Puppet Pandemonium Read Online Free PDF Page A

pocketknife, books, gift cards. Sam gave me a fifty-dollar certificate for our favorite place: McDonald's. He promised he'd e-mail me and give me a heads-up about our team and school stuff, and I promised I'd e-mail back.
    “Don't forget,” I told him. “I have my own cell, too.”
    We stayed with Gram until the movers packed our stuff in the humongous van, and then it was time for Gram to take us to the airport. Gram held up like a trooper, but I knew she was sad to see us leave.
    “I'm worried about leaving Gram,” I told Mom as we boarded the plane.
    “Don't be,” she said. “I know my mother. She will do fine. She has lots of friends in Seattle and she's independent.” Then she squeezed my hand. “But it's okay to feel sad about it. I'm a little sad too.”
    I took Waldo out of my backpack and sat him on my lap so I could practice with him on the long flight to Texas. When the flight attendant came by to ask us if we wanted something to drink, Waldo blinked his eyes and spun his head around in circles.
    “I'll take a Coke with six cherries,” he said. “And one for my friend.” At first the flight attendant looked shocked. Then she chuckled.
    “Got it,” she said, turning to the drink cart.
    “Waldo! I'm surprised at you,” Mom said, frowning. The attendant handed me two Cokes—one for me and one for Waldo. His glass had six cherries bobbing around in it.
    “Cool,” I said. “I'll have to let Waldo order more often.”
    I sat there for a long time practicing the different sounds to make when I was talking for my dummy.The more I worked on it, the easier it became. When people got up and walked to the front of the plane, I couldn't resist letting Waldo talk about them.
    “I like that red sweater. Don't try to cut the bathroom line. Could you grab me some peanuts?” he said. Mom couldn't keep from laughing.
    A flight attendant told us that traffic was backed up and it would be longer until takeoff.
    “Don't they teach these guys how to take off faster?” Waldo said.
    The guy in the seat behind me leaned over. “I agree with you, buddy. They need to get us out of here. I have a connection I need to make in Dallas.”
    I popped Waldo's face over the back of the seat and he blinked his eyes and spun his head around. “If the captain doesn't take off soon,” he said, “I'm going to fly this contraption myself.” Everyone laughed except Mom.
    “That's enough,” she said. “You and Waldo need to keep your thoughts to yourself now.” So I took a book out of my backpack and started reading. After a few minutes I heard static over the intercom.
    “This is your captain speaking,” a woman's voice said. “Just waiting for some air traffic to ease up. We're on tap to leave in about nine minutes, folks.”
    “You mean there's a girl flying this thing?” Waldo said. “I'm getting off.”
    “That's enough,” Mom whispered, putting her hand over Waldo's mouth. “If you keep it up, I'm sure they'll want to
escort
you off.”
    When I looked around I noticed that everyone was making last-minute phone calls. I speed-dialed Gram's number and waited for her to pick up. Her voice mail came on immediately.
    “Hey, Gram,” I said. “We haven't taken off yet.” I tried to think of something to say. “Waldo is enjoying himself. He's already had two Cokes and twelve cherries. Bye.”
    Within a minute my phone vibrated in my pocket. “Gram! Want to come back to the airport and see us?”
    She was still laughing when I clicked off.

T he flight to Texas was three hours and fifty minutes. Dad was there to pick us up. It felt good to stretch my legs. After we claimed our luggage, I crawled into the back of our SUV and slept most of the way from the airport to Franklin.
    Mom woke me just before we arrived. “Don't you want to see where we're going to live, Baker?”
    I looked out the window, but all I saw were trees. There were sidewalks everywhere. I liked that because it was easier to ride a bike without