CHAPTER 1
Cells
We live inside Abby. We are what protects her from germs. I am Healthia, red blood cell, at your service.
Right now, I’m in the Atrium, one of the four entrances to our school, Heart School. White blood cells have a different school: the brain. White blood cells have a different school because they are different. They’re Abby’s immune system. They fight the germs. We red blood cells keep Abby’s blood healthy, which is a totally different thing. That’s why my name’s Healthia.
The germs are our enemies. They have several schools: Mouth, Nose, Ear, and Cut schools (the cut schools are only temporary). Noticed something? All of the schools are entrances to Abby’s body. That’s how the germs get in.
I’m going to Defense class, which is probably the most dangerous. We get to spy on the germs and figure out what they’re planning.
This time, we’re visiting Mouth School. Abby’s biggest opening in her body is her mouth. All the germs gather there. We hide behind one of Abby’s teeth, and watch little germs gather on her tongue. We learn that the germs are planning to attack the brain. We return to the Heart, and call our own convention. I tell the principal, a red blood cell like me, and the white blood teacher ambassador, who’s visiting the principal, that the germs are planning to attack the white blood cell school. They are shocked. I actually tell the convention the news for them because they are too shocked. I guess they’re stunned because the germs have never decided to attack something as large and important as the brain.
We had a few hours to prepare ourselves and defend the school before the germs attacked. We put up lots of towers and set up lots of guard cells so that we could easily spot the germs when they came. But they never did.
CHAPTER 2
Germs
Our teacher, Mr. Germy, said that we should delay attacking the brain because we had a feeling that red blood cells were spying on us and then we could trick them into thinking we weren’t attacking after all, and when they took their defenses down we could attack then. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Germia.
So, anyway, we had a long wait. After days of planning, the big day finally arrived. Mr. Germy said that we should just go with the flow and ride along in the blood. That way, we could poison the blood, too. I think he was stupid. There’s probably blood cells, in Abby’s blood too, and they’re all fighting to keep us away. I don’t really care if we win or lose. Abby is a boring person to invade anyway. The cells make it really hard to invade her, so with every attempt to, we fail, and they mercilessly slaughter more and more of us. Also, Abby got a cold last week (courtesy of my friend Germonia),and she’s still sick, which makes it easier for us, but I like a challenge.
Surprisingly, all of the red blood cells were defending the brain so that none were in the blood to go tell the other cells defending the brain. It was an easy ride. When we got to the brain, we all had to hide against this one green part, because we’re green, and it was SO slimy! We germs are not used to this sort of thing because we are all outsiders, unlike the cells. Abby was born with all of those cells.
Chapter 3
Cells
The germs never came. I was very surprised, and began to feel ashamed because I was the one that told everybody that they were going to attack the brain, and they’re not attacking it. I go on patrol duty, and I walk around and around and around the brain. It would make the most sense for them to hide in the little green spot which is hearing, but the germs are also green so it makes it hard to see. Finally, I hear a little voice coming from the green section. A germ emerges from it. The germ wants to go away out of Abby. I ask her for her name, but I know we can’t be friends because I’m the defender and she’s the attacker. Still, I get it. Her name is Germia. Germia’s teacher, Mr. Germy, comes out and says, “Germia, what are you doing?”
I yell for other cells. Soon, the germs are surrounded. I don’t want to hurt the germs even though it’s our custom to eat them. I think that we should move them out of the body and then start marching towards Abby’s ear. The surrounded germs and other cells follow. Abby’s ear is sticky with wax. I have to pull myself out of it sometimes. The other cells are being very annoying. They are singing as we march the germs out. And when the germs are out, they are singing as we march back to the brain. After we are safely there, I leave them telling the principal of Heart School and Brain School how I singlehandedly led the germs away. I go back into Abby’s ear canal to make sure none are left behind. All clear. I come back and on the way I notice something green. I hear a little cry for help that I didn’t hear before over the singing. The green thing is a germ and the germ is crying for help. The germ that’s crying for help is Germia. She was left behind, when she was the one who wanted to go out most. I pull her out of the wax and hide her, and put her in Abby’s right big toe. I think she’ll be safe there. Days pass, but for us it seems like weeks. I bring Germia food every day, but I don’t know what she likes. It turns out that we share a favorite: Kellogg’s Fruity Snacks, Mixed Berry. I get them from Abby’s stomach. It’s gross, but it’s what we eat.
CHAPTER 4
Germs
I was stuck in the ear canal when we were marching out. Then, Healthia found me and hid me in Abby’s big toe. She’s not bad, really, for a cell, but I just wish that I could have gotten out like my teacher and friends.
Healthia brings me food every day. One day, she takes me out and into Heart School. She enrolls me at school, and I paint myself red and changed my name to Cella. I even join Healthia’s dormitory group.
But Healthia acted like she didn’t know me. I didn’t know why. So I went back to the big toe and wiped off all the blood substance (aka paint) and was my normal self again.
When my stomach growled, Healthia wasn’t there with food. I felt I was all alone. So I slowly climbed back up the leg, and into Abby’s stomach, and up into the esophagus and into her mouth. Her lips are closed.
CHAPTER 5
Cells
I feel so betrayed. I go with my friends to our amusement park, which only has one ride. We joined the blood flow and I tried to wash my thoughts about Germia away. We traveled all over Abby’s body, but I was still thinking about Germia.
I stopped making my travels to the big toe, because Germia left. I was heartbroken, well whatever happens to cells, because we don’t have hearts. I thought she was my friend.
Maybe I was wrong.
Maybe she isn’t my friend.
Maybe I shouldn’t’ve trusted her.
Maybe I should’ve listened to the teachers and shouldn’t have even tried to be friends with her.
Still, I can’t help being sad.
We go back to the dormitory because we had class. My next period is a history of humans. It’s my last class of the day, and the only class that’s actually taught in our school. I just passed notes with my friends. It’s finally over and I decide to go look for Germia. I can’t find her, so I go to sleep.
Somebody’s shaking me. I pinch myself and it hurts. I wake up to find that it was all a dream.
CHAPTER 6
Germs
I smell something funny. I realize it’s a cavity on Abby’s tooth. And the cavity is my friend Germania. I wonder why she’s not gone.
She says, “Why did you sleep so late, silly?”
I realize that it must have been a dream.
CHAPTER 7
Cells
I am relieved to know that it was just a dream. I wake up for my first class of the day: Defense class. We go to the Mouth School of the germs and spy on them. After hearing some information, we go back to our school. The white blood cell teacher-ambassador is visiting our principal. I tell them the news, but they’re so shocked that they can’t tell it to our assembly. The news is: the germs will attack the brain. (Yet again!)