52 - How I Learned to Fly (6 page)

“Yeah, sure,” I said, not really planning to.

“You have to try his skating ramp,” Mia said. “He built it himself, and it’s
really awesome. It really sends you flying through the air.”

I watched them cross the street.

Flying through the air
—Mia’s words repeated in my mind. I shook my
head.

I’ll show you how to fly through the air, Wilson. Just wait.

The next afternoon, I ran all the way home from school. I told Mia and Jack
to meet me in front of my house. They thought we were going to Rollerblade.

Ha! I had something much better in mind for today.

Today was the day I was going to show them that I could fly!

I dropped my backpack in the hall and ran outside. I glanced up—at the
dark, heavy clouds rolling in over the hills.

By the time Mia and Jack showed up, it started to rain—really hard. A bolt
of lightning snaked through the sky.

“We’ll have to wait until tomorrow,” Mia said.

“I guess,” I mumbled as I watched them hurry away.

It rained the next day. And the day after that. And the day after that.

No flying.

No chance to show Wilson what a loser he is. I sat at the window, staring out
at the falling raindrops. Was I
ever
going to get my chance to fly?

On Friday, Mia had to go to the dentist after school.

And on Saturday and Sunday, we couldn’t get together. I had to work on my
term paper. It was due on Monday—and I hadn’t even started it.

I wasn’t worried about it. I knew exactly what I was going to write about—the history of comic books in the United States.

It was going to be excellent. I knew it.

I got up early Saturday morning and started working on it right away. I sat
at my computer for hours. It took me all day to write. Then, on Sunday, I set
out my pens and inks and began to illustrate it.

Superman. Spider-Man. Sub-Mariner. The X-Men. All my favorite superheroes.

As I drew the big
S
on Superman’s costume, I thought about flying.
About how awesome it felt when I soared on a strong current. Or sailed on a
gentle breeze.

I pictured myself zooming up from the ground and streaking over the trees.
Then slowing down. Drifting lazily among the clouds. Then blasting off again,
into the stratosphere—like Superman.

I pictured myself performing all kinds of fancy feats—spirals, nosedives,
back flips in the air. I pictured myself doing all these things—for Mia. And for Wilson…

We handed in our term papers on Monday. A rainy Monday.

No flying today either. I sighed.
Who ever heard of so much rain in
California?

The rest of the week remained gray and stormy. The whole week—a total
washout.

On Friday, the teacher handed back our term papers.

Yes!

I got a 97! And she wrote “Good job!” across the top.

“Hey, Wilson. Look—ninety-seven!” I held up my paper for him to see.
“Pretty good, huh!”

“That
is
pretty good,” Wilson agreed. “But it’s not excellent!” Wilson
smiled gleefully.

He held up his paper.

It had a big, fat 98 written on it.

And the words, “Excellent job!”

I could feel my cheeks begin to burn. Stay calm, I told myself. It won’t rain
forever.

I woke up the next morning. I bolted to the window. Pushed the curtains
aside. The warm rays of the sun splashed across my face.

All right! I pumped both fists into the air.

I called Wilson and Mia and told them to meet me in the park. Right away.

Mia arrived first. Wilson showed up a few minutes later, waving, excitedly.

“Hey, guys—big news!” He charged over to us. “Guess where
I’m
going
on spring break.”

“Where?” Mia asked eagerly.

“New York City!” he exclaimed. “My parents are taking me to New… York… City. Can you believe it?”

“That’s great!” Mia cheered. She slapped him a high five.

“Where are
you
going for spring break, Jackie?” Wilson asked.

“Uh… nowhere. My parents have to work,” I murmured.

“Hey—bad break,” Wilson said. But I could tell he didn’t mean it. “Of
course, my trip is no big deal,” he went on. “I’ve been to New York before. Four
times.”

“
Four
times!” Mia cried. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Wilson replied. “Four times. And the last time I was there, I rode
the subway—by myself!”

You’re right, Wilson,
I thought.
New York City is no big deal. Because
no one is going to care about your bragging in a few seconds.

“Hey, Wilson. Want to race?” I asked. “You can practice running for the
subway.”

“Not funny, Jackie,” Wilson replied. “Anyway, what’s the point of a race? You
know you can’t run as fast as I can.”

“Come on,” I urged. “Race you to the flagpole and back. I’ll beat you this
time, Wilson. Really.”

“No way you can win.” He shrugged. “But—okay.”

This was it.

My big moment.

My heart began to pound.

I was going to win the race. And shock them both—because I was going to
fly!

Wilson and I stood side by side.

“On your mark. Get set—” Mia announced.

I raised my arms high. Pointed them to the sky. Wilson turned to me, staring
at my odd racing position.

“GO!” Mia cried.

I took a running leap—and blasted off the ground. I soared up—up over the
grass. Into the air. Up toward the treetops.

Yes! Yes! I was flying!

“WHOOOAAA!” Mia shrieked in amazement as I soared with the wind.

Now for the best part.

I peered down to the ground to see the sick look on Wilson’s face.

I peered down—and screamed in surprise.

Below me, I saw Wilson.

He was RIGHT below me.

Inches away from me.

Wilson was flying, too.

“NOOOOO!” I shrieked. “NO WAAAAY!”

I was so shocked—so totally horrified—I dropped my arms to my sides.

Oh, no…

I went into a steep dive.

I uttered a weak cry as the ground shot up to meet me—fast.

I kicked my legs. Swung my arms up frantically.

And flew headfirst into a tree trunk.

“Ohhh.” Pain shot through my body as I sank to the grass.

Sprawled on my back, I raised my eyes to Wilson. I clutched my stomach,
sickened at the sight of him.

Wilson—flying. Wilson—soaring easily to the flagpole and back.

I watched as he gently swooped down. “I win, Jackie!” he exclaimed, making a
smooth landing beside me.

“How did you DO THAT?” Mia screamed with excitement.

Wilson planted his hands on his hips. “Aw. It’s easy,” he bragged. “Nothing
to it.”

I opened my mouth to speak—but only a tiny squeak came out.

Wilson laughed. “Jackie, you need some propellers or something. Your jets are
kind of slow!”

My heart sank.

“How—how—?” I sputtered.

“Oh, I’ve always known how to fly,” Wilson said.

“REALLY?” Mia cried.

“Not really,” he laughed. “Jackie taught me how.”

“No. No, I didn’t!” I managed to choke out.

“Yes, you did, Jack. You just didn’t know it!” Wilson hooted. “I saw you
flying the day I got my new Rollerblades.”

“How did you see him flying?” Mia demanded. “I was with you. How come I
didn’t see him?”

“Don’t you remember?” Wilson replied. “I was skating way ahead of you—because you couldn’t keep up with me. So I skated over to Jack’s house to show
him my new blades—and I saw him fly.”

I stood up slowly.

I faced Wilson. Ready to punch out his lights. I admit it. I was out of
control.

He had ruined my big moment. Ruined it.

I wanted to punch him like a punching bag. But somehow I kept myself together. I clenched my fists until they ached.

I had to find out exactly how he learned to fly. “So—you saw me.” I
narrowed my eyes. “Then what?”

“Then I followed you to your garage. I saw you hide the book in the mattress.
And so I…
borrowed
it. And I followed the easy instructions.”

He grinned at Mia. “I’m like a real superhero.” He puffed out his chest. “I
love it!”

He turned back to me. “Hey, Jack! You can be my sidekick.”

I DON’T WANT TO BE YOUR SIDEKICK, WILSON! I want to win. Just once. Just
once, I want to beat you.

That’s what I thought—but I didn’t say it. I didn’t say anything. I just
stomped away.

Face it, I told myself glumly as I headed out of the park. You’ll never beat
Wilson at anything.

“Jack—come back!” Mia called. “I want to see you fly again.”

No way, I thought. What was the point now? I kept walking.

“Please, Jack!” Mia cried. “You looked so
awesome
up there. Please do
it again!”

I stopped.

Maybe I should fly for Mia. Impress her with some fancy flying maneuvers.

Okay, I decided. I’ll fly one more time—to impress her.

I took a deep breath. Then, with my arms stretched out in front of me, I
zoomed up. Up to the treetops.

“Go, Jack! Go, Jack! Go, Jack!” Mia chanted, smiling and waving.

I banked to the left and glided through a big fluffy cloud. When I broke
through the other side, Wilson was there to meet me.

We flew side by side—looping, diving, then soaring back up. We matched
movement for movement—as if we’d practiced together a thousand times.

Then Wilson swooped away from me.

He rolled under me. Jetted behind me. Rolled under me again.

“Yahoo!” I heard him scream from somewhere above me.

I floundered in the air. I didn’t know where Wilson was. Where he was going
to turn up next.

He circled me—like a mad bird.

“Wilson!” I yelled. “Cut it out!”

“Lighten up, Jackie!” he laughed.

Then, he moved in front of me—blocking my path. Blocking my view.

“Get out of the way!” I screamed. “I’m going to crash into you!”

Wilson let out a roar, like a plane. Then took a steep dive. Now I could see.

Too late.

I smacked hard into a flagpole.

I could hear Wilson’s cruel laugh as I tumbled to the ground.

“Excellent landing, Jackie!” he called. He dropped easily to the grass in
front of Mia.

Mia clapped and cheered.

“Well, I have to go! I’m late for my tennis game. Want to come?” Wilson asked
me.

“I don’t play tennis,” I replied between clenched teeth.

“Oh. I thought you did,” he said, puzzled. “Ray and Ethan told me you were
taking lessons. Well, got to go!”

Wilson hurried off.

“Jack—I want to fly too! Please teach me how to fly!” Mia begged.

“I don’t know, Mia…” I started. “I wanted to keep this kind of secret. I
mean—nobody knows about it. Except you and Wilson. If we’re
all
flying
around Malibu, somebody will find out.”

I hated to admit it, but I really didn’t want Mia to learn how to fly.

“Jack! You have to show me how. It isn’t fair that you and Wilson can fly and
I can’t!” she wailed. “It isn’t fair!”

Whoa. Wait a minute! I told myself. Maybe I
should
teach Mia how to
fly. If
I’m
the one to teach her, she’ll
really
be impressed. This
could be my big chance.

“Okay,” I agreed. “I’ll teach you how to fly. Let’s go back to my house. We’ll get the flying book.”

“Thank you! Thank you, Jack!” Mia was so excited, she hugged me.

I led the way to our garage.

“Oooh! I can’t wait!” Mia jumped with glee.

I stopped in front of the garage door.

“What are you waiting for, Jack? Open it!” she cried impatiently.

“Weird. It’s closed,” I said, confused. “The garage door is never closed.”

“So—open it!” Mia demanded.

I reached for the handle.

I tugged up the garage door—and cried out in shock.

Gone!

Everything—gone. The dentist’s spit-sink. Mrs. Green’s pool steps. The old
mattress. All gone.

I stared at the empty garage in shock.

“Ohhhh, noooo. Dad cleaned out the garage,” I moaned unhappily. “Mia—I
can’t teach you how to fly. The book—is gone.”

“You read the book, Jack. You have to remember what it said!” Mia protested.
“I want to FLY! Think! You’ve
got
to remember!”

“It’s no use,” I told her. “We need the secret ingredient. It was in an
envelope. Inside the book. It’s gone.”

Mia shook her head and uttered an angry groan.

Then a look of calm came over her face. “That’s okay, Jack. Maybe it’s just
as well. This flying thing is kind of scary.”

“So—you’re not angry at me?” I asked her.

“No,” she replied. “It really wasn’t your fault. You know what I think,
Jack?”

I shook my head. “No. What?”

“I think you shouldn’t fly anymore. Or maybe you should tell your parents
about it. I mean, it’s not normal. I have a very bad feeling about it.”

I shrugged.

“Jack—I’m not kidding. I don’t think you should fly anymore. It’s not
safe.”

“But I don’t want to stop,” I protested. “It’s so much fun. It’s awesome.
Totally awesome up there. Besides, what could happen?”

That night after dinner, I hurried to my room to work on a new superhero
drawing.

I drew the outline of his figure. I was going to call him Captain Arrow.

I shoved my chair away from my desk. Stared out the window for a while.
Returned to my drawing.

I drew a purple leather quiver over Captain Arrow’s shoulder—to hold his
powerful crimson arrows.

I got up. Looked outside again. I don’t know—drawing superheros seemed kind
of boring now.

I left my room to find Dad. To ask him to shoot some baskets outside with me.

I found Dad—and Mom—snoozing on the couch in the living room.