Chapter 1

In Hollywood, California, a group of racers lined up for a race. Two girls from the network named Lacey and Stephanie introduced the racers on TV. Lacey said, “Welcome sports fans to The Race Around the World. 20 racers in 10 cars will partner up in each car and race worldwide to win $10,000,000 at the finish line. And here come our racers.” Stephanie said, “In The Songbird Wagon, Marianne and Vanessa. In The Water Truck, Mike and Rita. In The Butterfly Speedster, Callie and Lynn. In The Doggie Dragster, Dasia and Ron. In The Wheeled Pirate Ship, Carrie and Zack. In The M Machine, Mandy and Mindy. In The Wave Train, Corey and Mariah. In The Flame Car, James and Sam. In The Double L, Leah and Liz. And in The Wheeled Coffin, Brandon and Erik.” Lacey said, “These racers will race from here in Hollywood to the midst of Mexico.”

The racers lined up, Lacey shot off the starting pistol, and all the racers raced to Mexico. The Butterfly Speedster is in the lead, The M Machine is in 2nd, The Wheeled Coffin is in 3rd, The Double L is in 4th, and The Flame Car is in 5th. While Brandon was driving, Erik took a time bomb from their pouch in the back seat and set it to 60 seconds. Then he started the countdown and threw the bomb out of their car. Leah caught it, saw it had 49 seconds left, and threw it out of their vehicle and into The Flame Car. Sam grabbed it and saw 35 seconds left, so he threw it out of their car and into The Doggie Dragster. Ron caught the bomb and saw 16 seconds left, so he threw it in The Wave Train. Mariah grabbed it, saw it had 5 seconds left, and threw it into The Wheeled Pirate Ship. When Zack caught it, the timer hit 0, and the bomb exploded, taking The Wheeled Pirate Ship with it. Then, all the other racers passed them up, and a limo from the network came, picked Carrie and Zack up, and took them back to the network.

Meanwhile, Lacey and Stephanie were at the finish line in Mexico. Lacey said, “Too bad about Carrie and Zack.” Stephanie said, “Yep. If only their car hadn’t gone in flames. It looks like we have nine teams left.” Lacey said, “Speaking of which, I wonder how they’re doing.” Lacey turned on their TV screen and saw the camera crew still broadcasting the race. Stephanie said, “Looks like these racers are giving it all they got; they’re heading into Arizona.” Lacey said, “And once they get to New Mexico, they’ll have to stop for the night.” The Butterfly Speedster is in the lead, and when they saw The M Machine catching up, Lynn pulled a lever in their car and dropped a trail of tacks onto the field. When the other racers came, they drove onto Team Butterfly’s track of nails and flattened their tires. Lacey said, “Looks like The Butterfly Speedster will get a head start with all the other racers fixing their cars.” Everyone who blew their tires fixed their cars and returned to the race.

Once they got to New Mexico, they stopped at a hotel in Lordsburg. Then, the driver of each car drove their cars to the nearest gas station and filled their tanks up while the passenger checked them in with their partner. Then they went to their rooms and slept there for the night. They ate breakfast from the hotel when they woke up, returned to their cars, and waited for Lacey to reshoot the starting pistol. Before she did, they made a quick announcement. Stephanie said, “Before we start the race again, we’re letting a new team in. Say ‘hello’ to Serena and Valerie in The Confetti Convertible.”

The Confetti Convertible lined up with the other racers and got ready to race. Then Lacey brought out the starting pistol and shot it. Once she did, all the racers resumed the race. The Butterfly Speedster is in the lead, The M Machine is in 2nd, The Confetti Convertible is in 3rd, The Wheeled Coffin is in 4th, The Double L is in 5th, The Flame Car is in 6th, The Doggie Dragster is in 7th, The Water Truck is in 8th, The Songbird Wagon is in 9th, and The Wave Train is in last. After she shot off the starting pistol, Lacey got a call from Marcel from the network, who told Lacey and Stephanie to move the finish line to Puerto Rico. Then, they flew to the finish line before the racers got there. Meanwhile, the racers raced out of New Mexico and then into Mexico, where the finish line was.

Once they saw the finish line, they hit the gas and tried to get there first. Callie said, “Hit the speed boost button, and we’ll surely win.” Lynn said, “OK.” Lynn pushed a button in their car, and a parachute popped out of their trunk and stopped their vehicle. Callie said, “That was the parachute button.” Lynn said, “I know that.” Lacey and Stephanie saw them on their TV screen, and all the other racers were passing The Butterfly Speedster. Lacey said, “What’s this? The Butterfly Speedster has stopped; the entire field has passed them; what a pity.” The Confetti Convertible is neck and neck with The M Machine, but then Team Confetti hit their turbo boost button and passed The M Machine. While racing, Stephanie looked through her binoculars and saw them approaching the finish line.

Once they got to the finish line, The Confetti Convertible came in 1st. The M Machine came in 2nd, The Wheeled Coffin in 3rd, The Double L in 4th, and The Flame Car in 5th; The Doggie Dragster came in 6th; The Water Truck came in 7th; The Songbird Wagon in 8th, The Wave Train in 9th, and The Butterfly Speedster came in last. Then Serena and Valerie ran up to Stephanie, but she refused to give them their money. Serena said, “Hey, we won. Give us our money.” Lacey said, “Sorry, racers, but we have an announcement.” Stephanie said, “The finish line got moved to Puerto Rico.” Lacey said, “Of course, you’ll have to make a few stops in Mexico City, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica to refill your gas tanks, eat, and find somewhere to sleep. Also, since The Confetti Convertible came in 1st, Team Confetti gets a 60-second head start.”