by Ade Adepitan
I ignored the slight twinge in my leg and braced myself. I was going to beat Spencer and show everyone, including that doctor with her negative thinking, that I was fit and ready for anything.
I was going to need all my super Cyborg Cat strength and speed if the Parsons Road Gang were going to win this race.
“Go!” shrieked Dexter as he tagged me.
I shot off like I’d been sprung from a catapult and flew over the vaulting horse as if it wasn’t there.
The rest of the gang cheered, spurring me on, and I made light work of jumping over the three benches and furiously hopping along the fourth.
As I launched into a forward roll I could see Spencer out of the corner of my eye, skipping between the hoops and heading for the basketball.
The extra weight of my caliper meant I came out of the roll with quite a thump, but I didn’t let that slow me down and charged straight on, saying to myself, “Let him miss, please let him miss,” as I headed towards the net.
Clunk. Twoing.
Incredibly my prayers were answered! Spencer’s shot hit the side of the basketball hoop, making it vibrate rapidly and sending the ball off towards the corner of the gym.
He charged after it and tried again.
And again.
And again.
With each miss, Spencer’s face got redder and redder as he kept trying to get the ball in the basket, whilst at the same time panicking because I was getting closer and closer.
I was moving at a serious pace through the net when disaster struck. My caliper got snagged in the netting!
As I frantically tugged at the net I saw Spencer’s next shot sail through the air towards the basket. It looked good, but instead of going through the hoop, it bobbled around the rim and dropped outside it. I was still in with a chance!
I freed myself and made it through the rest of the net in double-quick time, then leapt majestically from hoop to hoop before running full pelt to my basketball.
Spencer still hadn’t scored a basket as I picked up the ball and held it in my hands just like Salim had taught me. I knew I had to relax and not rush my shot, but with my heart pounding and Spencer right next to me, now on his fifth attempt, that wasn’t going to be easy.
We both shot each other a glance, then I took a deep breath and released the ball. It flew through the air in a perfect arc – swish – straight into the basket.
“Yes, come on!” I shouted as my teammates cheered. Unfortunately, their cheers were instantly drowned out by Spencer’s team’s cheers. He’d landed his basket as well. It wasn’t time to celebrate yet. Now we were both off, running backwards side by side in a desperate attempt to get to the finish line first.
“I’ve won!” shouted Spencer.
“No, you didn’t,” shouted Shed. “Ade got here first.”
“Shut up,” yelled Spencer. “I beat him easily.”
“Okay, okay, settle down,” said Mr Munroe, stepping in before things could get out of hand. “From where I was standing it looked like a draw. Well done everyone, and especially you, Ade, you made up a lot of ground there.”
“Thank you, Mr Munroe,” I said as Spencer snarled in the corner.
“You see, sir,” said Melody. “I told you Ade could do anything. He’s fit, isn’t he, sir? Super fit, sir.”
“Yes, Melody,” said Mr Munroe. “You have told me, about ten times, in fact.”
We’d planned it so that Melody would stand next to Mr Munroe during my leg of the race and make sure he knew just how strong I was, and it sounded as if she’d done her job very well.
“Yes,” chimed in Brian. “Compared to this, a trip to the safari park would be easy for Ade, wouldn’t you say, sir?”
“He could probably run faster than the coach,” added Shed.
“And if one of the cheetahs escaped, he could catch it, he’s so quick,” said Dexter.
“All right, all right, you lot, I get the picture,” said Mr Munroe. “Ade, that really was impressive.”
“Thank you, sir, and honestly, I really am totally fine to go on the safari trip, I promise. Please could you talk to Mrs Bolton about it, sir? Please?” I asked, with my best pleading expression.
Mr Munroe looked at me closely. Even though the obstacle course had exhausted me and I was beginning to ache all over, I was determined not to let it show. I beamed a big smile back at him.
“There’s a staff meeting this lunchtime,” he said. “Let me see what I can do.”
“Woo-hoo!” shouted my Parsons Road teammates. “Ade’s coming on the trip! Ade’s coming on the trip!”
“Hold on, cool your jets!” cautioned Mr Munroe. “As of right now, Ade is still not going on the trip. But I’ll speak to Mrs Bolton about it this lunchtime. You really were impressive today, Ade – that basketball shot was perfect. Now, I hope you’ve all got some energy left because this equipment won’t put itself away.”
8
Mint Polio
“THEY have to let you come on the trip now,” said Shed, as we walked out of the gym.
“Yeah,” said Brian. “I was checking it on my stopwatch. Spencer had an eleven-second head-start on you and you still won.”
“You know,” piped up Dexter. “My falling over probably helped. In fact, it definitely did, that’s why I did it on purpose.”
“Shut up, Dexter!” said the others together.
“No, really, it was all part of my plan because I know when things get tough that’s when you become the Cyborg Cat … hey, you all right, Ade?”
I’d stopped and was leaning against the wall, breathing heavily.
“I … yes … I’m fine, I just need to go to the toilet,” I said. “I’ll see you in a minute.”
A minute turned into two, then three, then five. I just sat in a cubicle feeling awful. It felt as if I was carrying a two-ton weight on my back. My muscles ached and my legs were like jelly.
On top of that I felt sick and my head was spinning. Spencer, in his secret identity as the Night Spider, must have done something to me during the race. If his graffiti had the power to pull me inside it, perhaps he was able to make me feel this way any time.
I needed to fight back.
I sat up straight and took some deep breaths, willing myself to feel better.
As I breathed I could feel the strength beginning to return to my body. My leg still hurt and the aching hadn’t gone away, but it was definitely getting better. Maybe there is something in Dexter’s meditation, I thought.
I waited another couple of minutes and then ventured out of the cubicle. Thankfully no one else was there, so I splashed some water on my face and looked in the mirror.
Come on, Cyborg Cat, find your power.
That little pep talk inside my head did the trick, and after another couple of deep breaths I went back outside.
“That’s the last time I have two portions of beans for breakfast,” I joked, as I met up with my friends again. “I’m not sure that toilet is going to be safe to use for at least a week.”
My friends laughed and I felt pleased that my show of bravado seemed to have fooled them, but inside I was worried. Something definitely wasn’t right.
The rest of the day was a bit of a washout, to be honest. None of us could concentrate, we were on tenterhooks, desperate to hear some news about Mr Munroe’s meeting with Mrs Bolton. We got told off loads of times, and were lucky to escape without more detentions being handed out.
During lunch break, Shed suggested beat the goalie to take our minds off the trip, but I said I couldn’t risk playing because a screw on my caliper had come loose. Really it was because I still wasn’t feeling great. I didn’t want the pain in my legs getting bad again, so I sat at the side of the pitch and commentated instead. It was quite a laugh, actually, though Melody did get a bit annoyed. She said one of her goals would have won goal of the season and a proper commentator would have got really excited about it and been shouting and screaming about how brilliant it was, but I’d just said
, ‘That’s a nice goal from the young girl up front, could it be the match winner?’ I suppose she was right, but the truth was, I still didn’t really have the energy to get that excited.
As the end of the day approached we were all feeling pretty gloomy. The staff meeting had been at lunchtime, so it seemed as if all my efforts in PE had been in vain. But then, just before home time, our classroom door opened and Molly Cooper from the year above came in with a note.
Mr Hurst read it, said thank you to Molly and called me over.
“It seems you are to go and see Mrs Bolton again, Ade.”
“Great!” I said, grinning.
Mr Hurst shot me an odd look. I guess it was unusual to be happy about being called to see the head, but, if I was right, it was going to be good news.
“What happened? What happened? Are you coming?” shouted my friends, running up to me as I headed out of the school gates. They were so excited they were jumping about as if the floor was red hot.
In contrast, I was plodding along slowly with a miserable look on my face.
I sighed. “So apparently they were going to let me go on the trip …”
“Yes, yes, yes …” my friends gasped breathlessly.
“… but they can’t.”
That took the wind out of my friend’s sails. They all stopped jumping about and stood still.
“You see,” I went on. “They’ve found out that the lions in the safari park have developed a taste for young African boys with polio.”
I paused then looked at my friends seriously, before finishing off in a dramatic whisper, “Apparently, they like the minty aftertaste!”
I screwed up my eyes and licked my lips.
“So if I went on the trip it might drive the lions mad, they’d all be desperate to eat me.”
“Oh,” said Shed.
“Right,” said Dexter.
“But –” Brian started to say before I cut him off.
“I know, Brian, it seems unlikely, but scientists have discovered that a lion’s digestive system is really good at breaking down the iron in metal calipers. That’s why they find kids with polio a particularly tasty treat. And it makes their breath smell really fresh as well.”
“Of course,” said Brian. “Iron is a very important part of an animal’s diet. Makes sense.”
“Wow, that’s amazing,” said Dexter. “I bet your parents knew that. Getting you away from the lions in Africa must have been the reason they came to this country.”
“Probably,” I said.
“There must be something we can do,” said Shed. “What about if we cover your caliper in pepper, that’d put the lions off, wouldn’t it?”
“I know what we can do,” said Melody. “How about if you lot stop being such silly sausages?”
“What?” said the other three.
“He’s having you on,” she said. “I can’t believe you all fell for it.”
“Neither can I,” I said, grinning. “But it was great while it lasted! The look on your faces when I told you. Iron is important in an animal’s diet? Brian, I had you completely and utterly.”
“No, well, you see, iron is important,” protested Brian.
“Yeah, and lions hate pepper,” said Shed.
“Do they?” said Dexter.
“Look you lot, forget about the lions for now,” interjected Melody. “Ade, what’s really going on?”
They all stopped and looked at me expectantly. My face dropped and I made myself look as miserable as possible again.
“Well, I had to joke about it to make myself feel better,” I said. “You see they told me …”
I paused for dramatic effect.
“… I can go on the trip!”
9
Let’s Roll
THAT did it. Before I knew what was happening I found myself at the bottom of a massive bundle, with my friends cheering and shouting on top. It had all been worth it after all.
When we finally disentangled ourselves, we were all in high spirits. Sky-high spirits, to be honest. We’d been messing about all the way home, joking, giggling, giving each other piggybacks and shrieking like hyenas. About five minutes from Parsons Road, Melody challenged us to a race.
“Last one to Ade’s house is a massive bogey!” shouted Melody.
We all shot off like bullets, but after what seemed like no time at all, my friends started to get further and further away from me until eventually I couldn’t see anyone at all.
Usually I could just about keep up with them, but this time it was impossible. Just as I found myself running past the Night Spider’s graffiti, the one with me outside the safari park with the word ‘Loser’, my head started pounding, my body started aching and shooting pains started travelling up and down my legs. I knew I was in serious trouble.
What was the Night Spider doing to me …
“You’ll never take down Cyborg Cat!”
“You don’t stand a chance against the might of the Night Spider.”
Swirls of trailing mist like paint sprayed around us, and the shadowy figure seemed to have legs everywhere around me. I was weak but I knew I needed to fight.
“Yeah? Well, see what you make of this!”
Using all my cat-like agility, and the power of my cyborg caliper, I sprang up and soared through the air, landing on top of the Night Spider and digging my claws into its shoulders.
“Aaaarrgggggh!” The great monstrous being squealed in agony.
Suddenly one of its many legs lashed through the air and knocked me to the ground. I lay there groggily for a moment, but before I knew it another leg was hurtling down towards me.
‘Nooooooooooo!’
“Ade? Ade? Are you all right? What happened?”
“Get off me you big hairy eight-legged creep!”
“What? I’m not hairy!” said the voice.
“And he’s only got two legs,” said another voice.
I opened my eyes to see all my friends staring down at me.
It took me a moment to realise that I was lying on the ground.
“We got back to Parsons Road –” said Shed.
“I won,” interjected Dexter.
“– and we waited for you, but you didn’t turn up. So we came back to look for you. Are you okay? Why are you on the ground?”
It started to come back to me then. The messing about, the race, my friends disappearing ahead of me. I must have collapsed. It was all getting too much. I sighed. It was time to tell the truth.
“No, I’m not really okay,” I said. “Help me up and I’ll tell you about it.”
Shed pulled me up and, with one arm around him and the other around Brian, they walked me back to my house. I told them everything on the way. About all the aches and pains, what the doctor had said and, of course, about the wheelchair. Well, almost everything. I didn’t mention the Night Spider. Or the weird way I felt like Cyborg Cat was really a part of me. I didn’t know how to explain all that.
“Yeah, so I don’t know what’s going to happen,” I said, as we got to my front door. “I think I do need to use the wheelchair, really. But then school definitely won’t let me go on the trip.”
“Course they will,” said Dexter.
“Yeah,” said Melody. “They said you could, didn’t they?”
“Yeah. So what if you’re in a wheelchair?” said Shed. “I can push you around. No problem.”
“Thanks,” I said, as I opened the door. I didn’t want to keep talking about it. “See you tomorrow then.”
“Yeah, see you, CC,” said Brian, just about managing a smile.
I knew my friends were trying to be positive about the situation, but I could tell they were confused and worried.
The next morning I lay in bed staring at the ceiling. I didn’t feel as bad as I had the previous day, but I wouldn’t exactly say I felt great.
“Doyin? Doyin?” said Mum, tapping on my bedroom door. “Are you awake?”
“Yes, Mum,” I replied.
&nbs
p; She came in and sat on the end of my bed, looking at me with her big, kind eyes.
“How are you feeling today?” she asked. “It’s time to get up for school.”
“I’m not very well, Mum. I think I might have a temperature.”
She put a hand on my forehead.
“You don’t feel hot to me. Come on, I’m sure you’ll feel better after a good breakfast.”
“Please, Mum,” I said. “I don’t want to go to school today. I can’t go in the wheelchair. Dad will be angry and when they see me in it at school, they’re bound to change their mind about me going on the trip.”
I was almost in tears. Mum put her hand on my head again.
“Actually,” she said. “Perhaps you do feel quite hot. Maybe a restful day in bed is just what you need. I’ll phone the school.”
“Thanks, Mum,” I said weakly, as I rolled over and pulled the blankets over my head.
The next thing I knew it was lunchtime. I’d slept for another five hours. As I got out of bed I could still feel a few twinges and the odd ache, but on the whole I felt much better.
“Doyin!” said Mum, as I entered the kitchen. “How are you feeling now?”
“Oh, a little better thanks, Mum,” I said, coughing at the end to make sure she didn’t think I was completely well again.
“Come and have some soup and yam. It will help you get your strength back.”
Mum’s egusi soup and pounded yam was delicious, and as it warmed my insides, I began to feel much happier. It reminded me of being back in Nigeria with Gran Gran. If she was here right now she would give me a big hug, Mum would watch us and smile, and all our troubles would dissolve away.
“You know, Doyin,” Mum said. “Whatever happens, you will be fine. I know you will.”
“Thanks, Mum.” I slurped up another big spoonful of soup.
“You’ve faced a lot of challenges since we came to England, and you’ve dealt with them all. This is just another one.”
“I know, Mum, but this one seems –” I couldn’t think of the right word so I just said – “big.”