Joe snapped his fingers in front of my face. “You’re thinking about Zac again,” he sighed.
“No, maybe, yes…” I groaned. I stomped my foot. “Look Joe, a part of me knows that Zac may very well be our best chance to get to my mom and get back to normal size.”
“That’s good,” Joe nodded.
“But another part of me thinks that if Zac sees me like this, I will die.”
“Bella, you’re being dramatic,” Joe said.
“Okay, I won’t die, but my social life will be ruined. And when you’re in middle school, a dead social life is the worse thing that can happen,” I said.
Joe shook his head. “Sure, I agree it could be a setback, but not the worse thing that can happen,” Joe said, being all reasonable, which at this moment in time - I took as unreasonable.
“Joe, that’s easy for you to say, you’re a guy. You have the easy job. Pick a girl and ask her out.” I pointed to myself. “I’m a girl. Our role is much harder. We have to sit around and wait and hope that some guy asks us out. Not just some guy, but a guy that we like!”
“What?” Joe said. “You know how HARD it is for a guy to take that chance and ask a girl out? Heck, for me it’s hard to even ask a girl if I can borrow a pencil, no less ask a girl out! We put ourselves out there. We have to risk rejections. And I will tell you Bella, rejection stings. It’s like a kick in the butt but to the self-confidence. At least when a guy asks a girl out, the girl knows that the guy has an interest in her,” Joe finished, a bit red in the face.
“Wow, Joe! I think that might be the most you’ve ever said in one breath,” I laughed.
“Yeah, it wasn’t easy to spit and sputter out of my mouth,” Joe admitted.
I put a hand on his shoulder. “I guess it’s just plain tough being a teen.”
“Yep, tough for girls and boys,” Joe said thoughtfully.
I gave him a little hug. “No matter what, we’re both here for each other. Right?”
“Right!” Joe smiled.
The door to the kitchen popped open. Zac rushed in. “Man, talking on the phone makes me thirsty!” he said.
I instantly threw myself to the ground.
“Hey, it’s Zac!” Joe said.
I reached up and pulled Joe down to the bottom of the cup with me. I put my hand over his mouth. I closed my eyes. Joe moved his head so his mouth was free. “Bella, Zac is our only chance!”
I shook my head. “Joe, be quiet!” I whispered.
Zac slowly walked over towards us. “No, it can’t be!” he said slowly. “Gosh! Bobby wasn’t lying!” Zac said, his mouth open.
I looked up and smiled. “Oh, hi Zac, fancy meeting you here…”
Chapter 9
Zac continued walking over towards us. He squatted down to get a clear view. “Ah, I live here,” he said.
“Right, right, I knew that,” I replied sheepishly.
I rolled off Joe.
“Oh hi, Jake,” Zac said.
“It’s Joe,” Joe corrected.
“Right, Jack,” Zac said, not really paying attention to Joe.
“Am I dreaming, or are you guys super small?” he asked.
“Well, it’s hard to explain, but we’re so small because of one of my mom’s inventions...a shrinking ray,” I said. I really wanted to leave it at that.
“Bella’s mom invented a shrink ray, but it’s a long story, you see we didn’t realize it was a shrinking ray and...” Joe said.
I stomped on Joe’s foot and shot him a look. He looked back at me.
Zac nodded. “This isn’t making a lot of sense. I’ve never heard about a shrinking ray...not even on the internet, and I hear about a LOT of stuff on the internet.”
“Let’s get back to our actual problem,” Joe coaxed.
“Yeah, Jack is right,” Zac said.
Joe just sighed. “Ah, once again my name is Joe.”
“Quiet Jack,” I said. “Let Zac talk.”
“I mean, how did you guys get here?” Zac asked.
“We accidentally fell into a toy box my mom was selling at a yard sale that your grandma bought, and she brought it here,” I said.
“Scientists have yard sales?” Zac asked.
“Yes, scientists are people too. They get clutter…” I answered.
“Did she invent a laser beam or a gun that makes people cluck like chickens?” Zac asked.
“Ah, no,” I said. “I don’t think she uses a laser beam, and why would you need a gun that makes people cluck like chickens?”
Zac smiled. “Because it would be awesome fun!”
“I so agree,” Joe said.
“See Joey, thinks it would be a cool idea too!” Zac said.
“No my name is, oh wait, you actually got it mostly right,” Joe said.
I sighed. “Nope, no chicken clucking gun. I will mention it to her and see what she says.”
“Great!” Zac beamed. “What about a gun that gives people diarrhea? I know those things really exist. I saw one on TV.”
“He’s right, they do,” Joe said.
Funny how Joe and Zac were bonding. This wasn’t how I pictured my first long conversation with Zac. And Zac was starting to sound like an older version of Bobby.
“I’m pretty sure my mom had nothing to do with that type of invention,” I said. “Mom invents things that help people.”
“Well, she did invent a poop cloner and a ray gun that shrinks people, so it wasn’t a totally stupid assumption,” Zac said.
“He has another great point,” Joe said.
I fought the urge to stomp on Joe’s foot again and to scold Zac and Joe for being such “guys”. They only cared about the fun factor, not the facts. Still, I was standing face to face with Zac, and he wasn’t freaked out by me being two inches tall. I could make this work in my favor. I decided to go with the truth, mostly.
“Zac, we shrunk ourselves by accident. We thought my mom had invented a time travel ray, when it was in fact, a shrink ray.”
“A time travel ray makes no sense. First of all, time travel is way too dangerous, because you can really mess things up. Second, you’d think it would be a time travel tube or something, not a ray. That’s just plain ridiculous.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I see that now.”
“I told her the same thing!” Joe said. “But you know Bella, once she has her mind set on something, she does it.”
“It seems like you did it too,” Zac said.
Joe turned a bit red. “Yep, Bella can be very convincing at times. I’m her best friend, so I do try to keep her happy.”
I lifted up a finger. “Joe and I are just friends. Good friends, but with no romantic interest whatsoever. Right friend?” I said, giving him a little poke.
“NO,” Joe said. He stuck out his tongue and pretended to gag. “It would be like going out with my sister, yuck, double yuck!”
“He gets the point, Joe,” I said.
“Yeah I get it,” Zac said. “But what I don’t get...is how someone as smart as you, Bella, could make such a big mistake.”
“You think I’m smart?” I asked, my voice beaming.
“Ah, yeah,” Zac said, a shy smile on his face.
“Okay you two, let’s focus on fixing our problem,” Joe interrupted. He pointed to both of us.
Zac smiled. “Little J is right. It is a bit of a problem, but at the same time, it’s way cool and awesome. So what can I do to help?”
Who would have thought that shrinking myself would have gotten me closer to the cutest boy in the class, if not the town, if not the city! Sure, it was silly for Joe and I to get ourselves shrunk. But the way this was going so well with Zac, I was betting he’d think it was awesome and or brave. After all, it was pretty daring to blast ourselves with a beam when we had no idea what it would do. Sure, we could be fairly certain my mom wouldn’t have left a deadly machine in the basement, but still, we were daredevils. Yes, we were science daredevils.
“Ah Isabel, did you forget how t
o talk?” Zac asked.
“Trust me, that never happens,” Joe said.
I turned away. “I’m just a little embarrassed that Joe and I took such a risk, and used an invention on ourselves without really knowing what it was,” I said, blushing just a bit.
Zac waved his hand. “Ah, don’t worry about it. We all do stupid things! We’re kids, we’re supposed to be dumb, that’s our main job. It’s how we learn.”
“Zac, you are so smart!” I gushed.
“So Zac, what dumb things have you done?” Joe asked.
“Well...I once thought I could eat a taco with extra super hot sauce on it in under three seconds without water nearby. That was pretty lame. Once, I dropped a glass and forgot I had bare feet, ouch. There was that time when I thought I could ride my bike on a ramp and over the car. That turned out bad for me, my bike and the car. Then…”
“Okay, I get the point,” I smiled.
“Gee, I don’t usually tell people the dumb things I do,” Zac grinned. “It’s bad for my image. But then I see what you did, and boy is that DUMB! So I feel better about being myself.”
“Glad we could help,” Joe said.
“So, speaking of help, how can I help you two now?” Zac asked.
“Well, you certainly can’t make us smarter,” Joe joked.
Joe and Zac both laughed.
“You can take us to my home!” I said boldly. “Then I’m sure my mom can get us back to regular size!”
Bobby burst into the kitchen. He stomped over to us like an angry little giant. “Hey, why are you talking to my little fairy people who you didn’t believe were real?” he demanded.
Zac turned to him. “Yeah, I thought you were crazy, but now I see you were actually right for once! I’m going to help them get home.”
Bobby crossed his arms and shook his head and stomped his foot. “No, no, no!” he wailed. “They’re mine!”
“Who are yours?” Meg asked, walking into the kitchen. She saw us and Zac and quickly put 2 and 1 together. “No, they’re OURS!” she corrected.
“Look, guys, these two are people! People, in my class. I have to help them. It’s the right thing to do.”
I couldn’t help but smile. Zac was so handsome and honorable, yes he was the total package.
Meg stood there with her arms crossed. “Do we still get paid?”
“Yes, of course,” I told her. “The deal is still on.”
“I’m cool then,” Meg said.
“No!” Bobby shouted. He stomped his foot even harder. “I don’t want just the money. I mean who needs money! I want to be the hero! I want to be the one who saves the little fairies!”
“Bobby, for the last time, we’re not fairies!” I told him.
Bobby ran forward and grabbed us. “No, they are my little people!” he shouted. Zac grabbed Bobby by the shoulder and spun him around.
“Look Bobby…”
Bobby shot a knee up right between Zac’s legs.
“OOOh…that so hurts!” Zac squealed, as he doubled over and fell to the floor.
Bobby raced out the back door. He put us to his face and said, “You two are mine!” He rushed over to a small bike and dropped us in the carry pouch that was attached to the handle bars. He jumped on the bike and started pedaling away.
“It’s actually impressive that he can ride a bike so well,” Joe said. “I couldn’t ride without training wheels until I was like eight…”
I snickered. “Yeah, I remember, you used to have black and blue knees. Mom always wanted to invent hover pads for you.”
“That would have been so cool,” Joe smiled.
“You know, not to change the subject but,” I said softly. “WE’RE BEING CARRIED AWAY BY A CRAZY FIVE-YEAR-OLD!” I shouted.
“I’m five and a half, I think,” Bobby said, leaning over the front bar and drooling into the carry pouch that Joe and I were sitting in.
“Yeah, I guess this is kind of a strange turn in a strange day. But in a way, it’s nice to be wanted,” Joe grinned.
I groaned. I laid back. I needed to think of a way out of this. Sure, this was bad, but Zac knew about us now. Zac would certainly be able to catch Bobby and save us. I must have had a smile on my face because Joe said, “You’re thinking about Zac coming to save us aren’t you?”
“No!” I insisted.
Joe rolled his eyes.
“Maybe…”
Joe looked directly into my eyes.
“Yes,” I admitted. “But really, how bad can this be? We ride up and down the street with Bobby for a bit, until Zac recovers and catches him. You said it yourself, Bobby is pretty good at riding a bike for his age.”
The bike suddenly swerved. We heard a high-pitched squeaking sound, like brakes being slammed. Horns started blaring. Then the shouts started…
“Hey, kid watch where you’re going!”
“Are you crazy, kid?!”
“You’re going to get killed!!”
“Where are that kid’s parents…?”
We felt the front tire jar upwards like we’d just run over a curb.
Bobby leaned over to us again. “Ha! Mom was wrong. Crossing the street is so easy!”
I dropped back down in the carry pouch. “That’s it, we’re going to die!”
Chapter 10
I sat down alongside Joe. This was one of the few times in my life where I was at a loss for words. I had no idea how to get out of this. Luckily, Joe had an idea.
“Okay, I can talk him out of this!” Joe said.
“I’m not sure anyone can talk this kid out of anything,” I groaned.
“You may not remember, but when I was his age, I was pretty awkward,” Joe said.
“Oh, I remember. I so remember. And truthfully buddy, pretty awkward isn’t even close. You may have been the most awkward kid on the planet. I remember once when you tripped over your own shadow.”
“Bella, I told you, there was a crack in the sidewalk that day!”
“Joe you were on the grass…”
“Ah, but it was bumpy grass…”
“I think without me looking after you, and constantly talking you out of stuff, you might not have made it to age six.”
“Exactly!” Joe said, his eyes lighting up. “I can act like you did with me.”
Joe turned around and pulled himself up towards the top of the pouch. “Hey Bobby,” Joe said, in his most friendly voice.
“Can’t talk, getting out of breath!” Bobby panted.
“Dude, just stop and take a breath,” Joe coaxed.
“Can’t stop or they’ll catch me!” Bobby panted.
“Look, my friend, you are a long way from them now. You must have biked a million miles,” Joe said slowly.
“Come on! I’m not dumb!” Bobby laughed. “I probably biked like a zillion miles.”
“Whatever, this is a good time to stop and catch your breath,” Joe said even slower, breathing in with each word.
The bike started to slow. We came to a jarring stop, sending me flying around in the pouch.
“I could use a little rest,” Bobby said.
Joe pulled himself to the top of the pouch. “Let’s chat, Bobby.”
“Huh?” Bobby said, wiping beads of sweat from his brow.
“Let’s talk,” Joe said.
Bobby smiled. “Oh, I like talking.”
“Bobby, I think you and I are a lot alike,” Joe started.
“Oh, do you eat worms too?” Bobby asked.
“Ah, no…not usually,” Joe answered.
“Yeah, it would probably be hard for you, being so tiny and all,” Bobby said. “Plus if your mom is anything like mine, she probably thinks eating worms is bad.”
Joe raised a finger. “Here’s the thing Bobby, I know it can’t be easy being the youngest one in the house. It’s like nobody understands you. Everybody thinks you’re different…”
“I am different,” Bobby said. “My name is Bobby and everybody else has different names.”
“But Bobby, you’re like me, you’re different in a different way,” Joe told him.
“If I’m like you then I’m not different. Is your name Bobby?”
“No Bobby, my name is Joe. Our NAMES are different but we act in the same way.”
Bobby laughed. “You talk funny. Zac says I talk funny because Meg dropped me on my head when I was a baby. Did Meg drop you on your head when you were a baby?”
Joe looked back at me. “This isn’t going well…”
“I’m shocked!” I said teasingly. “But keep him talking. The longer we stay in one place the longer we keep from getting hurt.”
Joe turned back to Bobby. “So, Bobby my pal, what do you enjoy doing?”
“You mean, besides eating worms and farting?” Bobby asked.
“Yeah, other hobbies?”
“I like to watch TV and drive my sister crazy!” Bobby said.
“Both great hobbies,” Joe said.
“I like finding things and keeping them for myself,” Bobby said.
I leaned into Joe. “Just ignore that and keep talking.”
“What do you want to be when you get older?” Joe asked.
“Bigger,” Bobby answered.
“I mean, what do you want to do for a job?” Joe asked.
Bobby exhaled hard. “How should I know? I’m just a kid!”
“When I was your age, I wanted to be an astronaut or a fireman,” Joe said.
“Why?”
“Why not?” Joe answered.
“Wow, such sparkling conversation,” I told Joe.
“Astronauts get to explore space and firemen help people!” Joe said.
“Hmmm...I want to drive the ice cream truck,” Bobby said.
“Now that’s a great profession,” Joe said with a grin. “All the ice cream you can eat!”
Zac to the Rescue! Page 5