The Notebook of Doom #6: Pop of the Bumpy Mummy (A Branches Book)
Author: Cummings, Troy
Date: 2014-12-30
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

Pop of The
Bumpy Mummy
by Troy Cummings
Ready for more fun with

table of contents
Chapter
1
: Junk Mail 1
Chapter
2
: Packing Day 8
Chapter
3
: Last class 17
Chapter
4
: mummy’s the word 22
Chapter
5
: boxed in 27
Chapter
6
: hands off 33
Chapter
7
: a real steal 37
Chapter
8
: ’ round and ’ round 43
Chapter
9
: the ruby scorpion 47
Chapter
10
: just in case 56
Chapter
11
: don’t let your guard down 60
Chapter
12
: ticktock 64
Chapter
13
: hickory dickory bopp 70
Chapter
14
: bubble trouble 74
Chapter
15
: a tight squeeze 78
Chapter
16
: pop ’til you drop 82

To Bailey: When are we going to play some more board
games? How about a week from Saturday? 8:30 sound
good? Great
—
see you then!

Thank you, Katie Carella and Liz Herzog, for making my work pop!

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be repro
duced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and
retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without
the express written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention:

Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Cummings, Troy, author.

Pop of the bumpy mummy / by Troy Cummings.

pages cm. — (The Notebook of Doom ; 6.)

Summary: Alexander’s class is going on a sleepover at the Stermont Museum, but something is stealing bright, shiny objects
from all over town, including the museum’s treasured Ruby Scorpion, and on the night of the visit the young monster hunters
finally confront the town’s newest monster—a warrior covered entirely by bubble-wrap.

ISBN 0-545-69898-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-545-69899-3 (jlb : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-545-69901-3 (ebook)

1. Monsters—Juvenile fiction. 2. Elementary schools—Juvenile fiction. 3. Museums—Juvenile fiction. 4. Horror tales.

[1. Monsters—Fiction. 2. Elementary schools—Fiction. 3. Schools—Fiction. 4. Museums—Fiction. 5. Horror stories.] I. Title.

II. Series: Cummings, Troy. Notebook of doom ; 6.

PZ7.C91494Pop 2015
813.6—dc23
e-ISBN 978-0-545-69901-3
Copyright © 2014 by Troy Cummings

All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc.

SCHOLASTIC, BRANCHES, and associated logos are trademarks
and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.

F
irst Scholastic printing, January 2015
Book design by Liz Herzog

chapter
Junk Mail
A lexander Bopp
was almost home when
he heard the screaming. It
was coming from his house.
He ran to his yard. His
dad was on the front porch,
twisting and shouting.
“Dad?!” he yelled.
1

Alexander had seen lots of weird things since
moving to Stermont. Weird things like monsters.

He’d battled balloon goons, shadow smashers,
tunnel fish, and other creepy creatures.

Alexander looked from the porch to the trees
to the driveway. No monsters.

Oh, wait — Dad’s not under
attack, he thought.

He’s dancing!

“Good news, Al!”

his dad said. “It’s
finally here!”

Alexander’s dad boogied into the house.

Alexander followed, dropping his backpack by
the door. “What’s here, Dad?”

His dad spun around, holding a padded
envelope. “The Reflecto-900 is here!” he said.

He ripped open the envelope and pulled out a
golden wand. “It’s the perfect dental tool!”

Alexander gave his dad a funny look.

“Geez, Al!” his dad said. “If you were a dentist,
you’d be going nuts about this mirror!” He
polished the Reflecto-900 on his sleeve. “Let’s
see if your package is any better.”

“I have a package?” asked Alexander.

“You sure do,” his dad said. “Although it
doesn’t say who it’s from.”

He handed Alexander a rainbow-striped box.

It was large, but very light.

“It looks like a birthday
present!” said Alexander’s
dad.

“It can’t be,” said Alexander.

“My birthday isn’t until February twenty-ninth.

That’s months away.”

He tore into the box.

“Look at all that bubble wrap!” his dad said.

“Whatever is in there must be good!”

Alexander dug around in the box. He yanked
out a huge blob of bubble wrap.

“It’s empty,” he said.

“Check again,” his dad said. “You must have
missed something.”

Alexander checked. “Nope,” he said. “Just a
bunch of bubble wrap.” His shoulders slumped.

“Sorry, kiddo,” his dad said.

Alexander tossed the box aside. Why would
someone send me an empty box?
“Tell you what,” said Alexander’s dad. “Let’s
have waffles for dinner.” He set the Reflecto-900
on the coffee table and walked toward the
kitchen.

“Hey, Al,” called his dad. “Why don’t you bring
that box and bubble wrap to school tomorrow

— for Packing Day?”

“Oh, yeah — okay,” said Alexander, popping a
few bubbles.

Tomorrow was the last day of school. And
Stermont Elementary was getting ready to move
into a brand-new building. The principal had
asked students to donate
boxes.
Alexander looked over
at the empty box. Then he
dropped the bubble wrap
on the coffee table and
headed to the kitchen.

hONK-HONK-HOONNNNNNNK!!

Alexander knew that honk. It was the old
we’re-going-to-be-late-for-school-if-you-don’t-
get-down-here-right-now honk.
“Coming, Dad!” he shouted. He grabbed his
box, ran outside, and hopped in the car.
“Did you bring the bubble wrap, too?” asked
Alexander’s dad.
2
chapter
Packing day

“No, I couldn’t find it,” said Alexander.

“Well, I’ll be flossed!” said Alexander’s dad. “I
can’t find my Reflecto-900, either!”

“You left it on the coffee table last night,” said

Alexander.

“I looked there,” said his dad, “but no luck.”

Alexander pulled his spelling book out of his
backpack. A piece of paper fell to the seat.

“Oh, yeah, Dad. The museum sleepover is
tomorrow night,” said Alexander.
“I know!” his dad grinned. “We’re going to
have a blast!”
Alexander opened the spelling book. He had
tucked an old notebook inside.
The notebook belonged to the Super Secret

Monster Patrol. It was their job to keep Stermont
safe from monsters. Alexander was one of the
club’s three members.

He flipped the notebook open.

HABITAT

Under the dinner table.

Two arms. Two legs. 39 tongues.

PURPLE

SLURPER

Purple slurpers
love to lick chocolate
icing and melted
popsicles off of
people’s faces.
Scrub your face at least
once a week, or you might get licked!
DIET
WARNING!
BEHAVIOR
These guys hate tongue twisters.
PETER-PICKER-PIPED-A-PECK. . .

PEEPER-PIPER-PECKED-A-PEEP. . .
PICKLE-PETER-PEPPED-A
Drooling
Slobbering
Stamp-collecting

“We’re here!” said his dad.
Alexander closed the notebook as his dad
pulled into the school parking lot. The car
stopped beside a sign.
Students and teachers were busy loading
boxes into a moving truck.
“Happy Packing Day, Al!” said his dad. “See
you after school.”
“Thanks, Dad!” said Alexander. He hopped
out of the car with his big striped box and —
PLONK! — walked into someone carrying another
big striped box.

“Salamander?” she said.

Salamander was Alexander’s nickname. His
two friends in the S.S.M.P. called him that. And
he had just crashed into one of them.

“Hi, Nikki!” he said. “Hey! Your box looks just
like mine!”

“Did yours come in the mail yesterday, too?”

she asked.

“Yes!” said Alexander. “But mine was empty.

Except for some bubble wrap.”

“Same here!” said Nikki.

Suddenly, they heard
an angry growl. A wall
of cardboard boxes
started shaking.

Then —

KA-BASH!

It came crashing
down.

“Ha! Scared you, weenies!” said a spiky-
haired kid. It was Rip Bonkowski, the third, and
loudest, member of the S.S.M.P.

“Uh, good one, Rip,” Alexander said.

“Hey, look!” said Rip. “Our boxes are triplets!”

He held up another striped box.
“Weird ...” said Alexander. “Three matching
boxes?”
“More than three,” said Nikki. She pointed to
a sign that said BOX DROP-OFF. Students were
lined up, all carrying striped boxes.
Alexander counted. “Thirteen . . . fourteen

... fifteen ... sixteen matching boxes?!” he said.

“That’s super strange!”

“Yeah, yeah — soooo spooky,” said Rip, rolling
his eyes. “Let’s dump our boxes and get to class.”

A
lexander grabbed the cold,
metal handle of the cold, metal door to
his cold, metal classroom. Then he paused.

“You guys,” he said. “Today is our last day in
the morgue!”

“Finally!” said Rip. “Our last day in the room
where they used to freeze dead people.”

“Next fall, we’ll go to an actual school,” said

Nikki, “instead of an old hospital.”
Alexander smiled as he yanked open the
door one last time.
3
chapter
Last Class

The room was full of half-packed boxes.

In the middle of the boxes sat Mr. Plunkett, a
teacher with rainbow suspenders and a bushy
mustache.

“Grab a seat, students,” said Mr. Plunkett. “If
you can find one.”
Alexander, Rip, and Nikki sat among the
boxes.
Mr. Plunkett stood on a box so he could see
everyone. “Our museum sleepover is tomorrow
night,” he said. “So today’s lesson will be
about our town’s greatest treasure: the
Ruby Scorpion!”
Alexander watched his classmates’
faces light up.

He raised his hand. “Uh, Mr. Plunkett? What’s
a Ruby Scorpion?”

“Oh, right! You’re kind of new to Stermont!”

said Mr. Plunkett, hopping down from the box.

“I’ve got a super-cool filmstrip about the Ruby

Scorpion . . . I’ll just unpack my projector and
show you!”

He opened a large, wooden crate.

“Huh?” said Mr. Plunkett. He dug into the
crate, tossing aside some bubble wrap. “My
projector is gone.”

Mr. Plunkett scratched his mustache.

“Oh, well,” he said. “I’ll draw the Ruby

Scorpion for you.”

Mr. Plunkett drew a mean-looking creature
on the whiteboard. It had sharp claws and an
even sharper tail. “It’s a red gem that looks like
this,” he said.

Nikki raised her hand. “How much is it
worth?” she asked.

“Gazillions of dollars!” said Mr. Plunkett.

PIP-PIP-POP!

“Okay, very funny.” Mr. Plunkett turned back
to the class. “Who’s playing with my bubble
wrap?”

Alexander looked around. The bubble wrap
was nowhere to be seen.

“My projector and the bubble wrap are both
gone?” said Mr. Plunkett.

My dad’s fancy mirror disappeared this morning—just
like Mr. Plunkett’s projector . . .

MISSING STUFF + WEIRD STRIPED BOXES=MONSTER?

SALAMANDER = CRAZY x 10!

He looked at Rip.

“What!?” said Rip. “Why does everyone look
at me when stuff happens?”

“Well, those things didn’t just walk away!”

said Mr. Plunkett. He capped his marker. “Fine.

Let’s move on to math.”

Alexander wrote a quick note. He slid it over
to Rip and Nikki.

Rip shook his head as he scribbled on the
note. He passed it back.

A  tall, frowning mummy guarded the
entrance to the cafeteria. Most students
walked right on by. But not Alexander.
He stepped up for a closer look.
4
chapter
Mummy’s
the Word

The mummy was a cardboard cutout. It held
the lunch menu.

Alexander skipped the lunch line. He found

Rip and Nikki at their usual table. Their plates
were piled high with slimy yellow strips.

Rip made gagging sounds. “Do you think the
food will be less barfy at our new school?” he
asked.
“We can only hope,” Nikki said.
BLOOP! BLAP! She dumped
a whole jar of salsa on her
plate. She mixed it up until
her plate was a red, gloppy
mess. Then she snarfed it
down.

Rip dropped his fork. “You really do eat like a
monster!” he said.

“Thank you, Rip!” Nikki smiled. She was a
monster — a good monster called a jampire.

Alexander opened
his lunchbox.

Alexander munched an orange slice as he
looked back at the fake mummy.

“So, what’s the deal with the Bumpy Mummy?”

he asked.

“Relax, Salamander,” said Rip. “The Bumpy

Mummy is just a plain, old museum mummy.”

“But it’s got these dead, empty eyes,” said

Nikki. “And it’s covered in strange little bumps.”

Alexander became covered in strange little
bumps. Goose bumps.

“And there’s this story,” said Nikki, “that the

Bumpy Mummy will come alive if someone
steals the Ruby Scorpion. But that’s —”
“ATTENTION, STUDENTS!”
Alexander jumped. Principal Vanderpants
stood behind him, shouting.
“We’ve already packed our loudspeaker! So I
must speak LOUDLY!” she spoke loudly. “Since
today is Packing Day, you will spend the rest of
the afternoon packing up our school! Report to
the loading dock in five minutes!”

Rip groaned.

“No, this is good,” said Alexander.

“This will give us a chance to learn
more about those striped boxes!”

t
he loading dock was crowded. Students
swarmed around, packing and stacking boxes.

“This place is like a beehive!” said Nikki.

“More like a make-kids -do-all-the-work hive,”

said Rip.

“Look!” said Nikki. “More striped boxes!

They’re everywhere!”

“I’m telling you,” said Alexander. “These boxes
must have something to do with monsters!”
“Or the boxes are monsters!” Rip joked.
“Hmmm,” said Alexander. “There’s only one
box monster in the notebook.” He flipped it
open to show his friends.
5
chapter
boxed in

DIET
HABITAT
YAK-IN-THE-BOX
BOING!! RAARR!! CHOMP!!

A polka-dot windup box.

Ladies. Gentlemen.

Children of all ages.

Yaks-in-the-box get hungry when
they hear “Pop Goes the Weasel.”

SPROING!

WARNING!

This beast
may wear a goofy hat,
but it does not clown
around.

BEHAVIOR

Don’t turn the crank!

“Our boxes can’t be yaks-in-the-
box,” said Nikki. “Ours are striped.”
“If we could just figure out
where these boxes came from,”
said Alexander.
“Let’s ask that walking pile
of boxes,” said Rip.
“Ask me what?” said the
walking pile of boxes.
Alexander looked closer.
A shock of white hair stuck
up from behind the stack of
boxes.
“Hey, Mr. Hoarsely!” said
Alexander. “What’s the deal
with these striped boxes?”
Mr. Hoarsely was the
school secretary, bus driver,
nurse, gym coach, and janitor.
He also used to be a member
of the S.S.M.P.

“Well, uh . . .” Mr. Hoarsely leaned down.

“Someone mailed a box to every kid in Stermont,”

he said. “And they were all empty, except for —”

P-P-PIP! PIP! POP-POP!
“Eep!” Mr. Hoarsely threw his boxes and
curled up on the ground. Boxes crashed around
him. One landed upside down, covering him like
a turtle.

Rip stood nearby, twisting a sheet of bubble
wrap. “Oops,” he said. “I forgot Hoarsely is such
a, uh, scaredy-turtle.”

Alexander tapped Mr. Hoarsely’s shell. “Did
monsters send us these boxes?”

Mr. Hoarsely stuck his neck out. “Monsters?!

I don’t know — and I don’t want to know!” he
said. “I’ve got my own problems! I had packed

Ms. Vanderpants’ telescope, but it’s missing!

And my dustpan is gone, too!” He shuffled off.

“More missing stuff?” said Rip. “Maybe you’re
not crazy, Salamander. ”
“Yeah . . . your dad’s mirror, Mr. Plunkett’s
projector, and now this,” said Nikki. “Something
is up.”

“I agree!” said Alexander, grabbing one of Mr.

Hoarsely’s boxes. “We’ve just unpacked a big
clue!”

t
he walk home from
school was slower than usual.

“Whew!” said Nikki. “I bet we packed
twenty thousand things.”

“What a lame last day of school,” said Rip.

A few minutes later, they stopped in front of

Alexander’s house.

“All right, guys,” said Alexander. “Let’s meet
at S.S.M.P. headquarters first thing tomorrow.

We’ll have all day to talk about weird boxes and
missing stuff before the sleepover.”

“Sounds good!” said Nikki.

“Later,” mumbled Rip.

6
chapter

Hands Off

Alexander headed inside — and gasped! The
living room had been turned upside down. His
dad popped up from behind an overturned
armchair. “Hi, Al!” he said.

The room was a jumble of couch cushions,
comic books, umbrellas, lamps, and Captain

Cuspid action figures.

“I’ve searched every inch of this room,” said

Alexander’s dad. “The Reflecto-900 is gone!”

KRICKLE!

“What was that?” asked Alexander.

Alexander’s dad was rooting around under
an end table. “Huh? I didn’t hear anything.”

KRICKLE-KRICKLE!

Alexander heard the noise again. It sounded
like someone crinkling a bag of chips. And it was
coming from upstairs! He tiptoed up the steps,
listening for the sound.

KRICKLE!

Is someone in our bathroom!? Alexander
thought.

He slowly pushed open the door.

CREEEEEAK!

A wedge of light cut into the dark bathroom.

He stepped inside. The room was silent.

But then —

KRICKLE! — the shower curtain
twitched.

Alexander threw open the shower curtain.

Something small and shiny was skittering
around the tub like a crab.

A crawling hand!

It was grayish-white
and crinkly.

“Ack! ” Alexander jumped back.

The hand climbed up the shower curtain.

It was holding something golden — his dad’s
mirror!

“Hey!” said Alexander. “Give that back!”

The hand jumped to the windowsill.

It used the Reflecto-900 to pry open
the window. Then it hopped out.

Alexander rushed to the window. He
could see everything in his yard: a tree,
his bike, a birdbath. But no crawling
hand.

He gasped — someone was behind
the tree! A tall, grayish-white, shiny
figure. Covered in strange little bumps.

The figure looked up at Alexander.

Then it turned and ran down the street.

Alexander’s mouth fell open.

The Bumpy Mummy?!

7
chapter
A real
steal
t
he next morning, Alexander wolfed down
his cereal. He was out the door before his spoon
hit the table.
He ran through the
woods behind his house
to an old caboose — the
S.S.M.P. headquarters. Rip
and Nikki were inside, playing a heated game of
tic-tac-tunnel fish.

“You guys,” said Alexander, “the Bumpy

Mummy is alive! I saw it last night!”

Rip and Nikki looked at each other.
Rip snorted. “Come on, Salamander!” he said.
“I already told you the Bumpy Mummy is just
a bag of bones at the museum.”
“No, Rip! I really saw it!”
said Alexander. “I mean, I’m
pretty sure. It was dark
out, and I was kind of
far away. But I saw
this shiny person, all
dressed in white.”
“That could have
been anyone!” said Rip.
“Like a nurse! Or a
chef! Or a fencing
coach! Not necessarily
a monster.”
“But it had bumps all over!”
said Alexander. “And besides, even
if I am wrong about the mummy, I saw
something else: a crawling hand! In my bathtub!”

“A monster hand?” said Rip. “Now you’re
talking!”
“And it had my dad’s golden mirror!”
said Alexander.
“It did?” Nikki said. “What
if that hand monster stole
the other missing
stuff, too? Like the
projector! And the
telescope!” She
looked at her
friends. “It sounds
like our new hand
monster is a thief!”
“Did you find any
hand monsters in the
notebook?” asked Rip.
“Yeah,” said Alexander.
“Sort of.”
He opened the monster notebook to a
wrinkled-up page.

Lint, fuzz, fur balls.

DIET

HITTIN’ MITTEN

They look cute, but they pack a punch.

HABITAT

Glove compartments.

BOW-WOW!

Hittin’ mittens work
in pairs. If you separate them,
they become powerless.

WARNING!

These warm, fuzzy
mittens turn into boxing gloves
as soon as you put them on.

Then: BAM! Stop hitting yourself !

Stop hitting yourself !

BEHAVIOR

Hittin’ mittens run when
they see an arf-scarf.

Alexander closed the notebook. “The thing

I saw wasn’t a mitten — it was a hand . . . with
fingers,” he said.

“All right. Let’s spring into action!” said Rip.

“So, uh, what should we do?”
“Let’s see if anything else is missing,” said
Alexander. “Go home and snoop around for
missing stuff. Then we’ll compare notes tonight
at the sleepover.”

“Sounds like a plan!” said Nikki. “See you on
the bus! And watch out for hand monsters!”

The three friends gave one another a high
fifteen (high five times three). Then they ran
home to start snooping.

t
he sky was as dark as
the blacktop in the school
parking lot. The only stars out
that night were on Alexander’s
pajama bottoms.
“Nice pants, weenie,” said Rip.
“Thanks,” said Alexander,
giving Rip the stink-eye.
The boys got in line
behind Nikki to board
the school bus.
8
chapter
’Round
and ’round

“I didn’t see anything this afternoon,” said
Alexander. “No crawling hands. No mummies.
And no more missing stuff.”
“Well,” said Rip,“during dinner, my mom said
her trumpet had disappeared.”
“And my ice skates are missing!” said Nikki.
PSSHHHHT! The bus door
opened. Alexander’s dad
leaned out,
waving like a
beauty queen.
“Howdy, kiddos!”
he said. “I’m Dr. Bopp,
Alexander’s dad!”
Everyone in line gave
Alexander a look. At least,
that’s how it felt to him.
The students climbed
on the bus. Mr. Hoarsely
started the engine as Mr.
Plunkett took attendance.

Alexander plopped down beside Rip and

Nikki.

“Your dad is so cute,” said Nikki.

“And his pj’s match yours, starpants!” said Rip.

“Yeah, yeah,” said Alexander.

The three friends looked out the window
as the bus left the parking lot.

“Yikes,” said Nikki. “That
old hospital is really falling
apart.”

The bus drove along. It passed a brand-new
building.

“Look at our new school!” said Alexander.

“It’s so clean and perfect,” said Nikki.

“And not smashed up by monsters,”said Rip.

“At least, not yet.”

“It’s song time!” Alexander’s dad called out
from up front. “Here’s one I learned at dental
school.” He took a big breath.

Alexander tried to melt into his seat.

It didn’t work.

9
chapter
The Ruby
Scorpion
after eleven verses of “The Drills on
the Teeth,” the bus finally came to a stop.
“We’re here!” said Mr. Plunkett. “Grab your
gear and head inside.”
The Stermont Museum looked like a cross
between a bank and a haunted house. Alexander,

Rip, and Nikki followed their classmates into the
lobby.

The room was big, cold, and dark. A green glow
came from an enormous clock on the second
floor. Colorful banners hung everywhere.

“Okay,” said Mr. Plunkett. “Put your sleeping
bags over by the gift shop — next to that mean-
looking soldier statue.”
The statue’s head slowly turned to
face the group.
Everyone gasped.
“Actually,” said the statue,
“I am not a statue. I am
a guard.” She flashed a
badge.
Ms. Sargent looked
Mr. Plunkett up and
down. “My job is to
protect Stermont’s greatest treasures — and to
make sure there’s no funny business tonight.”

She glared at Mr. Plunkett’s gopher slippers.

“Funny business?! Me?! Never!” said Mr.

Plunkett. “And with Dr. Bopp and Mr. Hoarsely
here — wait!” He looked around. “Where is Mr.

Hoarsely?”

The students stared back in silence.

“Oh, brother,” said Mr. Plunkett. “He is always
wandering off. Let’s just start the tour —”

BONG! CUCKOO!

Mr. Plunkett looked up at the balcony.

“Like I said, let’s —”

The students covered their ears.

“What you’re hearing is the world’s second-
largest cuckoo clock,” Ms. Sargent said. “It’s three
stories tall. You’ll notice —”
“Clocks schmocks!” yelled Rip. “Let’s see the
Ruby Scorpion!”

Ms. Sargent gave Rip a look that could wilt
lettuce. “Fine,” she said through clenched teeth.

“Follow me.”

She led the group to a round room. The room
was empty except for a small, glass dome holding
the scorpion-shaped red gem. Its eyes seemed to
move in the twinkling light.
“Oooooh,” everyone said. They squeezed in
for a closer look.
Alexander got separated from Rip and
Nikki. Ugh, he thought. The scorpion’s
cool and all, but there’s no need to
shove.

“Has anyone ever stolen the Ruby Scorpion?”

asked Alexander’s dad.

“Impossible!” said Ms. Sargent. “It’s protected
by my special security system.”

She turned off the lights. Thin beams of
red light crisscrossed on all sides of the Ruby

Scorpion. “To steal the ruby, someone would
have to get around all twelve of these lasers. If
anything touches a laser, an alarm goes off.”

“The ruby ...” said Mr. Plunkett. “So ... sparkly.”

Everyone stared at the gem
in silence.

KRICKLE-KRICKLE!

Alexander’s eyes widened. That’s the same
crinkling sound I heard last night!

KRICKLE!

The sound was coming from the lobby.

Alexander tried to wave to Rip and Nikki. But
like everyone else, they were dazzled by the
scorpion.

KRICKLE-KRICKLE!

Alexander backed out of the room. He tiptoed
across the lobby.

There!

Something shiny darted across the floor.

A hand! thought Alexander. The hand from my
bathroom!

The hand skittered downstairs.

“You’re not getting away this
time!” Alexander whispered.

He dashed down the steps.

He skidded to a stop
beneath a stone
archway.

Alexander
swallowed. Then
he stepped inside.

10
chapter
just in
case
alexander stood in a huge stone room — the
mummy’s chamber. There were strange carvings
on the walls. Fake torches gave off a soft,
dancing light. Cold fog covered the floor.
There was no sign of the hand-creature.

CLACK! Something moved at the far end of the
room. Alexander crept toward the noise. The
floor felt ice-cold through his footie pajamas.

He came to a tall, golden box. There were
snakes and beetles carved on the sides. A skull
was painted on top.

The mummy case! he thought.

The torches flickered. The case started to
shake. Then the lid popped open!

“AUGHGHH!” Alexander jumped back.
“EEP! Don’t hurt me!” screamed the pale,
ghostly figure inside.
Alexander stopped. He blinked a few times.
“Mr. Hoarsely? What are you doing in there?”
Mr. Hoarsely was shaking like a jackhammer.
“That guard spooked me. I ran
down here and guess
what?! The mummy
case was wide open,
and empty! So I
hid inside!” he said.
“The Bumpy Mummy
must be alive!”
“I knew I saw it
yesterday,” said Alexander.
“Y-y-you did?” said Mr. Hoarsely.
“Yes. But wait,” said Alexander. “I thought
the mummy only came alive if someone stole
the Ruby Scorpion. And I just saw the scorpion
upstairs. It’s safe and protected by lasers!”

“Lasers-shmasers!!” Mr. Hoarsely shouted.

“The mummy is definitely out there because it’s
not in here! Case closed!”

SLAM! Mr. Hoarsely shut the mummy case.

Alexander thought about what Mr. Hoarsely
had said. He zipped to the exit, cutting through
the swirling fog.

alexander
sprinted up the steps
and into the lobby. His dad
and Mr. Plunkett were laying out the
sleeping bags. Rip and Nikki saw Alexander.
They ran over.
“Salamander!” said Nikki. “Where did you go?”
“You totally missed the gift shop!” said Rip,
holding a toy gopher. “Check it out! A Stermont

Stella bobblehead!”
Alexander grabbed his friends’ shoulders.
11
chapter
Don’t let Your
guard down

“Guys,” he said, “I don’t care about the gift
shop! Listen to me: I was right! The Bumpy

Mummy is alive!!”

Rip and Nikki looked at each other.

“The mummy is not in its case! Mr. Hoarsely is
down there right now,”said Alexander.“Ask him!”

Rip, Nikki, and the bobblehead nodded.

“IT’S BUMPY-MUMMY TIME, STUDENTS!”

shouted Mr. Plunkett. “Gather around to hear
about Stermont’s most famous mummy! Then
we’ll head downstairs to the mummy’s chamber.”

Alexander, Rip, and Nikki joined the rest of
their class.
“Some people say the Bumpy Mummy was
an old circus dummy created
to sell tickets,” said
Mr. Plunkett. “Others
say it was a nearsighted
cowboy who sat on a
cactus, and had to be
covered in bandages. Or
even worse: a wart-covered
toad-person!”
Alexander’s dad munched
a handful of popcorn. “So scary,”
he whispered.
“And,” continued Mr. Plunkett, “the Bumpy
Mummy will come back to life if —”
“The Ruby Scorpion has been stolen!”
Everyone gasped.
Ms. Sargent stomped into the lobby, swinging
her flashlight.

“Someone got past my lasers!” said
the guard. She shined her light
in Mr. Plunkett’s eyes. “I’ve been
working here for years with
zero funny business.
But on the night your
class arrives, our greatest
treasure goes missing!?”
Ms. Sargent swept her light across the
students’ faces. “You toddlers stay put while I
search the museum. If so much as one toe leaves
a sleeping bag, I’ll lock you up!”

Her footsteps echoed across the stone floor
as she marched away.

“Whoa,” whispered Nikki. “She’s so —”

“Awesome!” said Rip.

Alexander grabbed Rip’s elbow. “Look!” He
pointed up to the balcony.

A grayish-white figure, covered in strange
little bumps, stood at the railing. It was staring at

Alexander.

t
he mummy locked eyes with Alexander.

Then it turned and ran.

“It’s running!” said Alexander.“I bet it’s got the
ruby!”

“Follow that mummy!” whispered Nikki.

“Are you nuts?” said Rip. “Ms. Sargent is super
tough! Let her catch the thief.”
12
chapter
TICKTOCK

“She can stop regular thieves, but only we can
stop monster thieves! We’re the S.S.M.P.,” said

Alexander.

“Okay, okay,”said Rip.“Hooray for us and stuff.”

“We’ll need to be extra-sneaky,” said Nikki. “If
that guard sees us, she’ll lock us up!”

“Come on!” said Alexander. He hurried to the
balcony steps.

Rip and Nikki followed.

“Pj’s are great for sneaking around,” whispered

Nikki. “My slippers are ninja-quiet!”

They crept up to the second floor.

“No sign of the mummy,” said Nikki.

“It must be hiding,” said Alexander. “Keep
looking!”

They searched a suit of armor, a wigwam, a
triceratops skeleton, a fake volcano, and even a
stagecoach.

“The mummy must’ve gotten away,”said Rip.

“But how?!” asked Alexander. “We were —”

“Shhh!” said Nikki. “Someone’s coming!”

A beam of light danced through the darkness,
throwing long shadows across the floor.

“STAY WHERE YOU ARE, THIEF!” shouted a
voice. “AND NO FUNNY BUSINESS!”

“It’s Ms. Sargent!” whispered Alexander. “Run!”

They scrambled to keep out of the light. The
three friends ducked down near an odd wooden
door shaped like an acorn.

“Let’s hide in there,” said Nikki. She pushed on
the door. It wouldn’t budge.

“I’ve got this,” said Rip. He rolled up his sleeves
and leaned into the door.

“Grugghhh,” he grunted.

“It’s stuck! And
it’s making
a weird
noise.”

TICKTOCK, TICKTOCK, TICKTOCK!

“I know that sound!” said Alexander. “Rip!

Nikki! Duck!”

“Huh?” said Rip.

“It’s not a duck!” said Nikki. “It’s a cuckoo!”

She jerked Rip away from the door.
A spine-shaking
chime rang out like
a thunderclap.
The acorn door popped open. And a giant
mechanical bird sprung out!
“Grab that cuckoo!” Alexander said. The three
of them hugged the cuckoo. It wobbled a bit, and
then yanked them through the doorway.

A second later, Ms. Sargent’s light flashed
across the closed acorn door.

Alexander, Nikki, and
Rip tumbled into a dark
room. They could hear
loud gears whirring
all around them.
“Where are we?” asked Alexander.
“Nikki, use your see-in-the-dark
powers!” said Rip.
“Uh, we are inside the world’s
second-largest cuckoo clock,” she
whispered. “And we’re not alone.”

Alexander’s eyes slowly adjusted to the pale
green light inside the clock. He saw gears, cogs,
chains, and levers everywhere. And right in front
of his nose, the Bumpy Mummy.

“Ack!” Alexander jumped back. But the
mummy just stood there. Or rather, leaned there.

“The mummy’s not moving,” said Nikki. She
stepped up and poked its chest. A cloud of dust
poofed up.

“It’s so old and dirty!” said Alexander. “But the
mummy we saw looked shiny and clean!”
13
chapter
hickory
dickory bopp

“And alive,” said
Rip. “This one’s just leaning
against that old cart.”
Alexander stepped closer to the cart. It
was piled high with junk. A glint of gold caught
his eye. “Hey!” he said. “My dad’s mirror!”

“And my skates!” said Nikki.

“And my mom’s trumpet!” said Rip. “And
there’s Hoarsely’s dustpan! All of the stolen stuff
is here!”

Alexander reached out for the Reflecto-900,
but stopped. It had been taped to the cart.

He looked at the other objects. They were all
stuck to the cart.

“This cart looks like a machine,” he said. “A
machine made from shiny stuff. But what’s it do?”

KRICKLE-KRICKLE!

“IT HELPS ME STEAL THE

SHINIEST TREASURE EVER!” shouted
a squeaky voice from high in the
clockworks.

A lumpy figure swung down on a
chain.

“That’s the mummy we saw on
the balcony!” said Nikki.

“And look! It’s missing a hand!”

yelled Alexander.

This bigger, scarier, moving
mummy didn’t walk stiffly like
a mummy from an old movie.

It glided along, making crinkly
noises with each step.

KRICKLE-KRICKLE!

“It sounds like that mummy’s
wearing a diaper,” said Rip.

POP-POP!

The mummy’s face
twisted into an angry
scowl. “WHAT?! I am not wearing a
diaper!” it said. “And I’m not really a
mummy!”
The monster drifted into the light. It was
wrapped in some kind of shiny material, covered
with little plastic circles.

“A bubble-wrap monster!?!” said Alexander.

“I’m a bubble-wrap WARRIOR!”boomed the
monster. “And I am
ready to rumble!”

alexander,Rip, and Nikki backed away from
the crinkling, snapping, one-handed bubble-
wrap warrior.
14
chapter
Bubble
trouble

Alexander shouted over the grinding
clock gears. “So you sent us the striped
boxes and stole our stuff!?”
“Yes!” said the bubble-wrap warrior.
“You humans are so annoying! You use bubble
wrap to protect your shiny treasures. But then,
when you no longer need us, you pop us! That
hurts, you know?! I did it all for payback!”
The monster’s voice grew
louder as it bounced closer
to the three friends.
“Instead of protecting
your shiniest treasures,
I stole them!” said
the bubble-wrap
warrior. “First I
mailed my little
helping hands to every
house in town —”
“The bubble wrap inside the striped boxes!”
said Nikki.

“Exactly,”said the monster. “But things like
skates and trumpets weren’t valuable enough.

I needed bigger, shinier treasure! Then I heard
your teacher talking about the Ruby Scorpion.

So I built an awesome laser-bouncing machine
from your junk!”

“But why are you pretending to be the Bumpy

Mummy?” asked Rip.

“To blend in!” said the bubble-wrap warrior.

“It’s easy to hide in a museum when you look like
a mummy! I kept lookout while my helping hand
popped off to steal this — Stermont’s greatest
treasure! ”

The bubble-wrap warrior raised its handless
arm toward the shadows above.

Just then, the bubble-wrap hand dropped
down from the gears. It was clutching the Ruby

Scorpion!

It scampered up the bubble-wrap warrior’s
leg, and snapped itself to the end of the monster’s
arm.

“At last, I am complete!” said the warrior.

“Now that I have the ruby, there’s just one thing
left for me to wrap up.”

The monster puffed itself up.

Then it lunged at Alexander.

oof!” The bubble-wrap
warrior barreled into
Alexander, trapping
him in a bear hug.
Rip and Nikki pulled
at the monster. It laughed.
“Let’s go for a spin, shall
we? I think my true form will
BLOW YOU AWAY!”
The bubble-wrap warrior
tossed Alexander aside.
It set the Ruby Scorpion
down on a big wooden
pinecone.
15
chapter
A tight
squeeze

The monster unraveled itself into one long
noodle made of hundreds of sheets of bubble
wrap. Then it began spinning around. It spun
faster and faster, rising in the air like a giant
tornado. A giant twisting, snapping tornado
made entirely of bubble wrap!
WHOOOOOOSH! The three
friends’ hair started blowing.
Nikki shouted something. But
Alexander couldn’t hear her over the
rush of wind.

The bubble-wrap warrior spun
even faster. Clock gears wobbled.

Chains rattled. Alexander could
barely stand against the strong wind.

He saw Nikki clinging to a ladder.

Rip crouched behind a cog.

Alexander grabbed the closest
thing — the tail feathers of the giant
cuckoo. He held on tight.

FLOMP! Eight long arms
shot out of the tornado.

“Watch out! This monster’s
going into octopus-mode!”

Rip shouted.

A bubbly arm stretched
across the room and
grabbed Rip.

“Gotcha!” said the bubble-wrap warrior.
Another arm reached for Nikki. She scooted
up the ladder and out of reach.
A third arm snaked back to
Alexander, wrapping around
his leg. He hugged the cuckoo
tighter. Then two more arms
shot out and —
SNAP! —
broke the wooden bird
off its branch.
“AAACK!” yelled
Alexander.
The monster grinned as it grabbed Rip and

Alexander.“Let’s see how you guys like getting
popped!”

t
he bubble-wrap
warrior squeezed Rip
and Alexander until their
eyes bulged.
“Drop my friends, bubble
brain!” yelled Nikki.
She sat on a platform near the clock’s face,
dangling her legs over the edge. She stuck out
her arm, jiggling something red and shiny over
the grinding gears.
16
chapter
pop ’til
you drop

“The Ruby Scorpion!” said Alexander.

“Warrior, if you don’t put my friends down,”

she said, “I’ll toss this into the gears!”

“You wouldn’t dare ruin Stermont’s shiniest
treasure!” growled the monster. It squeezed the
boys tighter.

“Sure I would!” said Nikki. She tossed the red
shiny scorpion into the clock’s gears.

CRRUNNNCHH!!!
Shiny red pebbles tinkled
down through the gears.
“NOOOO!!!!” the bubble-
wrap warrior screamed. The
monster dropped the boys
and reached for the gears.
POP-POP! One of its arms
got twisted in a cog.
Alexander rolled to his feet.
He was standing near the
broken cuckoo.
“SQUAAAAARRK!” The
monster let out an angry
battle squeak. It raised its
puffy fists high, ready to
smash.
“Guys, quick!” Alexander
shouted. “Over here!”
Rip and Nikki ran over.

Together, the three friends lifted the cuckoo.

Then they pointed it at the monster’s head.

“Hey, bubbles!” said Alexander. “Watch the
birdie!”

He pulled a latch near the cuckoo’s spring.

BOING!

The bird delivered a cuckoo punch, right on
the monster’s nose. The monster fell backward.

The rest of its long arms became tangled in the
clockwork gears.

It sounded like
the Fourth of July as the bubble-wrap warrior was
pressed between the gears, building up to one
final clock-rocking
BOOM!

“Nikki, I can’t believe you destroyed the Ruby

Scorpion!” said Alexander.

“What?! No way!” said Nikki. “That was a
paperweight I bought in the gift shop.” She pulled
the real Ruby Scorpion from her pocket.

CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-WHIRR!

The clock’s gears spat out a flat,
clear sheet of plastic.

“Looks like every last bubble’s been popped,”

said Nikki.

“So, what now?” asked Rip. “Ms. Sargent will
lock us up if she sees us with the Ruby Scorpion!”

“Hmmm,” said Alexander. “Let’s prop the clock
door open and leave it here for her to find.”

“Along with all the other missing stuff!” said

Nikki.

The friends snuck out of the clock. They went
down to the basement to tell Mr. Hoarsely the
coast was clear. Then they crept up to the lobby
and climbed into their sleeping bags.

“Toddlers, wake up!” Ms.Sargent came running
into the lobby. “I found the Ruby Scorpion! And
a bunch of other junk.”

Ms. Sargent dumped the stolen items on the
floor. The students and Mr. Plunkett cheered.

They jumped up to grab their missing skates,
trumpets, and shiny doodads.

“Dad!” said Alexander.

“Look!”He handed his dad
the Reflecto-900.

“Woo-hoo!” cried his dad.

Then he leaped up and did
another front-porch dance.

“Ha-ha!” said Nikki. “What a great field trip!”

“You mean, what a great first day of summer
vacation!” said Rip.

Alexander gave Rip and Nikki a high thirty.

(Two high fifteens in a row.) Then, by the glow
of the world’s second-largest cuckoo clock, he
added another monster to the notebook.

HABITAT
BUBBLE-WRAP
WARRIOR
Walking, twisting,
fighting, punching
pile of bubble wrap.
Boxes, moving trucks, loading docks.

BEHAVIOR
FUN FACT!
WARNING!
BEWARE!
Bubble-wrap warriors like to
steal treasure.
PIP-
A bubble-wrap warrior would
lose in a fight with a forkupine.
These monsters are clever. They
can turn a pile of shiny junk
into a laser-blocking machine!
Bubble-wrap warriors can twist
themselves into many shapes:
If you find a sheet of
bubble wrap, pop EVERY
BUBBLE! Just to be safe.
mummy
tornado
octopus
crawling
hand
POP!
PIP-

has no tail, no wings, no fangs, no
claws, and only one head. As a kid,
he believed that monsters might
really exist. Today, he’s sure of it.
Lemon custard.
A creaky chair in front of
the computer screen.
Keep your eyes peeled for
more danger in The Notebook of Doom #7:
Few people believe that Troy Cummings is
real. The only proof we have is that he supposedly
wrote and illustrated The Eensy-Weensy Spider
Freaks Out!, and Giddy-up, Daddy!
TROY
CUMMINGS
BEHAVIOR
DIET
HABITAT
EVIDENCE
When this creature is not
writing or drawing, he is
cleaning out the cat box.
WARNING
(NOTE:Troy washes his hands before eating.
You know, because of the cat box and all.)
Flurry Snombies
of
the

QUESTIONS & ACTIVITIES!

scholastic.com/branches

Look back at page 42. What are the literal and nonliteral
meanings of “spring into action”?

Is Mr. Hoarsely helpful to the S.S.M.P.? Explain.

How does Nikki trick the bubble-wrap warrior and
save Alexander and Rip?

What does the bubble-wrap warrior use the stolen
treasures for?

The Bumpy Mummy is a mystery. Is he a cowboy who
sat on a cactus, a toad person, or something else?

Write a story about how he got his bumps!

www.scholastic.com/branches
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