Freestyle with Avery

by Annie Bryant

  I’d left my unfinished smoothie back at The Sweet Life, and something sweet like hot chocolate did sound tempting. “Totally!” I agreed. Then I remembered. “What about my dad? I don’t have a cell phone with me to tell him where I am.”

  “You can use the phone at my house. And someone can give you a ride home for sure.”

  “Deal,” I said. “Then tomorrow you can meet Marty!”

  Jason smiled. We were right under a street lamp and with the light shining on his face, I noticed something. His eyes were really, really blue. Not regular blue like Maeve’s eyes, but light. Like the sky almost. In the dark they practically glowed.

  “You know …” I started to say as we walked up Townsend Street.

  “Yeah?”

  I was about to tell him that he had the coolest eyes but then I realized how girly and weird that sounded. So I blurted out the first thing that popped into my head. “Blue’s my favorite color.” Good one, Avery, I thought.

  “Okay,” Jason said. “Um, mine too …”

  I bit my bottom lip and tried to think of something else to say. “Last one to your house is a rotten eggplant! I mean, egg. I mean … oh, whatever. Race you!”

  “Huh?” Jason was so confused by the whole race thing that I had a major head start. I could have won no prob, but I slowed down a little. I had to be careful to hold Radley securely against my chest, and I wanted Jason to know that Avery Madden was no cheater. Then just before we got to his fence, he passed me. No way! I picked up my speed again and caught up with him at the very last second. We were both laughing as we slapped his front door at exactly the same time.

  “Hey, everybody,” Jason called as we opened the door. Radley poked his head out of my jacket the minute we stepped inside. “I’m back!” His house was cozy on the inside. It was full of little snowmen decorations and some kids’ pictures on the wall. There was only one of Jason though—a school picture. It must have been new.

  Jason saw me checking out the photos. “They’ve had other kids stay here before, but right now it’s only me and Frankie. Frankie’s been here since he was four.”

  We heard footsteps getting closer and a door swung open. “Hey! I know you,” said a cheerful voice. It was Bonnie from Fat Alley! She looked just as nice as always, except this time she was wearing jeans and a green fleece pullover instead of her Fat Alley uniform.

  “Wow, Bonnie’s your foster mom?” I turned to Jason and back to Bonnie. “Hi! I like your house.”

  “Thanks, Avery. Come on in. Make yourself at home. Can I get you some hot chocolate, extra marshmallows, hold the whipped cream? How about you, Jason?”

  “Sure, Bonnie. Thanks!” I said. I took off my ear warmer, tucked it safely into my coat pocket, and settled into a comfy chair by the fireplace.

  Bonnie pushed the door into the kitchen to go get the hot chocolate, but as she did, a little kid suddenly raced under her arm and into the room. He flew straight past Bonnie and grabbed Jason around the legs so tightly that Jason almost fell over. Bonnie laughed and continued into the kitchen.

  The kid wouldn’t let go of Jason’s legs. “Hi, Jason! Hi, Jason! Where’s Radley? Can I hold him? Can I?”

  “Hey there, buddy,” Jason said. “Avery, this is my foster brother, Frankie. Frankie, this is Avery.”

  I recognized Frankie from the pictures on the walls. He was the one with crazy brown hair that stuck out in messy spikes all over the place and lots of freckles.

  “Hi, Frankie. How old are you?” I asked, bending over.

  Frankie held up two hands—five fingers on one hand and one on the other. “Six,” he announced proudly. I wanted to laugh at how puffed up Frankie was getting for just being six.

  Jason looked at me. “Frankie just had a birthday. Tell Avery what you got,” Jason suggested.

  Frankie shook his head. “No, I don’t wanna.” Frankie’s eyes never left the wiggling bundle of ferret in my jacket. “Jason, can I hold Radley now?” he pleaded.

  Jason nodded. “Sure. Just be careful.”

  I lifted Radley out of my coat and passed him to Jason. Radley’s bright eyes looked around and settled on the sight of two six-year-old hands coming closer. Frankie grasped Radley for only a second before the ferret slithered out of his hands and scampered under the couch.

  “Ohh …” Frankie sighed. “I’m sorry.”

  “That’s okay, buddy,” Jason assured him. “Radley’s right here.” He reached under the couch and scooped up the ferret. “But guess who Avery and I are about to go visit?”

  Frankie’s eyes lit up. “Ollie!”

  Jason smiled. “Yup.”

  Frankie jumped up and down and tugged on Jason’s coat. “Jason, can I come? Can I be your assistant? I know how to. Pleeease?”

  At the sound of footsteps, Jason put a finger up to his lips and said, “Shhh!” But Frankie wasn’t paying attention.

  He went running out of the room the moment Bonnie returned holding a tray with three mugs. “We run a zoo here, Avery, in case you hadn’t noticed.” She laughed as a little person in a winter coat whizzed back through the door and into the hallway. “Now just where does Frankie think he’s going?”

  Without missing a beat, Jason explained, “I’m going to go show Avery my birdhouses.” Birdhouses, huh? Was that a lie or a clue or both?

  Bonnie nodded. “Well, that’s fine. But would you grab Frankie on your way? It’s too late and too chilly for him to be out playing … I don’t want him to catch a cold.”

  “Yo, Frankie!” Jason called. We heard the sound of little footsteps retreating. “Not tonight, buddy. You can be my assistant tomorrow,” he promised, handing Frankie a fireball from his pocket. A fireball candy obviously wasn’t a good enough substitute for Ollie. Frankie put his hands on his hips and frowned. “And remember,” Jason whispered, “this is top secret! Let’s spit on it.”

  Frankie thoughtfully removed the fireball from his mouth and squeezed it in one fist while he neatly spit into the other. Then he turned and glowered at me. “Thanks a lot,” he muttered and took off running through the house.

  Jason handed Radley off to Bonnie. I got my coat and followed Jason out, but first asked Bonnie, “Can you save my hot chocolate for me for when we get back? Please?”

  She smiled. “Of course, honey.”

  Then I had to run to keep up with Jason. He was like Radley … always slipping away. I couldn’t wait to see who (or what) Ollie was. Maybe a boa constrictor. I used to want my own boa, but Mom practically had a heart attack when I mentioned the idea. Only Walter-sized snakes were allowed.

  “Frankie doesn’t have a lot of patience,” Jason explained as we walked across the yard. “Bonnie said it’s hard for him to trust new people.”

  I wondered what Frankie’s story was, but again, I wasn’t sure if that was too nosy of a question. “How’d you get him to trust you?” I asked instead.

  Jason paused and thought about this as we trampled through the trees. “I dunno. I’ve always been good with wounded animals and stuff. Frankie sort of reminds me of one. Does that sound weird?”

  I shook my head. “It makes sense to me.” I did know what he meant. Kids who needed extra love and attention made me think of wounded animals too … scared and a little suspicious at the same time.

  I followed Jason down a snowy path behind the house to a small, rundown shed. It was leaning slightly to one side, probably from the winds and the weight of all the snow on the roof. Jason unlocked the door and opened it with a creeeak.

  Inside it was dark and smelled like rotting wood. Cobwebs stretched over the beams and tools hung on the walls. As my eyes got used to the dim light, I looked around for a cage and listened as hard as I could for some kind of animal sound. Nothing. Where was he keeping this thing? Then, from behind a cabinet, I saw something move … or flutter!

  “Wow …” I breathed. “Is that what I think it is?”

  Jason pulled a cord hanging from the ceiling and switched on a single light bul
b. “Avery, meet Ollie,” he said and walked over to a huge brown bird perched in the corner of the shed. “Ollie’s a genuine, wild, red-tailed hawk.” He began to walk slowly toward Ollie. “I found him on the ground in the woods. He’s not fully grown yet. See, you can tell by how his irises are still kind of yellow. But he’s definitely not a baby, either … I think he must have been injured by some other animal. Nothing was broken, but he didn’t seem like he could fly on his own.”

  I blinked, still in shock. I’d never seen a wild bird so close-up before. “Poor little guy. It’s a really good thing you found him, Jason. He never would have survived out there alone.”

  Jason nodded. “I know.”

  “But Jason …” I took a deep breath. “I thought people weren’t allowed to keep wild creatures. In fact, I’m pretty sure it’s illegal. Don’t you need to contact a shelter or some kind of animal rescue group?”

  Jason shook his head. “See, my grandpa was a falconer, and he also ran a licensed hawk sanctuary in Durango. I’ve helped Gramps raise at least ten hawks … even ones that had broken wings. Seriously, I know everything about these guys. With babies, it’s really dangerous for humans to be around them a lot, because the hawks get confused and start to think they’re people instead of birds! But Ollie’s old enough to know the difference. When he’s ready, I’m going to release him to the wild. But for now, I have to keep him a secret.”

  “Are you sure?” I asked Jason, still feeling kind of funny about the situation. “When I visited Montana, my friends and I found these abandoned wolf pups and really wanted to take care of them. But my friend’s dad told us we could get in BIG trouble, and he found a wildlife rescue group to help them instead.”

  “It’s kind of risky for me to keep Ollie here, but I know that I can help him,” Jason assured me.

  “So how’d you convince Bonnie to let you keep him?”

  Jason looked at me and admitted, “I didn’t tell her.”

  I nodded and understood. That was what the BSG did when we first found Marty, before we found out it was okay for Charlotte to keep a dog in her house after all. I watched as Ollie noticed Jason and perked up his head. “What about Frankie?” I remembered how Frankie had asked to come out and visit Ollie when Bonnie was making hot chocolate.

  “Frankie knows, but he’d never say anything. It makes him feel special to have a secret to keep.”

  “So what do your, um, foster parents think you’re doing out here?” I couldn’t help but ask.

  Jason smiled. “Bonnie and Fred told me I could use the shed as my own private space for my birdhouses. See?” He pointed to a work table and cabinets behind it. The cabinets were full of these little birdhouses made from pieces of bark and other miscellaneous things Jason had collected. He had boxes and boxes of supplies, all labeled: TWINE, PEBBLES, BUTTONS, and CHINA AND GLASS. The birdhouses looked more like little homes for gnomes or fairies. Anyone who got to live in one of these was one lucky bird.

  “Whoa, Jason … these are sooo cool! I wish I could take a picture to show my friend Isabel. She’d go crazy over them … birds are her favorite animals to draw.”

  Jason looked at the ground and scraped at the dirt with his shoe. “It’s just a weird hobby. Something my grandma taught me.”

  “I bet you could sell these, you know,” I told him.

  Jason shook his head. “I’m not that good,” he said, still looking down.

  I opened my mouth to tell him that he was, but a squawk came from the dim corner where Ollie was marching around. “Hey there, Ollie.” Jason slowly walked to the hawk.

  “Has taking care of him been a lot of work?” I asked.

  He laughed. “See that sleeping bag? I had to sneak out here to sleep for almost a week. Then I spent four hours a day sitting with him, talking to him, and trying to get him to eat by feeding him scraps of raw hamburger. I even started doing my homework out here. But it’s paid off. Ollie’s almost ready to be released. I’m probably going to do it this week.”

  Jason studied Ollie very carefully, like he was trying to figure out exactly what the hawk needed. There was something really special about Jason and Ollie, like they absolutely trusted each other one hundred percent. I’d never seen a kid my own age so comfortable around a wild creature like that. “He must really love you,” I said. “I mean, since you raised him and all …” Did that sound silly? I glanced at Jason out of the corner of my eye, but he wasn’t laughing.

  “No. When Ollie flies away, he’ll forget all about me and be fine on his own. Hawks aren’t like dogs. Wild birds and animals need to be free. Hawks can be devoted to their trainers, but they never love you.”

  “But that’s sad.” I didn’t want to believe that this hawk would forget the boy who saved his life.

  “No, it’s okay. That’s just how hawks are,” Jason insisted. “Ollie trusts me to give him food, and I trust that Ollie will stay here and not try to escape. You must be hungry, huh fella?” Jason went over to a small cage and got something out, keeping his back turned to me … like he didn’t want me to know or see whatever it was he was giving Ollie. But I had a guess.

  “Are you feeding him a mouse right now?” I asked. “Can I watch?”

  Jason raised his eyebrows. “Seriously? I figured you’d be totally freaked out if you knew. Mice are Ollie’s favorite.”

  I shrugged. “Hey, I’m a snake owner, don’t forget. I’ve fed Walter—that’s my snake—plenty of mice before. It’s just a part of nature, right?”

  “Right. And besides, it could be worse. Did you know that mother hawks chew up mice and other rodents and then regurgitate them into their babies’ mouths?”

  I made a grossed-out face. “Ugh. I’ll stick to the mice-feeding, thanks.”

  Jason slid his right hand into a worn leather glove. “Me too. I just close the shed door and let the mouse go. Ollie always catches it. The more practice he gets flying and hunting on his own, the sooner he can go back to the wild where he belongs.” He untied the leash that fastened Ollie to his perch then stepped behind me, put two hands on my shoulders, and moved me away from the cage. “Okay, Avery. Step back and watch. And whatever you do, don’t open the shed door.”

  “What are those thingies called?” I pointed to the little leather bands around each leg above the bird’s feet, both attached to what looked like a cut-up jump rope.

  “Those are anklets. And the straps are called jesses. This way he can move back and forth on his perch without getting tangled, but he can’t leave the perch unless I turn him loose. Check it out.”

  Jason stepped back and blew one sharp note on a whistle he wore around his neck. Ollie flapped twice, lifted off the perch, and landed on Jason’s outstretched glove.

  “He loves flying, which is a good sign,” Jason explained as he smoothed Ollie’s feathers.

  “Me too!” I said and then realized how that sounded. “I mean, I obviously can’t fly, but I feel like I am when I’m snowboarding. It’s the best.”

  “You snowboard?”

  “Are you kidding? What else would I do in Telluride? I’m going to be in the Snurfer Competition on Tuesday. I can’t wait! You’re doing it too, right?” I figured someone who named his hawk “Ollie” would definitely be a snowboarding nut like me.

  But Jason shook his head. “Um, no. I’ve never been snowboarding, actually.”

  “No way. You’ve never been snowboarding?” I was totally surprised.

  Jason looked down and spoke so quietly I could barely hear him. “I dunno, I guess I just never had a snowboard or anything.”

  Boy, did I feel stupid. It hadn’t even occurred to me that maybe Jason couldn’t snowboard not because he didn’t want to, but because he just never had the chance.

  “Do you want to try it?”

  Now it was Jason’s turn to give the Are you kidding? look.

  “No, really. My dad owns ATS Sports and I bet he could loan out a snowboard for the day. And I’m no expert teacher or anything, but I’m pr
etty good. It’d be so much fun! How ‘bout it?”

  Suddenly a huge smile burst onto Jason’s face. But before he had a chance to say anything there was a knock on the door. Jason turned pale and looked as nervous as he had back at The Sweet Life. “Jason, is Avery in there?” It was Bonnie.

  “Yeah!” he called. I bit my lip as we waited for the door to open. But it didn’t. Jason looked at Ollie like he was silently warning him to keep his beak closed!

  “Avery, your dad just called,” Bonnie called through the door. “Would you two come inside and call him back?”

  “Be right there!” I replied. We listened tensely as Bonnie’s footsteps hesitated outside the shed door, then finally headed off in the direction of the house. Phew! Jason looked at me and smiled with relief. I felt the same way. We were this close to having Bonnie discover his mega-huge secret.

  “Wow.” Jason breathed a sigh of relief. “Bonnie never comes down here. She said it could be my private place.”

  I looked down at my watch. “Oh, no! I totally lost track of time. I should have called my dad as soon as I got here! I hope he’s not too worried.”

  Jason straightened up the room and carefully locked up the shed before we dashed back into the house.

  “Was my dad mad?” I blurted out when we got inside.

  Bonnie hesitated. Ick … I really hoped I wasn’t in trouble. “He said Kazie told him you were probably here, but he does want you home soon. I told him I’d give you a ride.”

  “Thanks, Bonnie.” I saw my mug of hot chocolate sitting on the counter … just as Bonnie promised. I really wanted to stay longer and drink it and talk to Jason some more, but I was probably already in hot water. Enough adventures for one night. Bonnie got her purse and Jason and I followed her to the door.

  “Is it okay if I come, Bonnie?” he asked.

  “Well …” Bonnie started.

  Just then Frankie appeared in the door to the hallway. “You have to stay here, Jason. It’s too late to be out,” Frankie said in a serious voice. I wanted to laugh. He sounded like a parent.

  “Would you mind … ?” Bonnie mouthed so only Jason and I could see.