I dig in my pocket and hand her the black box. She takes it gingerly, hesitantly, running her fingers over the smooth metal and the two sleek buttons, stopping at the label with my name on it. She looks at me. “Are you sure it’s for me?”
“Only one way to find out,” I say. I take the box from her and tell her to just watch. Then I tiptoe over to her door and turn out the light.
“Michael?” she says, her voice clipped, suddenly not quite hers.
“Don’t worry,” I say, sitting on the bed next to her. I press the green button.
Suddenly her ceiling explodes as it transforms into the dome of the sky. It’s as if the whole universe is unzipped and laid bare. Planets and moons and meteors, shimmering and streaking. And stars. Thousands of stars. Millions of them. I hear Viola catch her breath as she falls backward on the bed, enveloped in starlight. No walls. No boundaries. Just nebulous infinity.
“It’s beautiful,” she says.
I set the box on the floor, the galaxy still spinning above us. “It’s genius,” I say.
I sit there, watching her as she traces the patterns with her eyes.
“It’s just like I remember,” she says. Then she reaches up and takes me by the arm, pulling me down next to her. The two of us, lying in her bed, side by side. I can feel her heartbeat racing even through her pajamas. She begins naming the planets and the constellations, pointing with one hand even as the other reaches out and takes mine.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
I don’t say anything. It is amazing, it’s all amazing, but it only reminds me of my father. I imagine him, lying on a cot in some cell, staring up at his gray ceiling, stuck in another box, while I lie here beneath this perfect system that he created without my even having to ask.
“There could be anything out there,” she says.
I turn to look at her, eyes twinkling in the glow of a thousand brilliant suns, so bright I can’t even stand it and have to look away. I’m not an idiot. I know what she means. There is an offer here. An opportunity. There could be anything, but you still have to choose. You can’t have it both ways.
And it feels so good here beside her.
But this isn’t me.
I’ve made my choice. I can’t stay, but I’m not going to run either. I’ve been thinking about it the whole walk over, weighing my options. I’m going to bust Dad out of prison. I figure it won’t be that hard. I just have to talk to the right people. Get their undivided attention. I can be very persuasive when I want to be. Then maybe, together, he and I can track down my mother. Ask her what her damage is. Why she told the Dictator about me. Why she left in the first place. If she ever really loved my father. I’m not looking for a weepy reunion. I know better. I’d just like some answers.
I twist my head and see that Viola isn’t looking up at the artificial sky anymore. She’s looking straight into my eyes.
“I should go,” I tell her, though it takes every ounce of will I have to say it. She rolls over onto her side, grimacing slightly at the shift. She still has my hand in hers, fingers entwined, pulling me in. And I’m certain, so suddenly certain of all the things I’ve suspected. About fathers and heroes and promises. And girls you just happen to run into at the mall. Who laugh like pianos and give you pennies for more than just good luck. Who know your magic trick already but still act impressed when you do it.
Viola squeezes tighter. “It’s all right,” she whispers.
“Stay here,” she says.
“I know which side you’re on.”
Acknowledgments
Getting a novel to print is a task requiring almost superhuman effort, on the part of not just the author (who gets to mostly play pretend), but the entire league of extraordinary editors, agents, proofreaders, publicists, booksellers, family, and friends who combine their powers to create something worth reading. This book certainly wouldn’t be possible without the enduring faith of my agent, Quinlan Lee, and the rest of the Adams Literary crew. Then of course there is the noble, keen-eyed cadre of copy editors, proofreaders, designers, and directors at HarperCollins, including Renée Cafiero, Erin Fitzsimmons, Amy Ryan, Viana Siniscalchi, and Ray Colón, who work in the background to make the book look good, as well as marketing geniuses such as Jenna Lisanti and Caroline Sun, who give it a big flashy cape before sending it to do battle on the shelves. Thanks also, of course, to Shannon Tindle for making Michael look so suspiciously cool on the cover, and to Debbie Kovacs for championing Minion from start to finish. A special commendation goes to wonder-girl Kellie Celia, who works tirelessly to give the book some legs. Finally, thanks to the leader of the super crew—the professor to our literary X-men—Jordan Brown, whose insights inform every page of this book and who always makes me feel like I know what I’m doing.
Special thanks to my parents, Wes and Shiela, who still hold out hope that I’ll grow up someday and who love me anyways, and to all of my family and friends who encourage me with every page. And finally, to Alithea, the Alfred to my Bruce, the Arthur to my Tick, the Invisible Woman to my Mr. Fantastic, the better half that I can’t do without, thanks for everything.
About the Author
JOHN DAVID ANDERSON is the author of Sidekicked and Standard Hero Behavior. A dedicated root beer connoisseur in his spare time, he lives with his wife, two kids, and two cats in Indianapolis, Indiana. He still doesn’t have any superpowers. You can visit him online at www.johndavidanderson.org.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors and artists.
Credits
Cover art © 2014 by SHANNON TINDLE
Copyright
Walden Pond Press is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Walden Pond Press and the skipping stone logo are trademarks and registered trademarks of Walden Media, LLC.
MINION
Copyright © 2014 by John David Anderson
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
* * *
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Anderson, John David, date
Minion / John David Anderson. — First Edition.
pages cm
Summary: “Michael Morn is a supervillain-in-training and the adoptive son of the brilliant criminal mastermind whose sense of right and wrong is thrown into question when a new superhero arrives in town.” — Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-0-06-213311-3 (hardback)
[1. Criminals—Fiction. 2. Supervillains—Fiction. 3. Superheroes—Fiction. 4. Good and evil—Fiction. 5. Adoption—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.A53678Mi 2014 2013043188
[Fic]—dc23 CIP
AC
* * *
EPub Edition © May 2014 ISBN: 9780062133137
14 15 16 17 18 CG/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
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