Poppy Mayberry, A New Day

By Jennie K. Brown

After defeating Power Academy twice, Poppy's ready to kick back and relax! But when Logan finds a mysterious note from his parents, Poppy and her crew spring into action.This time, the search takes Poppy, Logan, Ellie, Sam, and Mark beyond NOVA and into the real world, where everyone is powerless and everything they know it about to be challenged. If Poppy can help Logan find his parents, they'll finally get answers about NOVA, cusp powers, and how it all started. But someone has secretly followed them, and he will go to great lengths to destroy anyone or anything that could expose him. Soon, Poppy will learn she may be more connected to NOVA's origins than anyone could ever imagine, and now, they're running out of time. If only there were more hours in a day.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Independent Publishers Group
• Release date: Nov 20, 2018
• ISBN: 9781948671187

Book preview

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Table of Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Acknowledgements

About the Author

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Chapter One

The first time I knew I wasn’t like all the other 2,500 weekdays in Nova was while sitting on the steps of Power Academy holding my boy—er, friend, that just happened to be a boy—Logan’s hand.

We’d just teleported from a metal bus jungle gym on the other side of town and landed here.

Did that just really happen?

Yes, Logan answered, his hand still wrapped around mine.

My eyes widened. But how did I just …

Teleport? he asked through a chuckle.

My cheeks burned for two reasons. One—I’d just teleported like a Tuesday. Two—what I expected to happen when Logan told me to close my eyes and count to three was a kiss—my first real kiss. Thank goodness Logan wasn’t a mind-reading Thursday who could see that thought in my head. It’d be totally embarrassing if that was the case.

It’s okay, Poppy. Logan smirked and squeezed my trembling hand. He turned his head, and a few strands of hair fell into his eyes. This time, I used my Monday power to push them out of his face, and when I did, a pink color dotted his cheeks.

I bit the side of my lip. Gosh he’s so cute.

I couldn’t be distracted from the enormity of what just happened though.

So what do you think this means? he asked.

I shook my head. It was virtually impossible to know what this meant. One minute I was simply a telekinetic Monday and a telepathic Thursday, and now, all of a sudden, I could teleport like a Tuesday. Did I teleport myself? Or did Logan make me teleport? I was just getting used to having two weekday powers, to being a cusper. Things just went from weird to weirder in a matter of seconds.

But how is that even possible?

Logan looked behind us to Power Academy and the new Nova Power Corporation connected to it.

Oh, I sighed. Mark Masters had revealed to us that we weren’t born with our magical weekday powers, but they were given to us, injected into us, when we were born. With so many unanswered questions swimming around in my head, I suddenly wished I was just a normal Monday with only one weekday power. Then I could have avoided the whole stolen Pickle situation and the even worse Mayor Masters’ cusp experimentation thing we uncovered. What do we do now? I asked.

Logan let go of my hand and pushed his fingers through his hair. "These powers—they are what they are, and I don’t think there’s anything we can do about it, he huffed. I mean, we tried to find out more."

He was right. After we learned the truth about our powers, we’d asked both my dad and Headmistress Larriby about what it all means more times than we could count, so there was no use attempting any more. They knew just as much as we did—nothing. Or at least they said they knew nothing. But there was no harm in asking, right?

There’s another reason I wanted to bring you here. Logan swallowed hard. Alone.

He leaned in closer to me; his face was just inches from mine. My heart beat harder and harder until he reached a hand into his back pocket. As he straightened and passed me a folded-up sheet of paper, I let out the breath I held.

No first kiss today.

Again.

What’s this? I asked.

Just open it, he said quietly as his eyes burned into the piece of paper in my hands. He sniffed and then turned away.

The paper cracked as I uncrinkled it open.

Our Dearest Logan,

If you’re reading this, it means your grandfather and grandmother have left this world. I’m sure you have many unanswered questions about what happened to us, but know we love you more than anything. One day we hope to return to Nova, but until it’s safe, know that you are always on our minds.

With love,

Mom and Dad

Oh. My. Gosh. Logan? But your grandparents are still alive. Way to go, Miss Obvious. I added quickly, Then how did you get that?

He shrugged. Gram and Pop don’t know I found it.

I grabbed the letter again and inspected it closer. You know what this means?

He smiled and brushed a hand across his cheek. My parents are still alive.

Chapter Two

One month later

It was the first day of seventh grade at Nova Middle School. I walked into Mr. Salmon’s class and smiled. It had been too long since I stepped foot in his room. Ninety days to be exact—the entire summer. And was it ever a summer to remember.

Hey, Poppy! one of my best friends (and former enemy) Ellie Preston said, tossing her pink purse on the floor and sitting down next to me. Did you see Mark yet? Her big brown eyes widened.

Not yet. I rolled my eyes. "It is only first period, Ellie."

I had to admit, I was just as excited to see Mark as anybody else. His mom, Mayor Masters, was locked up in Nova Power Prison, and no one had heard from him over the summer. I had called his phone and stopped by his house over the last few weeks a gazillion times, but he never answered. I guess he needed time to process everything alone.

The last time we’d all seen Mark Masters was at Power Academy. We’d found him pale, disoriented, and exhausted from the weird science experiments his mentally unstable mother had performed on him in an attempt to give him weekday powers. So sad.

I know. The saddest, Ellie added, reading the thought right out of my mind.

Oh, Ellie. Some things never changed.

Have any of you seen Mark? a voice asked from behind me.

This time Ellie rolled her eyes. I turned around and almost knocked my face on a giant cowboy hat. Hi, Sam, I said.

Sam took off his hat to reveal curly red hair just like my own. He set it on top of Ellie’s purse. Of course he couldn’t let that huge thing get dirty.

I actually heard Mark might have to take sixth grade all over again because of everything that went down. Ellie pointed a finger to the chair on her right.

Sam followed her cue and sat in it. I chuckled inside. Ellie had him trained as well I as I had Pickle trained. Oh, how I loved my furry little friend.

Two girls bumped my shoulders as they passed me, taking the last two desks behind us. They hovered over our shoulders, staring at us like we were performing animals in a circus act.

So are you reading our minds right now? Hope, a powerless Sunday asked, her face suddenly appearing between Ellie and me.

Ellie’s head snapped toward Hope and her hair hit a girl named Margo across the face. We are just normal people, Ellie said in her head using her mean-girl voice. Having two powers doesn’t make us much different than anyone else, she then said aloud.

You’d think Ellie would love people knowing we were cusp kids since she basked in being the center of attention, but for some reason, she was having a hard time with it. I, surprisingly enough, was getting used to all the stares and questions.

After Mayor Masters let the cusper cat out of the bag (right before she was thrown into prison), me, Ellie, Logan, and Sam became the talk of the town. And Mark too, of course. It was as if Mayor Masters wanted people to make a fuss over our extra powers. Random people would stop my mom and me while shopping at the grocery store to ask me to use both of my powers—telekinesis and telepathy. Of course, we never entertained their silly requests. It was none of their business if I could indeed move things without touching them and read minds. They just had to trust what they’d read in the Nova City Public Opinion. That some of us were cuspers—born on the cusp of two weekdays, giving us two powers.

Not only that, but old friends of my parents began stopping by for visits because, It’s been so long, they’d say. But I knew better than that. They wanted to see if it was true. If there really were people with more than one weekday power in our quaint little town of Nova. If only they knew the rest of the story … how we all really got those powers.

How they got their own weekday powers.

I glanced at the clock in the back of Mr. Salmon’s room and frowned. It was so like Logan to be late and then suddenly show up out of nowher—

I saw that frown before I appeared. And what were you just thinking? Logan asked, a huge smile on his face.

Late as usual, I shot right back at him and then smirked. But I’m happy you’re here now.

To my right, Hope and Margo attempted to coax a Monday trick out of Ellie. A Friday named Lauren jumped in as well. Can’t you just show us? Lauren asked, crouching in the aisle next to Ellie. Mr. Salmon’s not even paying attention.

She was right. Mr. Salmon was busy at his desk creating the seating chart. On the first day of school while we’re literally sitting in his classroom? Way to wait until the last minute, Mr. Fish.

Margo tapped Ellie’s shoulder. I mean, just move this pencil with your mind. That’s all!

I smirked. Okay. I whizzed a pencil eraser through the air so it smacked Margo’s finger. She pulled her hand away from Ellie’s shoulder.

Ouch! You didn’t have to do that! Margo snarked.

Ellie, queen of the cold shoulder, ignored their pleas. I remembered back to two years ago when that cold shoulder would have been directed at me. We had come so far in our friendship.

We have. Ellie smiled.

Okay, okay, everyone. Settle down, Mr. Salmon said, standing with his shoulders rounded forward. At the exact same moment, somebody, presumably a Monday, sent a whoosh of wind in his direction. The furry, gray toupee atop his bald head lifted