Chapter 29

Jeanette and Simon were gathering mangoes and coconuts to take with them on the raft when they heard heavy breathing from behind a bush.

“Did you hear something?” whispered Jeanette.

“When I am with you, all I can hear is the beating of my own heart,” gushed Simon.

“Oh, Simone.” As Jeanette swatted him playfully, a golf ball flew through the air and smashed into Simon’s face, knocking him out.

Jeanette spun around and saw the basketball rolling toward her. She started to run, but it kept gaining on her, and as she looked over her shoulder to see how close it was, she tripped and fell into a hole.

The basketball rolled over the hole and stopped, trapping Jeanette beneath it.

Back on the beach, the others were admiring the raft they’d built. It was floating in the shallow water with oars made out of bamboo and the feet from Ian’s pelican costume.

“It’s incredible,” said Dave enthusiastically. “And watching everyone work together to build it. I just want to say—”

But the rumbling volcano interrupted him. The whole island was starting to shake.

“It can wait,” said Dave hastily.

They were about to climb onto the raft when Eleanor realized that Jeanette and Simon were missing. Everyone began frantically searching for them.

It was Alvin who discovered Simon knocked out in the jungle a few feet from the beach. “Guys! Guys! Over here!” he shouted.

“Simone, are you okay? Simone!” said Theodore, shaking him.

Simon blinked open his eyes. “Why are you calling me Simone?”

“Simon?” asked Alvin carefully.

“Uh, yeah.”

“You’re back!” cheered Alvin. “It finally wore off!”

“What wore off?” Simon adjusted his glasses and sat up.

Alvin explained. “You were bitten by a spider. It, like, messed up your brain.”

Simon nodded, looking around. “Is that why I think I see Dave and a half Ian, half bird?”

Dave tenderly picked up Simon. “No, it’s really me. And really Ian.”

“ ’Sup,” said Ian, trying to act cool. He held out his hand, but Simon just stared at him, still bewildered.

“Simon, where’s Jeanette?” asked Alvin, who was keeping an eye on the volcano. “She was out here with you.”

Simon looked more confused than ever. “I don’t know.”

“I do,” said Brittany. She’d spotted the basketball lying on the ground. “It’s Zoe. She took her. Simon, I need to know where you found that gold bracelet.”

This was all too much for Simon. He didn’t have any idea what was going on. It was like waking up from a dream. “What gold bracelet?”

“The one you gave to Jeanette,” said Brittany, exasperated.

“When did I give Jeanette a bracelet?”

Brittany was getting mad. “On your date!”

“Jeanette and I are dating?” Simon looked dazed.

“Okay, he’s useless,” sighed Brittany. “Theodore, Eleanor? You’re going to have to lead the way.”

“I don’t remember exactly how to get there,” said Theodore.

“I do!” piped up Eleanor. She was thrilled to finally be of use.

Eleanor and Theodore clambered up onto Dave’s shoulder and directed him through the jungle along the path to the waterfall. Everyone else followed behind.

When they came to the deep gorge with the rotted log for a bridge, Theodore hesitated. “Okay, we just have to cross here,” said Eleanor.

Simon looked down into the gorge with the rapids hundreds of feet below. Then he looked at the old, rotted piece of wood. “Are you kidding? I can’t do that.”

“But Simon, you already did,” said Theodore. He didn’t tell him that he’d done it backward.

“No, I didn’t. That was Simone, not me.”

“But Simone is you,” said Brittany. “He’s in there somewhere. You just have to find him, and soon. Jeanette needs you.”

That’s what did it for Simon. Because no matter who he was or how he was behaving or what accent he was using, he had a pretty big crush on Jeanette. And he wasn’t going to let anything bad happen to her. But then he looked over the edge of the precipice again. “No, I’m sorry, I can’t do it.”

Dave was thinking fast. They didn’t have any time to lose. “Ian, take everyone else back to the raft. If the volcano blows before we make it back, you have to promise me you’ll—”

“Leave without you?” interrupted Ian. “Got it.” He picked up Eleanor and Theodore and began to run, with Brittany and Simon following behind him.

Alvin stayed put.

“Alvin?” questioned Dave.

“I’m coming with you, Dave.”

“Absolutely not; it’s too dangerous,” said Dave, putting his foot down.

It was a standoff. “Remember I said someday I might need to disobey you? That someday is now.”

Dave could see the determination in Alvin’s eyes. He couldn’t say no to that. “Let’s go.”

Alvin scampered across the log.

Dave took a deep breath, resolved not to look down, and slowly and carefully crossed over to the other side. They just had to hope the log would still be there when they came back.