Freddie Ramos Makes a Splash

by Jacqueline Jules

  “Why are you in here alone?” he asked. “Aren’t all the other kids swimming?”

  “Sure,” I said. “But I’d be happy to stay and help you pick up the towels.”

  The man shook his head. “That’s my job. Your job is to learn how to swim.”

  He pointed to the door. I gulped and flip-flopped out to the pool.

  “Come in the water, Freddie!” Mrs. Barlow called. “It’s your turn.”

  The water looked too blue under the lights of the indoor pool. It also looked cold and wet.

  “Freddie!” Maria said, jumping in. “Come on!”

  I suddenly remembered that I had forgotten my silver goggles. They were still in my backpack.

  “Just a minute.” I waved at Mrs. Barlow. “I’ll be right back.”

  My flip-flops sure didn’t go as fast as my super zapatos. And the floor was squishy wet. Worst of all was what I saw when I opened the locker room door. My white backpack wasn’t on the bench anymore! It was missing!

  7. Flip, Flop! Flip, Flop!

  I looked everywhere. Nada. Nothing. All I saw were other campers’ backpacks and a hamper filled with white towels.

  There was only one explanation. Someone took my backpack with my super shoes! How could I be a superhero now?

  I sat on the bench to think. Who could have done this? Only one person popped into my mind—Erika! She said she was going to make me pay. Did she know my backpack had my super zapatos, my goggles, and my wristband? Or did she just think she was stealing my clothes?

  “Freddie!” Mrs. Barlow knocked on the door. “Swimming time is almost over. Did you find your goggles?”

  When I went back out to the pool, I didn’t have my goggles, my super zapatos, or my courage. Mrs. Barlow said we should try again next time.

  On the way home, my flip-flops hurt my ears. Every flip and every flop asked how I was going to get my super zapatos back. Where did Erika take them? Could I find out where she lived? Starwood Park had lots of buildings, and my only clue was purple bubble gum. I walked slowly, with my eyes on the ground, searching.

  At first, all I found was Adriana. “Hey, Freddie!” she said. “What are you looking for?”

  I wanted to tell her I was following a trail of bubble gum to find a thief, but then I realized I couldn’t accuse anyone, not even Erika, without evidence.

  “My white backpack,” I said.

  “Did you try the lost-and-found?” she asked. “Summer camp has a bin in the cafeteria.”

  The bin in the cafeteria was for lost things, not stolen things. Could I trust Adriana if I told her more?

  “I don’t think my backpack is lost. Somebody took it.”

  “That’s what I thought about my wallet,” Adriana said. “Then I decided to check and be sure I didn’t just drop it. Accidents happen, Freddie.”

  “Thanks for the advice,” I said, walking off. The trail could be getting cold. I didn’t have time to waste.

  At the next corner, I found a blob of grape bubble gum. Then, I found two more outside 25D. Could it be Erika’s apartment?

  I tiptoed into the bushes and peeked over the windowsill. Bingo! This had to be Erika’s bedroom. There was a green bike inside! What about my backpack? I raised my head higher to search the room. I didn’t find what I wanted.

  “You little snoop!” Erika opened the window and hollered at me. “If you don’t get out of here, I’m calling the police!”

  Superheroes are supposed to help the police, not be chased by them. I learned something: when I had to, I could still run fast, even without my zapatos.

  The next day was the Fourth of July. We didn’t have summer camp. Instead, I went to a parade with Maria and Gio.

  My feet made such a sad sound as we walked.

  “Why aren’t you wearing your purple sneakers?” Gio asked.

  It was the last question I wanted to answer but the only thing on my mind. Sometimes you have to talk over your problems with friends.

  “I lost my backpack,” I said.

  “The new one?” Maria asked.

  I nodded my head.

  “What does it look like?” Gio asked.

  “It’s white,” I said. “All over.”

  “Like a T-shirt?” Gio asked.

  “Yes.” Maria giggled. “Or a towel at the summer camp pool.”

  Everybody in the parade was happy to be celebrating America’s birthday. There were marching bands and lots of red, white, and blue. Sometimes it was hard to see because so many people were watching. I would have had more fun if I wasn’t wearing flip-flops. With Zapato Power, I could have bounced up high and seen over the crowd.

  Where were my super shoes? Did Erika have them? When I thought about her, my stomach twisted up, just like it did when I tried to put my face into the water at swimming lessons.

  At night, my mom took me to see the fireworks at the high school.

  “The Fourth of July is my favorite holiday,” Mom said as we sat down in the football seats. “It was your dad’s, too.”

  “Really?” I liked learning stuff about my dad. He was a soldier and a hero for our country. We will always miss him.

  “Sí.” Mom kissed my forehead. “Your dad loved America’s birthday.”

  A band played happy music. Then the dark sky filled with colors, bursting open like gigantic flowers. I looked over at my mom. Her smile was as bright as all the colors. We clapped and cheered together. For a little while, I forgot all my worries.

  On the way home, Mom and I passed by the building with the summer camp pool, the last place I saw my white backpack with my super zapatos inside. Maybe it was all the noise from the fireworks, but something in my brain popped open with questions. What if Erika didn’t steal my white backpack? What if it was just lost, like Adriana said?

  How could a white backpack get lost? I remembered something Maria had said on the way to the parade. Suddenly, I had an idea.

  8. Splash!

  The next morning, I left 29G early, wearing my orange bathing suit with the palm trees. I was all ready to check out the pool before summer camp started.

  The flopping sound was so slow compared to Zapato Power. Would I ever be fast again? Or was I doomed to flip-flop around for the rest of my life? I hoped my brainpower was working, and that Maria had given me a good clue for finding my white backpack in the boys’ locker room.

  When I got there, I was happy to see the laundry hamper still in the corner, still filled with white towels, the same color as my backpack. Could my backpack be mixed in there by mistake? I sure hoped so. That’s why I dumped the hamper over, just as the man who cleans things up came in.

  “What are you doing?” he hollered.

  He wasn’t as friendly as the day my backpack disappeared. First, he made me clean everything up. Then, he grabbed my arm and marched me out to the pool.

  “Is this kid with the palm trees one of your campers?” he asked my swim coach.

  Mrs. Barlow looked at my orange bathing suit. “Yes,” she said. “This is Freddie.”

  “Well, Freddie made a huge mess in the boys’ locker room,” the man said.

  “That’s not nice.” Mrs. Barlow frowned and fingered the whistle around her neck.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I was looking for my backpack.”

  “Backpack?” the man repeated. “Was it a white one?”

  “Yes!” I jumped up as high as I could in my flip-flops. “Where is it?”

  “He’ll tell you later,” Mrs. Barlow said, putting her hand on my arm. “First, we’re going to have a swimming lesson.”

  “But I need my backpack,” I pleaded.

  “Why?” Mrs. Barlow asked. “Does it have your goggles in it?”

  I nodded my head. Superheroes don’t lie, but they don’t tell everything they know either.

  “If I had my goggles, I might be able to put my face in the water.”

  “Then let’s find your backpack.” Mrs. Barlow smiled.

  She went with me to the
lost-and-found, the place where the man who took care of the wet towels said he put my white backpack after finding it in the hamper.

  “Sorry,” he explained. “I must have picked it up with the towels by mistake.”

  My feet couldn’t move fast enough. Was I really about to get my Zapato Power back?

  The bin in the cafeteria was filled to the top. Underneath a couple of lost hats and a red T-shirt was a white backpack. I grabbed it and looked inside.

  “My zapatos!” I shouted. “My wristband! My goggles!”

  Everything was back. I could outrun a train or Erika’s bicycle. I could help Mr. Vaslov keep the sidewalks clean. But before I did, there was something I had to do first.

  I put on my silver goggles and looked at my swim coach.

  “Are you ready?” Mrs. Barlow asked.

  We walked back to the pool together.

  My goggles gave me the courage to jump in the water and get my whole head wet.

  “Terrific!” Mrs. Barlow said. “Now put your arms out with your face down.”

  We practiced for an hour before summer camp. And when I came back with the Tadpoles after lunch,

  I showed Maria and Adriana what I had learned.

  “Freddie!” Maria shouted.

  “You’re almost swimming!”

  “Wow!” Adriana agreed.

  At the end of the day, I climbed out of the pool, ready to be a superhero again. I got dressed and put on my purple sneakers to race home at super speed.

  When I reached 29G, Gio and Puppy were playing outside.

  “Look!” Gio said. “Puppy has a new toy!”

  Puppy dropped a giant squeaky bone at my feet. I picked it up.

  Puppy barked.

  “He wants to play with you,” Gio said. “Throw it.”

  Just as I raised my arm to throw, Erika came speeding by on her green bike. She swiped Puppy’s bone right out of my hand and rode off.

  “NO!” Gio cried. “Not fair!”

  Erika didn’t steal my backpack, but she was still a bully. I had my Zapato Power back—and my courage. I could fix this.

  Erika turned the corner to Building H, right past a wad of purple bubble gum.

  I jumped over the gum and the bike, landing a few feet in front of her with my arms crossed. Erika stopped her bike with a screech.

  “Give back Puppy’s bone,” I said.

  Erika opened her mouth so wide her bubble gum fell out. I don’t think she was used to people telling her what to do. She handed me Puppy’s bone.

  came a little boy’s voice.

  I heard Gio and Puppy back at 29G and turned around. Mr. Vaslov was walking toward us with his pooper-scooper.

  “Puppy and Gio need you, Freddie,” he said in his deep voice. “I’ll take over from here.”

  He handed his pooper-scooper to Erika. “Clean up your bubble gum!”

  Without saying a word, Erika took the pooper-scooper and got busy. Starwood Park’s bully was under control—at least for the moment. I squeezed Puppy’s toy and took off.

  Turn the page to begin reading from Jacqueline Jules’s Freddie Ramos Stomps the Snow

  Freddie Ramos Stomps the Snow

  Zapato Power, Book 5

  Jacqueline Jules

  Art by Miguel Benítez

  Albert Whitman & Company

  Chicago, Illinois

  To my friends in the Children’s Book Guild of Washington, D.C.

  —JJ

  1. Too Slippery for Zapato Power?

  Sparkly white flakes swirled down from the clouds.

  “It’s sticking!” Geraldo hollered.

  Even though it was March, this was the first time we’d seen snow all year. Geraldo, Maria, Jason, and all the kids at recess were jumping for joy. I was too.

  “HOORAY!” Jason screamed.

  Usually I saved my super-powered sneakers for hero stuff. But I was too excited about the snow. I pressed the button on my Zapato Power wristband. Smoke whooshed out of my shoes, covering me in a cloud.

  “Where’d Freddie go?” Maria asked.

  Maria couldn’t see me bouncing higher than the basketball hoop and sailing over the swing set.

  “Freddie!” Maria called for me.

  “Mrs. Blake says recess is over.”

  I landed at Maria’s feet and turned off my Zapato Power. It was time to turn back into a regular kid, even if it was snowing.

  “Let’s go!” I said to Maria. When we got into the classroom,

  Mrs. Blake asked us to open our math books and study for our Friday test.

  But everyone’s eyes, even Mrs. Blake’s, kept drifting to the window, where fat snowflakes were falling. First the grass turned white, then the road.

  “How much snow do we need to cancel school?” Jason asked.

  “In Wisconsin, where I grew up,” Mrs. Blake said, “we needed two feet of snow. But around here, it just needs to be slippery outside.”

  Slippery? Was that good for my super speed? I chewed my pencil.

  Something was squealing outside. We dashed out of our seats to watch by the window.

  “That blue car is stuck,” Mrs. Blake said. “It can’t get up the hill.”

  The snow was making everyone—even our teacher—forget it was math time. Part of me was excited. Slippery roads meant no school and no test tomorrow. The other part of me was worried. If cars couldn’t move in the snow, could my super-powered sneakers?

  “ANNOUNCEMENT!” The principal’s voice came through the intercom. “SCHOOL WILL BE CLOSING EARLY.”

  “YAY!” everybody shouted, even Mrs. Blake. I was the only one in the room who wasn’t smiling.

  Maria and I walked home together.

  By that time, snow had completely covered the steps leading up to Starwood Park, where we lived.

  “Help!” Maria giggled, grabbing the rail.

  We couldn’t keep from slipping, and my purple zapatos were soaked. How could I run at super speed with wet shoes?

  “I need my boots,” Maria said. “At least you have some,” I grumbled.

  Maria looked at me. “You don’t?” I shook my head. My super zapatos were the only shoes I had.

  She patted my arm. “Don’t worry. Alonzo probably has some boots that are too small for him.”

  Maria’s big brother, Alonzo, went to high school, and her youngest brother, Gio, was in first grade. Since we were neighbors, Maria’s mom let me wear Alonzo’s clothes until Gio was big enough for them. At Starwood Park, people shared.

  “Keep your fingers crossed for a snow day tomorrow!” Maria said at the door of her apartment, 28G.

  I watched her go inside. But I didn’t open my door to 29G, even though my nose was a Popsicle and I knew my guinea pig, Claude the Second, was waiting for me.

  The metro train was rumbling by Starwood Park on its overhead track. Claude the Second would understand. There was something important I needed to find out.

  I pulled my silver goggles out of my coat pocket and took a big breath. What would happen when I pressed the button on my purple wristband?

  A puff of smoke cut right through the snowflakes. In half a blink, I was behind Starwood Park, running beside the overhead train track. The train zoomed by! Rápido! But not as fast as my Zapato Power!

  As I ran, my speed made so much heat that it pushed the curtain of snow away from me and dried up the ground. I went faster and faster, not feeling cold at all—not even my nose!

  The train fell behind me, just like every other day with Zapato Power in my shoes. If someone needed a superhero, Freddie Ramos would be ready. But in the meantime, my guinea pig was waiting for me back at 29G.

  2. A March Blizzard

  When I opened the door, my guinea pig wasn’t the only one waiting.

  “Freddie!” Mom frowned. “How come you didn’t come straight home after school?”

  “Mom! How come you’re not at your office?”

  “WHEET!” Claude the Second stood up in his cage and squealed. He did
n’t care who was home first. He wanted his afternoon carrot.

  “Everybody canceled because of the storm. We closed the office early.”

  “So you get a snow day too!” I said.

  Mom stopped frowning. “Sí, mi hijito.” She kissed my forehead. “Let’s have some hot cocoa.”

  “Great idea!”

  While Mom heated the milk, I took off my purple zapatos. They were as dry as a warm blanket. So were my socks. My friend Mr. Vaslov would be happy to hear this. Just because he invented my super shoes didn’t mean he knew everything about them. Inventions can do unexpected things. That’s why you have to test them. Lucky for me, Mr. Vaslov chose me to be the Zapato Power tester.

  We drank our hot cocoa on the couch in front of the television news.

  A weatherman was standing beside a snow-covered highway with a microphone.

  “It’s a March blizzard,” he said. “Wind gusts of fifty miles per hour are expected as the storm drops almost a foot of snow.”

  “A whole foot!” Mom put her hands on her cheeks. “And high winds! This sounds serious!”

  I turned away from Mom to wink at Claude the Second, munching on his carrot. With Zapato Power, I could take care of us. But Mom didn’t know my superhero secret. Shoes with super speed and super bounce are the sort of thing moms think are dangerous. And a good superhero doesn’t upset his mom.

  “Remember the jigsaw puzzle Uncle Jorge sent me for Christmas?” Mom said.