Are You Smarter Than A Flying Gator? (2 page)

The nine friends who called themselves Sarabiskota couldn't wait for the summer to arrive. After all, their parents were giving them the greatest gift imaginable: they were allowing them to spend the entire summer together on Siesta Key in Sarasota, Florida.

Doc, Kari, Jessie, Mike, Nick, and Kevin had to get up really early on Saturday, May 30, to catch their 7:00 a.m. flight from Bismarck to Minneapolis. From Minneapolis they had to fly to Atlanta, and from there, to Sarasota.

When the Bismarck travelers were changing flights in Atlanta, Jessie called Prez.

“Hey, Prez. We're switching planes in Atlanta already. Are you on the way to your airport yet?”

“Don't worry, Jessie. My mom, KT, Chad, and I are leaving pretty soon. We'll be there way before you land.”

Kari grabbed the cell phone from Jessie. “Prez, do we have time for a long boat ride today?”

“Plenty of time, Kari,” Prez replied. “I have a little
something I'd like to discuss with all of you anyway. The boat ride would be a good time to do that.”

“Prez, do you already have something cooking up in that huge brain of yours?” Kari asked.

“Yup.”

“Cool,” said Kari. “Hey, Prez. I know I shouldn't worry about stuff, but that's what I like to do. How are we all going to get around this summer?”

“I assume you mean transportation arrangements. We've got it all under control, Kari. With all the water around Sarasota, my boat can get us just about anywhere. For our special terrestrial transportation needs, Chad's parents and my parents have rented an extended van. When you want to get a little exercise, KT's parents are letting each of us use a bicycle from their store.”

“Fabulous,” Kari said. “Sounds like you have everything covered.”

“I think so. I'll see you on the ground soon.”

“I can't wait!”

“Oh, Kari. Could you let me talk to Nick for a second?”

“Sure.”

Kari handed Jessie's cell phone to Nick.

“Hi Prez. What's up?”

“I forgot to tell you before, Nick. KT, Chad, and I even bought you a special night light. We know how much you like your night lights.”

“You guys are the greatest! Uh ... is it a Jeffie Gordon #24 NASCAR night light?”

“Oh, my gosh! You're psychic, Nick!”

“No, actually KT already sent me a text message about that.”

There were lots of hugs, giggles, and talking after the plane landed at the Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport and the nine friends were reunited in the airport terminal. Once they retrieved their luggage, they loaded the van and headed back to Siesta Key.

As they were riding down U.S. Highway 41, several black bugs smashed into the windshield of the van. “What are those?” Kevin asked.

“They're called love bugs because the boy and girl bugs like to fly around together,” Chad replied. “They're a real nuisance. We get zillions of them flying around twice a year.”

“They were much worse a few days ago,” KT added. “I think they're declining in numbers.”

“They look a lot like box elder bugs,” Docnoted.

“They sure do,” said Prez. “They also make a mess out of the cars around here, but we get used to them.”

“Hey, what do you kids have planned for the rest of the day?” Mrs. Gold asked.

“I think we're going for a long boat ride, Mom,” Prez answered. “It's Kari's special request.”

“Sounds like fun,” said Mrs. Gold. “I'd like you all back on land before seven if possible. We're going to have a little
welcome Sarabiskota barbecue
on the beach.”

“Sounds great, Mrs. Gold!” Kevin said excitedly.

Jessie giggled. “Mrs. Gold, you don't have to spoil us like this, but if you choose to, it's fine with me.”

Everyone laughed.

“It's so much fun having all of you together down here in Florida,” Mrs. Gold said cheerfully. “Now, Mike, I wonder if you could do me a big favor.”

“Sure, Mrs. Gold,” Mike replied.

“Would you mind singing one of my favorite Elvis songs on the way back to Siesta Key?”

“That's easy. Which song would you like me to
sing?”

“Would you sing my favorite, ‘Heartbreak Hotel'?”

“No problem.”

Mike suddenly changed his facial expression, moved his lips around a little and started to get into his Elvis Presley state of mind. Then, in a voice that sounded just like Elvis, Mike said, “Thank you. Thank you very much for allowing all of us to be here in lovely Sarasota, Mrs. Gold. Now, I'd like to sing one of my most popular songs, ‘Heartbreak Hotel,' with slight modifications ...”

Well, since I left Bismarck,

I found a new place to dwell,

It's down by the Gulf of Mexico,

At Siesta Key Hotel ...

A warm and enthusiastic welcome awaited them as they pulled into the Golds' driveway on Siesta Key. KT's parents, Chad's parents, Prez's dad, and Prez's little brother and sister were all there to greet them.

There was a large
Welcome Sarabiskota Girls
banner on the front of KT's house. The girls were all staying together there the whole summer.

On Chad's house there was a large banner that read
Welcome to the Sarabiskota Boys' Dormitory.
The boys were all staying at Chad's house.

There was a banner on Prez's house that proclaimed
Breakfast Served at 7:30 a.m.
It had been decided that Sarabiskota could eat breakfast together every morning at the Golds' house. They had a huge kitchen.

It didn't take long for everyone to unload the van and carry all the luggage into the houses. After that, the nine teens quickly changed into their swimming
suits.

Soon all of them were sitting comfortably in the 37-foot boat Prez had named the
Rough Rider
in honor of his favorite President, Teddy Roosevelt. There was an obvious problem, though. The boat was still on its trailer in the Gold's driveway next to the van more than 30 yards from the beach. Besides that, the trailer wasn't attached to a car or truck. These facts, however, didn't seem to faze Sarabiskota one bit.

“May I push the buttons, Prez?” Nick asked eagerly.

Prez casually reached into his swimsuit's front pocket, pulled out a small remote control device, and handed it to Nick.

“Sure, Nick,” Prez replied. “Press the
one
button first, then the
nine.
”

After Nick pressed the two buttons, there was the sound of a small engine. Soon, the trailer and boat were moving slowly in reverse toward the beach. When the trailer got to the edge of the water, Prez said, “Now press the
seven
button and hand me the remote control.”

Nick pressed the seven button and they stopped. He handed the remote control to Prez.

“Will you teach me how to do the rest this summer?” Nick asked.

“You bet, Nick,” Prez answered. “It's easy.”

Prez pushed another button and the boat slowly rose approximately a foot above the trailer like it was a hovercraft. Next, he used a small joystick to guide the
Rough Rider
over deep enough water. Then, he slowly lowered the boat to the water's surface.

“That is
so
cool!” said Kevin.

“No doubt,” Kari added. “It's got to be one of your best inventions
ever.
”

“Thanks,” said Prez with a mischievous smile on his face. “But I think I have something in mind that will make this invention appear almost trivial.”

All eyes turned in Prez's direction. He definitely had everyone's attention. “We'll talk about it on the way,” Prez told his curious friends.

Prez started the boat's three 250-horsepower outboard motors, and soon the
Rough Rider
was traveling north in the beautiful, calm, sparkling blue waters off Siesta Key.

After a few minutes, Doc couldn't wait any longer. “What's going on, Prez?” she asked.

“Yeah, what's the deal?” said Kevin.

“Last week,” Prez explained, “KT, Chad, and I
had a little experience on our last day of school that gave me an idea.”

KT and Chad were nodding and smiling.

“It's huge, you guys!” exclaimed Chad.

“It's humongous!” added KT, as she ran her fingers through her hair where a love bug had just landed. The love bug flew away.

Prez said, “We'll stop at a small island up north a few miles and I'll show you what we're talking about. KT, Chad, and I like to hang out there.”

Chad smirked. “KT and Prez named the island
Chad's Lost Flip Flop Island
because I lost a flip flop when we were on the island the first time—and we never found it.”

Jessie got a sad look on her face. “A lost flip flop. That's
so
tragic,” she said, looking gloomy for a few more seconds then cracking a big smile and laughing.

Doc tried to sound serious. “Chad, we can look for your lost flip flop when we get there if you'd like.”

“That's all right. I've gotten over it,” Chad said, making a face at his friends. “Besides that, I'm afraid you guys would come up with another ridiculous
new
name for the island like
Chad Lost His Flip Flop
But Now It's Been Found Island.
It's just too much for me to remember.”

“Me too,” said Nick. “I like the name Chad's Lost Flip Flop Island.”

“Me three,” added Mike.

Kevin giggled. “Me, three and a half.”

Prez sped up and they headed through Big Pass. Minutes later, they had to slow down again as they passed under the Ringling Bridge and traveled out into Sarasota Bay. After that, they traveled north along Longboat Key for ten minutes until they approached Chad's Lost Flip Flop Island.

“Land ahoy!” called Kari.

“We'll drop anchor in the shallow water off that small beach up there,” said Prez, pointing.

After they were anchored, Prez grabbed his portable DVD player. They all walked ashore in water barely knee deep. Once ashore, they walked nearby to an open area surrounded by trees.

Prez set his DVD player on a tree stump. As everyone gathered around, Prez explained, “This is what we watched on TV in school last week. It's the governor of Florida speaking to all the students and teachers in the state.”

Prez pressed the
play
button.

“Good morning students and teachers in Florida. I'm Governor Charlie Trust, the governor of this great state. I feel so privileged to be able to speak to all of you this special morning, the last day of school for many of you.

“I'd like to talk to you about a special challenge. It's a challenge that any of you can start working on—maybe even use a portion of your precious summer vacation.

“Before I do that, let me say I'm very proud of your improvement on our state achievement test, the F-DOG. I know many of you don't like tests like this. They're tough and they make you very nervous. But Florida schools have made excellent gains in the past several years in math, reading, writing, and science. That's partly because of the F-DOG, but mostly because of your hard work.