Free The Great Powers Outage by William Boniface Page A

physical humiliation of one of their fellow students.
    â€œThere. You’ve got a crowd,” the bully told him. “So talk—and remember what I told you to say.”
    â€œYeth, thir,” replied a clearly intimidated Melonhead. “If elected, fellow thtudenth, I promithe that everyone will rethieve thtraight Ath on their report cardth, no matter how bad their gradeth are. I will altho abolith all tethting and quiththeth.”
    The crowd erupted in an approving cheer despite the ridiculous impossibility of what Melonhead was promising.
    Tadpole was completely peeved by this new ploy, and I watched as he whispered something in Stench’s ear. It was imperative that this speech be broken up before Melonhead made any more preposterous pledges. As Stench elbowed his way to the center of the crowd around the flagpole, I knew what solution Tadpole had proposed. I held my breath and backed away quickly. A moment later a loud noise ripped through the mob of kids, and there was a mass stampede outward from the center amid shrieks and cries of horror. A space instantly cleared to reveal a totally embarrassed-looking Stench. I felt bad for him as he removed a spray can from his utility belt and began to deodorize the air around him. At least he had broken up the crowd.
    Following the mob into the school, we all tried to reassure Stench.
    â€œDon’t be embarrassed.” Plasma Girl patted him on the back. “That was the fastest way to deal with the situation, and you did it perfectly.”
    â€œExcept he won’t be able to be there every time Cannonball tries spreading his garbage around,” Tadpole complained. “I say we just start making even bigger promises.”
    â€œBut that isn’t right,” protested Plasma Girl. “We can’t sink to their level.”
    â€œWhy not?” Tadpole complained. “What’s the point of losing honorably?”
    â€œPlasma Girl’s right,” I agreed. “Their lies will eventually get them in trouble.”
    Tadpole looked skeptical, but the first bell of the day rang before he could respond. As we turned to head for the front doors, a voice overhead squeaked miserably.
    â€œThay, I don’t thuppothe thomeone would mind helping me down?”
    Lobster Boy stopped for a moment as if he was going to assist Melonhead, but then he kept walking, never removing his claws from his pockets.
    The thought of leaving Melonhead hanging was tempting, but in the end, Stench and I helped lower him to the ground. He didn’t even bother to thank us.
    Inside the classroom, the campaigning continued. Cannonball was announcing to the class that if he and Melonhead were elected, everyone in the class would be made a member of the League of Ultimate Goodness. It’s true that Cannonball’s uncle, the Crimson Creampuff, was in the league, but I doubted he had that kind of pull. Nevertheless, my classmates were falling for it.
    Tadpole sat at his desk fuming as he watched any hope of victory being stolen out from under him. Plasma Girl was doing her best to calm down her running mate.
    â€œWe can’t win by copying their tactics,” she said. “We need an original strategy of our own.”
    â€œI’ll show you an original strategy,” he growled. Without even turning around, Tadpole’s tongue shot out and looped behind him to where Cannonball stood atop his desk speaking. His tongue wrapped around the leg of the desk and gave it a sharp tug.
    In mid-sentence, Cannonball came tumbling down, sending all my classmates running. It was pure mayhem as Miss Marble entered the room. She didn’t even bother to say anything before she turned us all into living statues. I was caught in an uncomfortable twist of my waist, having been in the process of turning to witness Cannonball’s downfall. But it was nothing compared to Cannonball himself. Flat on his back, both his legs and arms were stretched up toward