Ted Saves the World

by Bryan Cohen

  Chapter 31 

  Ted lay awake in bed for at least half an hour after his walk with Erica. For years, all he'd wanted was to have one more conversation with the girl who had been his best friend. It was true that he'd never stopped loving her, and while the two encounters of the last 24 hours had been amazing, he didn't feel quite how he expected to feel.

  Maybe Natalie was right, he thought. Maybe I don't know who she is anymore.

  As the clock ticked past three in the morning, sleep washed back over Ted.

  Ted slipped right back into the dream he'd had earlier that afternoon. He had no control as he watched the same scene unfold: a lit torch, the faces of his friends and Nigel's sword stabbing him through the abdomen. The portal opened and his friends were changed into enemies. Ted did everything he could to alter the dream and fight for his world. It was no use. The cave shuddered with a pounding sound. Ted woke up to the same sound, as his parents knocked on the door to get his attention.

  "Ted! Are you alright? The door's locked."

  Ted rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked around. The door wasn't actually locked. While he slept, Ted had apparently moved his overstuffed dresser drawer in front of the door. His end table and the lamp that sat on top had toppled to the ground, as well. It was a disaster. The one thing that remained untouched was the giant pile of clothes he'd left on the middle of the floor.

  "You couldn't have folded those in your sleep? Or at least put them in the hamper?" he said to himself.

  "I'm fine, guys. I was just… sleep redecorating."

  Ted used his powers to move the room back to its original order. He considered putting some of the clothes in his hamper, but that felt like too much effort. By the time Ted had shaken the dream and gotten his room in order, he had no chance whatsoever of getting to school on time.

  "Hey, Mom?" he asked.

  "We'll write you a note," she said. "We're just glad Captain Evil or someone didn't try to beat you up in your sleep."

  "Captain Evil?"

  "I don't know, don't bad guys have names?"

  Ted stuffed a muffin down his throat and gathered his books. As his mother wrote the note, she gave him a classic worried-mom face.

  "Honey, do you even want to be a superhero?"

  Ted paused. Nobody had asked him anything like that. He hadn't even considered such a question.

  "I don't know."

  She handed him the note and put her hand on Ted's shoulder.

  "Because nobody's forcing you to do it. You can be whoever you want to be."

  Ted hugged his mom. He could feel her nervousness.

  "Thanks, Mom. I love you."

  Now that he had a national news interview out and a website with a million-plus views, he wasn't so sure his mother was right. If he didn't use his powers to help people, wouldn't that be the biggest cop out ever?

  After Ted reached school, he slipped into first period without much fanfare. Things turned on a dime between first and second period. He was mobbed immediately after he stepped into the hallway. It was suffocating. In the pack around him, there were multiple autograph requests, several peers asking him for a job as a sidekick, and even a few attractive seniors asking to be friended online. All of them were shouting their requests at once and it started to give him a pounding headache.

  "Guys, I need to get to class."

  The students grew louder and larger in numbers. Movement completely stopped in the hallway, and Ted could no longer make progress. His headache grew.

  "Please, I need to get to class, everybody. We can talk after school."

  That's when Ted was pushed too far. Literally. He was pushed too far to keep his balance and fell to the ground. Ted looked up and saw Jason Torello, who let out a quick snort.

  "Hey, Finley, you owe me for the phone," Jason said. "Why don't you float me up in the air like you did that news guy?"

  Ted stood up and gently moved the crowd back with his mind. A few of the girls shrieked.

  "You're right. I do owe you."

  Ted pointed at Jason's chest. He thought of the sixth grade fight and the years of insults, as he lifted Jason into the air with ease. The Torello twin squealed with glee.

  "I'm flying, everybody! I'm flying."

  That's when Ted started to spin him. Jason started spinning faster and faster, and the squeals turned into pleas for help.

  "Hey! Hey! Stop! I've had enough!"

  Ted hadn't. He wanted to see how fast the twin could spin.

  "You should see yourself right now, Jason. You look awesome," Ted said with a grin.

  "Help! Phil!"

  Phil Torello approached Ted. He had always been the grungier of the two – the one who was more willing to do the dirty work.

  "Enough, Finley."

  "You want your turn, too?"

  Ted lifted him up into the air as well. He then began to spin him at the same speed as his brother.

  "Stop! I'm sorry! I'm going to puke!" Jason said.

  Behind him, Ted noticed the crowd parting. It was Principal Stoll. He gave Ted a death stare.

  "Put them down, Mr. Finley."

  Ted stretched his fingers and the spinning stopped. He considered dropping the twins 10 feet to the ground, instead lightly placing them on their feet.

  The Torellos tried to find their balance. They bumped into each other and tumbled to the ground. The crowd laughed.

  "Mr. Finley, in my office. The rest of you, I believe I heard the second period bell ring."

  They dispersed without another word. Ted followed the principal down the hall to the office in silence. As he passed through the doorway, Principal Stoll motioned for Ted to sit down before shutting the door. Ted noticed right away how neat and clean the room was. All file cabinets and folders were orderly and labeled. If he ever needed to find something in there, he was certain there'd be no trouble at all. Stoll sat down behind his desk and pulled out a file.

  "When I dealt with the paintball shenanigans earlier this month, it was the most challenging thing I'd ever handled as an educator. But it doesn't compare to this."

  Ted had been in study hall when a dozen kids began opening fire on each other with paintball guns in the main lobby by the auditorium. While he hadn't seen any of the carnage, it took the janitorial staff two weeks to clean all the stains off the wall.

  "Yes sir," Ted said.

  "I didn't know who you were before all this superhero nonsense happened," he said.

  Ted nodded.

  "I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. I assumed you'd keep your head down like you always had. Do you know why I kept the media out from day one, Ted?"

  Ted figured this was his cue.

  "To protect the students," Ted said.

  A knowing grin appeared on Stoll's face. Ted wasn't sure if he'd ever seen the principal smile.

  "Close," the principal said. "To protect you, Ted. I want to protect you from this circus. But if you aren't interested in doing me the same courtesy, I could take down the security guard and the gate in a hurry."

  As much as Ted appreciated the principal's actions, he wondered if there was a way to stop the students from treating him like a celebrity. Ted didn't feel comfortable bringing it up.

  "No, it really is better this way. Thank you."

  Stoll cleared his throat.

  "No powers. No circus. Got it?"

  Ted nodded.

  "Yes sir."

  "Now get to class."

  Ted had only missed a minute or two of math when he sat down at his desk. Word of his visit to the principal must have spread, because the massive flow of attention slowed to a trickle the rest of the day. He was surprised that neither Erica nor Natalie were among the many students who crossed his path that day. He brought up the point to Dhiraj during sixth period.

  "Unlike you, they're laying low. Do you know there's already a story out online about your plate spinning act? One news network spent an hour debating whether or not you should go to rehab."<
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  Ted shook his head.

  "If only I'd gotten super powers on a livelier news week. A secret identity would be nice right about now."

  Dhiraj looked surprised.

  "What are you talking about? This is way better."

  "How?"

  "You know exactly who's in need and they can reach you directly. Kids are asking for help with bullies. Women want you to get them out of abusive relationships."

  Ted didn't quite know how to react.

  "But I can't possibly help them all."

  "I know, but because of you, they're reaching out for help, and me and my crack team of virtual assistants are finding them they help they need. They wouldn't have reached out, otherwise."

  Ted was astounded. Maybe all this attention was worth it, he thought.

  "Thanks, Dhiraj. I'm glad you told me about all that."

  "Of course! By the way, you got another weird anonymous–"

  The lights went out. It was silent for a moment. The students in the class looked at each other and then at the teacher.

  "It's OK, class, probably just a power glitch," the teacher said. "Let's give it a second for it to work itself out."

  The buzz of the loudspeaker hummed throughout the room.

  "Everybody please stay where you are," a familiar voice said. "Your designated murderer will be around shortly to attend to you."

  Ted stood up.

  "Everybody get out of the school. Get as far away from here as possible."

  The other students didn't have to hear it twice. They either left or gathered their things and headed for the door. It was less than a minute before everybody was gone except for Ted and Dhiraj.

  "Is that your British friend?"

  "It is."

  Dhiraj looked more panicked than Ted expected.

  "What are we going to do?"

  Ted stepped away from his chair.

  "We're going to win."