CHAPTER 7

While Gru packed his bags for Freedonia, the Minions were on their own adventure. Mel and the Minions marched through the city. But after a while, they were tired, cold, and hungry. The Minions began to murmur and turn on their leader.

As they paraded through the streets of Los Angeles, Mel tried to keep them happy. He spotted a pizza truck and ordered the Minions to follow it.

“Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!” the Minions chanted as they raced toward the truck. They charged through a pair of security gates that marked the entrance to a movie studio backlot. They didn’t notice the guards screaming at them. They kept going, stopping only when they’d reached the pizza truck. They started grabbing all the boxes!

“There they are!” a security guard yelled. He called for backup, and soon a handful of guards arrived to try to stop the Minions. “Hey, you! Don’t move! Stop right there!”

The Minions scattered. Dozens ran into a soundstage, trying to escape. They made their way down a long, dark hallway, toward some bright lights. They turned a corner, and suddenly they were onstage, the spotlights shining down on them. Three celebrity judges sat behind a desk. It was some sort of talent show!

One of the judges pressed a button, and the microphone in front of the Minions lowered to their height. Music started playing in the background. It was their time to shine.

A Minion pushed Mel forward. He began singing a soulful song from one of his favorite musicals, The Pirates of Penzance. The Minions all joined in as more security guards rushed the stage.

“Get ’em!” one guard yelled. “Go! Go!”

But the group of Minions was determined to show off their talents. If Mel got to sing, why couldn’t they perform, too? They started doing the cancan. They lifted up their skirts, revealing smiley faces painted on their behinds.

The audience went crazy. The judges stood up, giving the Minions a standing ovation, but the security guards were less impressed.

“Hands in the air!” they yelled, surrounding the stage.

Mel spotted them, and his face fell. He knew this was it—they’d been caught.

“Uh-oh…,” he mumbled.