Layla, Themba and George were the best of friends.
They’ve been playing together since they could crawl!
They played tag and hide-and-seek.
They played in the park.
They even shared their lunch!
But their all-time favourite game was playing
superheroes, or, as they liked to call it...
Layla was...Cat Fantastic!
She could climb giant walls and
had perfect night-vision to watch
over her friends and family.
Themba was...The BrickSlayer!
He had the strength of a brick
house and the heart of a lion.
George was...The Amazing Mr. Trix!
He had the power of invisibility
and could make snacks appear
from out of nowhere!
One day they were told that their school was closing.
Through the school corridors and in their homes,
they heard whispers about a giant monster called
Coronavirus, secret identity COVID-19,
attacking the entire world!
They were told to stay at home so that
the Coronavirus couldn’t get them.
Teacher told them the virus was spread from
one person to another in invisible droplets.
The Coronavirus entered the body when people
stood too close together or if they touched
surfaces where the droplets had landed
after someone had coughed or sneezed.
Layla hid away in her house with her mom, dad, granny and cat, Missy.
Themba stayed inside with his mom, dad and baby brother, Vuyo.
George stayed hidden with his mom, dad, sister and dog, Jet.
A few days went by and staying at home
wasn’t so bad for the Super Three.
They chatted to each other online and they sent
each other messages on their parent’s phones.
But the hours turned into days and the days turned into weeks and they started growing more and more sad.
Soon the sadness turned into frustration and anger.
Why did they need to be locked up inside?
Why couldn’t they visit their friends?
Why couldn’t they play in parks?
Why was this invisible monster ruining their lives?
Every day felt longer than the day before.
What made matters worse was that Layla had a birthday coming up and the three friends had been planning her super fantastic birthday party for weeks!
Now, because of the invisible monster, their special plans were totally ruined.
On the day of Layla’s birthday,
George and Themba watched Layla blow out candles on a video call.
They were all very sad that they couldn’t be together. It was on this day that the three friends realised they needed to make a plan.
What was the point of being the Super Three if they couldn’t come up with a master plan to save the world?
So they talked about what they could do instead of what they could not do. Rather than being angry and sad all the time, they asked themselves, “What would our superheroes do?”
They thought long and hard about it and came to the conclusion that being super actually means caring about others. The most caring thing they could do was to try and make sure the invisible monster’s droplets didn’t spread!
Suddenly, all at once, the Super 3 had an amazing realisation...
Layla’s Cat Fantastic superpower was keeping her hands clean, just like her cat Missy who always kept her fur clean.
Themba’s Brickslayer superpower was not having the strength of a lion, but that he had the strength to play without his friends -just for the time being.
George realised that The Amazing Mr. Trix’s superpower was not being invisible, but that he didn’t need to hide. He boldly wore a mask to stop the Coronavirus droplets from spreading.
From that moment onwards, the Super Three removed their capes because real superheroes wear masks instead!
Super 3 and the Scary Invisible Monster. Book 1.
