Read Online What a Trip! by Tony Abbott - Free Book Online Page A

“It’s a typhoon!”
    â€œIt’s no typhoon!” cried the captain. “It’s a hurricane!”
    Except that it wasn’t a hurricane, either.
    It was Frankie.

Chapter 14
    I could tell it wasn’t just a regular storm, because the lightning that flashed and the thunder that crashed were different from any storm I had ever seen before.
    They were exactly like the kind of meltdown that happens when you read ahead in the book.
    And Frankie was reading ahead.
    Seeing the sky start to rip in half usually freaked me out, but not this time. It meant that even though I’d get tumbled all around and probably all kinds of wet, Frankie was okay somewhere and reading.
    I kept searching the skies for what I knew was going to happen, and sure enough, there it was.
    A black V-shaped rip opened up in the sky as if we were all on a page being ripped in half.
    Kkkkkk! The clouds split apart. The ship reeled and rocked from side to side. Aouda stumbled into Mr. Fogg. He got all flustered and she just smiled at him as he steadied her. Fix slammed into one thing after another like a pinball. I had to laugh.
    Finally, I was thrown hard to the deck, and just as I was sloshing across it, heading straight for the heavy mainmast, I found myself tumbling over and over in the darkness. The next moment I was in blazing sunshine, sliding down to earth on something bumpy.
    It was a roof. The roof of a pagoda.
    The roof of a pagoda—in Yokohama, Japan!
    â€œDevin!” yelled a voice.
    â€œFrankie!” I cried out, flipping up off the curved edge of the roof and straight down into a goldfish pond.
    Splursh!
    Wet to the bone, I clambered out to see two very familiar people rushing up to help me out.
    â€œDevin! We found you!” cried Passepartout.
    â€œTold you I’d get him here!” said Frankie.
    â€œYahoo! We’re back together!” I said. “But how?”
    Frankie gave me a big grin. “After Mr. Fix caused the meltdown at the Hong Kong dock, we found ourselves on the Carnatic sailing without you.”
    â€œThen, at dawn today, November fourteenth,” said Passepartout, “we arrived in Yokohama. We got off to wait.”
    â€œBut we weren’t sure if you guys would get here on time,” said Frankie. “So I did some reading.”
    I laughed. “And splash! boom! —here I am, in the next chapter. So, okay. If the Tankadere set sail November seventh, and today is November fourteenth, that’s seven days. Fogg and Aouda should be here soon. It also explains why I’m so hungry. I could eat a … a … a lot!”
    â€œMe, too!” said Frankie.
    â€œLet us go hunting for food!” chirped Passepartout.
    Our noses led us right to the marketplace in downtown Yokohama. Stall after stall sold fresh fish, fruit, and vegetables. It looked great, but we had a big problem. We had no money, and none of the food was free.
    Wandering some more, we found a bunch of rich shops, teahouses, and restaurants. The people wore silk kimonos and wooden sandals that clacked on the cobblestones, but they weren’t giving away food, either.
    â€œWe’d better chow down soon,” I said, “or I can’t be responsible for my actions.”
    Frankie laughed. “When are you ever?”
    Just then, Passepartout saw a sign up on the side of a building. It read:
    JAPANESE CIRCUS TROUPE
    ACTS OF ALL KINDS
    LAST APPEARANCE BEFORE SAILING TO AMERICA
    COME ONE, COME ALL!
    Frankie grabbed my arm. “Devin, are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
    â€œSure,” I said. “But do they make nachos in Japan?”
    â€œNo, I’m wondering if they’re hiring people.”
    â€œFrankie is right!” said Passepartout. “Perhaps the circus will hire us. And pay us money to buy food! For instance, I can juggle. If I had three apples—”
    â€œIf you had three apples,” I said, “I’d eat them. Let’s