Chapter 1

One sunny April  morning John Bloom the father wasn’t happy. The family’s little puppy Goldenbernedoodle Kraken had just chewed John’s favorite shoe!

“Keefe! Charlotte! YOUR DOG JUST CHEWED MY FAVORITE SHOES! I LIKED MY SHOES!” John shouts to his kids. Charlotte comes stomping down the stairs, Keefe trailing behind.

“I told you I didn’t want this dog. But you convinced me otherwise, and told me that YOU would be responsible for Kraken.” He says shoving the dog into his crate. “And if Kraken pulls a stunt like this again-“ 

Suddenly the Taco Bell bell rings. The bell rings every time a taco is made. It only happens about once an hour.

“That’s your cue, go get me a taco, so I can continue liking my shoes.”  Then John Bloom found a book on the shelf and decided to read it. “Wow this is a sad book!” he cried loudly. “ I’m so confuzzled with this book!!” He shouted loud enough for his neighbors to hear. “I’m going to watch the news.” He turned on the TV. “On SSLC,  famous landmarks have been seen fighting like the Leaning Tower Of Pizza and the Statue Of Fisherty.” The television shows two photos of the buildings. “Keep it in. Keep it up. This is Loren Jameson on Super Sticky Lime Cake News. We’ll be back, right after the break.” Loren winks and it goes into an ad for the Burger King and Dairy Queen wedding. The door bursts open.

“Sorry dad.” Keefe says. “Mister Marc from 22 Blu Drive got the taco.” Keefe and Charlotte pause, catching their breath. The Bloom family lives at 4 Cutecumber Street, with their father. They live in Rome Italy, two streets away from the Tower Of Pizza. Their mother lives in Massachusetts in America. The mother lives in America because she is in the food war in Boston. Shortly after the ad the power went out.

“Oh no!!!” I wanted to see who won! John shouted. He was also really hungry and really wished his kids were faster to get him the taco.

      A day later the Bloom siblings were sitting eating breakfast while watching TV. Charlotte changed the channel and just like that the Bloom siblings were fighting again!

“Charlotte I wanted that channel not this stupid unicorn thing!” The two teenagers fought for almost about 12 minutes. Then they heard a big loud thump. It was their father in the attic. His shoes that he liked fell 20 feet! They were broken, brown, furry, and uncomfortable shoes. Now with dog slobber all over them.

“Kids get up here now!” The two ran upstairs to see what their father was doing. “Guys if you’re going to fight over something, then you should go outside and walk to Taco Bell early so y’all can get me a taco. Do you hear me?”

“Yes father.” They sighed, the dog chasing after them. As the door shut John Bloom read another sad book and started to cry.

“Why do I always read sad books!” The kids did not come home for a while and John was getting worried. He turned on the TV and saw them on the news. While they were getting ready to get a taco a creepy man in a statue of fisherty costume came up to them and threw sad books and fish at them. John wasn’t happy the Taco Bell bell rang but the kids still did not return. John didn’t care about the kids, he cared about his taco that he still didn’t get. 

Two hours later Keefe woke up in a dark room. Charlotte was right next to him, still knocked out. And of course, Kraken was sleeping peacefully on Keefe’s other side.

“Charlotte.” Keefe whispered, nudging his sister. She didn’t budge. “Charlotte!” He grabbed his warm water bottle and dumped it onto his sister. That’s when she woke up.

“WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?” She screamed. Keefe glared at her telling her with his eyes to shut up.

“Oh good. You’re awake.” A creepy voice says from the corner. They look up to see the person in the Statue Of Fisherty costume with a cat sitting in his lap. He stroked the cat intently.

“Who are you!?” Charlotte shouted angrily. 

“I guess you wouldn’t remember me…” The figure started.

“Oh I remember you! You knocked us out and brought us here!” Charlotte started getting mad.

“That’s not the preferred part of my job. But I guess maybe you don’t recognize me in this.” The figure took off his hat revealing that  he was a girl with blonde hair and purple eyes. It was their 21 year old sister Leilani.

“Lani?” Keefe said, brushing his hand through his hair in amazement. Lani lived in Massachusetts with their mother Ally.

“Who’s that?” Charlotte asked, nodding to the cat.

“This is Miin. And that,” she points to a slumbering dog in the corner. “That is Rayven.” The dog picks up her head and stares at Kraken. “Seems you have a new friend too.” At that Kraken picks up his head.

“Uh, yeah. That’s Kraken.” After getting all caught up with their sister Lani takes them to the main house. Keefe and Charlotte had never been to this place before. Rome had been their home since the two were born. 

After getting a tour of the house Keefe and Charlotte went upstairs they had to think of something quick, they had to tell John Bloom where they were and their flip phones were back at home. John Bloom tried to call the two but all he could hear was their phones ringing in the kitchen.

“Maybe we could send a note in a balloon.” Keefe thought. The two shook their heads with a sigh.

“That won’t work Keefe, you know sometimes you can just be so dumb! You know a balloon can’t go exactly to our house or now is a real real house! It will float into space!” Charlotte yelled with anger. Lani came upstairs to see what they were doing and if they wanted dinner, it had been a long day.

“Guys where are you y’all want to go for dinner? What about Taco Bell? Because unlike your town about 16838903746647882990 tacos are made per hour in our town!! So we can get tacos any time you want!” Lani yelled with excitement because her town profits better than Charlotte and Keefe’s town. The two came running down they had never had a taco before because every time they went to Taco Bell they had to get a taco for their dad, John Bloom.

Taco Bell was big. It was under an apartment building that was really big. The Taco Bell did not have a bell, it had a drive through so you don’t have to come inside. Although the kids didn’t need to use it because their mother lived in the apartment on the top floor. They also had a gas station with another little dining area. Lani asked what they wanted. They went through the drive through because Lani had her drivers license. Keefe ate his taco in the car Charlotte and Lani waited until they got home. 

“Yummmmmmmmy!!”  Keefe yelled so loud, the man on the other side of the highway heard him and closed his window slowly glaring at Lani. Keefe frowned, sticking his tongue out at the man. The man drove away quickly and deeply angered.When they got home Keefe went upstairs while Charlotte and Lani ate their tacos. Keefe was up to something, he did not even wash his hands.

“Keefe, come down and wash your hands,” Lani said. But Keefe did not come down. The two girls ate in silence, wondering what Keefe was up to.

A week later the three heard a knock on the door. Lani seemed like she knew who it was. It was a woman who looked like an older version of Lani, she had blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes.

“Mommmmmmmmy” Charlotte yelled with excitement. Keefe heard from upstairs and came storming downstairs.

“Hi mom” Keefe said simply as if he had seen his mom all his life.

“How and why are you two kids here, and where is John?” She addressed the kids with authority.

“Well, Lani brought us here with no reason but we like it here, way better than our old town.” Keefe said, catching his breath. “Oh and John Bloom is at home because we’ll uhh he only cared about his dumb tacos but today I had my first ever taco.” Charlotte added, happiness sparked in her eyes.

“Oh John Bloom. See this is why I went out to food war.” Ally said. Keef and Charlotte were both sitting with nothing to do. They did not have their phones on them so they could not play Roblox, like they usually do when they were bored. “Maybe we’ll go to the Apple Store and get you two new phones.” Ally told them in a soft voice.

“Can we get some apples from the bushes?” Keefe asked. He thought apples could remind him of the Apple Store back home.

“Apple bushes?” Lani stared at him confuzzled.

“Yeah.” Charlotte added in.

“There are no apple bushes in Massachusetts.” Ally replied, still confuzzled.

“Oh.” The kids said synchronized.

“Let’s go to the Apple STORE, to get you guys a phone.” Ally said, still laughing about the apple bushes. “And if you want apples we can go apple picking.”

“What’s apple picking?” Charlotte asked.

“We go to Jaffe Apple Farm, and take a hayride to the apple fields. Then we take as many as we can off the trees.” Lani explained. “And after that we can get apple cider donuts if you’d like” Ally said. The two teens and Lani agreed and soon they were in the car ready to go apple picking. But the Rome kids still didn’t understand. America was very confusing.

Chapter 2

At Jaffe Farm, everyone ate and picked delicious apples. Charlotte and Keefe didn’t know which poles were their favorites, because in StormShade Rome (their town) all the apples came from the apple bushes outside the Apple Store. Charlotte found all the good red and yummy ones and Keefe was eating all the apples while picking the unripe green ones. Sometimes Keefe doesn’t know what he’s doing but he does it anyway. Keefe suddenly stopped eating his  fluorescent green apple and dropped it while having a wide mouth, a surprised look.

“What the macaroni and cheese?” Keefe said.

“What?” Lani said while climbing up the ladder to get a nice red Gala apple. Charlotte stopped what she was doing to look at Keefe.

“There’s THE Statue of Fisherty over there!” Charlotte shouted. Lani got off the ladder so she could have a closer view.

“Oh my gosh, I forgot to tell you. We are currently on the outskirts of New York, in Summerspin. Jaffe Farm is right on the border between New York. So you can see the real Statue Of Fisherty.” Lani frowned.  The StormShade kids (plus Lani) then went to get yummy Apple Cider Donuts. Lani was still in an upset mood so she only got them one donut for everyone to share.

“Well, now we need to go to the General Store. Mom said we need 5 water balloons and 6 nerf blasters because we will… wait is that mom?” Lani asked mostly to herself. She grabbed her binoculars from her tiny pockets inside the pair of shorts she was wearing, because according to her the pockets are never ending. “It is mom! I’m so dumb!!!!!!!!” Lani exclaimed.

“What?” Keefe and Charlotte asked, confuzzled. Lani pointed to the Donut Shop worker.

“That is mom.” Lani whispered.

“But that person is male.” Charlotte told Lani.

“No Char, you idiot.” Keefe said, shaking his head slowly. Charlotte glared at him.

“You’ll take that back.” Charlotte snapped.

“Both of you shut up!” Lani shouted. “That person is one of Mom’s disguises.” Lani told them slowly. Like they should’ve known it all along. Lani walked up to the man she claimed was ‘mom’. “Hi Mister.” She said, fully acting.

“What can I do for you, little lady?” He replied through a thick mustache.

“Sorry to say Mister, but the donut I bought is stale.” Lani looked horrified as she said the words.

“Alright. Alright.” He nodded to the donut shack. “Come with me.” A glare was the last thing the siblings saw. Charlotte and Keefe waited. And waited. And waited. But Lani never showed back up. And soon it would be dark. Keefe assumed that the man was never Ally’s disguise.