by David Estes
Chapter Seven: Flying makes you hungry
Upon reaching her house, Nikki was panting, her breathing quick and heavy. Tiny beads of sweat rolled down her cheeks. She had become very tired when they were about halfway home and Mr. Miyagi had practically pulled her the rest of the way. Her watch read five minutes to six, she made it! Trying to get her breathing back to normal, she took in big, slow gulps of air.
She opened the door and walked inside, trying to look as casual as possible. Her dad was sitting in the TV room, having already arrived home from work. Mr. Nickerson worked for a small branch of the national government that was located in Cragglyville, but Nikki didn’t know exactly what he did each day. Every time she asked him, her dad would just say, “I mostly just push a bunch of papers around, Nikks. You know, grown up stuff.” That was the most she could ever seem to get out of him.
“Hey, Nikks! How was your day, honey?” he asked when she walked in. He turned to look at her and gasped when he saw her face. “Oh my gosh, Nikki, what happened to you?”
Hearing her husband’s question, Mrs. Nickerson rushed from the kitchen into the room and said, “Geez, Nikks, did you spend the entire day in the sun?”
Confused by the question and how they had guessed that she was outside all day, Nikki said, “Yes, but how did you know?”
“You’re as bright red as a lobster, honey,” her mom replied. “You know better than to spend that much time in the sun and not wear sunscreen,” she lectured. “What were you doing all day anyway?”
“Ummm, I was just enjoying the day with Mr. Miyagi, but I might have fallen asleep in the grass for a few hours, that’s probably why I got burned,” Nikki said.
“Well, you really need to be more careful. Tonight you should put some aloe on your face so your skin doesn’t peel.”
“Okay, Mom, I will,” Nikki agreed, trying to avoid any additional questions. “I’m going to use the bathroom before dinner, be right back.” She ran up the stairs to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. She looked in the mirror.
Nikki was shocked to see the burnt face looking back at her. She was usually quite pale, with a freckly face, brown eyes, and brown hair. Her white skin and freckles made her prone to sunburn. How could she have been so careless? The power of the sun was probably even stronger because she had been flying high above the trees, with nothing to offer any shade. The next time she flew she would need to use sunscreen and maybe wear a hat too.
She reached in her pocket and extracted the miniature chest. She turned it upside down and around, inspecting it on all sides. She wondered how it could possibly become big again, but decided to deal with it later and shoved it into her pocket. Before returning downstairs, Nikki deposited her backpack, which still held the “flying” gloves, into her room. She hid it under the bed for safekeeping.
At dinner that night, Nikki found that she was starving after her day filled with running, flying, and talking to the strange animal. It had been a mix of something out of Dr. Doolittle and a comic book, and she had loved every minute of it! Her mind wandered to daydreams about using her new powers to help people, like a superhero. She thought about fighting crime like Batman, defending the earth from aliens like Superman did, or even doing simple things like stopping bullies from beating up kids at school.
Nikki was interrupted from her trance when she heard, “Nikki! Chew your food!”
She looked up and realized that while she was thinking about the gloves, she had been shoveling the food into her mouth and her plate was now nearly empty, while her parents still had more than half a plateful each.
“Oops, sorry, Dad. I guess being out in the sun gives me a big appetite.”
“That’s okay, Nikks. Just go a little slower so you don’t choke.”
She continued eating, this time at a slower pace, and resumed her daydreaming, while her parents jabbered on about some plan by the local council to build a new road around town to lower the traffic levels. When she finished eating, Nikki pushed back her chair and said she was going to head to bed early.
“What about dessert, Nikki?” her mom asked. “I made a big chocolate cake today.”
Anxious to get to her room, Nikki said, “I’m not feeling that great, I think I’ll pass, Mom. But thanks,” she added.
“Nikki, I have never heard you turn down chocolate before, you must be really sick. It’s probably sun poisoning, maybe we should take you to see the doctor tomorrow.”
“No, I’m fine, really. I just need to get some sleep. If you put some cake on a plate, I’ll take it up with me.” Apparently satisfied by Nikki’s response, her mom cut a generous slice of cake and Nikki carried it upstairs to her room. Mr. Miyagi followed her, as he always did, but uncharacteristically, Nikki closed her bedroom door before he could get in. She heard him scratching and whining at the door, but she ignored him.
She had work to do and she didn’t want anything getting in the way.