Superheroes: reading drama and fiction; Super Stinky 4

The Coming of Super Stinky

Super Stinky Saves the Day

1. “Guess what?” Karim asked Jonas, as they walked along the path to school. “I figured out the secret to my superpower.”
2. “Whoa, cool!” Jonas replied. Karim really did have a superpower: the power to cause a terrible stink. He’d acquired it the day before on this very same path, after getting sprayed by some kind of radioactive skunk.
3. “Remember yesterday, it seemed like the stink just . . . happened?” continued Karim. “Last night, I got really mad with my sister—and it happened again! That’s when I realized: I let the stink out of my ears when I feel strong emotions—like anger, or fear about taking Ms. Wong’s science test.” The day before, Karim’s stinky powers had caused quite the impact: school had closed early, pushing the dreaded science test back to today. “Did you study this time?” asked Jonas.
4. “Not yet,” replied Karim. “The test’s this afternoon—I’ll study at recess.”
5. Karim really did sit down to study during recess, but just as he opened his book in the schoolyard, Jonas ran up with a look of wide-eyed panic.
6. “Karim! You’ve got to see this! There’s an alligator in the school pond!”
7. The two boys sprinted to witness this unmissable event. Turning the corner, Karim was amazed to see a crowd of kids watching none other than the noble Ms. Wong, armed with just a garden rake, bravely facing down the hostile reptile.

8. “Ms. Wong!” exclaimed Karim.
9. “Stay back!” shouted their teacher—and right at that moment, the alligator snatched at the rake with its jaws and tossed it to one side. Now Ms. Wong had no defense, and no way to retrieve her weapon. Karim felt the terror and anger rising up inside of him. Before he knew it, he also heard a loud hissing inside his ears, quickly followed by that now-familiar stench of supremely smelly, specifically skunky, superpower stink! And Karim wasn’t the only one who smelled it: the alligator looked right at him, started backing away, then turned and ran as fast as it could, disappearing into the bushes in a flash!
10. “What was that . . . smell?” asked Ms. Wong, relieved but also disgusted.
11. “It was Karim!” yelled Jonas, slapping his friend on the back. “Or should I say . . . Super Stinky!”
12. Everyone cheered; Karim smiled and waved, and then his cheeks turned redder than hot sauce as someone started up a chant of “Stinky! Stinky! Stinky!”
13. “All right class,” said Ms. Wong, as they sat back down inside, “after all that drama, it’s finally time for the test.” Oh no! Karim had spent recess using his stinky powers to scare off an alligator, which meant he still hadn’t studied for the science test. Jonas noticed Karim’s worried look, and whispered “Psst! Set off another stink!”
14. For a moment, Karim seriously considered it—he could probably clear the room in three seconds flat. But then he reflected to himself: now that I have this superpower, what am I going to use it for? It had felt really great to help save Ms. Wong from the alligator.
15. “Nah,” he whispered back to Jonas, “from now on, I’m going to save my stinky powers for when they’re really needed.”

Practice question