“I need your help,” I say.
“Yeah?” She says with a who cares? tone, picking up a red sock and a blue one and folding them together.
I pull out my phone to show her the ransom text. “Snake broke into my room yesterday and took Tiny T.”
“Whoa. What?” Lenora finally stops and looks at me.
“You were right about them—all of them. Except I don’t think Josh was with them. I think it was Snake, Alex, and Frankie.”
“Still defending Josh?” Lenora shifts her knees under her and keeps folding socks.
“No. It’s just that… he’s missing.”
“Missing?”
“The guys don’t know where he is. They think he might have followed me into the gym.” I look down. “Before it exploded. But he didn’t.”
“Wait, you were in the gym?”
“Long story. I was holding a drawing of this fire monster that I made last weekend in one hand and the pouch in the other and—”
“Holy fire monster! You caused the explosion?”
I take in a big breath. “Maybe?”
Lenora throws a hand over her mouth, her eyes bugging out like a gecko’s. Then she shrugs and laughs. “The gym smelled funny anyway.”
I’m glad she’s laughing, but it’s so not funny. “True, but I’m in big trouble. It did give me an idea, though.” I splay Uncle Marty’s drawings across the floor. “Remember these?”
“Yeah… your uncle’s drawings, right?”
“Exactly. His drawings. What if the magic was customized to his talent? You conjure with the eye, right? You have to be able to see it first. If Uncle Marty drew something, then he could see it. I think I can do the same thing.”
Lenora twists her lips. “Let me get this straight. You think you can draw it, then look at the drawing, and that will count as conjuring with the eye? Have you tested it yet?”
“Beyond accidentally bringing a fire monster to life, you mean?” I shake my head. “I’ve been a little too busy getting in trouble. And I wanted to run the theory by you.”
She folds a shirt and puts it on the pile. “Well, I guess you should try drawing something—but something that can’t wander off, attack anyone, grow taller than a tower, or cause general mayhem.”
I glance down. “So, something… not alive. Or that was ever alive?” I try to say it gently.
Lenora exhales, fortunately not in a stormy kind of way. “Look, I was thinking… about everything you said in Friendship Group. And you were right.”
“I was?” That’s gotta be a first.
“It was amazing to think, for a minute, that I could meet her. You know? But it would never be my real mom.”
“Yeah. I’m super sorry. I wish you still had your mom. Maybe you could make your dad talk about her? I mean, talking to Gram about Uncle Marty went better than we thought it would. And you can talk to me about your mom anytime. Anything you want to say, even if it’s not true.”
Lenora narrows her eyes. “So, like, if I say she was an astronaut?”
“I’ll ask what it was like on the moon.”
“And if I say she was a pirate?”
“I’ll help you look for the treasure!”
Lenora smiles softly. “You’re a good guy.” Then she pushes my shoulder. “Anyway, if you think you can draw magic, we probably don’t need to hunt for treasure.”
I wag a colored pencil. “Good point.”
“And while I’m groveling…” She looks down. “I’m sorry for all those crappy things I said after the field trip. About your brain and self-control. I know you don’t mean half the stuff you do. I do understand.”
“Aw, shucks. Ms. Molly would be proud.”
“Anyway, you made me realize that I have stuff to be grateful for. Like my dad. And meeting you. Even if I have to live on this smelly farm.”
The tips of my ears are practically burning off my head. It’s weird having a real friend. Lenora says whatever is on her mind, the fiery stuff and the kind stuff too.
“Are your parents really gonna make you move and go to some other school?” she asks. “That would be terrible.”
I exhale. “I don’t know.”
“Well, I hope not. Who wants to lose a friend just when they figured out their magic?”
We chuckle, and Lenora stretches out a hand. “Forgiven?”
“Totally.” I put down the pencil and shake it. “So, should we see if I’m right?” I point to my art stuff.
“What are you going to make?”
I start drawing, fast and furious. “Don’t look. It’s a surprise.”
Lenora rolls her eyes and goes back to folding.
When I finish, I reach for the pouch, look at the drawing, and hold my breath. If this doesn’t work, then I won’t have to worry about whether I’m jailed for burning the gym down—eventually my pet T. rex will eat the jail.
In a flash, the pouch has a lump inside.
“It worked!” I exclaim.
Lenora’s eyes go wide. “Let’s just hope it’s what you drew and not an alien shark. I mean, it’s… not an alien shark. Right?” She inches back.
I pull out the lump to inspect, smile, and toss it to her. “Inspired by our very own Mr. Widelot.”
Lenora catches it. “A tiny T-shirt?” She reads the words on it:
My friend blew up the school gym and all I got was this stinkin’ shirt
She shakes her head. “You’re such a dork. But hey, maybe one of my chickens can wear it.” She sets it down.
“This is awesome!” I exclaim.
“Indeed,” Lenora agrees. “But even if you can control the magic by drawing, how are we going to rescue Tiny T?”
“With a little help from some friends,” I say.
“Bad news, dude. Last time I checked, we didn’t have any.”
“We have a customized magic pouch and colored pencils. We can make some!” I raise a pencil.
I’m not exactly sure how to draw my idea, so I take out my phone to search the internet for Viking-era photos. Then I lie down on my stomach, flattening out the sketchpad on the blue carpet. This is a big drawing job, so I settle in.
I chew on my bottom lip and start sketching, outlining shapes of weapons and warriors with the black pencil. The soft sound of pencil lightly scritch-scratching the paper is the only thing I hear.
After a few minutes, I prop myself up on my elbow to get a better view and show the initial drawing to Lenora.
“Oh, wow. That’s awesome. But, uh, kind of risky, right? What if you can’t get rid of them after?”
“If it doesn’t work, then getting rid of them will be the least of our troubles. A hungry T. rex ravaging the countryside, having eaten our classmates, will be way worse.”
“Maybe we should tell a grown-up or something?” she says.
I point to the ransom text. “It says no grown-ups or else.” My lips curl to a frown. “Anyway… can you imagine? Hey, Mom and Dad, I know I’m suspended from school for possibly burning the gym down, but my former friends stole my live T. rex and are holding him as ransom for Uncle Marty’s magic pouch that I took from Gram’s basement. Can you help?”
Lenora puts her hand on my shoulder. “Point taken. Now what?”
“We go get Thor. Will your dad drive us?”
“Totally.” She folds the last shirt and pops up. “Let’s go. We have a wingless dragon to rescue.”
It feels good to have Lenora not angry at me anymore.
It’ll feel even better if this plan to get Tiny T back actually works.
SATURDAY AFTERNOON
Lenora’s dad pulls his pickup truck onto my street. He agrees to park a few houses away—so Mom won’t see—and wait there. He doesn’t even ask why. He’s that chill.
When I go into the house, Mom is si
tting on the sofa with a bag of potato chips in her lap and the TV turned on to some show with people crying and talking. She pops up as I walk in.
“Is everything okay? Why aren’t you with your father?”
“I forgot my math homework.” I run past her toward my room.
“Oh.” She goes back to watching her show.
In my room, Thor is sitting on my desk. The army men are on the floor at his feet.
“Ogre, you have returned!” Thor exclaims. “We feared perhaps you had been hauled to the dungeon for the fiery destruction you caused.”
“Not yet.” I set my backpack down on the floor next to the men.
“Have you found the dragon?”
I nod. “Sort of. Lenora requests your presence. She’s waiting outside with a mission.”
“If my lady commands, it shall be so. With what duty am I to be charged? Is there a two-headed serpent that needs slaying?”
“In a way. It’s a mission to rescue our dragon from Snake.”
Thor hefts his hammer. “I am an expert in battling snakes!”
I pull out the drawing I made at Lenora’s and explain the plan to Thor.
“You etched me an army?” he asks. “The likeness is exceptional. It is a fine piece of artwork. We shall prevail!”
I pull a gym bag from the shelf in my closet and empty a smelly shirt and old underwear from inside. “Climb in here.”
Thor leans his head into the opening. “The aroma in your fabric carriage is most unpleasant,” he says as he climbs in. I bet it is.
“You have to be really, really quiet. I’ll try not to jostle you,” I say into the hole. I take the pouch out of the box so it won’t knock Thor on the head and place it in the gym bag with him.
I hoist the strap over my shoulder for support. Even though Thor is only about a foot high, he’s pretty muscular—plus he’s carrying his hammer. The bag weighs a lot. I’m surprised I can lift it.
I nod goodbye to Mom, hoping she doesn’t fire up the copter and get curious about why the bag I’m hauling to Dad’s looks like it’s squirming. Thankfully, she’s too into her TV show to care. I trod up the street and hoist myself into Ned’s truck, setting the gym bag at my feet.
“Did he say yes?” Lenora asks quietly.
I nod and open the gym bag just a bit, so Lenora can see.
“My lady!” Thor’s little voice booms out the hole. “The blue of your eyes is—”
I stick my hand over the opening, panicked, and glance at her dad. Thank goodness for that loud truck engine.
Lenora laughs.
I give Ned the address, and he drives us to Snake’s house. The street is covered in potholes, causing Lenora to lean into me as the truck dips and rises. The butterflies in my stomach are in an epic battle, like the one I’m about to be in myself. What if the guys already hurt T? Or the reverse?
“Pull up here, please. That’s the one, over there.” I point to a brown house with a basketball hoop over the garage. I look at the window over the hoop. I know that’s where they are. It’s Snake’s rec room. I’ve been in there a million times. Okay, well maybe not a million. But definitely a few.
Lenora and I climb out of the truck, and she grabs one handle of the gym bag to help me steady it.
“Can you wait for us, Dad?” Lenora asks.
“How long are you going to be?” Ned asks through his bushy mustache.
“I don’t know. Not long,” she says.
“Sure thing. Maybe I’ll sit back and get a little shut eye then. Won’t need to bang on the door to get you though, right?” He winks, turns off the truck engine, and leans back. He starts snoring before we even shut the car door.
“Are you scared?” Lenora asks as we head to the staircase at the back of the garage.
I’m totally scared out of my mind, but I say, “Nah. You?”
“Nah.” Lenora looks around. “Sort of.”
I peek around the garage to the backyard. No sign of anyone. “Come on. Up here.” I climb the stairs holding the gym bag from the bottom. Lenora follows.
A trail of sweat dribbles down my back under my jersey, even though it’s a cold day. I’m trying super hard to be careful with Thor, but I trip on a stair and he grunts loudly. The door swings open right away, and Frankie sticks his big melon head out.
“Well, well. Hyper. Right on time.”
Lenora and I go in, setting the gym bag down behind the sofa. The room looks just like I remember it. There’s a giant TV on an old, tall dresser, a foosball table, beanbag chairs, and a soda machine that makes a loud buzzing noise.
And right in the center, Alex and Snake stand beside a raccoon cage—with an angry T. rex inside.
“Why’d you bring your girlfriend?” Alex giggles.
“She’s not my girlfriend, Alex.”
“What’s in the bag?” Snake nods toward the sofa.
“It’s to carry the T. rex home.” I say. “And I brought the ransom.”
Poor T starts banging wildly inside his cage. I hope he hasn’t hurt himself. The cage is way too small. He’s about to bust the sides. And I can tell he’s bigger. He must have grown overnight. Ooh, he’s mad, shoving his shoulders against the grated sides, thwacking his tail on the cage floor.
I take a step toward him, but Snake stands in front of the cage, blocking me. “Nuh-uh,” he says. “Not until you hand over the magic.”
“Is he okay?” I ask, trying to see around Snake.
“He’s fine. But he nearly ate my freaking hands off getting him in that cage,” Frankie says. “I don’t know why you’d want him, anyway. He’s a violent killer.”
“Shut it, Frankie.” Snake darts him a look, then turns back to me. “Just give me the pouch and you can take your dinosaur.”
“It’s in here. I’ll get it.” I kneel by the sofa, keeping my back to the guys, and unzip the gym bag. As soon as it’s open a crack, Thor pops his head out.
“You okay?” I whisper.
He flashes me his newly learned thumbs-up.
I nod at Lenora, signaling her that it’s time to distract the guys. Then I pull out the magic pouch and look at my drawing.
Here we go. Moment of truth.
Lenora takes a step forward. “Why’d you lizard-brains have to steal the T. rex, anyway?” she asks. “West would’ve given you anything you wanted from the pouch. He only wanted to be your friend.”
“I don’t need friends who can’t even catch a basketball,” Snake says.
“Dude, are you serious?” Lenora asks. “Can’t you see how bad he feels about it? So you got a black eye. Are you that much of a baby?”
Frankie and Alex laugh, and Snake shushes them fast. “I’ll give you two minutes to hand over the magic,” he says to me.
In my hand, the pouch bulges, and suddenly an army of six-inch Vikings with spears, bows and arrows, clubs—I even drew a catapult—marches out behind the sofa.
My jaw drops. You’d think I’d be used to the magic by now, but it’s still mind-bending. I did it!
Lenora continues. “Why keep blaming West for not catching the ball, anyway? Maybe you could try catching your own ball sometime.”
Alex and Frankie snicker.
Out of view from the guys, Thor assembles the Vikings by weapon. “Welcome, warrior.” He holds the pouch open, shaking the hand of a hulky, bearded guy with a horned helmet and a two-sided ax. “Ax-men to the left.”
The Viking bows deeply and moves left, behind the sofa. Another warrior—this time a scrawny Viking with a metal helmet and nose plate—emerges from the pouch.
Poor dude. I should’ve drawn him beefier.
“That’s a fine sword and shield you carry there,” Thor says.
The little Viking falls to one knee. “Almighty Thor. To follow you into battle is the honor of a lifetime.” He loo
ks up, trembling with a mixture of fear and awe. “I shall not fail you.”
“One minute left.” Snake tries to ignore Lenora, but it’s clear he’s getting mad. “Or we keep the T. rex.”
“Keep him?” Lenora scoffs. “Good luck with that. He’s growing, you turds. Where are you going to keep a full-grown T. rex?”
Finally, the last warrior comes out—on horseback.
“A beast! You have outdone yourself, ogre,” Thor says as I hide the magic pouch back in the gym bag.
“Come on already!” Snake shouts. “What’s taking so long?”
“What’s wrong, is your mommy calling?” Lenora asks.
Thor addresses his hoard of pint-sized Vikings in a hushed roar behind the sofa. “Around this cloth carriage stands a serpent demon disguising himself as a boy. We shall take him down, rescue the dragon, and above all, keep the fairest maiden in all the land safe from harm.”
The men grunt.
“To battle!” Thor raises his mallet high and charges around me, followed by his army of six-inch Vikings, a catapult, and a mini horse.
“Enough. Let’s get this ov—what the—” Snake jumps when he sees the little Vikings run out.
Thor, who is more than twice the size of his tallest Viking, leads the ax- and swordsmen, screaming and howling, as they rush toward the boys.
“Holy crud!” Eyes large, Alex jumps behind Frankie at the sight of the army. They both back away.
“You can’t be serious,” Snake says. “All I have to do is step on them!”
He raises his foot, and I gulp. I didn’t think of that. But before his foot comes down, a cluster of toothpick-sized spears launch from the Vikings and stick Snake in the leg.
Snake doubles over, grabbing his thigh with one hand and yanking at the tiny spears with the other. “Ouch! They speared me!”
“That’s gotta hurt, Snake. You okay?” Frankie asks as he ducks behind the TV.
“Get over here and help me!” While Snake tugs at the spears, the Viking on horseback circles him at a gallop, tying thick twine around Snake’s ankles.
“You go, Alex.” Frankie pushes Alex toward Snake.
“Nuh-uh.” Alex runs back to safety behind the TV.
Trouble with a Tiny t Page 17