War on Whimsy Read Free

Nicola.
    Now Katie was showing her up. Nicola was suddenly filled with insecurity. Maybe she should ask the others if someone else would like to be leader this time? She was about to speak, when Tyler said, “Prepare for landing, folks. That’s Globagaskar just to your right.”
    Goodness. He sounded like he’d been piloting spaceships all his life. Everyone else was becoming more confident with each mission, whereas Nicola appeared to be losing confidence.
    As the spaceship raced through Globagaskar’s glittering outer atmosphere, Nicola caught her first glimpse of the planet’s two suns radiating beams of cherry-colored light across majestic snowcapped mountain ranges. She remembered her first trip into space, after Georgio had picked her as the Earthling Ambassador.
    Now Georgio was in trouble and he needed her help. Nicola took a deep, bracing breath. This was no time for insecurity. This was a time for action.
    After Tyler deftly landed the spaceship in the Gorgioskio backyard, they all went inside to look for Shimlara.
    As they walked into the strange, futuristic house with its circular rooms, confusing murals, and unfamiliar technology, Nicola realized she’d never been there before without the whole family. It seemed like any minute Georgio would surely come bounding down the hallway, or Mully would appear offering them cookies the size of dinner plates, or that Squid would run in, his security blanket clutched close, his thumb in his mouth.
    But this time the house was eerily silent.
    â€œI hope Shimlara hasn’t disappeared now, too,” said Nicola, as she pushed open the door of Shimlara’s bedroom and found it empty. She realized her heart was beating fast.
    She walked into Georgio and Mully’s room. Nothing. A curtain rippled in the breeze from an open window. Nicola shivered.
    Next was Squid’s room. There was someone curled up in his bed.
    It was Shimlara. She had pulled her knees to her chest and was cuddling Squid’s ragged, old, blue blanket. Her face was puffy from crying. Her long, dark, curly hair was a tangled mess. When she saw the Space Brigade all gathered at the bedroom door, she sat up and carefully adjusted the gold button hanging around her neck.
    â€œPlease help me find them,” she said.

CHAPTER 4
    First Shimlara showed them what she’d discovered so far.
    There was the tray bobbing around in the pool with the half-drunk cups of tea and a cookie with a single bite taken from it. “Dad would never leave an almond cookie like that,” said Shimlara. “Unless something really terrible happened to interrupt him.
    There was the piece of torn notepaper Shimlara had found lying in the backyard, in Georgio’s handwriting. It said, HELP, SHIML—as if he’d been interrupted.
    There was the fact that the Gorgioskios’s aero-car was still sitting in the garage.
    And there was Squid’s security blanket, which was really the most compelling evidence of all.
    â€œThey don’t go anywhere without Squid’s blanket,” said Shimlara.
    â€œMaybe your parents decided it was time he grew out of it,” said Greta. Shimlara just stared Greta down until she muttered, “Or maybe not.”
    Now they were all sitting around the Gorgioskio dining-room table, trying desperately to think of what to do next.
    â€œI’ve called every single person Mom and Dad know,” said Shimlara. “None of them have any ideas. One of Dad’s friends at the university muttered something like, ‘I told him not to get involved.’ When I asked him what he meant, he hung up.”
    â€œI wonder if—” said Nicola. She stopped, trying to piece her thoughts together. She was thinking about the circumstances that had led to her first meeting the Gorgioskio family. The king and queen of Globagaskar had gone on vacation, leaving their daughter, Princess Petronella, in charge. Unfortunately, Princess