Captain Awesome Has the Best Snow Day Ever?


If there was ever a worse thing for a teacher to say than, “Everyone, take out your math books,” Eugene McGillicudy hadn’t heard it.

Eugene reached into his desk and pulled out his math book. As he did, a folded square of paper fell out and dropped to the floor.

A NOTE.

Eugene looked around the room at his classmates. Who sent me a note? he wondered.

Whenever Super Dude got a note, it was usually a secret message. A warning of evil! A clue!





What’s that, you say? You’ve never heard of Super Dude?! Do you live on a space station orbiting Galaxian 459 on the other end of Black Hole 22? Super Dude is only the greatest superhero in the history of comic books! It was his adventures that inspired Eugene to become his own superhero, Captain Awesome, the fighter of all that’s evil in Sunnyview. Then his best friends joined him. Charlie Thomas Jones was Nacho Cheese Man and Sally Williams was Supersonic Sal.



Together, they were the Sunnyview Superhero Squad, protecting their school, their town, and the whole universe from evil.

And right now, Eugene was convinced that there was evil in this note. His Awesome Sense was tingling.

He began to unfold the piece of paper, but then stopped. Super Dude had once fought The Amazing Hypnotattler in Super Dude No. 48. The Amazing Hypnotattler’s power lay in secret notes that hypnotized people into doing whatever the note said. Perhaps the Hypnotattler was hypnotizing superheroes in Sunnyview!



I have to get rid of this before anyone else reads it and falls under its spell, Eugene thought. He slid off his chair.



“Eugene, where are you going?” Charlie whispered. “Bathroom break isn’t for ten minutes.” Charlie pointed to his watch. “I keep track.”

“I’ve got to throw something away,” Eugene whispered. “The Sunnyview Superhero Squad is in danger!”

“You’ll get caught,” Sally whispered back. “Ms. Beasley has Teacher Radar.”



Ms. Beasley’s back was to the class as she wrote on the whiteboard. Eugene tip-tip-tiptoed toward the trash can.

“Where are you going, Eugene?” Ms. Beasley asked without turning around.

Eugene froze. How does she do that?! he wondered.

When Ms. Beasley did turn around, she said, “Is that a note in your hand?”



Eugene gulped. “Y-y-yes.”

“You know my rule about passing notes,” Ms. Beasley said.

Eugene’s shoulders slumped as he placed the note in her hand and returned to his desk. It was all over now. The Hypnotattler had won and there was nothing Eugene could do to stop him.

Ms. Beasley carefully unfolded the note. “?‘What did one pencil say to the other?’?” she read.



The whole class leaned forward in their seats, wanting to know the answer.

“?‘You’re looking sharp,’?” Ms. Beasley read. “Oh my, that’s clever!”

The class burst into laughter, and even Eugene chuckled.

“I knew you’d like it, Eugene,” whispered Sally. “But why were you trying to throw my joke away?”





“Your joke? You put it in my notebook?” Eugene was shocked. “I thought it was an evil hypno-spell from the Hypnotattler.”

Sally laughed. “Not everything is evil, Eugene.”

RING!

RECESS TIME!