Judy Moody Around the World in 8 1_2 Days - Megan Mcdonald [8]
“They’re way more fun to make than eat,” said Amy, grinning at Judy with a milk mustache.
After lunch, Judy looked at her red watch. She looked at her purple watch. Which was which again? Wearing two watches sure could get a person all mixed-up. But it was still early on BOTH watches.
“Do you have to go?” asked Amy.
“Nope. I have loads of time before I have to go to Rocky’s to practice the tarantella dance,” said Judy. “Let’s turn this puppy loose!” She opened up the Make-Your-Own-Gum box and held up a bag. “This must be the gum base. It’s called chicle. It comes from the rain forest.”
They poured bags of powder stuff and sticky stuff into a bowl. They melted it in the microwave.
“I need the mixing tool,” said Judy.
They took turns mixing and stirring, mixing and stirring. Powder stuff flew in the air and everywhere. Sticky stuff stuck to the spoon and the chair and the table.
“Now for the fun part!” said Judy. They plopped a big sticky blob down onto some wax paper.
“It says to knead it like bread,” said Amy.
“Dive in!” said Judy. They each took a big blob.
“Wait! We better take off all our watches,” said Amy. “It’s so sticky!”
“Icky, yicky, sticky!” said Judy.
“Ooey, gooey, chewy,” said Amy.
Judy pushed back her hair. Judy scratched her nose. Judy dropped some on her knee.
“You have gum all over you!” said Amy.
“So do you,” said Judy. “Double bubble trouble!” They cracked up.
“Now for the best part,” said Judy. “Flavors. They only give you two. Peppermint and Tutti-Frutti.”
“We can make our own,” said Amy.
“Like what?”
Amy looked in the cupboard. “Peanut-butter gum? Tuna-fish gum?”
“I don’t think so!” said Judy.
Amy looked in the spice rack. “How about cinnamon gum? Vanilla gum? Rainbow-sprinkle gum?”
“Sure!” said Judy. “Why not?”
Amy looked in the refrigerator. “Ketchup gum? Mustard gum? Pickle gum?”
“That’s it!” said Judy.
“Ketchup gum? Yick!”
“No!” said Judy. “Pickle gum.” She poured some pickle juice from the jar and kneaded it into one of the blobs. “I can take some home to play a trick on Stink. He’ll never know. I’ll call it Pickle Chicle.”
“A Pickle Chicle trick?” asked Amy.
“Exactly!” said Judy. “A Pickle Chicle trickle!”
They rolled and pressed and squeezed and stretched the gum until it was flat. Then they dusted it with powdered sugar and cut it into pieces.
“Let’s taste some,” said Judy.
“Not the pickle gum, though,” said Amy.
Judy popped one, two, three pieces of gum in her mouth. The gum stuck to her teeth. The gum stuck to her tongue. The gum stuck to the roof of her mouth.
“Is so sicky,” said Judy.
“Sicky?” asked Amy.
“Stick-y!” said Judy. “My mouth feels like a hippo eating a jar of peanut butter!”
Amy popped one, two, three pieces in her mouth. Judy Moody and Amy Namey chewed and cracked and blew and popped gum until Judy’s dad came and it was time to go.
She, Judy Moody, chewed her Peppermint Rainbow-Sprinkle Tutti-Frutti NOT Pickle Chicle gum all the way home.
“Ciao! I’m home!” called Judy as she walked in the door. Stink came pounding downstairs. When he saw Judy, his mouth dropped open.
“Stink? Are you trying to catch flies?” said Judy. “Your mouth’s way open.”
He laughed and pointed. There was gum in her hair, gum on her nose, gum on her pants, gum on her coat.
“What happened to you?” asked Stink. “Attack of the Killer Gumball?”
“Hardee-har-har, Stink. I was making gum at Amy Namey’s with my Make-Your-Own-Gum Kit. It was way fun.”
“Aw, you didn’t wait for me?”
“No, but I made some special just for you. My own secret recipe.” Judy opened up the wax paper and held out the gum for Stink to see.
He saw pink gum, brown gum, gray gum, green gum. And gum with lumps. “Eeuww! I’m not eating that lumpy, bumpy gum!”
“Yours is the green one,” said Judy.
Stink picked up the green gum like he was picking up a worm.
“Just try it!” said Judy. “You’ll like it!” She blew a bubble and popped her own gum.
Stink put the gum in his mouth. He rolled it around on his tongue. He chewed it. Once, twice.
“BLUCK!” said Stink,