Jo adds her opinion. “Moley, did you know XI Keb’s birth name is Fiona? This is Scottish in origin and means, ‘fair, white,’ like Nom Noms’ dress. Also, Gigi called you a twin of Purlie, right? What is Purlie to her sister, Kinley?”
Gasping in triumph, Moley cheers, “A twin!”
Jo clarifies, “Technically, she’s a clone of Kinley. They just consider each other siblings.”
“And my point IS peh-roven, dear!” Moley says with her finger in Nom Noms’ face.
Nom Noms bites her, but only lightly.
“Owy!” Mole says in half sincerity.
“My name is Nom Noms, so there.”
“Your name is Silly,” declares Faye. This highly pleases the pretty giant, thus winning a grateful curtsy for the observant Worley girlie.
“Okay, you guys can call me Pearlie or Pearl or Sasafrases, okay?” Noms say, calming down from her giddy teasing. “Mole, are we playing with them or supposed to do some lesson about history?”
“People grew old and died, the end.” This is Moley’s history lesson. “Oh! I heard you guys were at the CFA last year. So, you know Pamela Cortez in the CFA.”
There’s a group, “No.”
Moley continues all the same, “Well, we have in our world a Pamela Gortez. She’s nice and all, but don’t test her temper. She’s almost as bad as Nomo.”
Highly offended, Pearlie says, “I do not have a temper like Pam has. That girl is a warrior to the bone. I, however, am a lovely butterfly, kind and sweet to all.” The kids are VERY glad they’re hovering as Nom flits around the horizon like a ballerina. May there be mercy for anyone living on the surface nearby.
The girls goof off with the class for about an hour before Duplica finally corrals her teens toward the goal of preparing for their next adventure. The giant girls are sad to see everyone go, but they inform them that they’ll be able to catch up next year if the kids visit the Juniper District.
“Are the giants from the past, meaning they’re dead now?” asks Owan.
“Actually, no,” says Cat, realizing she forgot to clarify all this so far. “Of the people we’ve met, only Lexy was a deader, and even she was the present-day version who just met us in the past. Elena’s group is obviously alive and contemporary with us. XI Meg is as well, while XV and CCCXLI Meg are both deaders whom we’ll meet in SBCCCXLI. Even Tonya Sutle and MKEB’s gang are currently alive, as I pointed out earlier. We just had the misfortune of getting a fake in her stead. In fact, here’s the plan: we’re going to do a quick cruise of some side storyboards and then make our actual stop where some other contemporaries are waiting to visit the past with us in SBXCV. After that, we’ll meet Elena’s team and the Megs, and finally, we will meet one more deader who is a very special ancestor for us. You guys are so brave and make me so proud, I thought you could use the fun time with Noms and Moley to relax after the stress of last storyboard. Now, are we ready? Then, let the grand tour begin!
It’s amazing how many activities you can fit into one day, thanks to time-travel. There is racecar driving in SBXXIV, Capture the Flag in SBXXIX, an entire universe of candy in SBXLI, and even a universe with nothing but singing dolphins that go to church. This is a favorite for everyone. The kids love the horse universe of SBXCI but are glad they don’t have to go to the all-school storyboard of SBXCII. As the group stops in SBLIV for live Christian music, good and wholesome of course, from all the greatest hymn writers of all time, Duplica informs them that she’s saving one of the best storyboards for the end of the trip, SBXXV. I wonder what that one could be.
Well, after a good marathon of godly music, the class is fully energized and eagerly heads off for their next class, already said to be held in SBXCV. On the way there, Edge is answering Gigi’s dangerous hypothetical scenario with the most impressive ingenuity, meaning it is his turn to ask Faye a question.
Inner Man Theatre 