The Unusual Mind of Vincent Shadow

by Tim Kehoe

  “Great.” Vincent let out a sigh of relief. “Danger Boy, you take us upstairs and we’ll build you the most powerful, most dangerous birthday rocket you’ve ever seen.”

  Danger Boy was halfway up the stairs before Vincent could finish his sentence. Vincent grabbed the bag with the kite remains and Groove Tubes, and he and Stella followed Danger Boy up the stairs.

  “Okay, here’s the closet. Now what?”

  “You go downstairs and we’ll be down in ten minutes with the craziest, fastest rocket you’ve ever—” Vincent hadn’t even finished his sentence and Danger Boy was gone.

  “What are you going to do with the hydrogen peroxide?” Stella asked.

  “Nothing,” Vincent said as he put it back in the closet. “But we’re upstairs…. ”

  LAB PARTNERS

  29

  Vincent reached into the dark and pulled on the rope.

  “Welcome to my lab.”

  “Oh my gosh, Vincent.” Stella looked around the room at all the equipment and prototypes. “This is incredible!”

  She touched a sketch. “What is all this?”

  “This is the Batcave. I’ll have to give you the details some other time, but you know those headaches I get?”

  Stella nodded as she read the labels on various jars of experiments.

  “Well, they aren’t really headaches. They’re more like inspiration. Intense ideas.” Vincent realized he hadn’t talked about this with anyone but his mother.

  “Intense ideas?” Stella asked.

  “Yeah. I see toys. Toys that don’t exist. My mom and I built this lab so I could try and build them. But no one can know about this, Stella.”

  “Come on, Batman. You know your secret is safe with me. But what if Danger Boy and his mom come looking for us?” Stella asked.

  “As long as we’re quiet, they’ll never find us in here. They’ll probably assume we couldn’t build the rocket and left.”

  “Yeah, well, we may have an easier time building the rocket than fixing this kite.” Stella pulled the broken, balled-up mess from the bag.

  “We’re not going to fix it,” Vincent said. “We’re going to build something even better. My mom and I spent years working on bubbles that release sound when they pop. But I’ve never been able to get them to work. They need high voltage. But the high voltage makes the bubble solution uncontrollable.” Vincent pointed to the scorched remains from his last night in the lab.

  “So, maybe we’d be better off getting one of these to work,” Stella said as she picked up a basketball with a built-in targeting system. “This is cool,” she said as she aimed the ball.

  “Thanks. That’s the Bullz-I Basketball. Look—” Vincent pointed to a sketch in his notebook. “All this time the answer was right in front of me. Tonight, Mr. Whiz showed me a Tesla invention that looked just like this.”

  “Hey, that looks like the thing we saw at the Met.”

  “It is the thing we saw at the Met. That thing is actually a high-powered Tesla coil with a vacuum tube.” Vincent flipped to the sketch of his Pop Tunz device. “If I connect the Tesla coil from my kite to my Pop Tunz device… ” Vincent drew a Tesla coil on the tail end of the sketch of his bubble blower and then reached into the bag from the music store and pulled out the vacuum tubes. “And I attach the Groove Tubes to the front nozzle, maybe, just maybe, the bubbles will work.”

  “And then the bubbles will play a sound?”

  “I hope so,” Vincent said.

  “Hey!” Stella pointed to Snonkey the Great across the room. “You did take Anna’s animals!”

  “All in the name of science.” Vincent smiled.

  “What do these do?” Stella pointed to prototypes for Art 3-D, Sonic Snorkelz, Sno-zuka, Sketch ’n’ Sculpt, and Alarminalz.

  “That one lets you draw in 3D. That one lets you talk underwater. That shoots snowballs. That lets you draw with growing ink, and that’s an alarm clock,” Vincent said. “Actually, grab that Alarminalz.” He pointed to the stuffed lion.

  “This?” Stella held it up.

  “Yeah. It has an alarm clock built into it. We can use that to wake us up early. We’re gonna have to sneak out of here before Danger Boy and his friends wake up.”

  Vincent unwrapped the three glass Groove Tubes and the Tesla coil from the windless kite and set them on the table in the middle of the room.

  “These inventions are great, Vincent,” Stella said as she continued to look at all the drawings of inventions taped to the walls.

  “Thanks. Can you grab one of those gun-looking things from the top shelf?”

  “I was always better at writing than drawing. Is this the thing you want?” Stella pointed to a Pop Tunz bubble-blowing prototype.

  “Yeah, that one will work.”

  Vincent slid a large box out from under the table and pulled out his catcher’s mask and pads. “What’s that stuff for?” Stella asked.

  “It’s going to be a long night, Sis,” Vincent replied.

  Stella smiled. That was the second time today Vincent had called her Sis.

  TOY FAIR

  30

  BEEP BEEP

  BEEP BEEP

  BEEP BEEP

  Howard sat up in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He looked across the room at the alarm clock. 5:30 AM. He must have fallen asleep at his drawing table. Again.

  BEEP BEEP

  BEEP BEEP

  BEEP BEEP

  Howard G. Whiz walked across the room and pushed the off button on the alarm clock.

  Toy Fair was the one time a year that toy companies, from all over the world, gathered in New York to unveil their latest creations. And, most importantly, Toy Fair was the time a year that Howard selected the winner of the annual Whizzer Toys invention contest.

  Howard took a new white tie from his closet and sat back down at his drawing table. He stared out the window and thought about the Toy Fair. Then he thought about the contest, the kids, and their wonderful inventions. He grabbed a paintbrush, opened three jars of paint, and prepared to create that day’s tie.

  This was Howard’s routine every morning for the last 22,438 mornings. But this morning Howard did something he had never done. He smiled, screwed the lids back on the jars of paint, and decided to wear a completely white tie.

  “Perfect,” he said.

  PROTOPTYPES

  31

  The Alarminalz’s roar woke Stella. She opened her eyes and looked up at Vincent, still hard at work.

  “What time is it?” she asked.

  Vincent looked at his watch. “It’s eight thirty.”

  Stella jumped up. “We’re late! You’ll be disqualified!”

  “I’m almost ready. I had a ton of ideas hit me last night. Talk about bad timing. It was hard to get this thing done.” Vincent carefully set the Pop Tunz bubble blower into a box.

  “Does it work?” Stella asked.

  “I hope so. I decided I better not test it. I didn’t want to wake Danger Boy and company.”

  Vincent placed three glass jars of black liquid into the box. Stella carefully opened the lab door and peered out of the closet. The seven-year-olds were all still asleep.

  After Vincent and Stella had disappeared, the boys had looked for them for about two minutes before losing interest. Then, they had stayed up late eating pizza and bragging about the stunts they would perform when they were older.

  Making as little noise as was humanly possible, they stepped over the boys in sleeping bags and avoided getting too close to Danger Boy, who slept hugging a brand new cherry-red Whizzer Board 4000 with the bow still on it.

  THE SHOW MUST GO ON

  32

  Seamus and Liam skated off the stage and the crowd erupted in applause. They loved Seamus and Liam and they loved their Airblades invention.

  “Has Vincent arrived yet?” Howard Whiz asked Calli.

  There were three thousand people in the audience. And they were all there to see Vincent Shadow and his amazing windless kite
.

  “No. I’m sorry, sir, but no one has heard from him. It looks like Vincent is going to miss the contest. We only have two contestants left.”

  George Spinowski Jr. felt sick as he looked out at the sea of people. He didn’t like crowds.

  “Okay, George, you’re up,” Calli said.

  His stomach hurt. He was sure he was going to be sick.

  “Can I go last, Ms. Callosum?” George asked.

  “Sure, George,” Calli said. “That means you’re up next, Gabby.”

  Gabby connected the Elli-Squirt sprinkler toy to a garden hose and walked onto the stage.

  Norton, Vibs, and the girls had taken a late flight to New York the previous night, hoping to surprise Vincent. But Vibs was currently focused on the surprise Gabby had in store for the audience.

  “Is that a garden hose?” Vibs asked.

  “Yeah, I think it is,” Norton said.

  “Well, they aren’t going to let her use that in here… are they?”

  Gabby started to introduce her product. “This is my invention. It’s a sprinkler toy, but not like any sprinkler toy you have ever…”

  “Yeah, I think they’re going to let her use it,” Norton said.

  “Norton, this is silk.” Vibs touched her blouse. “This cannot get wet. We’re moving!” Vibs stood up and marched toward the back.

  “Come on, girls,” Norton said to Gwen and Anna. “Your mom doesn’t want to get wet.” Norton stood up and followed Vibs to the back of the hall.

  “Norton! Norton!”

  Norton looked around. He heard someone calling his name but couldn’t tell where it was coming from.

  “Norton, honey! Over here!” He looked to his left and saw Aunt Bonnie sitting with a group of schoolkids.

  “It was the only seat left.” She shrugged. “I’m so glad you made it. Vincent is going to be thrilled to see you.”

  “Have you seen Vincent yet?” Norton asked.

  “No. Not yet. Maybe he’s next. You better get to your seat.”

  Norton nodded in agreement and rushed after Vibs and the girls just as the crowd stood up and began clapping.

  Gabby picked up her sprinkler toy and walked off the stage.

  “Amazing, Gabby. Just amazing. The ending gets me every time,” Calli said.

  “Okay, George, your turn. Knock ’em dead.”

  George Jr. took a few steps onto the stage and then quickly turned around and began to walk off when his father grabbed him by the arm.

  “I need you to win this contest. Now suck it up. Get out there and win this thing,” George Sr. said.

  “But Dad, my stomach—”

  His dad shot him a look that he knew all too well. George Jr. turned around and walked to the middle of the stage as his stomach gurgled. He pulled a sheet off a shiny white toilet.

  “He invented a toilet,” someone shouted from the crowd.

  “Maybe it’s a remote-controlled toilet!” another yelled.

  The crowd laughed.

  “This is my invention,” George Jr. said as he pointed to the toilet seat with one hand while holding his stomach with the other. “I call it the Story Time Toilet Seat. When the, ah, the user sits down on the toilet, the seat will tell a story.”

  George was extremely nervous. Everyone in the first row could hear George’s stomach.

  George Jr. continued, “My toilet seat is completely wireless. The ah, ah, the user can download their favorite story and listen to it while they do their business.”

  George Jr. had sweat running down his face. He started to shake. He wasn’t sure he could continue.

  BLOUP BLOUP BLOUP. His stomach bubbled.

  George looked over to his dad for help, but his dad was still wearing “the look.”

  “Now I will demonstrate how it works.” George carefully lifted the toilet seat and sat down.

  The toilet seat began telling one of George’s favorite stories: “Now I don’t want to put all the blame on my parents, but if you grew up with a name like Furious Jones, you too would have—”

  “I can’t hear it,” one man yelled.

  “Turn it up,” another yelled.

  Calli walked out onstage and handed George Jr. a microphone. George held the microphone next to the toilet seat. The story bellowed out over the auditorium loudspeaker and the crowd clapped. Soon they rose to their feet and the applause strengthened. George Jr. smiled. They loved it. He wished his grandfather could see it. George Jr. was so excited as he walked off the stage that he forgot all about his nerves.

  BUBBLE BOY

  33

  Howard Whiz walked onto the stage and the crowd rose to their feet. They clapped, hooted, and hollered as Howard slowly made his way to the microphone.

  “Thank you, thank you,” he said to the crowd. They clapped louder.

  “Thank you all for coming. This contest, and being here with these young inventors and all of you, well, it’s the best. Just the best.”

  They clapped even louder.

  “Thank you,” Howard said. “Through hard work and courage, I have been fortunate to spend every day of my life doing what I love most: inventing toys. And today, you had the chance to meet some very special kids who had the courage to follow their dreams. And their dreams led them here today.” The crowd was still on its feet. “One of those talented kids will have the opportunity to spend the summer with me, and together we will work hard to bring you the toys of tomorrow.”

  “Where’s Vincent?” someone yelled.

  “Let’s see the kite,” another yelled.

  The crowd became restless.

  “I’m sorry, folks. I know many of you came here today expecting to see Mr. Shadow’s kite. Well,” Howard paused. “Well, there has been a change in plans, and unfortunately Mr. Shadow and his kite will not be part of the contest today. So, without further ado, this year’s Whizzer Toys invention contest winner is—” Howard was suddenly distracted by a black bubble that was floating inches from his face. He reached out and popped it with his finger.

  FOO.

  Another bubble floated down toward the stage. Howard poked it.

  BEE.

  “Did you hear that?” Howard asked.

  A murmur swept through the crowd. They didn’t know what was going on.

  “What is Howard pointing at?” Vibs asked Norton.

  “I’m not sure,” Norton said. And Norton didn’t care. He was worried about Vincent. Now dozens of black bubbles were falling toward the stage. Howard was popping them.

  BEE.

  ZOO.

  BEE.

  FOO.

  A single giant bubble now floated down toward Howard. He popped it with the microphone, and the word FOOBEEZOOBEE echoed through the auditorium.

  “It’s Vincent Shadow!” a man yelled, pointing to the catwalk high above the stage.

  The spectators rose to their feet as Vincent grabbed a rope and slid down onto the stage.

  Vincent’s class from Central Middle School in New York had seen Vincent on the news and had come to support him. And now they were all on their feet chanting, “VIN-CENT VIN-CENT VIN-CENT.”

  Vincent held the Pop Tunz bubble blower high in the air and unleashed dozens of bubbles from the jar marked “electric guitar.” The bubbles floated out over the crowd and burst into a full-throttle, funk-punk guitar solo. The crowd went wild. Vincent had done it. After years of trying, his bubbles were real—and people loved them.

  Vincent switched jars and blew dozens of black bubbles onstage. Howard Whiz, with his white suit, white hair, white cane, and all-white tie, was now running around the stage popping bubbles like a little boy.

  FOO.

  BEE.

  ZOO.

  BEE.

  FOO.

  BEE.

  ZOO.

  BEE.

  The crowd began chanting, “FOO-BEE-ZOO-BEE, FOO-BEE-ZOO-BEE,” as Howard chased the bubbles.

  Howard took Vincent by the hand and said, “I give you the Whiz
zer Toy contest winner: Vincent Shadow!”

  The crowd began rushing the stage. Everyone was pushing and pulling, trying to get close to Vincent and trying to pop the bubbles.

  Norton, Vibs, Gwen, and Anna made their way through the crowd.

  “Dad, you’re here!”

  “That was amazing, Vincent. How did you do that?”

  “Long story, Dad.”

  “Not bad, Vincent,” Gwen said.

  “What? What was that?”

  Gwen smiled. “I said not bad—Vincent.”

  Someone tapped Vincent on his shoulder. He turned around to find Jeff Benz and several of his former Central Middle School classmates.

  “Way to go, Bubble Boy,” Jeff said.

  Bubble Boy? Vincent thought. Well, it beats Wigboy.

  Howard G. Whiz walked up and shook hands with Norton and Vibs.

  “You must be Vincent’s parents.”

  “We are,” Vibs quickly answered.

  “Well, I don’t have to tell you how special he is. Vincent, I would like to invite you to work with me this summer at Whizzer Toys, if it’s okay with your parents, of course,” Howard said.

  Vincent looked at his father. “Of course it’s okay,” Norton said.

  “We’ve always been so proud of Vincent,” Vibs added.

  “Well, then, Mr. Shadow, I will see you in a few weeks.” Vincent nodded and looked at Stella.

  “We did it!”

  Want to play?

  Vincent Shadow’s attic-turned-top-secret-lab is crammed with toy prototypes—from Rainbow Rocketz to Sonic Snorkelz—and he has a sketchbook filled with drawings of inventions he still wants to build. So when a chance encounter with an eccentric toy maker offers Vincent the opportunity to go from bullied weird kid to toy inventor extraordinaire, he realizes…

  IT’S TIME TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT TOYS!

  Debut author TIM KEHOE is a toy inventor himself, and the toys in this story are ones he has designed. He lives in Minnesota with his wife and five children. Tim’s website is www.VincentShadow.com.