The Binkle and the Catawampus Compass (Binkles and Magic) (9 page)

“After school, then. And you better cut out this game you’re playing,” Anna insisted.

Jeep nodded. “O.K., after school then.”

If they can tell I was gone then maybe the time warp doesn’t work on them. So it probably won’t hurt to tell them a little. I want to tell someone. Zizz...

~~~

Jeep’s school day went along without anything being quite the way it usually was for him. He knew he was different somehow, although he couldn’t exactly put it in words. Not exactly himself, but nobody seemed to notice. The teachers and other students treated him the same as always—which meant they ignored them.

On the inside, Jeep didn’t feel like he was the person everybody saw anymore. He felt like he was wearing a disguise—
disguised as himself
. And no one saw through it.

Jeep treated every word or gesture toward him as if it conveyed secret meanings. A glance from a classmate (that he wouldn’t have noticed before) would set him wondering.
Are they trying to tell me something? Should I let on?

Several times he sensed a tiny
zizz
, like when Sue Bickford, who sat in front of him, asked him for help with a math problem. Or when Mrs. Acton, his teacher, singled out his book report as a first-rate example in front of the whole class. More than once he caught himself smiling—without intending to.

~~~

As Jeep, Anna, and Louise started home later, the sidewalk was blocked by Merve, Todd, and Andy. They were a rowdy crew of sixth graders who liked to pick on the younger kids. Even the other sixth graders took pains to avoid being pestered by them. Merve was the ring-leader, but any of them could get an “A” for meanness.

Andy yelled at them, “Here comes the freakazoid freckle sisters.”

 Merve added, “Yea, there’s the creepy girl can’t even talk right.”

“L-l-leave me al-l-lone!” Anna pleaded.

“Go away, you jerks,” Louise countered.

“Now, why’d we want to do that?” Merve asked with a singsong voice. “You weirdoes should be glad we let you pass at all, especially th-th-the weird one”

“B-b-bug off, y-y-you...”

“You guys are jerks...” Louise started to say, but Todd knocked her down mid-sentence. Then all three boys ran off laughing.

Jeep bent down and pulled Louise to her feet. He was more upset at himself than at the bullies.
I didn’t even try to help. What kind of friend does that make me?

The friends walked the rest of the way in silent gloom. The ugly business had dampened their spirits.

~~~

As they got near home, Jeep described his fall and the cold, miserable night in the woods.
I guess it’s OK to tell a little—as long as I don’t mention the Chamber of Ancient Wisdom. After all, a promise is a promise.

The sisters were hungry for every detail about the wise old gnomes—their wrinkled-up faces that almost twinkled as they talked, their old-fashioned clothes, and even the way they shimmered when the light seemed to pass through them. Jeep described Nelda, Lulu, and every one of the animals with enough specifics for Anna and Louise to see them in their mind’s eye. He even let them see the little map he’d drawn of the gnome home.

Jeep wasn’t the least bit successful in describing Adah’s songs, they had no tunes. Yet the girls understood how deeply he was touched by them. He even repeated several of Grikkl’s stories.

He feared his account sounded too much like make believe.
I might
just as well tell the truth. If they don’t believe it, too bad
.
Even I’ve got to admit it sounds made up.

Neither girl doubted a word Jeep told them or considered it too farfetched. They just wished they could have been there too. But about the Chamber of Ancient Wisdom or the binkle Jeep breathed not a word.

At the end, Jeep asked Louise how come she knew he was away.

“I couldn’t tell how long you were gone. I only knew that you were
away from me
, like we got disconnected.”

Anna added, “Same here. Something was missing. That’s why I’m glad you’re back.”

Although Jeep already knew the sisters before his adventure, they had never been as close as he felt right then.
Maybe it’s another heart connection, and I want to trust that.

~~~

In unguarded moments Jeep sometimes wondered if Grikkl’s place might have just been something he dreamed up—a trick of his imagination. Those doubts didn’t last long. He only needed to touch and smell Adah’s magic flowers (that still looked freshly picked) were stuck in a small bottle on his desk. One sniff and the memories rushed back.
I know Adah is every bit as real as these flowers.

Each morning Jeep ate two magic cookies as he counted down.
I can return in nine days¼ then eight¼, then seven¼,
Just that thought of getting back to Lulu and Adah brought a
zizz
.

Each faduki cookie was such a treat that he stretched out eating it as long as he could. He thought about his selection—mentally tasting each choice
. Let’s see, what am I in the mood for? Lemon cream pie? Cherry tarts? A juicy burger?
He even tried green eggs and ham—ugh!

Once, after eating part of his cookie (triple-cheese and sausage pizza), he changed his mind, preferring to slurp up a strawberry milkshake. The next mouthful tasted exactly like that.
Two tastes from one cookie—not bad
.
How about three...?

But once the newness wore off, Jeep decided to specialize—in chocolate. After studying several cookbooks, he made a list of 83 chocolate dishes he wanted. He intended to work his way through the list—and then start over:

Chocolate cream pie

Chocolate mousse

Chocolate parfait

Chocolate brownies

Chocolate layer cake

Chocolate macaroons

Chocolate-mint sundae

Chocolate truffles—that was a surprise. It didn’t have any truffles in it  

And so on...

~~~

Still, in most regards Jeep’s life at home wasn’t any better than before. His stepfather was hardly ever home since he held down two jobs. During the week he worked in the office at a mattress factory (and would repeat the same old joke, “There’s no lying down on the job”). Four nights a week he worked as second cook at a diner.

When he was at home, Chris was always tired—too tired for doing much with Jeep. Besides, they’d never been all that close. They only spoke about the daily matters—sign the report card; we’re out of milk; remember to put out the trash. They didn’t talk—let alone do much away from home together.

Jeep was so tired of them never having money to do anything fun that he’d given up asking.

Jeep got stuck with almost all the housework plus the truffle chores. Doing dishes, laundry, and the rest of the fiddle-diddle wasn’t that difficult for him. And he actually liked the cooking part, since he used to do so much of that with his mother.

They puttered around in the kitchen making meals together. She’d say that when she was a girl no bigger than him, her grandmother taught her to make this very same recipe (like her famous ginger snaps) that she was teaching him to make now.

Cooking was funny too since she insisted upon not doing things the same way twice. So there were some strange results—especially if they were baking. The failures that were truly inedible she sacrificed to the “habit gods.”

As they cooked together, Jeep told her his dreams for the future and faraway places he wanted to visit someday. And she told about hers

Cooking isn’t mainly about preparing food—it’s about being close, doing things together. That’s what I miss the most since she left—the sharing parts.
Nowadays, cooking is just about making things to eat.

 Sometimes Chris brought leftovers from the diner where he worked. They made out OK, but mealtime wasn’t special any more.

~~~

Day after day, Merve’s crew singled out Anna and Louise for their cruel mischief—chasing them and calling them hurtful names: Freckleface, Stupid lips, Fritterhead.

Just knowing they might be waiting filled Anna with dread. Long before the final school bell rang, she was scared to go home. Those fears made her stutter worse.

Her teacher, Miss Pringle, warned her, “Anna, where
is
your mind wandering off to? Start paying attention.” Being criticized in front of the class just upset her more. She chewed her lips and tried to hold the tears back. Not always successfully.

Louise watched Anna suffer, but she had no idea how to protect her. The mean boys weren’t afraid of anything she could do to them. If anything, sticking up for Anna just made them nastier.

Jeep stood by helplessly. Merve’s crew ignored him, and even the sisters didn’t act like he’d be much help to them.
I’m tired of letting my friends down. I need to make a stand somehow.

~~~

Helen’s absence was every bit as hard on Chris as it was for Jeep. He worked himself to weariness and dragged himself home. The apartment became a place without love, and they both badly missed her.
I assumed Chris worked so hard
because we need the money
.
But maybe he dreads coming home without her being here.

Jeep hated Chris keeping him in the dark about how his mom was getting along. He finally worked up his courage and demanded to know, “Why won’t you ever tell me about her? Isn’t she getting better? Can’t we go see her?”

Chris answered like he always did, “I don’t want to talk about it now.”

“I know you don’t. But I want to see her, you know. I’m old enough.”

“No! It’s a bad idea.”

“But I need to know...”

Chris hissed, “Boy, you don’t want to know! You don’t want to see her like that!”

“Like what?”

“Nothing. Just forget it.”

“But doesn’t she miss me, too?”

“No! She doesn’t miss anything—or anyone. She’s gone. Get used to the idea.”

“But she’s alive. You see her. Why can’t you take me with you?”

“She’s crazy. Out of her head. And there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”

“No. You’re wrong!”
Mom’s sick, but that won’t make her crazy. But if Chris thinks so that could explain why she never wrote to me, not even once. No—I don’t believe it. Not my mom.

“Oh Jeep, I wish I were.” Chris rambled on, talking more to himself than to the boy. “You think you’re the only one who misses her? Nobody ever loved me like she did—nobody. Now she’s gone off her head, and she’s no good to anybody.”

“I still want to see her. She needs to know I still love her...”

“Like that’s going to do her any good. I tell you, you don’t want to see her!”

“Please... I have to go.”

“No, it’s final. I’m doing what’s best. Though I know you won’t thank me for it.”

Chris stomped from the room. So with bitterness between them, the man and the boy went to bed, each feeling his lonely sorrow.

~~~

Since he returned from Grikkl’s, Jeep looked and acted pretty much the same as ever—on the outside. He’d never been much of a talker and was skillful at avoiding attention.
Sure, I’ve got opinions, doesn’t everyone? But I try to keep them to myself.
His underground adventure didn’t change that. Jeep felt as awkward as ever talking about himself.

But on the inside he didn’t feel the same about anything.
I
know something really important! And no one else does.
Sometimes his new attitude made him forget to be standoffish. Not only that, to acquire the binkles he needed he had to try new things. And that required him to spend more time with people.

At first he just wanted to get some binkles as easily as possible. But when he hung around expecting to get some he didn’t end up with many. That was like catching snowflakes with your tongue—a mighty slow way to get a drink.

Then Jeep figured something out.
If I give binkles to other people, I’m more likely to get some, too.
He stayed alert for situations where people were having fun—which required hanging around groups of people. That usually involved a certain amount of smiling and acting like he was terribly interested in what they said.

It started with him
pretending to care
. But before long he discovered he meant it—more often than not. Somehow, even a particle of sincerity changed the way people responded to him—and vice versa. When a
zizz
came, he noticed that he really was enjoying himself. And other people present were, too. Jeep got enough good from his initial experiments to consider other changes. He decided to stop eating lunch by himself.

With his tray in hand, he sat down next to Trevor, a new kid he hardly knew. The two smiled at each other timidly, then exchanged a few words. But they soon discovered a shared interest in adventure stories. Then there was no stopping the flood of “did you read¼? And what about that escape¼?” Lunch was over too quickly, but not before they binkled and knew there’d be more to come.

The next day Jeep ate lunch with Cindy, who sat alone. The other students teased her about being a fatso. Once the two of them got past an awkward start, Cindy told about growing up in far-away lands where her military father was posted. Her descriptions of the foods in Germany, the exotic daily routines of Korea, and the haunting beauty of the Asian forests made Jeep ache to go there. Binkles came fast for both of them.
I’m breaking habits and won’t be able to think of myself as shy anymore. Z
izz...

Jeep soon learned that even the briefest activity can bring a binkle back—without a word. Like the time when he smiled at the clerk the whole time she rang up his grocery purchase. As she handed over his change, she held his eye and smiled back—even pausing long enough to enjoy it, too. Zizz¼ And whatdoyaknow! She passed that energy along to the next three customers behind him.

So Jeep could tell slight ways he was changing from before. Not big things, not so anyone else would notice for sure—but he could. Feeling unsure of himself wasn’t such a big deal. And somehow, not as many things seemed scary anymore.