Chapter One Ancient Secret Powers Look at me Mia yelled Paisley Atoms stared down at six-year-old Mia Pendlebury her next door neighbor The little girl was dressed in the frilliest laciest purple dress Paisley had ever seen Only the dress wasn’t so purple anymore It was covered with smudges and splotches of dirt and globs of mud Mia’s shiny brown curls had been tied up into ribboned pigtails now one pigtail was smashed against her head and the other fluttered in a tangled mess by her ear Her white lacy socks were caked brown Three worms squirmed between her fat little fingers 6
What are you working on Paisley asked Mia She’d just walked home from school with her best friend Ben Striker Ben was changing his clothes and grabbing a snack then they planned to meet in Paisley’s basement laboratory They were working on an important new invention dripless ice cream Mia’s favorite activity was spying on them through the basement window Mia held up the worms proudly I’m catching worms for Ben Awesome Paisley said Like Paisley Ben loved science He loved clocks and astronomy just like his namesake Benjamin Banneker He also loved creepy crawly creatures He stored ant colonies and worm farms in his closet instead of clothes Will you help me Mia asked blinking her big brown eyes Sure Paisley yanked her long wavy hair into a messy bun on top of her head Let’s get dirty Just then the front door of Mia’s fancy house banged open Mrs Pendlebury stormed out onto the perfectly manicured lawn She was wearing a lovely 7
lavender gown that matched Mia’s Her face was also a lovely shade of bright red Just what exactly is going on here She yelled Mia Kesley Pendlebury What on earth are you doing in your brand new dress I’m sciencing Mia said with a grin What She’s being a scientist Paisley said helpfully She’s exploring the habitat of the lumbricina the segmented earthworm Mrs Pendlebury’s face turned an even brighter shade of red Mia has a very important photo shoot appointment today She is competing in the Little Miss Roarington Pageant How do you expect her to win looking like this I’m sorry ma’am Paisley said even though she hadn’t done anything wrong I’ve had just about enough of you Paisley Atoms Mia is a perfectly respectable young lady except when you’re around Your bad influence turns her into a wild creature eating worms and whatnot and playing in dirt 8
Paisley’s cheeks grew warm She dug her fingernails into her palms I’m sorry you feel that way ma’am I don’t think I’m a bad influence I’m a scientist and inventor And dirt is a perfectly fine medium for exploring our environment Don’t you get smart with me And that’s when Mia placed a fat squiggly worm on top of Mrs Pendlebury’s strappy sandaled foot 9
