Free Frog Freakout by Ali Sparkes Page A

lunch.

    â€œI’m amazed you’re still such a baby about these things,” said Josh as the nursery web spider reached his shoulder. “You’ve
been
one!”
    â€œYes . . . and I’ve also nearly been eaten alive by one too, remember?”
    Josh had to admit this was true. Over the last few weeks, he and his brother had been turnedinto spiders, flies, grasshoppers, ants, daddy longlegs, and even great diving beetles. And nearly every time something had tried to eat them. While Danny was a fly, he’d been captured by a female spider and wrapped up in silk—a tasty snack for later on. He was half a second away from being injected with gut-pulverizing venom when he was rescued.
    â€œI wouldn’t mind being S.W.I.T.C.H. sprayed and turned into one of these, though, for just a few minutes,” said Josh. “They’re amazing hunters. They don’t use webs—they just hide under a leaf and POUNCE!” He shook his spidery shoulder at Danny, and Danny squeaked and jumped back. He might be super brave while dangling over the edge of a high building on a rope or turning upside down through the water in a canoe . . . but he just couldn’t STAND creepy-crawlies.
    â€œI thought you said you NEVER wanted to be S.W.I.T.C.H.ed again,” said Danny. “You said you never even wanted to SEE Petty Potts over the fence. Mom thought you were really rude when you ignored Petty in the post office last week.”
    â€œYeah, well,” said Josh, gently putting the spider back down into the corner where it vanished into a crack in the floorboards. “Mom doesn’t know that our sweet old neighbor is actually a mad genius scientist who’s turned us into creepy-crawlies with her S.W.I.T.C.H. spray quite a few times now.”
    â€œTrue,” agreed Danny. “She’d probably have her arrested if she did.”
    â€œStill,” said Josh, “at least we’re safe from Petty Potts and her sneaky experiments. We’re miles away in the middle of nowhere.”
    â€œYep.” Danny grinned. “No chance of that mad granny catching up with us here! Shall we go and find out what’s for lunch then?”
    â€œOK,” said Josh. They grabbed their raincoats and opened the door.
    And SCREAMED.
    Standing in the dripping doorway of the log cabin was Petty Potts.

“AAAAAARGH!” screamed Josh. And Danny agreed.
    â€œPleased to see me?” Petty Potts beamed. Her gray hair was covered with a waxed cotton beanie hat, and her glasses were steamed up. Her shiny red raincoat glistened eerily in the orangey light, and she smelled worryingly of chemicals, like a school science lab.
    â€œWhat are YOU doing here?” squawked Josh.
    â€œI was going to ask you the same thing!” said Petty.
    â€œWe’re at summer camp!” said Danny. “But shouldn’t you be doing something sinister in your secret dungeon—like S.W.I.T.C.H.ing some defenseless pigeons into wood lice or something?”
    â€œIt’s not a dungeon!” Petty bristled (literally—the whiskers on her chin stood up). “It’s a state-of-the-art laboratory, cunningly hidden under my garden, where I perform my acts of genius. I DO wish you wouldn’t be so melodramatic, Danny.”
    â€œSo—why are you here?” Josh eyed her suspiciously. Even though Petty had saved their lives once or twice, neither of them trusted her as far as they could throw her (and that would not be far). Petty was just too swept up with BUGSWITCH and REPTOSWITCH experiments to give two hoots about their safety.
    â€œI am a camp counselor!” She grinned. “I am here to look after all you small children . . . as if I were your loving auntie. Isn’t that nice?”
    Josh pulled Petty into the cabin and shut the door behind her. “Petty—you are NOT planning to S.W.I.T.C.H. any of the kids here, are you?” he demanded, really alarmed