night of our vacation in a tiny room. And I had
to share a bed with Rodrick, who was sticky from
popsicle juice.
200
Saturday
When we woke up in the morning, I figured we
were in for a long day. Our flight wasn’t until
8:00 p.m., and there was nothing to do at
the airport. But at breakfast, Mom and Dad
surprised us.
They said we were gonna go BACK to the resort
for the day.
Mom and Dad had talked it over the night before,
and neither one of them liked the way things had
ended. They decided they wanted to have a “do
over” and leave on a high note.
Mom said the most important thing was that we
get that family picture. She said she knew the
PERFECT spot on the beach, and as soon as we got
to the resort we were gonna head straight there.
201
I thought the whole thing was a crazy idea,
because I didn’t see how we were even gonna get
past the front desk. But Dad said he had a plan,
and he’d tell us what it was when we got there.
We took the free shuttle back to the resort,
and we watched that video again. I realized the
reason everything looked so FUN was because they
never showed any actual FAMILIES.
When we got off the bus, Dad told us his master
plan to sneak onto the property. And I gotta
say, it wasn’t really that impressive.
But it actually WORKED. Once we got past
the lobby, we went to the pool area. There wasn’t
anyone swimming, because they were still filling it.
We quickly found out where everyone ELSE was—
down at the beach. But it was so crowded, no one
looked like they were having any FUN.
203
Mom wanted to get the family picture, but she
didn’t want other people in the shot. So we went
to the sand dunes, where nobody else would be in
the background.
But that’s where we ran into Rodrick’s girlfriend.
I felt kind of BAD for Rodrick, ESPECIALLY
after Mom asked the girl to take our picture with
her camera.
204
I’m not sure we’re gonna be able to use the photo
as our Christmas card anyway, since Mom usually
likes everyone to be SMILING in those.
After the family picture was out of the way,
we went back down to the beach. Rodrick was
sulking, but the rest of us had FUN.
205
We worked up an appetite, and we were ready
to eat. The problem was, the security guard had
taken our room keys when he kicked us out of the
resort. So we couldn’t actually PAY for anything.
A family in one of the cabanas had some leftover
pizza and fries. So we used what we learned from
the birds and helped ourselves to some food.
After that, Dad said we needed to start heading
back. Mom wanted to get a few more pictures at
the sand dunes before we left, so we went there.
206
But I think we pushed our luck, because we ran
into some OTHER people we knew.
The second that family saw us, they ran off, and
I knew they were gonna report us to security. So
we left the scene as fast as we could.
I don’t know where the REST of my family
went, but I headed toward the BEACH. I
figured there were so many people there, I could
just blend in. But when I saw a security guard
running toward me, I PANICKED.
207
I ran into the water and swam to the area where
the windsurfers were. I had no idea how to USE
one of those things, but I thought it was my
only shot at escaping.
I got on the board, then pulled the sail up
out of the water. And as soon as the sail was
upright, I started MOVING.
I found out the way to steer the thing was by
pulling on the big handle that ran across the sail.
I figured as long as I was headed AWAY from
the beach, I was doing OK.
208
Then a big gust of wind caught the sail, and I
didn’t have enough strength to steer it the way
I wanted it to go. I was moving FAST and
picking up speed.
Up ahead, there were some buoys that marked a
roped-off area of the water. I pulled back on
the handle with all my might, but I couldn’t avoid
the ropes.
I guess there must’ve been a fin on the bottom of
the windsurfer, because something got caught on
a rope. And when it did, the whole thing tilted
over and splashed into the water.
I tried to stand the sail back up, but it
was hard to do it in the choppy water. Then
something brushed by my LEG, and I FROZE.
Two seconds later a FIN appeared, and then
another, and another. I was completely
surrounded, and I thought I was about to
become lunch for a school of sharks.
210
That’s when I realized I was in the DOLPHIN
enclosure. I was so happy that I forgot all
about how I got there.
But when a security boat pulled up alongside me, it
brought me back to reality.
I gave up on windsurfing and swam for shore.
But the beach was a lot less CROWDED than I
remembered it being a few minutes before.
211
I found out WHY when I got there. I’d
accidentally crossed over to the WILD SIDE.
And those guys didn’t look too happy to see a kid
with a camera on their private beach.
Now security guards were coming at me from every
direction, and I hightailed it out of there. It
wasn’t just the security guards who were after
me, though. It was the SUNBATHERS, too.
212
I sprinted across the sand into the pool area,
which looked a lot like the one on OUR side, only
the pool had WATER in it.
I had a pack of people right behind me. So I
jumped over a stone wall and took cover in a
cluster of bushes.
When I pushed through to the other side, I
thought I was in the clear. But then I came
smack up against the WALL.
213
There was a HOLE in this part of the wall,
and you’d never believe who was on the other side
of it.
I got my family’s attention and told them I
needed help.
214
Then I put my fingers in the hole to try to pull
the board loose. Dad pushed from the other side,
and the wall actually opened a crack. But it wasn’t
big enough for me to squeeze through.
I could hear the security guards on their walkie-
talkies right on the other side of the bushes,
and I knew it was just a matter of SECONDS
before they found me.
So I tried climbing UP the wall, but I couldn’t
get a foothold. Then I saw Rodrick’s HEAD pop
over the top. He reached out his hand, and I
jumped to grab it. He started to haul
me up, and
I thought I might actually make it.
But then a seven-legged SPIDER crawled out of
Rodrick’s bathrobe and down my arm, and I lost
my grip.
When I hit the ground, I thought I was done
for. But then the section of the wall I was
trying to get over came crashing DOWN. I
was lucky I didn’t get crushed by the stampede
pouring in from the Mild Side.
216
We took advantage of all the confusion and made
our way to the exit. There was a security station
at the side of the resort, and the only reason we
were able to slip past the guards was because of all
the craziness going on over at the Wild Side pool.
Once we were off the property, we flagged down a
cab and asked the driver to take us to the airport.
We hit some turbulence on the flight back, but
after everything ELSE we’d been through, a
little rough air didn’t even faze me.
217
Sunday
It’s been a few days since we made it back home,
and Mom’s already working on the photo album. And
from the pictures, you’d think we had a great time.
But any chance of us ever going BACK to the
resort is completely gone. I went on the website
to show Rowley where I spent my Christmas
vacation, and there was a big picture of my family
on the home page.
I couldn’t read the words that went with it, but
I’m pretty sure I got the general idea.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to everyone at Abrams, especially Charlie Kochman, who cares as much about book twelve as book one. Big thanks to Michael Jacobs, Andrew Smith, Chad W. Beckerman, Susan Van Metre, Liz Fithian, Carmen Alvarez, Melanie Chang, Amy Vreeland, Samantha Hoback, Alison Gervais, Elisa Garcia, and Josh Berlowitz.
Thanks to Jason Wells and Veronica Wasserman for your friendship. Thanks to Kim Ku for breaking new ground in Wimpy Kid design.
Thanks to the whole Wimpy Kid team: Shaelyn Germain, Anna Cesary, and Vanessa Jedrej. Thanks to Deb Sundin and the staff at An Unlikely Story.
Thanks to Rich Carr and Andrea Lucey for your support and friendship. Thanks to Paul Sennott for all your help.
Thanks to Jess Brallier for your mentorship and for getting me started as an author.
Thanks to everyone in Hollywood, including Sylvie Rabineau, Keith Fleer, Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Elizabeth Gabler, David Bowers, and Greg Mooradian.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeff Kinney is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and a six-time Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award winner for Favorite Book. Jeff has been named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. He is also the creator of Poptropica, which was named one of Time magazine’s 50 Best Websites. He spent his childhood in the Washington, D.C., area and moved to New England in 1995. Jeff lives with his wife and two sons in Massachusetts, where they own a bookstore, An Unlikely Story.