"
"It appears to be 15 degrees Fahrenheit right now," Gretchen said. Snowflakes started falling.
"Come on, it's a winter wonderland!" Cleo said. "Let's party!"
Everyone took some open barrels and carried them up to a steep hill. The gang could fit into the barrels (except for Clifford). They rolled down the hill to race each other. Clifford raced against Emily Elizabeth; T.J. raced against Spinelli; Mikey raced against Cleo; Vince raced against T-Bone; and Gretchen, Gus, and Mac raced against each other.
The kindergarteners ran along the sidewalk while Miss Finster was yelling, "COME BACK HERE, YOU FOOLS!" T.J, Clifford, Spinelli, Mikey, Cleo, Emily Elizabeth, Vince, T-Bone, Gretchen, Gus, and Mac burst out laughing. What a great start to a winter vacation!