LEGO Friends: Jungle Adventure (Chapter Book #6) Read online

  Jungle

  Adventure

  Jungle Adventure

  SCHOLASTIC INC.

  Adapted by Cathy Hapka

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  NY 10012.

  e-ISBN 978-0-545-84795-7

  LEGO, the LEGO logo and the Brick and Knob configurations are trademarks

  and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group. © 2015 The LEGO Group. Produced by

  Scholastic Inc. under license from the LEGO Group.

  Published by Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks

  and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

  First printing, January 2015

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1: Wedding Plans ..................4

  Chapter 2: Spa Secrets ....................10

  Chapter 3: Welcome to the Jungle . . . ...17

  Chapter 4: Wild Surprises ..................24

  Chapter 5: Demon Falls ....................32

  Chapter 6: Jungle Rescue! ................42

  Chapter 7: Reunited .........................53

  Chapter 8: Wedding Belles .................59

  Chapter 1:

  Wedding Plans

  “You look stunning, Aunt Sophie!” Olivia

  exclaimed.

  “So cosmopolitan,” Stephanie added.

  Olivia’s aunt gazed at herself in the bridal shop

  mirror. “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m not sure I’m

  the cosmopolitan type.”

  Olivia and her four best friends, Stephanie,

  Andrea, Emma, and Mia, were helping Olivia’s

  aunt, Sophie, plan her wedding. Sophie was the

  head veterinarian at the Heartlake Vet Clinic.

  She was marrying Henry, a man she’d met years

  earlier in vet school. Henry had invited Sophie to

  come to the jungle and help him with the Animal

  Rescue Station he’d started there. Soon after that,

  the two of them had become best friends, and

  before long, they’d fallen in love. Olivia could

  hardly believe the wedding was only a few short

  weeks away!

  Andrea stepped forward to show Sophie

  the screen of her smartphone. “Any of these

  accessories would fit the dress perfectly,” she said.

  “And we’ll use just the right flowers to

  complete the look,”Emma chimed in.

  “Oh, girls,” Sophie said with a smile. “I’m

  so glad you’re helping me plan the wedding!

  Especially since Henry’s busy at the Animal

  Rescue Station this week.”

  “Don’t worry, Aunt Sophie,” Olivia said. “We’ll

  make sure everything is perfect!”

  Olivia was positive that she and her friends

  were up to the task. Emma knew just the right way

  to make any outfit, especially a bridal ensemble,

  look stunning. Andrea was full of energy and fun

  ideas. Stephanie was terrific at planning events,

  big or small. And Mia, well, she loved animals just

  as much as Sophie and Henry. She was certain to

  make sure the bride’s and groom’s personalities

  were expressed perfectly in the wedding details.

  As for Olivia, she just wanted her aunt to be

  happy.

  Sophie went into the dressing room to try on

  another gown. While she was gone, Olivia’s cell

  phone rang. It was Henry’s nephew, Matthew. He

  was helping Henry at the Animal Rescue Station

  in the jungle that week.

  “Hey, Matthew!” Olivia said brightly. “How

  are things going?”

  “I don’t want to worry Sophie.” Matthew’s

  voice sounded fuzzy

  through the static

  on the line. “But

  Uncle Henry didn’t

  check in last night.”

  “What?” Olivia

  exclaimed. “Are you

  telling me that the

  groom is missing in the jungle?”

  She gasped at the thought. The Animal Rescue

  Station was located deep in the jungle. She had

  been there before, and it definitely wasn’t the kind

  of place where she would ever want to get lost!

  “No, no, not at all,” Matthew said quickly.

  “Henry sometimes stays out for more than one

  day. He usually takes extra food—”

  “‘Sometimes’ and ‘usually’ aren’t good enough,

  Matthew,” Olivia interrupted. “This is your uncle

  and my future uncle we’re talking about! Henry

  wouldn’t do this so close to the wedding. Can you

  go look for him?”

  “I have to stay with the animals,”Matthew

  said. “I’m the only one here.”

  “Then I’ll be on the way soon.” Olivia hung up

  and waved her friends over. She quickly told them

  what Henry had told her.

  “What should we do?” Mia asked quietly so

  Sophie wouldn’t hear.

  “I have to go find him,” Olivia said. “I’ve been

  out there before so I know my way around.” She

  paused. “A little.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Mia said.

  Stephanie nodded. “Me, too!”

  “Emma and I will stay with Sophie,” Andrea

  said. “We can keep working on wedding plans

  while you’re gone.”

  “Okay,” Olivia said. “But don’t tell her where

  we are. I don’t want her to worry.”

  Emma smiled. “The secret’s safe with us,” she

  promised.

  Chapter 2:

  Spa Secrets

  Olivia, Mia, and Stephanie packed and took

  flight in Stephanie’s plane for the jungle that very

  afternoon. Meanwhile, Andrea was thinking

  about her friends’ mission as she hurried toward

  a local spa. She was supposed to meet Emma and

  Sophie there for facials. Actually, Olivia was the

  one who had organized the spa appointment.

  What was Andrea going to tell Sophie when she

  asked why Olivia wasn’t there?

  Sophie was waiting just outside. Andrea gave

  her a big smile and ushered the bride-to-be into

  the lobby of the spa.

  “Sophie, you’re

  going to love this day

  spa!” she exclaimed.

  “Your skin will look

  amazing.”

  “Sounds great,

  Andrea,” Aunt

  Sophie said.

  “Where’s Olivia?”

  “Oh, she’s”—Andrea thought fast—“so sorry,

  but she can’t join us after all. She had to . . . uh . . .

&
nbsp; help take care of a neighbor’s dog.” Phew! Andrea

  thought. That definitely sounded like something

  Olivia would do. “I’ll go check us in.” Andrea

  hurried off to the front desk before Sophie could

  ask any more questions.

  Just then, Emma raced in, out of breath. “Sorry

  I’m late!” she said to Sophie. “I hate to tell you

  this, but Olivia just called me. She has to spend

  the rest of the day in the library studying for a test.

  So she can’t make it.”

  Sophie’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Oh, really?”

  she asked. She glanced from Emma to Andrea and

  back again.

  Something suspicious was going on.

  Meanwhile, Olivia was in the passenger seat of

  a sturdy all-terrain vehicle bouncing through the

  jungle. Matthew was driving, and Stephanie and

  Mia were in the backseat. The road was bumpy

  and rough, pockmarked with ruts and mud

  puddles. But the jungle was amazing!

  Olivia only wished that she wasn’t too worried

  to enjoy it. Matthew still hadn’t heard any word

  from Henry.

  “Wow,”Mia said, holding on as the vehicle

  tossed back and forth. “It’s beautiful here!”

  Stephanie, however, seemed distracted. “Oh,

  no!” she cried. “My phone has no signal! This is

  a disaster! We have to go

  back!”

  The other girls giggled.

  If there was one thing

  Stephanie hated, it was

  feeling disconnected from

  the outside world.

  “This is what we use out here,” Matthew said,

  handing Stephanie a radio walkie-talkie.

  Stephanie took it, though she looked dubious.

  “No calendar function or messaging,” she

  murmured. “But it seems durable. Great battery

  life, too. Okay,it’ll do. I’ll check in with Andrea.”

  Back at the spa, Andrea, Emma, and Sophie

  were in the middle of getting their mud mask

  facials. An employee smiled at Sophie.

  “Why don’t we do your pedicure while your

  mud mask dries?” the woman suggested.

  “Bye, girls.” Sophie waved.

  “So far so good,”Emma whispered to Andrea

  the moment Sophie was out of earshot. “She

  totally believed me when I told her Olivia had to

  study at the library all day.”

  “You told her that?” Andrea exclaimed. “But

  I already told her Olivia had to take care of a

  neighbor’s dog!”

  Emma gasped. “Oh, no!”

  “Okay, girls.”Another spa employee came

  over, holding a bowl filled with mud-mask cream.

  “No more talking. You don’t want to crack your

  masks.”

  As the woman applied the girls’ mud masks,

  Andrea’s phone buzzed.

  “Sorry,”Andrea said.“I have to answer this.”

  Andrea turned on her phone’s speaker

  function so she wouldn’t have to hold it too close

  to her face. It was Stephanie calling!

  “How’s it going?” Stephanie’s voice came over

  the speaker, crackling with static.

  “Fine,”Andrea replied, trying not to move her

  lips so she wouldn’t ruin her mask. “We’re getting

  mud masks.”

  “You’re getting mermasks?” Stephanie asked.

  “What’s that?”

  “Mud. Masks,”

  Andrea repeated.

  It wasn’t easy to

  speak without

  moving her lips!

  “Oh, nice,”

  Stephanie said.

  “We’re on our way to base camp.”

  “Space camp?” Andrea almost wrinkled her

  nose in confusion, but caught herself in time. “I

  thought you were in the jungle?”

  “We are!” Stephanie exclaimed.

  “Okay,”Andrea replied. “Just tell Olivia that

  Sophie doesn’t suspect a thing about Henry. I

  have to go. Bye.”

  As Andrea hung up, a stern voice suddenly

  asked, “What about Henry? Who were you

  talking to?”

  Whoops! Sophie had come back just in time

  to hear the end of Andrea’s conversation!

  “Okay, spill it, girls,”Sophie insisted. “Now.”

  “Easy, Sophie,”Emma said.“You’ll crack

  your—”

  CRRRACK!

  Sophie’s mask cracked. But she didn’t even

  seem to notice.

  Chapter 3:

  Welcome to

  the Jungle

  “Here we are!” Matthew said as he stopped

  the jeep at the jungle base camp. Stephanie hardly

  knew what to look at first! The camp was built

  right amidst the trees. Monkeys swung from

  branch to branch, and colorful birds flitted

  through the treetops.

  As Matthew and the girls climbed out, a baby

  panda scampered over and nuzzled Stephanie’s

  leg. She picked him up.

  “Aw, hey, little guy!” she exclaimed.

  “That’s Shadow,”Matthew said.

  “He’s soooo cute!” Stephanie cooed, nuzzling

  the panda.

  “His brother, Bamboo, is out here somewhere,

  too,” Matthew told the girls. “We were only able

  to rescue Shadow so far.”

  “Aw, I bet you miss your brother, huh,

  Shadow?” Mia gave the panda cub a gentle pat.

  “We can play with Shadow later,” Olivia said.

  “We’ve got to search for Henry.”

  “It’s too late today,”Matthew said. “It’ll be dark

  soon. You’ll have to wait until morning.”

  Stephanie knew Matthew was right, but she

  felt impatient and restless. Luckily, she didn’t have

  to look far for something to distract her.

  “This place is a mess,”she declared. Buckets

  and supply crates were scattered everywhere.

  “Look at all this stuff! Maybe Henry’s been here

  all along but we just can’t see him behind all the

  clutter.”

  “Very funny,” Matthew said.“But it’s no use

  cleaning up, Stephanie.”

  “Sorry, Matthew,”Stephanie said with a wave of

  her hand. “Those words don’t register with me!”

  She started to tidy up the kitchen area.

  Suddenly, she heard a loud clanging sound. A

  monkey ran past holding a frying pan and a metal

  spoon!

  “Give me that!” Stephanie cried, chasing the

  monkey. “Those don’t belong to you!”

  Matthew shook his head. “I told her it was no

  use cleaning up.”

  “Don’t you think it’s odd that Henry hasn’t

  checked in?” Olivia asked him.

  “It’s possible his walkie-talkie isn’t working

  and he’s just fine,”Matthew replied. “These sorts

  of things happen in the jungle. You didn’t have to

  rush all the way out here.”

  Just then, something caught Olivia’s eye. It was

  a brightly colored parrot. It flew past and landed

  atop one of the base camp buildings.

  “I may know one reason Henry might not have

  checked in,”Olivia said, pointing. “Look, there’s a

  nest on top of the antenna!”

  Matthew’s eyes gre
w wide. “Oh, I didn’t see

  that before! I’ll go get the ladder.”

  Olivia knew a lot about technology. With

  a bird’s nest blocking the signal, walkie-talkie

  messages might not be able to make it through to

  the base camp. Maybe if they moved the nest, they

  would get a message from Henry!

  The friends got to work. Matthew brought a

  ladder, and Olivia climbed up to the antenna.

  “Careful not to touch the eggs,”Mia called up

  to her. “We don’t

  want the mother

  parrot to reject

  them.”

  Olivia carefully

  shifted the nest

  over onto a large

  crook in the tree

  closest to the

  antenna. “Sorry I had to move your family,”she

  told the mother parrot. “But I think you’ll like this

  spot much better.”

  As Olivia climbed down, Matthew’s walkie-

  talkie crackled to life. Henry’s voice came through!

  But the transmission sounded extra garbled. They

  could only understand a few words of what he was

  saying.

  “. . . at D- mon Falls . . . tell Sophie . . . over.”

  The transmission cut off. Olivia punched a

  button on the walkie-talkie.

  “Henry?” she said loudly. “Come in, Henry.

  Over!”

  Everyone held their breath and waited. But

  there was no response.

  “Well, at least we know where he is now,”

  Matthew said. “Demon Falls.”

  “Demon Falls?” Mia shivered. “That doesn’t

  sound like the kind of place you’d want to hike!”

  Still, as soon as morning came the girls

  prepared to set out. Matthew had to stay behind

  because he was the only one who knew how to

  take care of the rescued animals. He gave the

  friends a walkie-talkie and a map.

  “Just call if you get into any trouble,” he said.

  Mia rolled her eyes. “Traveling to a creepy-

  sounding place like Demon Falls, what could

  possibly happen?”

  “We’ll be fine,”Olivia assured Matthew. “We’ll