CHAPTER 1 The Can-Do Spirit

 

 

  "Cream of mushroom. Cream of asparagus. Cream of--yuck--spinach!"

  Normally, Eugene McGillicudy would want nothing to do with these creamy veggies in a can. But today they were like priceless treasure.

   

  "We're gonna win the canned-food drive for sure!" Charlie said.

  "C'mon, let's go!" Sally stood in the doorway of Ms. Beasley's classroom. "We don't want to be late to the final count."

  Sally and Charlie followed as Eugene ran out of the classroom and down the hall. That's when they saw it.

  THE PYRAMID.

   

  In the Sunnyview Elementary School gym, a large pile of canned food was stacked like a metal pyramid.

  The last time Eugene saw cans stacked so high was in Super Dude No. 49. That's when Super Dude fought the dreaded Label-Maker Lou, who was putting the wrong labels on every can in his evil Warehouse Price Club of Doom.

   

   

  What's that, you say? Who is Super Dude, you ask? Super Dude is truly the greatest superhero ever! He's the star of the Super Dude comic books, plus movies and TV shows in the Super Dude Cinematic Universe.

  Super Dude was also the inspiration for Eugene to become Captain Awesome. He recruited his friends Sally and Charlie to form the Sunnyview Superhero Squad.

  "131... 132... 133..." Ms. Beasley counted the cans from her class. "We have 133 cans!"

   

  "That puts you in second place," the principal said. "Mrs. Duncan's class is in the lead by just four cans."

  "WE'VE GOT MORE!" Eugene ran to the pyramid with his three cans, dropping two of them on the gym floor.

  Sally and Charlie rushed to pick them up and add them to the stack.

   

  "That's 134, 135, and 136," Ms. Beasley said. "We're still behind Mrs. Duncan's class by one can."

  "But we're out of cans," Sally whispered.

   

  What would Super Dude do? Eugene asked himself.

  "Charlie," he cried out. "Your secret power reserve! Our class needs your mightiest of cheese!"

  "I can do it!" As the superhero Nacho Cheese Man, Charlie kept two reserve cans of spray cheese in his backpack at all times.

  He pulled out the unopened cans of jalapeño cheddar. "I'll miss you," he said to the cans, "but this is a sacrifice a superhero must make."

   

  Charlie placed them gently on the big pyramid of cans.

  "137... and 138," Ms. Beasley said. Her class erupted in cheers as Eugene, Sally, and Charlie raised their arms in victory.

   

   

  "Congratulations to Ms. Beasley and her class," the principal said. "The Sunnyview Food Bank will be well-stocked to help people who need an extra hand for the holidays. And you know what else this means for Ms. Beasley's class!"

  "PIZZA PARTY!" The students let out a yell so big, it shook the cans.

   

   

  "It's thanks to the donations I made first," Meredith Mooney declared.

  Meredith was the pinkest girl in school. Today she wore a bright pink ribbon in her hair with matching pink shoes.

   

  "Well, you were the only one who brought cans of pink salmon," Sally said.

  "Obviously," Meredith replied, tossing her pigtails.

  "The important thing is that our class won!" Eugene exclaimed.

  "PIZZA! PIZZA! PIZZA!" the class chanted.

 

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Excerpted from Captain Awesome and the Smile Snatcher by Stan Kirby
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.