Welcome to the Jungle Read Free Page B

off its leash.” He looked at his mother in expectation but she just stared back at him blankly. Rick searched for a way to explain himself. “You guys all know that even if we could build a fan or a vacuum big enough to push us away from Australia, we’d still run the risk of getting stuck in another ocean current. We’re floating ducks out here unless we stop the eighth continent from moving permanently, and the only way to do that is by
rooting
the continent to the ocean floor.”
    â€œOh, I get it,” said Dad. “That’s genius, son!”
    Mom’s eyes widened. “Brilliant! That’ll be the perfect way to avoid dirtying the oceans.”
    Evie raised a skeptical eyebrow. “Am I the only one here who still doesn’t know what he’s talking about?”
    â€œYes,” said her parents in unison.
    Rick snatched Dad’s pen from his hand and started sketching his vision. “Think of the continent as a lily pad. We need to create a tether to connect it to the bottom of the ocean.”
    Rick’s parents nodded in agreement as he spoke, making Rick swell with pride.
    â€œThe only issue will be finding a strong anchor that’s long enough to hold a whole continent in place.” He turned to his favorite crow. “2-Tor, how long will the root need to be?”
    â€œThe ocean floor at our current location is fourteen thousand feet below sea level.”
    â€œWell, that’s not too far at all then, is it?” Dad exclaimed. “I think Rick may be on to something. Honey, what do you think? Is this a project Professor Doran could help us with?”
    Rick’s mother nodded. “Professor Doran! Now there’s a fine idea.”
    Dad nodded in satisfaction. “Good. Kids, listen up. Professor Doran is an old friend of your mother’s and mine. He’s a prize-winning botanist who specializes in super plants. If anyone knows how to grow a root big enough to anchor the eighth continent, it’s him. I’ll take you to his lab in Texas, down on the Mexican border.”
    â€œYee-haw!” Evie hooted. “We’re going on another adventure.”
    â€œBut Dad,” Rick interjected. “You can’t leave the eighth continent, or Winterpole will arrest you.”
    â€œOh yeah, he’s right,” Evie agreed. “You can’t go with us.”
    Rick’s father seemed quite flustered by this inconvenience. “Hmm. Okay. Well then your mother will go with you. 2-Tor and I will stay here to keep an eye on the continent and try to come up with alternative solutions, in case something goes wrong down by the border.”
    Taking a deep breath, Rick steeled himself for the challenges that lay ahead.
    â€œ
Wark!
” 2-Tor squawked. “Pop Quiz! What river serves as a natural aquatic border between Mexico and the US state of Texas?”
    â€œThe Rio Grande!” Evie cheered, tugging on her mother’s arm. “Mom, can we leave right now?”
    â€œWe better!” Mom said. “I pride myself on Cleanaspot’s efficiency. Why not our family’s, too?”

IN A CROWDED, DARKENED CLASSROOM IN WINTER- POLE HEADQUARTERS, DIANA FOUGHT TO KEEP her eyelids from collapsing. The daily marathon lectures she endured in the junior-agent training program were so dull, she had already counted every tile on the ceiling (there were 256 of them). She had also named all 256. Her favorite tile was Fred, the faded white one over the boy who sat two desks in front of her. She didn’t remember the boy’s name, but she remembered Fred, because the tile had a blotchy brown stain of mysterious origin.
    Put simply, Diana would have rather been anywhere other than Winterpole Headquarters. She never should have listened to her mother when she’d sweetly suggested, “Why don’t you take some time off of school, honey?” It had sounded great at first—skipping a few classes at the