When Class 5b’s school bus starts acting like a racing machine, the ordinary trip to school turns into the strangest morning of the year.
Maciek, Maja, and the rest of Class 5b had long believed the most exciting thing about the school bus was winning the window seat before anyone else. Then, one Tuesday morning, a new driver climbed aboard.
Mr Gąsior adjusted his yellow-rimmed glasses, gave the children a grin far too cheerful for that hour, and boomed, "Good morning, kids! Hop on. We’re in for a very special journey!"
Maciek glanced at Maja. She only lifted her shoulders and smiled as if this was exactly the sort of thing she’d been hoping for. That was never a good sign.
At first, the ride looked normal enough. Foggy windows. Rustling sandwich bags. A debate in the back row about the maths test and who had probably already failed it before breakfast. Then Maciek noticed something odd.
The bus was speeding up.
Not a little. A lot.
He leaned forward in his seat. "Er, Mr Gąsior?"
"Hold tight!" called the driver, his voice bright with delight. "Today the school really starts moving!"
The bus lurched. The wheels shrieked. Everyone slid sideways like marbles on a tray, and Kuba clutched the seat in front of him so hard his knuckles went white.
Outside, the usual road signs flashed past so fast Maciek could barely read them. The bus swerved right, shot past the turn for school, and thundered straight into the park instead.
"We are definitely not supposed to be here!" someone yelled.
"Details," said Mr Gąsior.
He laughed. Actually laughed.
The bus bounced over a path, skimmed between trees, and sent a flock of pigeons flapping into the air like they’d been launched from a cannon. Maciek stared out of the window, trying to understand how they had gone from a sleepy Tuesday to what felt like a very bad idea on wheels.
Then Maja pointed ahead.
Right in the middle of the park stood a giant inflatable hippo, blue as a summer sky and taller than the bus.
"That was not there yesterday," she whispered.
Before anyone could ask what on earth it was doing there, the bus screeched to a stop in front of a huge blue marquee. Across the front, in glittering gold letters, were the words: TODAY ONLY HERE - A GREAT ADVENTURE!
The children crowded into the aisle. Mr Gąsior turned in his seat and smiled that mysterious smile again, as if he knew exactly how strange this looked.
"You didn’t think the trip to school would be boring, did you?" he said.
Then the bus door hissed open.
Inside the tent, something shifted in the shadows.