Freddie Ramos Zooms to the Rescue (5 page)

Did the principal hate squirrels? She sure stamped her foot and shouted loud when the purple squirrel tried to steal her TV time. Maybe Mrs. Lane had given me a clue I should check out.

But that meant going to the principal's office! No one wants to go there. That's where teachers send you when you get caught throwing food in the cafeteria. I gulped. Superheroes sure had to be brave.

While everybody was busy talking to the TV reporters, I took the chance to get away.

In half a blink, I was outside Mrs. Connor's office. The door was open, which was lucky. Mrs. Connor was behind her desk, which was not so lucky.

“Freddie?” Mrs. Connor called when she saw me. “Did your teacher send you?”

“No.” I put one purple shoe inside the room. “I just came for a visit.”

Mrs. Connor was typing at her computer. “Sit down,” she said.

There was a round table on the left. It had markers and coloring sheets. Was this a clue? Did my principal paint the squirrel with a purple marker?

“Do you like to color?” I asked Mrs. Connor.

She looked up from her computer. “Sometimes.”

“What about squirrels?” I asked. “Do you like them?”

“No, Freddie.” Mrs. Connor stood up at her desk. “I do not.”

“Why?” Squirrels had cute little faces and whiskers that twitched just like my guinea pig, Claude the Second.

“Squirrels are a nuisance,” she said with a frown.

Grown-ups who like little kids should like little animals, too. What was wrong with Mrs. Connor?

“So tell me why you came to visit.” Mrs. Connor sat down at the table and picked up a purple marker, like she wanted to color something. I didn't want it to be me.

“No reason,” I said, jumping up.

It sure felt good to know I could get away fast.

After school, I went home, called my mom, and took care of my own little animal, Claude the Second.

CRUNCH! My guinea pig chomped on his carrot while I watched.

What could make his brown fur change color? He ate carrots every day without turning orange. Once, he chewed part of a magazine that got too close to his cage. That didn't change his color, either. If Claude the Second turned purple like the squirrel, it would have to be from something he touched, like paint or markers. Mrs. Connor—the only squirrel hater I knew—was looking guiltier by the minute.

I put on my silver goggles and looked in the mirror. Jason was right. I did look like a crime fighter. Whoever gave me my goggles wanted me to be a hero. I left 29G, ready for action.

The first place I went was Starwood Elementary. Maybe I could catch Mrs. Connor in the act.

I ran around the school, with my eyes open wide behind my goggles, looking carefully at everything. Workers had taken the tree off the gym roof and put up blue plastic. Suddenly, it started moving like someone under bed covers. A second later, the purple squirrel wiggled out and dashed down the side of the building.

I followed him through the woods, past the train station again. This time, the squirrel didn't stop to visit the man in the yellow vest. He hurried down the trail I used to see my mom's train come in from downtown. I looked at my watch. Mom's train wasn't due for another fifteen minutes.

When we got to the bridge, the purple squirrel stopped to check out a paper bag on the ground. My Zapato Power smoke was still swirling around me and I could see his fur clearly, even from a distance. There were spots of gray. If Mrs. Connor did this, she was a lousy painter.

The purple squirrel looked up. Our eyes met. For a moment he looked just like Claude the Second when he's begging for a carrot. Then he ran off. From the bridge, I could see him scamper up a big tree near the tracks. The tree looked funny, like it was leaning over, sick. I remembered what Mr. Vaslov said about the storm and bad winds hurting trees. Then I heard:
Crash! Crack!

The big tree fell, and the purple squirrel jumped off. I didn't even think about chasing him. I had a much bigger problem. The tree was lying across the tracks. A train would be coming through soon. My mom's train! And when it hit that tree, it would crash!

7. Stop the Train!

What should I do? I wasn't big enough to move the tree. Somebody had to stop the train! Who?

I remembered the man in the yellow vest. If the squirrel visited him every day, he probably worked at the train station. Maybe he could help.