War on Whimsy by Liane Moriarty Read Free Book Online Page A

face.
    Nicola peered out at the fiery landscape below.
    I can’t, she thought. I cannot jump out of this spaceship. She could feel her own resistance as massive and immovable as a wall of concrete in front of her.
    â€œI can’t do it,” said Katie to Nicola in a quiet, terrified voice.
    â€œSpace Brigade! You are required to jump on the count of three,” said the voice over the loudspeaker. (Nicola was starting to hate that voice.)
    â€œOne . . .” boomed the voice.
    Shimlara was clinging to the side of the Exit Door.
    â€œWe have to do it,” she said, except you could tell she was facing the same concrete wall of resistance as Nicola.
    â€œYes,” said Sean unconvincingly.
    Nicola darted a look at her brother. His face was white. He was the one who loved doing this sort of crazy stuff! If Sean was scared, what hope did the rest of them have?
    â€œWe need training,” insisted Greta.
    â€œMaybe there is another way we could get to Volcomania,” said Tyler.
    â€œTwo . . .” said the voice.
    Nicola’s mind was filled with images.
    She saw Georgio performing his celebratory chicken dance the first day she’d ever met him when he’d turned up in her classroom and picked her as the Earthling Ambassador.
    She saw Mully bending down to put her hand on Nicola’s shoulder and saying, “I have complete confidence in you.”
    She saw Squid, dragging his blue blanket along behind him, his thumb jammed in his mouth.
    If it wasn’t for Georgio and Mully, Earth would no longer exist. Nicola’s planet would be a garbage dump. They had to help the Gorgioskios.
    â€œ Three! ” shouted the voice over the loudspeaker.
    When you’re frightened of something, Nicola’s mother had once said to her, there’s only one way to make the fear go away—and that’s to do the thing that’s frightening you. You just have to ignore the fear and DO IT, the faster the better!
    Nicola looked at the others, their faces illuminated by the fiery light of the exploding volcanoes.
    She pulled her lava goggles over her eyes.
    If she didn’t jump, the others never would.
    She didn’t let her mind think anymore.
    She just jumped.

CHAPTER 9
    F . . . r . . . i . . . z . . . z . . . l . . . e ! That was the word like a long, silent scream in Nicola’s mind as she plummeted through the night sky toward the volcanoes below, hot air blasting her face, a roaring sound in her ears. She wasn’t floating on her stomach in a neat star shape like the parachutists she’d seen on television. She was flailing about, her hands clawing at the air, as if she could hold on to something, or somehow climb back onto the spaceship.
    Rip cord.
    She needed to pull her rip cord.
    She grabbed at her shoulder and felt nothing. Panic exploded in her chest. She felt again, and there it was. She pulled.
    There was an enormous tugging sensation, as if a giant had grabbed her by the shoulders and wrenched her upright.
    The roaring sound stopped abruptly like a switch had been turned off. She looked up. Her parachute was purple silk, rippling silently above her. She was safe. Her dress fluttered around her legs. Mmmm, her dress and parachute matched quite well. What a strange sight she must have made, parachuting above volcanoes in the middle of the night dressed for a birthday party.
    Nicola could see Sean, Shimlara, and Tyler, not far behind her. Their parachutes had all opened and they were all smiling with the same blissful relief that Nicola felt.
    Katie and Greta had only just jumped. The Royal Spaceship was flying off into the distance behind them.
    To Nicola’s chagrin, she saw that Greta looked like an absolute skydiving professional. She was floating in a star shape and, as Nicola watched, she calmly reached for her rip cord and her parachute opened.
    Katie, on the other hand, looked much like Nicola had probably looked. She was tumbling crazily through the