Super Jake and the King of Chaos

by Naomi Milliner

  “Okay,” Bubba says. “I choose orange.”

  I laugh. “You’re not supposed to tell me! I’m supposed to guess. Choose again.”

  “Okay, buddy, I won’t choose orange this time.”

  “Bubba!”

  Pop-Pop laughs.

  I sigh. Maybe I should’ve practiced on my grandmothers instead. I put my hands behind my back.

  “All right, Bubba. Without saying anything, place the crayon in my hands.”

  He puts it in my right hand. I turn back to face my audience, holding it for a few more seconds, then bring my left—the empty one—in front of my face, concentrating hard. “I’m sensing a bright, cheerful color. Is it… Bubba! You chose orange again!”

  “That’s pretty good, buddy!” Bubba grins. “I was trying to fool you.”

  I shake my head and laugh. “Okay, to make it even more challenging, I’m going to let you pick any five crayons you want.” As I hand them a box of sixty-four colors, Freddy runs up.

  “Hey! Are those my crayons?”

  “I’ll give them right back after this trick, okay?”

  “Will you show me how it works?”

  “No. But I’ll let you choose the crayons.”

  He thinks it over for a few seconds. By the time he decides on the colors, Bubba and Pop-Pop are busy talking with Jake’s therapists, so my only audience is Freddy, who’s seen the trick a million times. I’m about to hand the crayons back to him when Peter rolls up next to us.

  “Do you want to try?” I ask him.

  He nods. As I put the crayons on his wheelchair tray, someone grabs me from behind and squeezes my ribs. It doesn’t take a mind reader to guess who. “Katie, I’m trying to do a magic trick here.”

  “I love magic tricks!” She squeezes me even harder. I wonder if this sort of thing ever happens to Magnus.

  Just then, Mom announces that the quiz has ended. She reads the questions out loud and people shout the answers—half of which are wrong. Tina gets the most right (I would have, but Mom wouldn’t let me—or Freddy—play) and wins a gift card to a local bookstore. She goes straight to Jake, who’s sitting in Mrs. Todd’s lap, and gives him a kiss. “I know all about you,” Tina says, “because I love you so much.”

  Next we all sing “Happy Birthday” and “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow” for Jake as Dad brings out the cake. Freddy helps Jake blow out two Tweety Bird candles, and Mandy tries to feed Jake a little spoonful of icing. He wrinkles his nose and makes a face.

  “I don’t think Jakey likes it,” Freddy says.

  Mom carries the rest of the cake to the kitchen counter to cut it up while Katie’s mom and Tina scoop out different flavors of ice cream. Freddy and I are in charge of handing out the plates.

  Katie’s mom sighs. “This is a perfect party. I went to one last week that was a disaster.”

  Mom continues dividing the sheet cake as evenly as she can. “What happened?”

  Katie’s mom leans in close to mine. “Two kids couldn’t play on any equipment because they were in wheelchairs.”

  “We need more playgrounds like the one at Sequoia, where there’s something for everyone,” Mom says. “Like special swings and raised sandboxes—”

  “So?” Freddy pipes up. “Why don’t we get some?”

  Katie’s mom ruffles his hair. “I wish we could, sweetie. It’s all very expensive.”

  “We should throw a fund-raiser,” Tina says. “I bet I can get a bunch of people from school to help. We could hold a spaghetti dinner—”

  Mom stops plating. “That’s a terrific idea. I’m sure I can put together a bake sale.” Mom loves putting together bake sales.

  Tina grins. “And live music! Maybe my high school jazz band…”

  I do love the jazz band. This actually might be fun.

  Freddy turns to me. “And you can do magic tricks!” he says, his mouth full of cake.

  “I guess… if people want me to.” It would be pretty awesome to perform on the same stage as the high school band. It’s nothing like Magic Fest, of course, but it would still be the biggest audience I’ve ever had.…

  Besides, this is exactly the kind of thing Magnus would do. And that makes me want to do it even more.

  Every time our parents throw one of us a birthday party, they get all worn out, so the minute we’re back home they retreat to take a nap. Jake’s wide awake though, so I carry him to the big green sofa for another exciting round of Super Jake versus the King of Chaos! The wrestling match begins when I put all thirty pounds’ worth of Jake on top of me, then try to get out from under him. Even though I put up a good fight, he wins every time. Wanna know his secret weapon?

  Drool.

  After that, Freddy and I dress Jake like a secret agent with sunglasses and one of Dad’s old hats. Jake and I are about to bop the bad guy (Freddy, of course) with Elmo when a UPS truck pulls into our driveway.

  I answer the door before the delivery person can even ring the bell.

  The three of us shake the package and try to guess what’s inside before we add it to the stack of unopened gifts from the party.

  Freddy goes first. “Sounds like Star Wars toys!”

  “I think it sounds like magic tricks,” I joke. “What do you think, Jake?” I help him shake it. “He thinks it’s a big mushy bowl of rice cereal.”

  Freddy giggles.

  “What’s going on?” Mom asks, coming into the room.

  “Another present for Jake,” I tell her. “It’s from Uncle Steve.”

  “Can we open them now?” Freddy is practically clawing at the presents, he’s so excited.

  “No time like the present for presents,” Dad says as he joins us.

  Freddy and I pile all the gifts on the living room table and Mom gets a pen and paper to keep track for thank-you notes. Dad holds Jake in his arms and helps him open the first gift: a fuzzy brown teddy bear with a red sleeping cap—from Chris and his parents. Dad slides Jake’s fingers along the soft fur.

  The therapists all gave Jake gifts that are fun for Freddy and me, too: toys that light up, toys that play music—and one that does both. Freddy tries out each one while Dad and Jake open the rest of the presents.

  Both sets of grandparents pitched in and bought Jake a swing that goes for fifteen minutes at a time, and Tina made Jake a Winnie the Pooh quilt. Uncle Steve sent presents for every one of us, because he’s cool like that: an autographed book for Mom by one of her favorite authors; a funny T-shirt for Dad; a Jack-in-the-Box for Jake; a Yoda doll for Freddy; and a new Marvel DVD for me.

  Uncle Steve is the best.

  “One last gift,” Mom says. She reaches for a huge box, and opens the card first. “It’s from Wendy and Rox.”

  “Maybe it’s a billion-piece Star Wars Lego!” Freddy shouts.

  “It’s for Jake, not you,” I remind him.

  Dad hands Mom a pair of scissors and we all watch as she cuts the tape and opens the flaps. Her smile disappears. “Diapers.”

  “Diapers?” Freddy repeats, like he can’t believe it.

  “Well…” Dad says after a few seconds. “Who wants pizza?”

  Most days, that’s another one of those rhetorical questions Ms. Carlin likes. Freddy and I love pizza, any day, any time. Except this time.

  “No, thanks,” I say.

  “I’m not hungry,” Freddy says.

  Freddy and I retreat to the other room to play video games, but we both just sit staring at the blank TV screen.

  “Diapers are dumb,” Freddy says. “What kind of birthday present is that?”

  I shrug. “I guess Rox doesn’t know what Jake likes.”

  “He likes lots of things!” Freddy counts on his fingers. “Lollipops, applesauce, whipped cream, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Goodnight Moon…”

  “You’re right.”

  Freddy gets quiet, so I know he’s thinking really hard. “Diapers are dumb.”

  A few hours later, when I go to tell Jake good night, I can’t believe what
I see: Bugs Bunny on one side of his pillow and Freddy’s brand-new Yoda doll on the other. I grab something from my room, then go to Freddy’s. He’s sitting in bed with one of his Star Wars books, Pita Rabbit at his side.

  I hold out my hands with the fingers closed so he can’t see what I’m hiding. “Wanna see what’s inside?”

  He nods and sits up a little straighter.

  I open my hands and show him a bunch of crayons. “Pick one.”

  His eyes go wide. “Is this the trick you did at Jake’s party?”

  “Maybe.”

  His eyes go wider. “Are you going to teach it to me?”

  “Maybe.”

  He jumps off the bed and hugs me.

  “Okay, okay.” I turn my back to him. “First, you’ve got to choose a color.”

  He takes a year and a half to decide, but for once I don’t mind.

  “Ready!”

  He puts the crayon in my right hand, then I turn around and face him, bringing my left hand up front and “concentrating” really hard.

  “Hmmm. I’m seeing fire engines and strawberries and cherry lollipops. Is it red?”

  “How did you guess?” he asks, mystified.

  “You have to promise not to show anyone else, okay?”

  “I promise!”

  So I show him how it works. (Ethan’s Rule #5: Like everyone knows, there’s an exception to every rule. Here’s mine: when someone does something really nice for someone else, they deserve to learn an awesome magic trick.)

  He tries it. Over and over again. It takes a while, but he doesn’t give up. And when he finally gets it right, his smile is almost bigger than his entire face.

  And it makes me smile, too.

  Winter break is finally happening.

  Magic Fest is not.

  Between Jake’s party being a hit, and getting into the holiday spirit, I was hoping Dad would change his mind… but he hasn’t.

  Today Freddy’s going to Tyler’s house, and Jake’s got a playdate with Wendy at her house, so Mom and I decide to visit our favorite diner again.

  As usual, our pink-haired waitress greets us with a big smile. “Ethan, I’ll give you a quarter if you order something instead of grilled cheese,” she teases.

  If I were still trying to get money for Magic Fest, I’d be tempted to take her up on it. “Maybe next time.”

  “A girl can dream, right?” She laughs and walks away to place our usual order.

  Mom and I are halfway through our food when her cell rings.

  “Hey, Rox, is everything… what?”

  I put down what’s left of my sandwich and wait to see if we’re about to race over to Rox’s house. Wait to hear if Jake is okay.

  A few seconds go by, then Mom’s shoulders relax and I know Jake’s all right.

  “No, that’s fine. He’s fine. He probably just… he might not be hungry yet. Really. It’s okay.” Mom looks at me, smiles, and shakes her head. “We’ll see you in a little bit.” She ends the call. “Jake doesn’t want his lunch.”

  “Maybe he’s holding out for grilled cheese.”

  She laughs. “Maybe so.”

  “Do you want to skip dessert?” I ask, hoping she’ll say no.

  “How ’bout we get something to go and share it with Rox? Sounds like she could use it.”

  Great. Maybe Ned can join us and we can all sit around the table together. Fun times.

  The thought of even possibly seeing Ned makes me lose my appetite.

  Mom orders a slice of six-layer cake that’s big enough for a family of ten.

  “Try not to eat it all in one sitting.” Our waitress smiles, then leaves to grab our check and take-out box.

  Mom shakes her head again, only this time she’s not smiling. “She means well.”

  “The waitress?”

  “Rox.”

  I’m not sure what to say.

  “She just doesn’t know how to act around Jake.”

  “Then she should ask.”

  “She should. But maybe she thinks it’s kinder not to ask at all.”

  “Why?”

  Mom takes a last sip of her coffee. “Maybe she thinks it’s hard for us to talk about Jake.”

  I think about that as Mom puts money on the table for the tip. “If Rox doesn’t ask, maybe you should just tell her.”

  Mom smiles and reaches for my hand. “How did you get to be so smart?”

  “I’m so sorry I ruined your lunch,” Rox says for the third time as she slices the cake.

  “You didn’t ruin anything,” Mom answers for the third time. It’s like a really boring Ping-Pong game. “Jake just has to get used to you, like we had to get used to him.” She stops feeding Jake. “Would you like to try again? I bet he’ll let you feed him this time.”

  “Sure.” Rox looks at Jake. “If you think it’s okay.”

  Mom hands the jar and spoon to her and they switch seats. Rox dips the spoon into the jar and offers it to Jake. Sure enough, Jake gobbles it up. Rox looks a thousand times happier. I watch Jake and Rox make their way through the rest of the peaches together while Mom pours apple juice into a bottle, then adds white powdery stuff to it, stirring it in.

  “What’s that?” Rox asks.

  “We add thickener to his liquids so he won’t drink too fast and choke,” Mom explains.

  “I’ve never seen that before,” Rox says.

  “It’s no big deal.” As Mom shakes the bottle, she looks over at me, then back at Rox. “You should have seen Jake when we first brought him home.”

  I’m glad she’s finally going to tell Rox all about Jake; I just don’t want to hear it. I move my fork around, moving all the crumbs into a pile. Mom looks at me again, reading my mind as usual.

  “Ethan? Want to go see if Wendy’s still napping?”

  “I guess.”

  “She’s right down the hall,” Rox says.

  It’s easy enough to find Wendy’s room: it’s got a lavender door and a purple sequined tiara stuck to it.

  I crack the door and peek inside; she’s fast asleep under a Hello Kitty comforter, sucking her thumb. I close her door and head back down the hall when I hear something, no, someone. Someone who is crying.

  It has to be Ned.

  I stop outside what I assume is his bedroom door, a billion thoughts and feelings swirling around, all jumbled up in my head.

  Part of me doesn’t care if he’s sad and hurting. But another part of me feels sorry for him with his dad being so far away. Even when my dad and I are upset with each other, like now, I know he’s still here for me.

  Ned’s stopped crying. I should probably go back to Mom and Rox. I should definitely go back.…

  My hand knocks on his door. I hear the scrape of a chair being pulled across the floor and footsteps heading my way. I could still run… but I don’t.

  The door opens. Ned’s eyes are red and wide open in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

  I say the first thing that pops into my head: “There’s cake.”

  He stares at me like I’m insane.

  “It’s really good.”

  Still staring.

  “Do you like cake?”

  “Is something wrong with you?”

  “Plenty,” I tell him. “But cake helps…”

  He snorts. “Cake can’t help me.”

  I shrug. “Can’t hurt to try.”

  He stares at me a little longer, then tilts his head the way Freddy does. “What flavor is it?”

  Today’s the last day of winter break, so I’m going to make it a good one.

  It definitely starts that way. Mom makes Freddy’s and my favorite breakfast: chocolate waffles.

  After breakfast, Freddy and I have a “therapy session” with Jake. Only we make it fun.

  Freddy and I take the teddy bear Jake got for his birthday and turn it into a terrifying Ninja Bear by changing his sleeping cap into a red hood that covers his face.

  I help Jake track the ruthless villain from right
to left and up and down, then we work on arm stretching by punching Ninja Bear and hurling him across the room. Freddy runs and fetches the stuffed animal like a puppy, and we do it again and again until Wendy shows up for another playdate.

  While Rox and Mom help Wendy out of her purple coat, purple mittens, and purple boots, I head outside before Mom makes me put on so many layers of clothing that I can’t move. And I need to move fast! It’s been snowing like crazy the past two days, and it’s the perfect kind of snow… for a snowball fight.

  My friends come over and we divide into teams. The four of us spend the first few minutes building an arsenal of snowballs, then head for my backyard. Daniel and I lob snowballs from behind a gigantic oak tree, and our opponents grab trash cans and use them for cover. There are so many snowballs flying around it’s impossible to tell which side wins, but we’re having too much fun to care.

  When our fingers and faces are numb, Mom gives us mugs of steaming hot soup, then Daniel and Brian head home. After that, it’s time for Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart. Then the two of us have a fencing match with Jake’s bubble wands, which work surprisingly well. The biggest surprise of all, though, is how much fun I had all day… with Ned.

  Since it is the last day of winter break, when Dad gets home from running errands all day, he makes a fire in the fireplace and the five of us gather in front of it. Mom holds Jake, Freddy holds a bag of marshmallows, and I toast one at a time ’til they’re perfect: golden brown on the outside, and gooey on the inside.

  “How was Jake’s playdate?” Dad asks as he turns over a log.

  Mom smiles. “He and Wendy played grocery store and looked at her favorite picture books. Then she colored a picture of Snow White for him and made him a puppy out of Play-Doh.” She strokes Jake’s chubby cheek. “You had a wonderful time, didn’t you?”

  “Ethan had a nice playdate, too,” Freddy says.

  Dad stirs the fire some more. “Oh? Did Daniel and Brian come over?”

  “Yep.” I pass a marshmallow to Freddy, who has his hand out for the third time.