Superkid

by Christina Barr

  When we got to the swing set, Brock and three of his goons were playing on our swings. He knew that’s where I played with Kiara every day. He didn’t like the swings. He always went straight for the monkey bars or the jungle gym. Most of the time, he played king of the mountain or tag. The swings were our thing.

  Brock was swinging wrong. He was standing up; teachers had told us that we weren’t supposed to do that.

  Because I was a good kid, I had to do something to stop him. “Stop that, Brock!”

  “What are you gonna do?” He jumped off the swing and came up to me. “You’re nothing but a crybaby.”

  “Am not!” I yelled. “You’re just mad because I’m cooler than you. You’re mad because I’m faster than you, I’m stronger than you, Ms. Hucklebee likes me better than you, and my friend is smarter than all of your friends put together!”

  Kiara crossed her arms and smiled. “He has a point.”

  “I’m not jealous!” he yelled.

  “Sure you are. You’re especially jealous because I got super cool shoes today too.”

  Brock squinted his eyes and pouted. He was really mad. Then he looked down at my shoes. “Those are nice shoes. Then he pushed me! “Give ‘em to me!”

  All of Brock’s friends came at me, and I started pushing them away, but they tackled me and knocked me to the ground. If I would have known that it would be four against one, I would have eaten spinach for breakfast!

  “Stop it!” Kiara was screaming. She was just a girl. She was probably scared and didn’t know what to do. Brock’s friend’s caught me off guard, and Brock was already touching my shoes and was about to rip them off my feet. Then we’d be doomed!

  “I said let go!” She punched Brock right in the face and knocked him flat on his back.

  All of the boys stopped attacking me to look at Kiara standing over Brock. It looked like he was gonna cry.

  I was really shocked. Brock was my ultimate nemesis, and she just decked him and made him cry like he was…well, a little girl!

  “You leave my Felix alone!”

  The other guys jumped off me and began to back away. They were scared of Kiara.

  One of them was named Kyle, and he started to tease me. “You gonna let your little girlfriend fight your battles for you?”

  I thought Kiara was pretty cool until they said that. Kyle made me really angry, so I jumped on my feet and made fists. “She’s not my girlfriend, and I’m gonna beat you so bad!”

  They all started to run, but I chased after them. My shoes were a little loose so they got a good head start, but I was still running at super speed. I caught up with Kyle eventually and I tackled him! He fell to the ground and screamed, “Ow!”

  I grabbed his shirt collar. “Say uncle!” I yelled.

  “No!”

  I glared at him. I would make him pay for what he said. Then I stood up and jumped up in the air. “Super Jump!”

  “Ow!” Kyle yelled and started to cry like a baby when my butt landed on his stomach.

  “Say it!”

  “Uncle! Uncle! Uncle!”

  I smiled and got off of him. I let the other two get away and I ran back to Brock. Kiara was holding him down to the ground with her knee in his back. He really didn’t seem good enough to be my arch nemesis anymore, since Kiara took him out so easily. She didn’t have super strength like I did.

  She got off him when I came over. I then grabbed him by his shirt. “If Kiara can beat you, imagine what I can do!”

  He was very scared. I had him right where I wanted him.

  Kiara pointed her finger in his face. “You better not tell!”

  “I won’t, just please let me go!” He was starting to beg, which made me feel bad, kind of like I was the bad guy. I didn’t want to become the bully.

  I let him go, and he crawled away a little bit until he could get up and run. Kiara crossed her arms and smiled all heroic. I needed a heroic pose too, so I put my fists on my hips. “We make a good team,” I told Kiara.

  “Well, I am your partner for life.”

  “How did you beat up Brock? Do you have some more powers that I don’t know about?”

  “Well, not everyone has super strength so I was trained professionally in the art of Kick Butt.” Sometimes Kiara spoke so simple to me that I felt kind of dumb. I didn’t complain or tell her that, because Dad said if you think bad things about yourself, then they’ll probably become real. I just figured that the more I stayed around someone smart, the smarter I would be.

  With Kiara at my side, I was sure that we would be able to save the world. “Kiara.”

  “Yes, Felix?

  “Let’s go fight some bad guys!”

  Chapter 9

  When the weekend came, Mom was going nuts. Kiara was my only friend at school, and I was her only friend. My mom called her mom, and they made a play date for us. Mom set out toys and made us snacks and treats. She was running around all Saturday morning, which was kind of distracting when I was trying to watch TV.

  Then she started vacuuming and I really couldn’t hear. “Mom!”

  She turned it off for a second. “I’m sorry, but I need to clean the house.”

  “I know this is hard to believe, but kids don’t care about messes. We will probably make a mess. It’s all part of fun.”

  “I know boys do that. You and your father can’t even put your plates in the sink after dinner, no matter how many times I ask. Well, this may be hard to believe, but girls like clean things. While you’re slinging Patches and Spooner through the mud, Kiara is at home playing with dolls.”

  “Ew!” I wasn’t gonna play with stupid dolls, and Kiara couldn’t give me even one explanation to convince me to do it. “Then what are we supposed to do then?” I asked Mom.

  She shrugged. “You two can do what you do at recess.”

  We couldn’t really do what we did at recess. We played a whole lot, but that’s because school had a nice jungle gym and other cool stuff. I guess we talked a whole bunch—and I liked that—but it seemed like we should be playing at a play date.

  I didn’t get why Mom was making such a big deal out of everything. Kiara knew me better than anyone. Just because she saw that my house was clean didn’t mean she would find out something new about me or be even more impressed. She already thought I was the coolest person ever.

  “Why is this so important to you?” I asked Mom.

  “She’s your friend. I’m so excited that you have a little friend, Felix.” She must have been, because she came over and started kissing my cheeks.

  “Mom!”

  “I’m sorry. It’s just that you’re growing up.”

  I frowned. I hated every time someone told me that I was growing up. Having friends was supposed to keep me young. Grownups didn’t have friends. I don’t know why. It’s like when they get old, they forget the good things in life like freeze tag and hide-and-seek.

  “I’ll stop being your emotional mom and give you some space.”

  Mom finished vacuuming, and I ended up missing a good chunk of my cartoon. I didn’t even get to see the end of it, because the doorbell rang. Mom turned off the TV before going to the front door.

  “Hello, Kiara!” Mom said she wouldn’t be emotional, but she sure was squealing a whole lot.

  I stayed on the couch. I should have gone to the door to meet Kiara, but suddenly I was a little nervous. Mom was making it seem like everything was a big deal. Maybe it was a big deal.

  “Felix.” I turned around and Kiara was in my house.

  I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. It was weird. I only had seen her in school. I wasn’t sure about what I should say or do. “So you met my mom?”

  She nodded. “She’s nice.” Kiara usually talked a whole bunch. Maybe she didn’t know what to do either.

  “Do you wanna eat something?”

  She nodded.

  “Follow me.” I led her into the kitchen. Mom was already setting out plates. Mom had made one of those frozen
pizzas, and she had chips and juices too. We also had chocolate chip cookies, but Mom liked for me to eat the sweet stuff last.

  Kiara sat next to me in the kitchen, which wasn’t unusual, but still weird. I don’t know why. We always ate lunch together. The only time we weren’t together was when we went to the bathroom or when school was over. Maybe that’s what was weird. I wasn’t used to hanging out with her outside of school.

  “Do you like my house?” I asked her.

  She nodded. “It’s very nice.” Something was wrong with her. I could tell.

  “What’s the matter? Do you not want to be here?”

  “I do! I really do, Felix.” Then she put her head down and looked away. “My dad didn’t really want me to come.”

  I felt terrible. Why wouldn’t her dad like me? I didn’t even know him. Mom said you can’t judge somebody if you don’t know them. “Why?”

  She started turning red again. “Dad says I can’t have a boyfriend until I’m sixteen.” Then she looked at me a little scared.

  I laughed. “I’m not your boyfriend. I’m your best friend!”

  “You’re my only friend,” she said sad. “That’s why he let me come.”

  “You’re my only friend too.” I wondered why that was. Kiara saw that I was special. Ms. Hucklebee might have been dangerous to be around, but she knew I was special. Other kids should have seen it. “How come we don’t have more friends?”

  “All the boys in our class are mean, and all the other girls can kill you.”

  “Oh yeah.”

  Kiara began to look really sad, like she was about to cry. “Am I enough?” she asked me.

  “Of course you are!” I said. “We have a lot of fun together.” I don’t get why she didn’t have more friends. She was so smart, and she knew how to have fun. She was also strong enough to beat up Brock and could run about as fast as a normal boy. She was awesome.

  Kiara started to smile really big, and I was glad about that. She had a very nice smile. “Let’s have a lot of fun today. We’ll do whatever you want to.”

  I thought about it. It was time that Kiara and I started to do some good with our powers. We couldn’t just sit around and talk about how cool we were. We had to help humanity. “I want to fight crime.”

  Her eyes bucked.

  “Is something wrong?” I asked.

  “No. We can fight crime, but…” She began to think about it. “I think we should start small.”

  “As long as we start!”

  We finished our lunch and then Kiara went by the front door to grab her backpack. “I brought my costume to show you, so you show me yours.”

  “Okay!”

  She went into the bathroom, and I went into my room. It didn’t take me long to put on my Super Max Air Shoes and my cape. I looked in the mirror. I looked so cool! Kiara had never seen me in my cape. She was gonna be blown away.

  I waited for her to come out of the bathroom, but it took her forever to get dressed. It always took Mom a long time to get dressed. It must have been a girl thing.

  After a really long time, Kiara knocked on my bedroom door. “I’m ready, Felix!”

  I opened the door and saw someone totally different than who I had let in my house. It was Kiara, but it wasn’t. Her costume was awesome. She had on purple boots, purple stockings, a blue sparkly tutu, and a purple top that had “PLD” on it. She also had on long shiny pink gloves, a pink mask, and a cape that was pink on one side and purple on another. Her cape wasn’t a blanket like mine. It was shinny.

  “Is that your whole costume?” she asked me.

  I felt a little dumb. Her costume had a lot of stuff. I didn’t really have a lot. “Who are you supposed to be?”

  She smirked and put her hands on her hips. “I’m Princess Lady Diva.” Even her mask had jewels on it. Then she had a belt with a bunch of weapons on it too. She looked like the real superhero.

  “How did you make your costume?”

  “My mom really likes arts and crafts, and she makes stuff all the time. She made my cape for me.”

  I felt it. The outside was purple and it was smooth and shiny, but the inside was pink, fuzzy, and really soft. “I wish my costume was better.”

  “I can help you!” She grabbed my hand and pulled me into the kitchen. “My mask is only a paper plate and stretchy string, Felix. I can make you one now!”

  The plates we used for lunch were shinny red plates that Mom would throw away. She wouldn’t mind if we used them. “I need scissors, a marker, and stretchy string.”

  I had everything she asked for in my backpack except for the stretchy string. I brought her what I had at first and then started searching all over the house for it. I couldn’t find anything like that though. Then I remembered that Mom would sew my pants and shirts if I tore them and that she did it with string.

  Mom was sitting on her bed and reading a book. She looked surprised when I came in her room. “Is something wrong, Felix?”

  “I need stretchy string, but I can’t find any stretchy string. Do we have normal string?”

  “For what?” she asked.

  “We’re making masks.”

  “Masks?” I don’t know why, but Mom seemed a little worried.

  I nodded.

  Instead of going to her sewing kit, she went into her closet and started digging through her bag of Christmas stuff. Mom always wrapped the coolest presents. Dad said it was always a shame how fast I ripped off the paper and the ribbons. I couldn’t help it. It was one of the most fun things about Christmas.

  I tried to peek, but Mom pushed me back. “No, no, no. No peeking in my closet.”

  Rats! I wanted to know if she had gotten me any more toys.

  “Here.” She handed me a spool of red ribbon. “I want to see what you two are doing.”

  I grabbed her hand and nearly ran back into the kitchen. I wanted Mom to see and understand all the good Kiara and I were about to do. “We’re gonna save the world, Mom!”

  Mom was surprised when she saw Kiara’s costume. It was expected. It was pretty cool. “You like to play superhero, too?”

  I got upset. It wasn’t a game. Maybe Mom thought she was only playing a game with me at first, but I realized that I had special powers and I had found someone else like me.

  I thought Kiara would start saying all her smart stuff and would convince Mom like how she would convince me of stuff sometimes, but she didn’t! “Yes, Mrs. Brown.”

  I got so mad at Kiara! She betrayed me.

  Mom looked a little upset. “How long are you gonna play this game, Felix? You know your dad doesn’t really like this one.”

  “Not all day,” Kiara said.

  “Okay.” Mom didn’t trust me. “Come get me if you need anything.”

  I watched Mom and made sure she went back into her room. She left her door open, probably so she could keep an eye on us. As soon as she left, I blew up at Kiara. “You don’t believe in me?”

  She shushed me to make me be quiet. “Of course I do, but I know your parents think it’s just a game. If your mom and dad found out that you knew you had powers and that I’m gonna help you fight crime, they would never let me play with you.”

  “That’s not true. Mom and Dad would never do that.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not. I don’t want to take that chance, Felix.”

  I couldn’t blame her. I didn’t like being alone, and I didn’t want her to be alone either. “So, it’s like we have secret identities?”

  “Yeah.” She smiled. “Grownups just think we have overactive imaginations, but we’re really super-powered beings.”

  We were risking a lot. Fighting crime couldn’t have been easy, and Kiara was scared to be honest to my parents. Maybe it was getting too dangerous for her. “Maybe you shouldn’t help me.”

  “Why?” she asked. “You don’t want to be with me?”

  How could she ask me that? I needed someone like Kiara. I couldn’t make my mask, but she was already about done. Maybe it wou
ld be better if she stayed out of the action. I didn’t want Kiara to ever get hurt. “I do want you around, but what I have to do is dangerous. You don’t have any powers besides your brain.”

  “I’ve got another!” she yelled.

  “You do?” I didn’t get it. Why would she keep such an important secret from me? “Then why didn’t you tell me about it?”

  “Because!” She put her head down. “It’s kind of embarrassing, Felix.”

  I couldn’t think of any kind of super power that would be embarrassing. I guess she could have had something like super stench, but she always smelled nice to me. “What is it?”

  “Well…” She looked around to make sure Mom wasn’t nearby. Then she spoke quietly. “I can turn invisible.”

  “Whoa!” I yelled. “That’s awesome! Show me right now.”

  “That’s why I’m so embarrassed, Felix. I can’t show you anything! I have performance anxiety sometimes.”

  I didn’t want to seem stupid, but there was no way I could figure out what she meant. “What’s that mean?” I asked her.

  “It means that I get really nervous when I have to do something in front of people. I can’t concentrate when you look at me when I’m trying to turn invisible. I can only do it if you look away.”

  I started to think about it. I thought about it long and hard. Sometimes Kiara was so smart that I felt like I was being tricked. I didn’t know if all that performance stuff was true because I still kind of didn’t understand it myself. The only thing I knew was that she wouldn’t let me not see her. “Then how can I know that you’re invisible?”

  “You don’t trust me?” She sounded sad, and then I felt guilty.

  “I trust you more than anyone else in the world, Kiara.”

  “Good.” She smiled and I knew all was forgiven. “Then believe me. I’ve seen it…or not seen it.”

  Then Kiara started to get all sad again. It kind of looked like she was about to cry, but her eyes weren’t watery. “I’ve been invisible,” she said. “I know what it’s like to be right in front of someone and they can’t even see you.”