Julian the Mighty Read online

  “Really? I can’t tell you how disappointed I am to hear that!” Mickey smiled. “And what about the money for Larry’s birthday present? You’re the one collecting it, ain’t you?”

  I was shocked. “How did you know about that?”

  Mickey grinned, ear-to-ear. “I didn’t. But now I do. In case you haven’t noticed, we know a lot about you guys. Thanks for filling in the blanks.”

  I felt like a total idiot. I’d just fallen straight into their web.

  Suddenly Mickey grabbed my hand and pulled me up.

  “See? There’s a solution for everything!” he winked at me. “And I have total faith that a guy like you can figure it out.”

  He squeezed my hand so hard it cracked. I winced in pain. But Mickey didn’t seem to notice or care. He leaned into me:

  “I like you, wild dwarf. We can go places together. As long as you do what I tell you.”

  He squeezed even harder. This time, I whimpered. “As long as you know who’s boss,” he added, narrowing his eyes. “And no tricks!”

  He was about to smash my hand. I screamed in pain, and finally he had mercy on me and let go.

  “That’s what I like to hear,” he smiled. “Take care, moneybags. See you Friday. Oh! And enjoy the rest of your evening!”

  He waved at me, and for a minute he looked like Humpty Dumpty. A mean, disgusting, uncrackable Humpty Dumpty. Then he marched away and caught up with the rest of his merry band of bullies.

  I waited until the night swallowed him up, then I just stood there, motionless. I wanted to be absolutely sure he wasn’t coming back. I didn’t want to ever see him again.

  I looked at my poor hand. It hurt, but it was okay, but when I turned it over to inspect it, my eyes fell on the Wild Soccer Bunch tattoo. Some friend I was. Tomorrow was Thursday. Tomorrow would be my last day as a member of the Wild Soccer Bunch.

  Suddenly I couldn’t contain my anger anymore and I screamed. I screamed as loud as I could.

  “Father! Can you hear me? Father! This is Julian! Julian Fort Knox, the all-in-one defender. I swear, Father, I will never betray my friends. Never ever, you hear!”

  Then I wiped the tears off my face and added softly: “Not if I can help it, anyway.”

  Suddenly a light came on a few feet ahead of me. It was the reading light in the pick-up truck and it lit up the driver’s face. It was the man from the night before. My guardian angel. He had a kind face and I imagined he was ready to help me, that he’d always have my back. I snapped out of it. He must have been watching the whole time. I wanted to stay, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t help it. So I ran away.

  No Safer Place on Earth

  For some reason, I felt great the next morning. When I woke up, the sun was shining into my room, its golden rays freeing the idea that would save my life.

  Mickey the bulldozer and his friends had not expected that I’d show up the first time. So why would they this time? All I had to do was forget about what had happened the night before; you know, the way you forget about a nightmare? Then everything would go back to normal. There’s nothing easier than forgetting a dream once you’re awake.

  When I came down to breakfast, Josh covered his face, because he was sure I’d kiss him again. But I only kissed my mom. I kissed her to make up for the worry I had caused her. I was proud of myself; I had kept my promise. My problems were solved and nobody noticed a thing.

  School flew by that day and one of the reasons was that Mickey didn’t show up. No doubt he and his gang had used my money to buy a ton of stolen candy from his cousin, and more than likely they were baking in the sun somewhere, stomachs fat and full of that candy. But I didn’t care. I didn’t care about the money, either. In my mind, it wasn’t a bad investment; any time spent without Mickey was worth twice what I paid for it. I was in such a good mood that I even convinced myself that Danny had forgotten about what he had seen last night – when I broke my piggy bank in the street right in front of his window.

  Or was he just acting? Did the Wild Soccer Bunch know about my meeting with Mickey? It seemed like it sometimes. The way they looked at me when they thought I didn’t notice. Those glances spoke volumes.

  Forget it! No way! This was nothing but plain old paranoia. What was I worried about? I didn’t have anything to hide! I didn’t do anything wrong! Mickey and his thugs were terrorizing me and I was starting to lose my mind!

  After school we went to practice in the Devil’s Pit. Although, when Larry benched me, I couldn’t help thinking that even my own coach was suspicious of me. There it was again. That stinking paranoia. Larry had Sox and I play defense. We were supposed to put a monkey-wrench into the counter-attack of the other side and force them into a direct game play.

  But Larry’s plan didn’t work. The Wild Soccer Bunch, especially Tyler, Fabio, Zoe, and Kevin were just too good. They outplayed us badly. We didn’t have a chance. And when Kevin passed a ball between my legs like I was a total beginner, I threw in the towel. I totally gave up. Or rather, that’s what I wanted to do, but then Sox stood in front of me, snarled back his lips, hid his bat ears behind his dinosaur teeth, and growled at me.

  “Leave me alone. You don’t understand what’s happening to me! You’re just a dog!” I hissed and marched off the field.

  I hadn’t even taken three steps when I heard a whimper. I turned around, and there was that wacky dog again, running after me. He shoved his tail between his legs and whined and whimpered, louder and louder. I swear, he looked like he had a grin on his face. Honest. You may not believe this, but Sox is smart enough to plaster a grin on his face and this was just too much for me. Sox was mocking me! Give me a break! No dog was allowed to do that! I wasn’t running off with my tail between my legs – was I?

  I balled my fists and stood my ground. “Fine!” I hissed, relenting. “You win. Let’s show them.”

  And show them we did. The others didn’t have a chance. I was the angriest all-in-one defender ever. I played better than even the most stubborn ankle-biting terrier ever could, so Sox saw no reason to keep playing. Satisfied he had done his duty, he sat on the sidelines watching, barking and howling his applause, and when I fell to the ground, exhausted after my last and best goal-saving slide, he ran over to me and licked my face. The Wild Soccer Bunch came running, too, and congratulated me. Larry even carried me on his shoulders to the kiosk. There he handed out lemonade and old soccer stories. We hung around until it got dark, and when Larry left, Danny collected the money for his birthday present.

  “$221,” he counted the bills and coins. “That should do it. We can’t buy him a nice new Armani suit with it, but there’s this second-hand shop my mother goes to all the time. They have some good deals there. Think about it. Larry in a suit. We won’t recognize him!”

  Danny smiled at us, and based on his grin we all imagined just what kind of suit he was talking about. Then he grabbed my cap and poured in the money.

  “Here you go, Julian!” He gave the cap back to me. “You’re in charge of our money.”

  Uh-oh, I thought. “Me?” I was flabbergasted.

  “Yes, you!” Danny answered and looked me in the eye. “Your name is Fort Knox, isn’t it? There’s no safer place for money on earth than Fort Knox! Right?” he asked looking around at the other members.

  Danny and I looked around at the same time, but none of the Wild Soccer Bunch disagreed. I blushed and whispered a hoarse, “Thanks!” Then I took my cap and shoved it with the money into my pocket.

  “Great!” Danny smiled. “Then all’s well!”

  “As long as you’re wild!” I responded weakly, but then I took my bike and rode home, and the closer I got, the more I was bursting with pride. They trusted me. They really did.

  When I took a shower, I left the curtain open so I could keep an eye on my pants with the money in it, even though the soap and shampoo burned in my eyes. Then I stuck my pants under my pillow for safe keeping. I thought about my father again. If only he knew how much my friends
trusted me. He would be so happy. Then I fell asleep.

  The Sea Monster Kraken Feel-Good Dream

  I slept soundly and calmly and at some point I dreamed I was in the ocean. I dove through the waves like a fish, when suddenly something touched my toes. Scared, I looked into the depths. Seven fat and milky jellyfish floated around me. One of them had a Mohawk. They all had the faces of the Unbeatables. Fat, wobbly, and indistinguishable from the goopy, wiggly, jellyfish, they tried to catch me with their sticky tentacles. They pushed and pulled at what I was carrying in my arms. Then I realized what I was carrying! It was the cap with the money in it for Larry’s birthday present.

  “No! You can’t have it!” I wanted to scream, but you can’t scream under water. You can only make this low muffled noise that sounds like a roar. And that’s precisely what Mickey-the-bulldozer jellyfish did. He roared loudly as he swam directly towards me and all I could do was swim away in desperation. I shot to the surface like an arrow, flew into the sky, and bumped into something big and red.

  “Oops! Sorry! I didn’t see you coming!” said the boy with red curls and coke-bottle glasses as he flew around me. “Hey Julian, where have you been?”

  “Roger? Is that really you?” I was shocked. “I didn’t know you could fly.”

  “What do you mean? You can too. It’s great, isn’t it?” he answered and somersaulted in front of me.

  That’s when I realized that I was flying too. I looked down at the ocean fifty yards below. Wow! It was amazing. I spread my arms, performed a flawless loop, and then swooped down, lying on my back, and shot across the water just above the waves.

  That’s when I heard a whoosh. Right next to me, a fountain of water shot up like a blue tornado. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Seven explosions went off, and seven jellyfish jumped up.

  “Roger! Watch out!” I yelled. “It’s the Unbeatables. These jerks want the money!”

  But Roger remained calm. He just sat there, cross-legged as if on an invisible flying carpet. He was super cool.

  “Finally! About time!” he said.

  “What? Are you nuts? Those are monster kraken.” I yelled at him. “We have to get out of here!”

  But Roger just laughed at me.

  “There aren’t any monsters! It’s not even Halloween!”

  Roger was nuts! There were seven Unbeatables, and Roger and I didn’t stand a chance against them. They’d gobble us up and their wobbly stomachs would digest us in the blink of an eye.

  “Come on! Let’s go!” I yelled.

  But instead, Roger pulled a needle from his pocket and handed it to me. “If they are sea monsters, then I’m not really flying.” He took a second needle from his pocket and attacked.

  “They’re just balloons, Julian!” he yelled and popped one. “You see? What did I tell you! Dumb, fat, balloons!” He popped the second.

  The balloon with the Mohawk appeared right in front of me and with quick reflexes I poked it in the nose. Pop! I finally got it. Pop pop! Grim Reaper and Kong were obliterated! Roger took care of Juggernaut and in the end we both grabbed the string of Mickey’s balloon and loosened it: “PHHHHHT!” the fat balloon crisscrossed through the air, “PHHHHHT!” until it was nothing but a wrinkly, rubber rag and sunk into the foamy water below.

  “This is the best dream of my life!” I thought, still sleeping. Then, still dreaming, I stretched, yawned and looked forward to the morning.

  Fort Knox

  I slept like a baby and didn’t wake up until the sun tickled my nose. I blinked. In no time I jumped out of bed, grabbed my pants from underneath my pillow, and put them on.

  I was looking forward to seeing my friends and to the training in the afternoon. And, of course, to buying Larry’s birthday present. We’d buy it with the money I had guarded all night. It was still in my cap, which was in my pants.

  My mom sniffed disapprovingly when I walked into the kitchen. “When was the last time you changed your pants? You’re not wearing those to school again, are you?”

  I looked down. She was right. My pants weren’t exactly fresh. I had probably worn them for seven days by now and to tell you the truth – they stank.

  “Well?” my mom nagged. “Will you please be so kind as to wear something a little less – gross?”

  “No, I can’t!” I refused, calmly taking my seat at the table.

  “Julian, please!” my mother ordered. I love it that even when she’s angry she’s polite.

  “Julian, there are five – I repeat, five – clean pairs of pants in your closet.”

  “I know that,” I said and took a roll from the bowl on the table. “And I know that these are slightly gross. But there are more important things in life than what scent I am giving off at any given time.”

  With that bit of intellectual wisdom, I put butter and jelly on my roll and took a hungry bite. My mother just kept staring at me, the wrinkles on her face deepening with every tick of the clock.

  “Yes,” I said. “That’s how it is. I am Julian Fort Knox the all-in-one defender and these pants are my bank vault.”

  My mother cocked her head to the side and looked at my little brother.

  “It’s true, mom,” Josh confirmed seriously. “Fort Sox is the safest place on earth.”

  “You see? What did I tell you?!” I grinned. “You wouldn’t want to be responsible for Mickey and his gang stealing Larry’s birthday money, would you?”

  I stopped myself and winced. If I could have stuffed those words back in my mouth I would have done it in a heartbeat. What had I just said? Nobody knew about Mickey and me. Or did they? Josh and my mother just stared at me in surprise.

  What were they thinking? Did they know? I had to get away. Immediately! Pronto!

  “Well, okay then,” I said, and wiped my mouth with my hand. “I’ll see you tonight. Training starts right after school. And then we’re going to buy Larry a birthday present!” I stammered. Then I grabbed my backpack and ran out the back door, hopped on my bike, and pedaled away as if my life depended on it. It did.

  My mother and Josh watched me ride furiously away with matching furrowed brows. Must be a family trait. At least, that’s how I pictured them. It wasn’t even a quarter after seven yet. School didn’t start until eight and it was a short seven-minute ride to school. And I could almost hear their minds racing: “Why is Julian so afraid of Mickey and the Unbeatables?”

  All for One

  I pedaled as fast as I could. Only one more day, I thought. Then this horrible nightmare would be over. The money would be spent. And then – ha! – Mickey could kiss my rosy red fire engine. Don’t blame me for saying that, I learned it from Larry. Speaking of Larry – Larry would have the suit he so richly deserved. And dressed in this suit he would be coaching us at 10 a.m. on Saturday and leading us to our very first victory in our first game in the Devil’s Pit.

  Oh man, in my head, the world was perfect and everything felt great. I imagined it in bright colors. How we’d put on our black jerseys with the Wild Soccer Bunch logo on the chest; how we’d run out onto the field wearing our bright orange shin guards; how we’d form our circle. We’d stand arm in arm, screaming our battle cry to the heavens.

  “1-2-3-WILD!” Our voices would echo throughout the town. It would be a great day. Yes, I was absolutely certain that this is how it would go down.

  I slowed down a bit and held my head into the wind. It was a little chilly and smelled like fall. It was probably one of the last days of summer, but I only noticed that when I saw Octopus in the street.

  “Hey, Julian!” his voice cut through the air. “Having a nice day?”

  I slumped and couldn’t move any more. All I saw was his Mohawk and his lying eyes. What I didn’t see was the red light when I was crossing the street.

  “Julian! Watch out!” another voice yelled and I slammed on the brakes at the very last moment. A car sped through the intersection and almost hit me.

  “Whoa, dude! That was close!” Roger yelled and stopped his b
ike right next to me. Filled with fear, his eyes stared at me from behind his coke bottle glasses.

  “What’s the matter with you?” he asked reproachfully, but I was watching Octopus who was sauntering over to us.

  “Nothing!” I answered irritably. “I was just daydreaming.”

  “What’s up with him?” Roger asked, meaning Octopus. “Is he a daydreamer too?” Roger just wouldn’t let go.

  “How should I know?” I lied and took off, although the light was still red. I didn’t care. Roger took one more look at Octopus who came dangerously close. Then he shouted: “Hey Julian, wait for me!” and he took off after me.

  The schoolyard was still deserted. Not even the teachers had arrived. When Roger and I locked our bikes, a cold wind blew into our faces. It was an icy wind from the darkest corners of the earth. And with this wind at their backs, Mickey and his gang flew towards us.

  Roger took a few steps back.

  “Okay, why are they coming this way? Are you going to tell me they don’t want anything from you either?” he asked sarcastically.

  “How should I know? I thought they were after you,” I lied again and prayed that there was a superhero that would appear out of nowhere, right then and there.

  But all my superheroes were around the whole time. I just didn’t know it. They were all lying flat on the roof of the bike rack, just behind me, looking down on us. Kevin, Danny, Tyler, and Zoe and the rest of the Wild Soccer Bunch – everyone was there to help Roger and me – Diego the tornado, Fabio the wizard, and Alex the cannon Alexander. I heard later that they all flexed their muscles, ready to attack. But Kevin lifted his hand.

  “No, not yet!” he whispered.

  “Okay then, when?” Danny protested. “Only a few more steps and Mickey mows them down.”

  “I know!” Kevin said. “But this isn’t a soccer game. We don’t stand a chance!”