Superkid

by Christina Barr

  “Why didn’t you have a father?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, Felix.” Then he looked real sad, like he was about to cry. “I don’t know.”

  It must have been really bad. I didn’t really remember anything about his mom, except her house smelled like peppermint and she always had cookies in a jar. I remember that we had to wear black and go to a creepy graveyard, and we didn’t see her anymore. Mom said she was dead. It wasn’t his dad’s fault if he was dead. Mom said everybody dies someday. “Did he get sick like your mom?”

  He shook his head. “He left me. He didn’t want to spend time with me and my mom, so he left and I never saw him again.”

  That didn’t make any sense. Why would anyone leave my dad? He was great. He could be scary and boring sometimes, but he was a good person. “Maybe you’re confused like I was. Maybe he didn’t understand something.”

  “I wish you were right, but you’re not. My dad didn’t care about me.”

  “I’m sorry.” I didn’t like seeing Dad that way, and I didn’t know what to say to make him feel better. The only thing I could think of was to hug him.

  Dad smiled and hugged me back, but he still had very sad eyes. “There are two things that a boy wants as soon as he’s born, even if he can’t understand it. He wants a mother who will love him and a father who will be proud of him. When a boy gets older, he wants something else—to find a woman who will treat him like he’s her hero. I had a good mom, and I met a great woman, your mother.

  “When a man doesn’t have a father to make him feel like he’s a good man, then something feels like it’s broken on the inside. The only thing that can really fix it is when he has a family of his own and does right by them.”

  He looked me right in the eye. “I don’t ever want you to think that I don’t love you, Felix. If I’m not doing something right, I want to know. I want to fix it, because it’ll fix me.”

  Dad didn’t need to worry. I realized some more stuff while he was talking. I didn’t like when he spanked me, and I didn’t like when he would yell or when I needed to clean my room or eat my vegetables. I didn’t like that he couldn’t build stuff. I didn’t like that he was boring. But no matter what, I would miss him if he was gone. It made me sad that Dad was sad. I had never seen him sad before, and I didn’t like that someone made him feel that way. He didn’t deserve to feel that way. He was a good guy. Even though his dad couldn’t be proud of him, he was still my hero.

  “I’m proud of you, Daddy.”

  It looked like someone put Christmas lights in Dad’s eyes, because they looked really bright. Then he started smiling real big. For some reason, he still started to cry.

  I didn’t mean to make him feel bad. “Did I say something wrong?”

  “No. These are happy tears, Felix.” He wiped his eyes and I was glad. It was too weird seeing a grown man cry.

  I was still a little scared of the water, but I didn’t want to be scared of anything. Not learning how to swim the right way didn’t make sense if my dad could teach me. “Will you show me how to swim?”

  “Sure I will.” Dad slid back into the water and reached out his hands for me to jump into them.

  I had this wobbly feeling in my stomach, like I was gonna get hurt if I jumped or I would drown. I remembered what it felt like to be under the water with no hope, and it was a bad feeling. My legs were shaking when I stood up.

  “I’ll catch you.”

  The water looked so deep. Dad might have missed me. “I’m scared.”

  “I won’t let anything happen to you.” Dad’s voice was very calm and soothing. It was also very sure. He always knew what to say, and he always kept promises to me. That’s how I knew I could trust him.

  I bent my knees, closed my eyes, and jumped.

  My heart was beating really fast, and I knew I was still really scared. I hit the water and was terrified. I started going in deeper and deeper until I was completely under. Where was my dad? Why wasn’t he rescuing me?

  Then before I could panic, Dad grabbed me and pulled me back up. “I told you I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

  I hugged him. “I don’t wanna let go!”

  “You’ll have to if you want to learn how to swim, Felix.”

  He started to let go of me a little bit and I held on tighter to him. “Daddy!” I could fight bullies and rescue animals from tall trees, but I was scared of a little water. It was so embarrassing.

  He held me tight and rubbed my back. “Don’t worry, Son. Even when you feel like you have to do something on your own, I’ll always be here. I’m not gonna leave you.”

  That made me feel better, so I started to kind of let him go. I looked in Dad’s eyes, and I knew he wasn’t lying to me and he’d be there for me. “I’m ready.”

  Swimming was harder than what I thought. It was a lot scarier than before. It was like I was playing with a monster that could swallow me whole if I wasn’t careful enough. Dad had his arms under my stomach while I kicked my legs and moved my arms. He would try to let go, and I’d get scared and grab his arm before he was gone.

  “It’s okay, Felix. Just trust me.”

  After a couple of times, something happened. I absolutely knew that Dad was gonna be there for me. I let him let me go, and I kept moving my arms and kicking my legs. I didn’t sink. I started moving forward.

  “You’re doing it, Felix! You’re swimming!”

  “I’m swimming!” My arms and legs were already tired, and I couldn’t do it that much. I could barely talk and swim. I was about to fall back in, but Dad came and caught me. “I did it, Dad!”

  He taught me how to just lie on my back and float in the water. That was about trust and confidence. We had a splash fight too. His splashes were way bigger, but it was still really fun.

  I guess I found out that my dad really could have fun. Of course I had to teach him, but at least he learned.

  We stayed in the pool for a really long time. Some old people came in for a class, so we had to leave. I was sad, but I was kind of tired too. After we took showers and got dressed, Dad took me to the restaurant, and I got to get a whole pizza to myself. I didn’t eat it all, but I got to take it home in a box for later. Dad had a really big steak, but he finished it.

  When we were waiting for the waitress to bring us the check, I leaned back in my chair and started to close my eyes. I was really tired all the sudden.

  “You ready to sleep, Champ?”

  I nodded and closed my eyes. “I had fun today.”

  Dad gently rubbed his hand in my hair, but I didn’t really care that much. “I had fun too, Son.”

  It was probably the best day of my life.

  Chapter 12

  Kiara missed half of school Thursday, and I missed all of it on Friday, so we had some best friend time to catch up on. When her mom brought her over on Saturday, we were working double time. We had to play a bunch of normal kid games like blocks and Play-Doh, and we had to help Mom make some flan.

  After that, we got dressed in our superhero costumes and hit the streets. We didn’t know what kind of crime we could fight that day. Some of the neighbors started sending in some requests to Mom, and she sorted them out. She said there weren’t any for us to do that Saturday, so we had to look for some ourselves.

  As soon as we got outside, we saw a kid sitting on my hill. It wasn’t just any kind of kid. It looked like some kind of arch nemesis. He was dressed in all black and was armed with a long stick.

  I gasped as soon as I saw him. “Do you know who this is, Princess Lady Diva?”

  “Who?” she asked.

  “It’s a super villain!” It was obvious. Sure it was a little super villain, but evil all the same.

  “A super villain?” she asked. She sounded kind of nervous. I don’t know why. If she could take down Brock, I’m sure she could help me take down a little super villain. “You sure?”

  “I know so.” I wasn’t gonna let some evil doer take over my street. “I’
m gonna attack him.”

  “No!” Princess Lady Diva grabbed my arm and started to pull on me. “You can’t just attack some kid you don’t know.”

  “Sure I can,” I said. “He’s evil and I’m a good guy.”

  She looked at the little evil guy and then back at me. “Can’t we talk about this?”

  “Justice doesn’t talk. It sings!” I pulled my arm away and started running for the evil scum as fast as I could. I let out a battle cry, and he turned around just before I slammed right into him. I tried to stop my body, but I was already going too fast, and we crashed and started rolling down the hill together until we got to the bottom.

  We stopped when we hit the sidewalk. I was okay, but I had just attacked an innocent boy. It wasn’t really a super villain. It was Li, and he started to cry.

  “Please, don’t do that!” I started shushing him and looking around. I hoped my mom didn’t see that. I hoped no parents in the neighborhood saw that. I didn’t want to ruin my good reputation.

  “What did you do?” Princess Lady Diva yelled and ran down the stairs. When she saw it was Li, her mouth dropped. “Superkid!”

  “I’m sorry.” How was I supposed to know? His back was facing us, and he was wearing a black winter hat. Who dresses in all black like some kind of ninja armed with a stick, unless he is evil? How could anyone expect me to know any better?

  “Felix!” my mom yelled.

  I closed my eyes and tried to wish her back into the house, but she didn’t go back in. She came right to me. I opened my eyes and saw her pointing her finger right in my face. “It was an accident!”

  “I saw you attack that boy! What have I told you about this hill?”

  I felt so terrible. I didn’t mean to hurt Li, and I didn’t want Mom to be mad at me. It was my first real mistake as a superhero. I couldn’t believe that I had harmed an innocent person. I put my head down in shame.

  Mom crossed her arms and tapped her foot a little bit. “Apologize.”

  “I’m sorry,” I told Li.

  He sat up and stopped crying, but I knew he was hurt. He was rubbing his head.

  “Let me see.” Mom went behind him and started looking at his head. “You’re not bleeding,” she said.

  That was a relief. “Then he’ll be okay?”

  She pointed her finger in my face again. “Do anything like that again, and you won’t be playing outside for a month.”

  I gulped. Mom sure could be scary when she wanted to. “Yes, Ma’am.”

  She helped Li up and gave him a hug. “You okay?”

  Li nodded and wiped his eyes. “I’m fine.”

  “Good.” She pointed at me one more time before she went back inside the house. I knew she would be watching me. I had to once again be extra careful.

  Princess Lady Diva got mad. I could tell by her face. It looked really stiff, and she squinted her eyes. Then she crossed her arms and bobbed her head back and forth a little bit. “What are you doing here, Li?” She wasn’t even mad at me for hurting Li. She was just mad at Li for some reason.

  Li wiped his eyes. “I wanted to be in your super club.”

  I looked at Princess Lady Diva to see what she thought. She was already shaking her head. I had to agree with her. A little kid like Li could have gotten hurt. “Sorry,” I told him. “We have powers, and you’re just a kid.”

  He stood up and stopped crying. “That’s why I brought my stick.”

  “And who are you supposed to be?” Princess Lady Diva asked.

  Li ran up the stairs to get to his stick that was still lying on top of the hill. He held it and put his other hand on his hip. “I’m Stickman!”

  Princess Lady Diva started laughing, which I didn’t think was very nice. “More like Stickboy.”

  I could see that what she said started to upset Li. Mom said that words could hurt just as much as punches, so I always had to be careful about what I said. We were both hurting Li, and that’s not what heroes did.

  “What can you do?” I asked him.

  Princess Lady Diva grabbed my arm and made me face her. “Superkid, he can’t be a superhero.”

  I did like playing with her, but I felt bad for Li. I knew what it was like to want to be a superhero. Luckily for me, I ended up really having super powers.

  Then I remembered something that Dad told me, something that was really important. He said that a smile was sometimes the best super power. If I was a real superhero, I should find a way for Li to be happy. We owed it to Li to give him a fair shot.

  “Let’s give him a chance,” I told Princess Lady Diva.

  She grumbled and crossed her arms. “Fine.”

  “What can you do?” I asked.

  Li’s eyes got real big and he ran down the steps to come to us. “I can hit things with my stick!”

  Princess Lady Diva looked at me again. I didn’t mean to look at her, because I knew what face she was making. I saw her anyway. She was looking at me like I was stupid and like I should admit she was right. I couldn’t do that; because I wasn’t gonna give up on Li.

  “What else?”

  He started thinking about it real hard and then he got excited again. “My sister takes karate, so I know some stuff.”

  Karate might have been nice. Princess Lady Diva’s training came in handy more than her power of invisibility. Maybe Li’s fighting could be a help to the team. “Princess Lady Diva’s been trained in the art of Kick Butt.”

  She smiled and raised her head up, very proud of herself.

  Li shrugged his shoulders and looked confused. “I’ve never heard of it.”

  She got real mad, made a fist, and shook it near his face. “I can kick your butt right now!”

  “Stop it, Princess.” I pushed her back so she wouldn’t fight Li. I didn’t know why she was acting so weird.

  “But he’s just a little kindergartner,” she yelled. “He can’t be part of our team.”

  “Weren’t you in kindergarten last year?” Li asked her.

  “No.” She smiled and crossed her arms again. “I skipped it.”

  I was just in kindergarten. Mom told me that I had to go there. I didn’t get how she could just skip it. “How old are you?” I asked Princess Lady Diva.

  She put her hands behind her back and got really shy all the sudden. “I’m five, but I’ll be six in late December. The school wanted to make me take kindergarten this year, but Mom had me take a test and I got to skip it.”

  I was very surprised. I didn’t know that she was so much younger than me. I thought we were the same age. She shouldn’t have been that much smarter than me if she was younger than me, even if she had a super brain. I didn’t like it. It was weird.

  Li was surprised too. I don’t think he liked that someone his age was smarter. “I may not be super smart, but I can fight and I have my stick. I can learn from the both of you. You can train me. I can be a superhero. Just give me a chance.”

  I looked at Princess Lady Diva again. She knew the art of Kick Butt. She could train him if she really wanted to, but she was still being stubborn. “He can’t,” she said. “I’m your partner.”

  Then I got an amazing idea. “He can be my sidekick.” All the best superheroes had a sidekick. Having a sidekick would make me even more superhero than before.

  She stomped her foot and grumbled. “But then people will think Stickman is your sidekick and they’ll forget all about Princess Lady Diva.”

  I didn’t want to make her upset, and I didn’t want anyone to forget about her. She was still gonna be my best friend. I didn’t really need a sidekick, because she was such a good partner, but I still wanted him to be on the team. “Maybe he can be your sidekick.”

  “I don’t want him as my sidekick!” she yelled.

  It didn’t matter if Princess Lady Diva was smarter than me. I was the leader, and I had to make an important decision. I couldn’t let Li be sad. I couldn’t let Princess Lady Diva be angry, because it was kind of getting annoying. I knew I was the
only one who could put an end to her attitude.

  “I don’t think it really matters if there are three of us or two,” I told her. “As long as we do good, that’s what people will remember.”

  She still looked upset, but then she rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine. He can be on our team.”

  “Yes!” Li yelled excited.

  Princess Lady Diva still seemed a little upset, but she would come around. “What do we do now?” she asked me.

  I looked at Li. He had a weapon. That was kind of like a super power. His costume needed some work though. His identity needed to be protected, and everyone would know who he was if he didn’t cover his face. “Do you think you can make Li a mask?”

  “Um…” She put her finger on her chin and thought about it. “I guess I can.”

  “Great!”

  We all went into my house and into the kitchen. We looked in the cabinet for paper or plastic plates. We had colored ones and white ones, but I didn’t see any black ones. Princess Lady Diva said that we had to use black, because it matched his outfit. I didn’t care, but she was the expert on costumes.

  Mom came out of her bedroom and into the kitchen with us. She looked surprised when she saw Li. “You kids made up?”

  “I didn’t mean to hurt Li, Mom. It was an accident,” I said.

  “And you have another friend to help you play superhero?”

  “Yep,” I said quickly. “We do.”

  “A game?” Li asked like he was disappointed.

  Princess Lady Diva covered Li’s mouth. “It’s just a game.”

  Mom eyed me like she did when she knew I was up to something. “What’s going on, Felix?” When she gave me that look, it was hard not to tell her what I was up to. It was like Mom kind of had a super power too.

  I had to be strong, because it was important to keep my super powers a secret. “Li is our new friend. We helped him with his cat, and now he wants to play with us.”