The Popcorn Colonel

by Toni Anderson

  William stifled a laugh about Cornwell’s cotton candy mustache courtesy of the popcorn pirates and told his dad he thought that a movie was a great idea. He wasn’t tired because he was too excited, and he wanted to get his mind off Stock om. By now the glasses were probably beginning to recharge. William popped in a superhero movie feeling like quite the superhero himself, then grabbed a blanket and crawled onto the couch. His dad kicked back in his big chair.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  The Offer

  The birds were chirping in the trees as the morning sun peeked into the living room to see if anyone was awake. William cracked one eye open and yawned, then stretched and then bolted off the couch in a panic. He looked at his watch; it was 6:50. Phew, he was cutting it close. He ran upstairs, splashed water on his face, changed clothes, and put on his ball cap. He grabbed Mr. Zuckerwatte’s box; then down the stairs he went. He was hopping around on one foot trying to get his shoes on and make it out the back door all at the same time. He pulled on his jacket as he shut the door behind him. Mr. Zuckerwatte was waiting for him beside the cornstalk and lanterns with a cup of coffee in one hand and a key ring in the other.

  “Good morning, Villiam,” said Mr. Zuckerwatte smiling.

  He walked toward the garden shed and William followed. Once the door was unlocked, they both went inside. William had only seen it in the dark, and from the floor. Now that he was standing in there and in the sunlight, he could get a better look. He saw an average garden shed. Lumbering stacks of terra cotta pots cluttered the scuffed table, and a water hose was coiled in the corner. Little seed packets and gloves had been stowed away in a straw hat to await the next trip to the flower bed. The paint around the windows was chipping into multi-colored confetti, revealing multiple layers of paint. Mr. Zuckerwatte walked directly to the only item out of place, a mess of ropes tangled on the floor. He picked them up curiously and laid them on the workbench. William knew he needed to tell Mr. Zuckerwatte about being held captive in the shed, but he was not sure now was the right time, and perhaps Mrs. Zuckerwatte already had told him. As William stood uncomfortably in the doorway, Mr. Zuckerwatte turned a coat hook at the back of the shed to the left. After a clicking of metal pins, accompanied by a small shudder, the wall slid out of place to reveal a secret laboratory.

  “Why am I not surprised?” thought William as Mr. Zuckerwatte motioned with his head for William to follow. Once inside, the door slid shut behind them. There were little gadgets whirring and spinning around. Books and notes were arranged neatly on shelves. Security cameras monitored everything the Zuckerwatte’s owned: the outside of the house, the inside of the house, the front lawn, the gravel drive, the cornstalk, and the garden shed. William noticed the Cotton Candy Movie house was under surveillance also. Mr. Z. sat down on a round stool at a tidy workspace and clicked on a desk lamp. He began to explain everything to William in an American accent, not the German accent in which he had always spoken. William’s jaw dropped; he had not seen this coming.

  “I was a Colonel in the military for many years. Most of the time I was working as a secret agent. My partner Orville Cornwell and I were assigned the task of collecting information from someone in another country who spent a lot of time having secret meetings in theaters. We ran out of options for getting into their meeting places. Since they disguised their meetings as sold out movies. Orville and I went to work developing our Popcorn Spies, most of whom you’ve met. We developed a corn chip for the kernels and communication chip devices that we installed in two pairs of glasses, the glasses that you and your friend have been wearing. The corn chip was inserted into the little corn kernel, then planted in the ground. As the cornstalk grew, the energy the corn chip emitted changed the corn cob, and we perfected it until we were able to harvest seven kernels for popping. Any more than that and the experiment failed. The kernels were put into the popcorn popper on our cart with the regular popping corn. We put on the glasses and waited. When the popping finished, little popcorn fellows climbed out of the bin and walked over toward us with curious expressions on their buttery little faces. We called them the Pop-ulation, and they were drawn to the energy of the chip in the glasses, since they were designed to interface with one another. Once we had a plan in place, we had to be careful not to be detected. I went under cover as a townsperson and set up a popcorn cart as a street vendor in front of the theater. We had known all along that we would not be able to infiltrate the theater room during these meetings, and the Popcorn Spies were undetectable. People bought the popcorn and carried my little spies right in. Once they gathered intelligence for me, they reported to Scribe, and he logged it all down to brief me on it. I wrote it down in invisible ink that could only be seen through the glasses that you have in the box. They were very useful and after many long years and missions, I knew it was time for a much needed and deserved break. When we moved to Shuckersville and the Pop-ulation went to live in retirement behind the movie screen, I developed a homing beacon of sorts. It’s in the Town Square; you’ve seen it. It’s the Mayor’s podium. It serves a dual purpose: it helps Pops who decide to go exploring find their way home, and it leads new pops out to the theater to see Mrs. Buttercup at the New Pop Stop for the tour and orientation. Did you enjoy your visit to Stock om?” he asked William.

  William took a deep breath and blurted out “YES! I loved it so much, and I can’t wait to go again. I bet Marie would love to go again too! This is so cool Mr. Z., but why are you sharing all of this with…me?”

  “William, I am entrusting all of this to you. You shared this experience with Marie so I am assuming that you trust her with any information that I give you.”

  “Does this mean I have clearance Mr. Z.? Ol’ Half-Popped said I needed clearance,” stated William.”

  “Yes, you have clearance,” said the Colonel smiling as he handed William a golden lapel pin just like the one he was wearing, When the project was over, I was entrusted with the safe keeping of it. Any decisions about the future are mine and mine alone. I have a team that helps protect and oversee any issues that may arise, but unfortunately, Kettler was able to fly under the radar this time.” Mr. Zuckerwatte was deep in thought. Then he began again.

  “Everything you need to know is in the book. I kept adding to the Pop-ulation every year not because I needed them but because I enjoy them so much. I have enjoyed naming them. They love movies and feel right at home. Mrs. Zuckerwatte took over Orville’s spot when he lost interest in the project.

  “Do you have any questions so far?” asked Mr. Zuckerwatte.

  “Why did Kettler Cornwell kidnap you?” asked William with a little hesitation.

  “Ahhh yes. Orville’s grandson. He found some of his grandfather’s old notes. He showed them to me. They were written on plain paper with a regular ink pen, which was against protocol. His grandfather was always breaking the rules. Looks like his grandson followed in his footsteps. I figured he had come looking for more information. Poor Orville has gone a bit batty and lost his mind in his old age,” said Mr. Zuckerwatte as he rubbed his forehead.

  “He wasn’t going to let me go until I revealed everything. I’m not the young man I once was. I may be clever, but I lack the strength and energy that I once had. You and Marie were brave to help rescue me. The Mayor must have believed in you to involve you the way that he did. I know that without a doubt choosing you to carry all of this on is the right decision for everyone. William, you are a natural.”

  “What do you mean ‘carry all of this on’?” William asked as a look of worry swept across his young face.

  “I want you to be the Popcorn Colonel from now on, William. I’m passing all of this on to you, if you accept that is,” replied Mr. Zuckerwatte.

  “It would be my honor, sir!” said William without giving it so much as a second thought as he gave Mr. Zuckerwatte a salute.

  “I think everything is starting to make sense. I can’t wait to tell my Da
d. He is going to think this is so cool,” said William.

  “I will talk to your dad, but you have to promise me that you and Marie will not share this with anyone. It’s crucial that we keep the Pop-ulation safe and out of the public eye. There is no telling what could happen to them if they were discovered. And you have to keep a watchful eye on the meddling Cornwell twins. They are following in their father’s and grandfather’s footsteps,” said Mr. Zuckerwatte.

  William nodded his head. “Marie and I have had a few encounters with the twins already. We figured out that they are bad news.”

  Mr. Zuckerwatte gave William a pat on the back. “That’s good. You’ve been paying attention to details. Remember, everything you need to know on how to grow new pops, create the corn chips, and take them for the first popping is in the journal. I have also created a video recording for you to refer to.”

  “Why did you make a video? Aren’t you going to show me how to do all of this?” asked William.

  “William, sometimes it’s best to be far more prepared than you feel is necessary because you never know what tomorrow may bring,” said Mr. Z. smiling.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  The Retelling

  “William? Will? Are you out here?” A voice called out across the yard. It was William’s dad, and he was looking for him. When William went to meet Mr. Zuckerwatte, his father had still been sleeping like a rock in his big chair in the living room. He must have woken up and wondered where William was. When he did not have to get up for anything, he liked to sleep in until the late morning. Mr. Zuckerwatte and William emerged from the secret lab of the garden shed.

  “Over here, Dad!” called William.

  “There you are…I hope you haven’t been bothering Mr. Zuckerwatte while he is trying to enjoy his morning and cup of coffee?”

  “It’s okay, Bill. I have been telling him stories from my days in the military,” Mr. Zuckerwatte told William’s dad.

  “Ya, Dad. It’s awesome!” exclaimed William.

  “Okay then, I’m going do a little yard work,” said William’s dad.

  William knew his dad would be busy with all of those leaves for a while, and he decided this would be a good time to talk with Mr. Zuckerwatte about everything that he had seen at the theater the night before. He also needed to discuss the things that happened at the Zuckerwatte’s house that Mr. Zuckerwatte might not know. William told him all about the men in the suits, the car with the dark windows, Cornwell’s tying up him and Mrs. Zuckerwatte in the garden shed, and how Marie had rescued them. He told him all about how he and Marie had happened to find the back door to Stock om. Mr. Zuckerwatte was upset about Cornwell’s actions but enjoyed hearing about the Grand Tour that Mrs. Buttercup had given the kids. He laughed out loud when William told him some of the jokes Larry had told.

  Mrs. Zuckerwatte brought out homemade cream cheese pastries and some juice, and William and Mr. Zuckerwatte enjoyed the refreshments while they spent the rest of the morning talking about Stock om. All too soon, William’s dad appeared and said it was time to come home, since they had a couple of errands to run in the city. William thanked Mr. Zuckerwatte and gave him a proper salute, the golden lapel pin on his jacket shining in the morning sun. The Old Colonel gave him a salute in return. William’s dad was proud to see how much William respected Mr. Zuckerwatte. William beamed with pride when he showed his dad the pin Mr. Z. had given him.

  William went up to his room and got ready to go. He decided that he was going to ask Mr. Zuckerwatte if they could go to Stock om again and bring Marie along. He was sure that he would say yes. He called Marie’s house to let her know what his plan was and to tell her that he had spent some time with Mr. Z. and that he wanted to fill her in on the information. The phone rang and rang. No answer.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  The Late Night

  William opened his eyes as the car dipped down and then up into the driveway. The harvest moon lit up the night sky. Their trip to the city had taken much longer than he thought it would. Now they were home, and it was dark. He had fallen asleep on the drive home, and his dad laughed when he said: “Hey, sleepyhead, we’re here.” William looked over to Mr. Zuckerwatte’s house. All the lights were out, and the car wasn’t in the driveway.

  “Man,” he thought. “They aren’t home. Oh well, it’s too late anyway. And there is always tomorrow.”

  “Can I call Marie, Dad?” asked William with sleepy eyelids.

  “It’s too late, son. You can call her tomorrow,” his dad answered.

  William felt a pang of guilt as he looked at the phone. He imagined that she was going crazy wondering what had happened that day. His dad was flipping channels on the TV downstairs and unwinding a little. William picked his favorite spot on the couch and sat thinking.

  “There’s nothing on TV, how about a movie and popcorn, bud?” suggested his dad with a slight grin on his face.

  “Oh ya! Hey dad, have you seen ‘The Dusty Cowboy and His Silver Spurs’?” William asked.

  “No, I don’t think so, where did you hear about it?” replied William’s dad.

  “Um, at the movie theater, but I think it’s an old one; maybe we can try to find it sometime….” William trailed off; he looked through their movie collection and settled on a western they had, since he couldn’t watch “The Dusty Cowboy” tonight. The movie was about an Indian and a cowboy who become friends and have a few rough and tumble adventures. His dad brought in two bowls of popcorn and a couple of cold sodas. He handed William his movie snacks, took a seat, and pushed play on the remote. William stared down at his bowl and smiled, thinking of the Pop-ulation. He grabbed a handful of popcorn, briefly hesitating before putting it in his mouth. Reassured that no live popcorn was in his bowl, he ate it....

  William and his dad made it all the way through the movie without falling asleep; after it was over they both yawned, then lumbered sleepily up to their beds. It was a long night, William could not sleep, unable to turn his mind off from the events of the day. Lying on his back wide awake and staring at the ceiling, he tried to comprehend that it had all really happened. There was no faint glow in his window tonight. The lanterns were not lit, but he knew they no longer needed to be, not right now anyway. He got out of bed several times to see if the Zuckerwatte’s car was in the drive. After several disappointing trips to the window, he tried to go to sleep. He tossed and turned more than usual but was finally able to settle in. The last thought William had before he drifted off to dream was the moment he saw the Popcorn Colonel’s box under the hedge.