The Genius Files #4 Read Online Free PDF Page A

shoulder with it.
    â€œOw! Knock it off!”
    At this point, Dr. McDonald made an executive decision. Everyone’s nerves suddenly seemed to be on edge. The stress of seeing the RV explode had clearly gotten to Pep. Everybody needed to calm down a little.
    â€œI’m starved,” he said as he pulled off the highway at the Little Rock exit and crossed the Arkansas River.
    One block off the riverbank was a bustling streetwith a convention center, the Little Rock River Market, and some restaurants.
    â€œHow about this joint?” Mrs. McDonald said as they approached a place called Flying Fish.
    Dr. McDonald pulled into the parking lot. Flying Fish, needless to say, specializes in seafood. The family slid into a booth and ordered an assortment of catfish, shrimp, oysters, crab, and gumbo for everyone to share.
    â€œYou think they have grits?” Coke asked. “I always wanted to try grits.”
    â€œGrits sound gross,” Pep said.
    â€œWell, you don’t listen to them,” Coke told his sister. “You eat them.”
    One wall of the restaurant was an unusual sight—row upon row of wooden plaques, each one with a fish mounted on it. There were more than three hundred of them, and all of them looked the same. Upon closer examination, it was obvious that the fish were made out of rubber. At the top of the wall was a sign: BILLY BASS ADOPTION CENTER .
    â€œWhat the heck?” Coke asked.
    â€œThis will be great for Amazing but True !” Mrs. McDonald said as she grabbed her camera.
    Dr. McDonald explained to the kids that, around the turn of the century, millions of people boughtthese silly novelty gifts called Big Mouth Billy Bass. The head and the tail of the fish would wiggle back and forth while the fish sang songs like “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” and “Take Me to the River.” The fish’s mouth even moved while it sang.

    Don’t believe me? YouTube it. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
    Anyway, Big Mouth Billy Bass was really annoying, and when the fad ended, people were stuck with the silly toys. A lot of the fish ended up in the garbage or at garage sales. Some of them, apparently, ended up at Flying Fish Restaurant in Little Rock, Arkansas.
    â€œDo you like our little museum?” asked the waitress when she brought the food. “If you donate a Big Mouth Billy Bass to our collection, you get a free catfish basket.”
    Mrs. McDonald took notes for her website. She seemed to have an uncanny knack for stumbling upon the kind of oddball tourist spots that don’t appear in any guidebooks.
    As they were finishing their food, a couple of flannel-shirted, heavyset, bearded truckers slid into the booth next to them. Dr. McDonald and Mrs. McDonald went to pay the check while Coke and Pep eavesdropped on the truckers’ conversation.
    â€œSo I was comin’ in loud and proud, doing the double nickel on I-95 when this meat wagon on my left hit the mix-master,” said the first trucker.
    â€œWhat did you do?” asked the other trucker.
    â€œWell, I backed off the hammer,” he replied. “So this wiggle wagon was in the granny lane and wearing my bumper out. So I put the pedal to the metal and the next thing I know, there’s a bear in the air. And that’s how I ended up here at the Pickle Park.”
    â€œLooks like you’re gonna need a dragon wagon,” said the first trucker.
    â€œReckon so. Catch ya on the flip-flop.”
    Coke and Pep had no idea what the truckers were talking about, but they were mesmerized by them.
    â€œ Pssssst! Hey, kids,” the first trucker suddenly whispered.
    â€œI’m sorry, but we don’t talk to strangers,” Pep informed him.
    The second trucker winked and carefully peeled off the corner of his beard. Or, I should say, her beard. Because he was a she.
    â€œMya!” exclaimed Pep.
    â€œBones!” exclaimed Coke. “Nice disguises!”
    â€œShhhhh!”