The air smelled like popcorn! Noah wrinkled his nose, confused. Popcorn usually meant movie night, but it was the middle of the day.
"What's that smell, Mom?" Noah asked, looking around for a giant bucket of buttery goodness.
Mom, who was drawing a picture of a spaceship with colorful crayons, chuckled. "It's not popcorn, silly goose. It's your homework!"
Noah's shoulders slumped. Homework wasn't nearly as exciting as popcorn. His homework was to draw a picture of something amazing he learned in school that day. But all he could think about were the fluffy clouds outside his window. They looked like giant cotton candy!
Suddenly, the ground started to rumble. A deep, grumbling sound filled the air, like a giant's tummy rumbling. The house shook, and a picture fell off the wall!
Then, right before Noah's eyes, a giant volcano erupted from his backyard, spewing red hot lava into the air!
Noah gasped. The lava was beautiful, glowing like a nightlight, but much, much bigger! And that popcorn smell? It was coming from the volcano!
"Whoa!" Noah cried. "That's way better than clouds!"
Just then, a sleek, black cat with emerald green eyes sauntered out of the smoke and ashes. It looked at Noah with an air of importance, like it owned the volcano.
"This," the cat announced in a surprisingly deep voice, "is your homework. An erupting volcano, delivered right to your backyard."
Noah was speechless. He looked from the cat to the volcano and back again. He had so many questions! Why was there a volcano in his backyard? Why was the cat talking? And how was he supposed to draw all of this?!
The cat, as if reading his mind, chuckled. "Don't worry," it purred, rubbing against Noah's leg. "I'm here to help."
And help it did. The cat, whose name Noah learned was Midnight, explained that it wasn't just any cat; it was a Super Science Cat from another planet! On its planet, volcanoes were used for school projects.
Midnight then led Noah on an incredible adventure up the side of the volcano. It wasn't easy, but Noah, using his super speed (a secret he hadn't told anyone, not even Mom!), zoomed up the side like a cheetah.
He saw rivers of glowing lava, felt the heat on his cheeks, and even smelled the strange, popcorn-like scent of the volcano. It was scary and exciting all at once!
Finally, after an amazing journey, Noah and Midnight reached the top. From there, he could see his whole city, bathed in the orange glow of the erupting volcano.
Inspired, Noah raced back down and quickly sketched everything he saw, his crayon working furiously. He drew the red-hot lava, the billowing smoke, and, of course, Midnight, the Super Science Cat.
By the time his mom called him for dinner, Noah had finished his drawing. It was the best picture he'd ever drawn! He couldn't wait to show his teacher and tell everyone about his adventure with Midnight and the erupting volcano in his backyard.
"Homework is the best," Noah declared, beaming at his mom, who looked at the drawing, her eyes wide with surprise.
And for the first time ever, Noah really meant it.
