CHAPTER 1
Screech! The bus pulled up to the stop two stops away from mine. I groaned. The bus ride always felt so long. I tipped my head back and stared at the ceiling. A white string swayed from the ceiling of the bus. "Ugh," I groaned. I wanted some excitement. I grabbed hold of the string and swung it back and forth between my hands. A terrifying clang echoed behind me. I slowly looked back. There was a trapdoor on the ceiling of the bus. I looked around. No other kids seemed to notice. Maybe I was the only one that could see it? Why me? I decided I had to explore. I put one foot on the seat… then the other. I took hold of the golden handle and shoved the door open. A cold wind blew in and popcorn rained down inside the bus. “What is that popcorn from?” I wondered aloud. I decided to find out. I put my hands on the edge of the opening and pulled myself up. What I saw was odd. Very odd. Had this been here all along and I just didn’t notice it?
CHAPTER 2
What I saw was a different world! It was a food world. Popcorn fell from the pink cotton candy clouds. There was Hot Dog Palace, Food Bizzaro, Candy Arcade, and many more food themed stores, entertainment, and restaurants. Other people were there too. Going into restaurants and eating on tables made from different foods on the sidewalk. In the distance houses shaped like different foods loomed. One house was shaped like a juice box. Another house was shaped like a burrito. I began walking through the falling snow—now in big heaps. I glanced around and gasped. “Candy place!” I shouted. I pushed open the cookie door to reveal graham cracker tables covered with white fondant. The counter was made of chocolate bars. “One chocolate bar,” I said to the lady behind the counter. She was wearing a white apron over a purple shirt. Her sky-blue eyes were the same color as my toothbrush. The lady slid a chocolate bar across the counter. “That’ll be $1.99,” she said. I handed her the money. “Bye,” I said. I unwrapped the candy bar and headed to the trapdoor. I pulled on the handle but it wouldn’t budge.
CHAPTER 3
“Oh, no!” I shouted. What was I to do? I was stuck here. I sat down and tried to think of what to do. “An ice cream always helps me think better,” I said. “Maybe I could buy one!” I walked over to Ice Cream Island and opened the cinnamon-smelling door. I gazed around inside. Tables, counter, cabinets. “Wait!” I exclaimed. “Red licorice. The counter is made of red licorice! I can use some to pull the door up!” I walked over to the counter and carefully unwove a licorice stick. I stuffed it into my pocket and walked out.
CHAPTER 4
I kneeled over the trapdoor and tied the licorice to the handle. I stood up and took hold of the licorice. I started pulling. I pulled until my arms felt like they were going to fall off. The trapdoor didn’t move.
CHAPTER 5
The sky was streaked with red, yellow, blue, and pink. The popcorn had stopped falling and the sun hung low in the sky. It was just starting to get dark. “I better get a move on,” I thought. “It’s starting to get dark!” I started walking through the silent dusk. Crickets were chirping in my ears and wind blew softly in my face. I came to a cake factory. The windows were dark but I wanted to see what was in there. I slipped my fingers under the cold door handle and it creaked open. The room inside was pitch black.” What are you doing?” someone behind me said.
CHAPTER 6
I turned around slowly. A woman with a black apron and a white shirt stared at me. “This is my factory,” the woman said. I gasped. “Ahh!” I shouted. I ran into the cake factory and the lights blinked on. The woman ran after me. A big machine stood on one end of the factory. A conveyer belt ran under the machine holding cakes. The belt disappeared under a square cut-out in the wall. A big blue door with the word EMPLOYEES on it was next to the cut-out. “I think I have an idea!” I exclaimed as I slid a lighter into my backpack. “I might need this lighter for later.”
CHAPTER 7
The lady was still following me. I had to work fast, so I lit candles on cakes to hold her off. She ran to blow them out. “Yes!” I yelled as I ran for the door. Almost there! The lady had finished blowing out the candles. I gripped the doorknob and felt the cold metal against my hand. But just as I was about to push it open, I felt a hand on my shoulder. The lady grabbed me and pulled me backwards. I yanked away and pushed the door open. Once I was outside, I ran and ran and ran. I ran until my lungs felt like they were about to explode. I stopped and peered back into the distance. Through the starry night the lady was nowhere to be seen.
CHAPTER 8
“Now to find out how to open that trapdoor!” I said. I started walking towards it. When I got there, I got the best idea of all. “Let’s just hope this works,” I said. I came to a restaurant. “Hot Diggety Dog” a sign read over the front door. I walked into the restaurant. Behind the counter a woman with black hair tied into a ponytail stood. “Do you want anything?” the woman asked. “Sure. I would like one of those cups,” I said. The woman handed me a cup off the pile on the counter.
CHAPTER 9
When I got out of the restaurant it was pitch black dark. I unzipped my backpack and took out a flashlight. I turned it on and shone it around me. Then I pointed the light down. I was standing on the trapdoor. I jumped off. Then I turned the cup over and looked for a stick. Once I found one, I stuck it into the bottom of the cup. I dug into my backpack in attempt to find the lighter I had slipped into it at the cake factory. I lit the stick on fire. Ta-da! A candle! I put the candle onto the trapdoor. Now I just needed to wait. I left the candle at the trapdoor and ran. I found a nice patch of fuzzy cream. When I laid down though, none of it got on my clothes or in my hair. “That’s weird. Cream is usually messy,” I said snuggling into the warm cream.
CHAPTER 10
When I woke up the next morning, I jumped off the cream patch. I ran over to the trapdoor. My candle sat, rolling in the wind, on top of a burn-free trapdoor. A pile of ashes was next to the trapdoor. Rage fueled throughout me! “None of my ideas are working!” I yelled. “I had to plan them out! It took work. Why won’t this trapdoor cooperate?” I decided to do something I’m good at so I would feel better. I stared at a fire truck (it was made of fondant and chocolate) parked on the curb. It was right next to the trapdoor which was on the sidewalk. It gleamed bright red. Suddenly I got an inspiration! I could super-glue a licorice stick to the back of the fire truck. I could tie the other end to the trapdoor. I’m so good at super-gluing and tying! This is perfect! (Plus, it might solve my bigger problem!)
CHAPTER 11
I made a circle of super-glue around a pole on the fire truck. I stuck the licorice stick onto the circle of glue. Then I tied the licorice onto the handle on the trapdoor.
CHAPTER 12
ONE HOUR LATER
I heard voices. A line of firefighters ran out of the Food Fire Station nearby. They wore red hats, yellow coats, and black rubber boots. I hid behind a mint bush. The firefighters jumped into the fire truck. They didn’t notice the licorice. I heard the engine of the truck start. The fire truck pulled out from the curb. As it did this, I noticed the licorice pulling. The truck sped away and the trapdoor popped off. I gasped. "Yes!" I yelled. So I wasn't stuck in here forever. I peeked out of the trapdoor hole. It was time to get off. The bus was at the school. And the bus driver wasn’t there. I pushed the button that opened the doors and ran home! Home at last!
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