Life In The Gumball Machine Read online

  “DAISEEEE! WHAT’S GOING ON??” Patrick shouted, as they spun up the tunnel.

  “I DON’T KNOWWW!!!” she cried.

  “I’M GOING TO LOSE MY GLASSES!” he cried. Daisy could barely hear him over the noise. “AAHH!! I’M SOOO DIZZY! MOM! DAD! SOMEBODY HELP US!!”

  But by now, they were too far up into the machine for anyone to hear them.

  Michael could only scream. “AAHH!!”

  The further they were sucked up the slide, the colder the air became. They could feel the cold biting their skin and freezing their fingers and feet.

  The trip up the spiral tunnel lasted only a short while, but to the frightened children, it seemed like it lasted forever. As they reached the top of the tunnel, they were forced through the opening, and then thrown up into the gumball machine. Once inside, they continued flying up until they crashed into the top of the clear bowl. CRASH! BANG! BOOM!

  As they hit the top of the bowl, they looked down and thought they were in a dream. It was a blur, but it was a beautiful, colorful, blur. They didn’t have time to figure out what they were seeing below them because, as soon as they hit the top, they came crashing down, away from the top of the glass bowl, back in the direction from which they came. They groaned in pain as they came to a crashing halt, landing on top of each other.

  They were stunned for a few seconds, until Patrick groaned. “Get off of me!” Daisy and Michael were on top of him. They pushed away from each other and sat up. Daisy’s head hurt, and she rubbed it as she looked at Patrick and Michael.

  “Oh, I’m sooo c-c-o-o-l-d,” Michael whined, rubbing his hands and arms to warm up.

  “I c-c-can’t s-s-see! I c-c-can’t s-s-see!” shouted Patrick.

  “Your g-g-glasses fell off, Patrick. “D-d-on’t w-w-orry.” We’ll f-f-find them,” said Michael.

  “Oh. G-g-good. I th-th-thought my eyes were f-f-frozen shut.” They all crawled around a bit looking for his glasses, when Patrick finally found them himself and put them back on. They were a little frosty around the edges, but he was just happy to be able to see again.

  “You g-g-guys have f-f-frost all over you,” Daisy said, shivering. She looked at the boys, and then down at herself. They were each covered from head to toe with a thin layer of white icy-cold frost.

  “I–I–I d-d-don’t think I have ever b-b-been this c-c-cold before in my l-l-life. Do you think we’ll freeze to death?” asked Michael.

  “Oh, I hope not,” whined Patrick.

  “I have n-n-never been that s-s-scared before,” said Daisy.

  “Yeah, m-m-me either,” replied Patrick, wrapping his arms around himself to try to warm up.

  As they sat there for a few minutes, they noticed they were beginning to warm up and the frost on their bodies had melted away. Suddenly, they realized where they were. They were no longer in the shed – that was for sure. They looked around. Could it be? Were they actually inside the gumball machine? They were too frightened to speak.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  THE GUMBALL WORLD

  Daisy, Patrick and Michael sat with their legs crossed, in a daze. They were still a bit cold, dizzy, sore, and frightened.

  “Wow!” exclaimed Daisy, still trying to warm up. “Are we actually in this gumball machine?”

  “I think so,” said Michael. “We must have really shrunk to fit in here, and that is totally freaking me out. We’re like small, miniature people. I hope we don’t stay like this!”

  “What if we do?” Patrick was starting to panic. “Oh, man. My mom is going to be so mad at me if I have to stay this size. My glasses are even bigger now than they were before!”

  Daisy looked at her two friends, with panic in her eyes. “I can’t believe it! How could this have happened?”

  Michael had no answer. He just shook his head. “I wonder how we’re going to get out of here,” he said, as he rubbed his sore elbow. He was still very terrified by this unexpected trip, and extremely worried that they might be trapped in this gumball machine forever. Forever is such a long time, he thought.

  Patrick tried to open the latch, which had closed tightly after they flew through it. “Simple,” said Patrick, taking charge of the situation. “We’ll just slide back down.” He grunted as he tried to pull up the latch. “If we can just – get this – thing to open.” He pulled and pulled, and grunted and groaned, but it wouldn’t budge.

  “Come on you guys, help me,” he said. The other two joined him, each grabbing a section of the handle and pulling as hard as they could. “How could it be so tightly closed? We just came through here,” whined Patrick. His great idea was no longer so great, and he was beginning to worry they’d never escape.

  “I don’t know, but we have to get out of here!” Michael shouted.

  Now, they were really scared. Patrick stomped on the door in frustration. The other two joined him. In their panic, they frantically pulled, pounded, stomped and kicked the latch, all the while screaming for help, until they were too exhausted to continue. They looked hopelessly at each other. Instead of being cold, they were now sweating, and out of breath from all the kicking and screaming. That latch was the only way out, and it was not opening! They just sat there, afraid and alone, in this strange and scary place.

  “This is your fault!” Patrick shouted, pointing at Daisy. “You just had to get that silly red gumball, didn’t you? Now look at us. We’re tiny and we’re trapped in a gumball machine – a GUMBALL MACHINE! No one will ever find us in here!”

  “Patrick! Get a grip!” Michael shouted. “Freaking out is not going to help us figure out what to do.”

  Patrick took a couple of deep breaths. “I’m sorry, dude,” he said. “You’re right.”

  “No, I’m sorry. You’re right, Patrick,” Daisy interrupted. She was fighting back the tears. “This is my fault.” Patrick glared at her, and she started to cry. Patrick felt like crying too, but he held it back – for now, anyway. Things could get a lot worse before they got better. He wanted to hold it together for as long as he could.

  “Stop it, you guys! This is not getting us anywhere! Quit arguing and crying. We have to think,” Michael scolded them, as he stood up and brushed himself off. Patrick and Daisy nodded in agreement and also stood up. They tried to push away their fears – and their tears – as they began to look around.

  They started walking, and saw a hill in the distance. Maybe there was another way out. The ground they were walking on looked like dirt, but yet, it wasn’t. It was brown and bumpy, with ridges and grooves, which made it easy to climb – but it felt more like rough tree bark, or something. They reached the hill, and Michael started to climb. The other two followed. Although the hill was a little steep, it wasn’t very high. They reached the top in just a few minutes, and crawled on their stomachs to peer over the edge. They couldn’t believe what they saw!

  “Is this a dream?” asked Patrick.

  “I don’t know,” Michael replied. “But no one will ever believe this.”

  “I’m scared,” Daisy said.

  “Me too,” Patrick said. “What in the world is happening to us? I definitely want to go home – right now.”

  The three children stayed on their stomachs for a long time, as they tried to understand just what it was they were seeing below them. It was truly something amazing. It looked like a miniature city – with purple grass! But – how could this be possible?

  “Wow! This is so cool!” Michael said. He was looking forward to a great adventure.

  “What is this place?” asked Patrick. “I thought we were inside a gumball machine. Why aren’t we surrounded by gumballs? Are those buildings down there?”

  “I think so,” said Michael. “It looks like a city, or a town or something. But, what are those – things – moving over there?” In the distance they could see, what looked like, moving rocks – small and round. The children looked at each other, and then back at this weird world. Michael shrugged his shoulders and said, “Let’s go check it out.” He sto
od up and started walking down the hill.

  “Wait! What do you mean – ‘let’s go check it out’? Are you crazy? This could be dangerous,” Patrick cried out in a panic.

  “Come on. Whatever – or whoever – those things are, they might be able to help us find a way out of here. Now, come on. Let’s go. Then Michael started to laugh and said, “Besides, how can they hurt us? We’re probably much bigger than they are!”

  “We’re not as big as we used to be,” Patrick grumbled. “I’ll follow behind you.”

  “Oh, come on,” said Michael. “This could be the best adventure ever!”

  They began walking toward what they thought was some type of city. In the distance, they saw roads that traveled in circles. They also saw what looked like round houses, and trees with round, colorful gumballs mixed in with the leaves – like flowers. Although there were many different colors, almost everything had the same shape – round. The children were afraid, but they also couldn’t help but notice what a warm, friendly, and colorful place this was. They still had trouble believing they were actually inside the gumball machine that was in that dusty old shed. But here they were!

  The next thing they saw made them stop and blink their eyes twice. At first glance, it just looked like a bunch of gumballs. Daisy started to approach the gumballs, but Patrick grabbed her arm to stop her. “Maybe we should stay back behind this tree – or whatever it is, and check things out for a minute . . . you know . . . and see what’s out there before it sees us.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Michael added quietly.

  As they moved behind some gumball bushes, they moved aside the leaves and gumballs to get a better look. Daisy was tempted to pick a gumball from the bush, but Patrick grabbed her hand. “Are you kidding me? Remember the last time you wanted a gumball so badly? Do you really think you should be doing that again? We’d likely turn into a gumball, and stay a gumball forever, if you try that again, so – please – do NOT eat any of these, okay?”

  “Okay, okay. Yes. You’re right. Sorry. Excellent thinking,” said Daisy, frowning. “Anyway, that’s okay. I still have that red one in my mouth,” she said, chewing. Patrick glared at her, and again said, “Are you kidding me? That’s probably why we’re here in the first place – because you ate a one hundred year-old gumball!”

  “It tastes fine,” Daisy argued. Patrick just frowned at her and shook his head.

  As they peered through the gumball bush, they could see in the distance that there were definitely gumballs out there. But they were no ordinary gumballs. These gumballs were moving! And – they were talking and laughing!

  “This is a nightmare,” said Patrick. “What are those things?” Upon closer inspection, the children noticed that each gumball had two eyes, a nose, a mouth, two short little arms, and two feet. One thing they did not have, was a pair of legs. Patrick noticed that right away.

  “Where are their legs?” he asked.

  “What are they?” Daisy asked.

  “Are we dreaming?” Patrick continued. “I mean seriously. This cannot be real.” Daisy was getting irritated with Patrick.

  “I have no idea,” Daisy replied sarcastically. “Let’s see.” She reached out and pinched Patrick on his arm.

  “Ooh-owie! Hey!” Patrick shouted, glaring at Daisy.

  “Nope. We’re not dreaming,” Daisy confirmed. “This is real, and we need to figure out what to do. Now quit asking that question!”

  “Well, you don’t have to yell at me, and pinch me – and - wrinkle my shirt!” Patrick replied angrily, trying to smooth out his shirtsleeve.

  Daisy opened her mouth to yell back at Patrick, when Michael interrupted them.

  “Stop it you guys! We’re in a lot of trouble here, and we need to find out how to get home! We can’t do that if you two are going to stand here and argue!”

  Daisy sighed. “You’re right. Sorry.”

  “Okay, okay,” Patrick added, as he continued rubbing his sore elbow, and now his arm, where he was recently pinched. They turned their attention back to the strange looking gumball creatures.

  “They sort of look like gumball people,” said Michael. “I wonder if they talk.”

  “Oh right – talking gumballs,” Daisy laughed. “Now I’ve heard everything.”

  “Well, look at them!” exclaimed Michael.

  “Yeah, and maybe they eat people in their world, just like people in our world eat gumballs,” Patrick added nervously.

  “And maybe they don’t even swallow them. Maybe they just chew them up and spit them out, just like we do with gumballs,” said Michael.

  With those comments fresh in their minds, the three nervous children moved a little closer together, and continued looking around at this strange and frightening – yet beautiful – new place.

  They continued to watch the gumball people from safely behind the gumball bushes. They were amazed by all of the different colors. They had never seen so many! Some of them had a mixture of colors swirled around their bodies. They also saw some turquoise, maroon, hot pink – and – Daisy noticed – violet colored gumballs. She thought about Violet for a second, and then she remembered that today was her birthday. She really wanted to go home. She didn’t want to spend her birthday trapped in a gumball machine. She wondered whether they would ever get out of this crazy place. Her mom and dad would start to worry soon.

  After they quietly watched the gumball people for a few more minutes, the children decided they had to do something to try and get back home. Maybe – just maybe – these funny-looking gumball people could help them.

  They slowly started walking toward the gumball town. Patrick’s foot had fallen asleep from sitting in one place for so long, so he started to shake and stomp his foot on the ground. He looked very silly. The other two just looked at him, shook their heads, and rolled their eyes, as they continued on. Patrick trailed behind them, hopping and stomping his foot as he walked. The road they were on led directly toward this mysterious city. They noticed a round sign on a pole, and they all looked up to read it.

  “Pink Street,” said Patrick. They looked at each other. “Interesting,” said Michael.

  “I think it’s cute,” said Daisy.

  Patrick rolled his eyes and said, “Oh brother.”

  “Yeah, really Daisy. What is with you and pretty colors lately, anyway? Are you turning into a girl or something?” asked Michael.

  “In case you two haven’t noticed, I am a girl!” Daisy shouted back.

  “Shhh! Keep your voices down! The gumballs will hear you,” whispered Patrick.

  “Oh, really? How do you know they can hear anything?” she hissed.

  Michael put up his hands to get them to stop arguing. “Just stop it, you two. Keep it down, and let’s start walking,” he said.

  The three kids then headed down Pink Street. As they walked, they were quite surprised by what they saw. There were gumball houses, trees, parks, dogs, cats, birds and many, many gumball people. Yep – they were definitely gumball people – not scary gumball creatures, like they first thought.

  The houses on Pink Street (and on Blue Street, Red Street, Green Street and Yellow Street) were all round and curvy. Each house had two windows and a door, and each house and door was a different color from the next. The front yards were very colorful, and each had a curvy sidewalk leading to the front door shaped like an “s”. Each yard was neatly kept, with cheerful and colorful gumball flowers planted in the purple grass, bordering the walkways and edges of the houses. The trees appeared to be some kind of fruit tree, but Daisy and the boys weren’t sure what kind of fruit tree would have so many different colors of fruit on one tree! When they looked more closely, they noticed that it wasn’t fruit after all, but rather, the tree was covered in gumballs – of course! Gumballs were everywhere.

  Michael glanced upward. “Wow! Look!” he said, pointing toward the sky.

  “The sky is pink and purple!” exclaimed Patrick.

  “Pretty,” said Daisy
with a smile. She could feel her fear disappearing, and replaced with a warm, good feeling.

  The boys just looked at her and rolled their eyes. They both knew it was pretty, but boys never say stuff like that out loud because that would be very un-cool! However, both boys thought that it was the prettiest combination of pink and purple they had ever seen.

  “And look! A rainbow!” Patrick shouted. In the sky off to the right, was a vibrant rainbow with more colors than any rainbow they had ever seen before. Everything was so bright and cheerful that it made them all start to feel good inside. Even the boys started to lose some of their fears and relax.

  As they walked closer to the houses, they were able to see the gumball people in greater detail. They were everywhere! There were mother gumballs strolling their baby gumballs; there were father gumballs playing catch with their gumball children; and there were children gumballs throwing baseballs, Frisbees and playing football. Some gumballs were even swinging on swing-sets. Even though Daisy, Patrick and Michael had shrunk in size, the gumballs were quite small in comparison. Most of them only came up to their waists and they waddled like a duck when they walked. Daisy figured that they waddled because they didn’t have legs. They only had feet. It must be hard to walk with no legs, she thought. One thing the children couldn’t help but notice was that the gumball people all seemed happy.

  In the distance, the children noticed some smaller gumball people playing catch in a park. They were throwing something that looked like a football or a baseball. However, as the children approached the group, they saw that it wasn’t just any kind of ball they were throwing. No. They were throwing tiny gumball children, who were giggling loudly as they were tossed into the air. Sometimes they were caught, and other times they were dropped. The odd thing about it was that they didn’t seem to be bothered in the least when they were dropped. They just rolled back up and started giggling, as they ran to the back of a long line of gumball children waiting excitedly for their turn to be thrown.