Pirate Invasion

by Marcus Emerson

  A few of the kids were working on different things in separate corners of the stage. It looked oddly familiar, as if they were training for something. Most of the other kids were gathered near the centre of the stage so I crawled out farther to get a glimpse of what they were looking at. The spy that was in my meeting was among them.

  The kids were huddled closely and looking at something on the ground, but that wasn’t the strangest part. In all the excitement, I guess I didn’t realise until that moment that all the kids were dressed in pirate uniforms and talking in that annoying pirate tongue! Gross, right? I also noticed that they each wore some kind of necklace that had a skull embedded into the little pendant on it. Pirates must’ve got them when they joined the club. I wondered if maybe my ninja clan would appreciate something like that.

  Then, to my surprise, the group backed away from their spot. Carlyle was at the centre of the huddle looking down at a large piece of cloth laid out before him. He started nodding his head and patting the other pirates’ shoulders.

  When Carlyle was far enough away from the cloth, I was able to see it better.

  It was a blue rectangle that had the words ‘Buchanan Buccaneers’ sewn into it with yellow fabric. At the centre of the rectangle was a drawing of a pirate ship.

  ‘They’re making a flag?’ I whispered.

  The instant I whispered, all of the pirates jumped back and stood on guard. Of course it would be my luck that a whisper would tip them off to the fact that I was up here, but I let out a sigh of relief when I saw that it wasn’t me that spooked them.

  A sliver of light crawled across the floor, and Mr Cooper leaned through the spot on the curtain that he pushed aside. ‘Excuse me! What’re you kids doing in here?’

  Carlyle gestured to the other pirates for them to stand down as he stepped forward. ‘Mr Cooper. My apologies, but we’re in the middle of rehearsing a play for the school! Why else would we be on this stage dressed in pirate costumes?’

  ‘You’re supposed to be out on the track, young man,’ Mr Cooper said. ‘You’re in my gym class right now, so tell me how you’ve somehow found your way in here?’

  ‘I thought someone told you?’ Carlyle asked, flabbergasted. ‘I mean, they said they were going to tell you that I was needed in here for the next week or so!’

  ‘I hadn’t heard anything,’ said Mr Cooper. ‘Don’t you worry, son. I’ll get to the bottom of this.’

  ‘Wait,’ said Carlyle. ‘How would you like a small part in the play?’

  Mr Cooper tightened his lips.

  ‘There’s an open spot for a blundering idiot,’ said Carlyle bravely. ‘All you’d have to do is hang out on stage during a certain scene and yell out some hilarious insults!’

  Mr Cooper stared at Carlyle. I could tell from the look in his eye that Carlyle was busted. ‘So I’d actually have a speaking role?’

  What? Was Mr Cooper actually considering it?

  ‘Absolutely,’ said Carlyle. ‘I’ll have your script to you tomorrow, sir.’

  Mr Cooper nodded, but only once. ‘Tomorrow.’

  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! Carlyle had built a gang of pirates who were doing something that was at least questionable, and Mr Cooper had just given them a nod of approval! This was insane!

  I was going to have to confront Carlyle on my own, but I would need help from my ninja clan. When I climbed down from the ladder, I snuck over to the side door I had snuck through.

  ‘Hey,’ said a voice from out of nowhere.

  My heart dropped as I turned around. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light in my eyes. As I reached my hands up, I heard the door click open behind me, and then I felt someone push against my chest until I was outside the school and on my butt in the gravel.

  Nice cliffhanger back there, huh? I thought it was more exciting to end the diary entry at that spot because the stuff that happened afterward was boring. All I did was dust myself off, change back into my street clothes, and spend the rest of the day wondering who it was that pushed me out the door. I didn’t get a look at the kid – the door slammed shut and locked before I knew what happened. My face got a little scratched up, but that’s about it.

  ‘What’s up with your face?’ Zoe asked when I took the seat behind her.

  I touched the scratches on my cheek. ‘Nothing. I biffed on my skateboard last night.’

  ‘And caught yourself with your face?’

  I nodded.

  Mrs. Robinson rose from her desk as soon as the bell rang. ‘Ahoy, children.’

  Come on! It was Wednesday! Two days after that ridiculous pirate morning! There were a couple of small laughs among the students.

  The teacher shrugged her shoulders and continued with the announcements. ‘As you know, Dance ’Til Ya Drop is scheduled for this Friday night at 5 p.m. If you’re not staying after school to help on Friday, then have your parents drop you off around 4:30. You’ll need some time to sign in. The winner of the event will hopefully be announced that night so be sure to bring all the money you’ve raised. Once you’ve turned it in at the front table, you’ll proceed to the cafeteria and wait for the event to kick off. While students are dancing, a few select teachers will be given the task of counting the money so we should know the winner by the time the event is finished.’

  Zoe turned around. ‘How much have you raised?’

  ‘Not a lot,’ I said.

  ‘Did you even try?’

  ‘Not really,’ I replied. ‘I went to a couple of houses on my street, but nobody opened their door to me. A couple of people even turned their lights off and yelled that they weren’t home after I rang their doorbell.’

  Zoe chuckled. ‘I don’t think I raised enough to win, but I got a pretty good chunk, I think. My dad took it to his work and got his friends to donate for it.’

  Remember that her dad was my uncle – brother to my dad. ‘You think Uncle John would do that for me too?’

  Zoe’s jaw dropped, apparently shocked that I would suggest that.

  ‘It was a joke,’ I said.

  ‘Better be,’ Zoe said as she started turning back toward the front of the class, but stopped as something caught her eye. She pointed to my book bag. ‘What’s that under your backpack?’

  I looked down. There was a rolled up sheet of paper sticking out from beneath my seat. The last time I received an anonymous letter like this, it was when the ninja clan wanted to recruit me. Hopefully, this was just from a girl or something.

  ‘Maybe someone wants to give you cookies and soft drink again,’ Zoe said with a smirk.

  I reached under the bag and pulled the paper out. ‘Weird,’ I said. ‘This paper is really old and crusty, and look at this … there’s a wax seal holding it shut.’

  Zoe’s eyes widened. ‘Pirates…’

  I peeled away the wax seal and opened the sheet of parchment. Please be from a girl. It definitely wasn’t.

  Salutations Chase,

  Be in the boy’s locker room during gym class today or suffer the consequences.

  The Captain.

  ‘Why are all your notes from boys?’ Zoe joked.

  I took a breath. ‘I can’t wait until I actually get a real note from a girl.’

  It wasn’t easy for me to stay in the locker room. All the other students dressed and left the room. Mr Cooper was always the last one out precisely because of stragglers who tried to hide until class started so they could skip. I figured out a foolproof way of remaining in the room though.

  ‘Chase?’ Mr Cooper asked. ‘You okay in there?’

  I groaned in the locked bathroom stall. ‘I’m not feeling so good, coach. I think I caught a bug or something.’

  ‘That’s fine, son,’ said the coach. ‘But you’re going to have to see the nurse then. I can’t have you sitting in here on your own.’

  ‘I know,’ I said, sitting on the toilet seat. Just to clarify so it’s not gross, I had my pants pulled up. I was faking. ‘But my stomach feels like it’s bubbli
ng or something … I’m not sure I can make it there at the moment.’

  Mr Cooper sighed from outside the stall.

  ‘Can I just sit here for a minute or two?’ I asked with my voice barely above a whisper.

  The coach paused before he spoke again. ‘Sure. Take as long as you need, alright?’ he said. ‘Just don’t take too long.’

  ‘Ten four,’ I said. ‘Thanks, coach.’

  I listened to Mr Cooper’s footsteps echo against the concrete floor of the locker room until I heard the squeaking of the doors open and then slam shut. As soon as I knew he was out of the room, I opened the stall door and started scanning the area.

  I was still in my street clothes. I thought that changing into my ninja robes in front of everyone would’ve been obvious, plus the kid who delivered the note already knew I was a ninja … in fact, I don’t know why I think it’s such a secret. I’m pretty sure everyone knows.

  I searched each corner of the locker room, but there was nobody else in there. There was a stillness that sent chills down my spine. Every time I peeked around some lockers, my heart stopped, expecting to see pirates, but there was nothing.

  And then the locker room doors opened. I heard the sound of boots clomping on the cold concrete floors as I stood in place, ready to meet the pirates head on.

  Carlyle stepped around the corner and stopped in place, several feet away from me.

  Two other pirates, each wearing gigantic, dumb-looking pirate hats that covered their faces in shadows, accompanied him.

  ‘Ahoy,’ said Carlyle. ‘I see the note was delivered to ye successfully.’

  I wasn’t sure how to respond. ‘Duh.’

  Carlyle let out a short laugh. ‘Seems ye found our secret hideout while you were poking your nose around where it shouldn’t have been.’

  ‘I only followed the spy you sent to my hideout,’ I said coldly.

  ‘Right,’ Carlyle said. ‘But it still doesn’t change the fact that you were where ye weren’t supposed to be. And that means ye saw stuff ye weren’t supposed to see.’

  I nodded and narrowed my eyes. ‘Uh yeah. Again, I only ended up there because you sent a spy into my clan.’

  The pirates behind Carlyle stepped forward aggressively, but their captain lifted his hand, signalling them to remain at ease. ‘Seems we got ourselves quite a conundrum.’

  ‘A what?’ I asked.

  ‘A conundrum,’ Carlyle repeated. ‘Too big a word for ya, matey? It means we’ve got ourselves a problem.’

  ‘Seems we do,’ I said. ‘I don’t know what it is that you’re planning, but I know that it can’t be good.’

  ‘So that begs the question … why ain’t you gone to the authorities yet?’

  I paused. ‘I had to build a case. If I went to the teachers and told them a bunch of kids dressed as pirates were running around the school, then they’d probably look at me like I was crazy.’

  Carlyle bellowed a mighty laugh at that. ‘Of course they would! Especially since you’re the kid that runs around in a ninja outfit!’ Then his face grew dark and sinister. ‘This be a fight ye ain’t prepared for, mate. Soon I’ll have the entire school in the palm of my hands … and ye’ll be but a fleck of dust blowing in the wind.’

  This time, I was the one who laughed. ‘What do you think you’re going to do? You’re just a kid dressed as a pirate! You really think you’re going to do something destructive at Buchanan? The last kid that tried that was booted to another school district.’

  ‘Leave Wyatt out of this!’ Carlyle screamed suddenly, spitting everywhere. ‘You’re the reason he’s not at this school anymore, and in this life or the next, we’ll have our revenge!’

  My legs felt numb as I took a step back. I clenched my fists, trying to hide the fact that my hands were shaking. This kid was intimidating, that’s for sure, and I was afraid of him. ‘What do you mean … we?’

  Carlyle straightened his posture and wiped the spit off his chin. ‘You see, you pathetic ninja, Wyatt is my cousin.’

  Suddenly, I felt dizzy. It was like the room had started spinning.

  ‘When he told me how you got him expelled from this school,’ Carlyle said, ‘I felt sorry for him. When he told me how you stole his entire ninja clan from him … I promised to avenge him.’

  I leaned against the cold metal lockers behind me in case I passed out. ‘What are you saying?’

  ‘Are you daft?’ Carlyle asked. ‘I’m saying that I enrolled at this school so I could get closer to you. You’ve already seen that I’ve built an army of pirates, and it’s only getting bigger. Soon, the pirate invasion will be complete, and Buchanan will be owned by pirates.’

  ‘That’s insane,’ I growled. ‘And how exactly is a sixth grader going to take over an entire school like that?’

  Carlyle smirked. ‘You saw the flag we were building, did you not?’

  ‘The Buchanan Buccaneers?’ I said, and then it finally hit me. I tried to speak loudly, but my lungs felt empty. ‘That flag is for the new mascot…’

  ‘Aye, mate,’ said Carlyle. ‘I’ve made sure my victory is secured for the event on Friday night. My followers at this school have agreed to give all their fundraiser money to me so I’ll be the one with the most collected. As the winner, I’ll have complete control over what the new mascot will be and once it’s changed to the Buccaneers … the pirate invasion part of my plan will be complete.’

  ‘Pirate invasion part? Is there another part?’

  ‘The destruction of you.’

  I leaned forward and stuck out my chest. ‘If it’s a fight you’re looking for—’

  Carlyle raised his open palm to me. ‘Nay. Wyatt’s the fighter in the family.’

  I was confused. ‘Then … what?’

  ‘It’s already started,’ Carlyle said. ‘I’ll destroy your spirit by taking what’s important to you.’

  ‘The ninja clan,’ I whispered.

  ‘Aye,’ he replied. ‘Yer ninjas … yer friends … and yer very own cousin.’

  That was too far. ‘Leave Zoe out of this!’

  One of Carlyle’s pirate bodyguards stepped forward. He removed his hat, and turned to face me. I was in shock.

  ‘Brayden?’ I whispered.

  ‘Seems he’s had a problem joinin’ your clan for awhile,’ Carlyle laughed. ‘Well, we pirates don’t discriminate like that. All are welcome to join here.’

  ‘Sorry, matey,’ said Brayden.

  ‘If it wasn’t for Mister Brayden here, then we wouldn’t have known you were sneakin’ around above the stage yesterday,’ said Carlyle.

  ‘You saw me?’ I asked Brayden.

  Carlyle answered for him. ‘He’s the one that pushed ya out the door, but not before snapping a photo of you as proof.’

  Brayden lowered his gaze. ‘I didn’t know it was you.’

  Carlyle spoke swiftly. ‘It still doesn’t change the fact that he turned ya in even after he saw it was you in the photos.’

  Brayden didn’t say anything. My closest friend at Buchanan had betrayed me, and why? Because I wouldn’t let him become a ninja? He was wearing a gold pendant with a skull. The sign of a pirate.

  ‘Brayden,’ I said.

  ‘Ya got a black mark on ya,’ said Brayden.

  I looked down at my shirt again. Where was this black spot everyone was talking about?

  ‘It means you’re marked,’ Brayden said with a sigh. ‘That your days are numbered. It’s like a giant target.’

  ‘Oh,’ I said as I stared at the floor.

  ‘I’ll accept your surrender by Friday,’ said Carlyle bluntly. ‘You can deliver it in the form of your silly ninja robe.’

  ‘And if I don’t?’ I asked.

  ‘Then Zoe will have to pay,’ Brayden said. ‘They’ll make her walk the plank.’

  ‘The plank?’ I cried out. It was silly to think of such a thing, but then I realised that a pirate invasion was silly too, but here I was in the midst of one. ‘You’d better—’

 
; The pirate bodyguards stepped in front of Carlyle. This time, the captain allowed it. They forced me against the lockers and held me in place as I watched Carlyle walk toward the exit of the locker room.

  ‘Friday, Chase,’ said Carlyle without looking back. ‘I expect your ninja robes by Friday, or else it’s Zoe that’ll pay.’ He stopped just before the door. ‘And if ye tell anyone about this meeting, I promise you’ll regret it.’

  The bodyguards let me drop to my feet when their captain was gone. Brayden didn’t meet my eyes the entire time, and I didn’t say anything to him. When they left the locker room, there was a silence in the air that felt like it was going to crush my skull.

  Why was Zoe always the target for the bad guys?

  It wasn’t easy sitting across from Carlyle in art class, but I did it. It sickened me to watch Zoe flirt with him. I wanted to speak out but was too afraid of what the pirate captain would do. Brayden sat in the clump of desks behind us. He didn’t turn around once. In fact, we hadn’t said a word to each other all morning.

  But that was this morning, and it was time for gym, which also meant it was time to meet with my ninja clan. I knew the remaining members could help me figure out what to do next. Part of me was even excited that I’d be able to give them some real ninja business for the first time in a month.

  I snuck through the entrance at the side of the woods and jogged to the lockers. As I put my gear on, I tried to think of the best way to expose Carlyle and his band of pirates.

  During lunch, we could pull the cords to the stage curtain, letting it fall to the floor. Everyone in the cafeteria would see them playing around in their silly costumes, and hopefully they’d make fun of Carlyle so bad that his pirate followers would abandon him.

  Or I could go straight to the principal and tell him Carlyle’s plan. It would sound insane coming from me, but if I was able to prove he was Wyatt’s cousin, I think the principal would at least hear me out.