Secrets of the Magic Ring

by Karen McQuestion

  When Alex came out with the drinks, the boys went to the backyard. There weren’t many trees there, but there was a play structure Alex’s dad had built. A big wooden thing with two slides, a climbing rope, and a covered platform, which Alex called “the tree house.” Truthfully, this was better for younger kids, but it was still good for them to have a place to go. And they were in the shade, which was a bonus.

  “I asked my mom if we could come in and play video games, and she said absolutely not, that it’s a beautiful day and we should stay outside.” Alex made a face before sipping from his can of Coke.

  “It’s okay,” Paul said. “This is good.”

  “Maybe when the baby gets up from his nap, she’ll let us in,” Alex said.

  Paul dug into his pocket. “I’ve got something kind of cool to show you.” He pulled out the ring. “Look at this. I found it in a treasure chest that was buried underground. It was uncovered when the workers were digging out the pool.”

  “No way!” Alex said. “What was it doing there?”

  “I don’t know,” Paul said. “I was just looking down in the hole one night after the crew left, and I saw a square thing sticking out of the dirt. I got my dad’s ladder and climbed down and dug it out.”

  “Hand it over. I want to see it.” Alex reached out, and Paul reluctantly put it in his palm.

  “Is this the ring your mom had at the pool party?’

  Paul hesitated. “Yeah, I let her wear it for a while.” It was too complicated to explain.

  Alex gave it a careful looking over. “Looks like something a knight would wear. Cool.”

  “Be careful. I think it’s worth a lot of money.”

  “I’m surprised your mom lets you carry it around,” Alex said. Paul’s mom was known for being persnickety.

  Paul said, “She doesn’t know I have it.”

  “Whoa!” Alex gave Paul an approving look. “Good for you.”

  Paul wanted to tell him that the ring was magic. Alex was his best friend and would certainly keep the secret. Paul was also dying to tell him that the ring was what made his Aunt Vicky into a swimmer, and that now, believe it or not, Clem could talk. He hoped Alex would believe him. Paul took a sip from his drink. “You won’t believe this, Alex, but the ring—”

  Before he could get the words out, a yell from down below interrupted him. A loud, raucous yell. “Hey, Alex, where are you?”

  Alex leaned over the side of the platform. “Up here,” he said.

  When Paul saw who it was, his heart sank. It was Brody, the bully. Paul thought he’d get a break during summer vacation, but here he was, his mortal enemy, looking as terrifying as he’d remembered. “What’s he doing here?” Paul asked.

  “He moved in down the block last week,” Alex said. “He’s okay, really he is, Paul. It’s cool.”

  Brody came up to join them, his footsteps heavy on the wooden ladder. “Dude, whatcha doing?” His eyes caught on Paul, and he sneered disdainfully. “Hey, why is Spaz here?”

  “He wanted to come over,” Alex said, rolling his eyes, “and my mom said it was okay.” Paul could tell from Alex’s tone that he’d switched alliances. A minute before they’d been good friends, but now that Brody was here, Paul was the outsider.

  Brody scrambled up and took a seat, his massive bottom filling up a third of the platform. “So what’s going on?”

  “Paul found this cool ring digging in his backyard like one of those scientist guys that looks for fossils.” Alex held out the ring, and Brody reached for it.

  Oh no. Paul’s heart slammed against his ribcage, and he leaped forward to grab it, but it was too late.

  “Not so fast there, Spaz,” Brody said. “Let me see what you got.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  “Give that to me,” Paul yelled, reaching for the ring.

  But Brody had a firm grip on it. He held it above his head, out of Paul’s reach. “Easy there, Spaz, I’m not going to ruin your precious jewelry. I just want to take a look at it.”

  “It’s mine,” Paul said, blinking hard to fight back tears. Crying would be the worst thing in the world. Knowing what a blabbermouth Brody was, he’d tell everyone at school and Paul would never hear the end of it.

  Brody stood up and put the ring on his thumb. “I like it.” He pushed Paul away. “Good job digging it up for me, little guy. Nice of you.”

  “No,” Paul said. “Give it back. It belongs to me. My mom will be so mad if I don’t bring it home.”

  Brody shrugged. “So you’re going to tell on me?” He curled his hand into a fist and gestured to Alex. “Why are you hanging out with this loser, Al?”

  Alex looked uncomfortable. “Give him back his ring, Brody. You’re going to get in trouble.”

  “Says who?” Brody took the ring off and waved it in front of Paul’s face. “Take a good look, you big baby, this is the last you’ll see of your ring. Or should I say, my ring.”

  Paul had tears in his eyes now, but he didn’t wipe them away. Instead, he threw himself at Brody’s outstretched arm, knocking Brody off balance. The ring flew up in the air, Brody fell backwards onto his butt, and Paul, catching hold of the ring, found himself catapulting off the platform and plummeting down to the earth. He saw the ground coming up at him, and just one millimeter from hitting the ground, a stray thought hit his brain. I wish I could fly.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Right before Paul hit the dirt, his wish took hold and he found himself up in the air soaring over Alex and Brody.

  “What the…” Brody said. Paul didn’t catch the rest because he’d already flown out of hearing distance. Whoa! So this is what it felt like to fly. Birds were so lucky. They got to do this all the time, and now he could do it too. His heart pounded happily, and he discovered he could control his movement by flexing his body and flapping his arms. It was a lot like swimming, but it took less effort. So cool.

  He glanced downward and saw Alex and Brody looking up at him, shocked and awed. On the earth below, his boy-shaped shadow moved quickly and changed shape as he twisted and turned. This was too awesome for words. He thought of how inept he was on the skateboard and realized it didn’t matter anymore. He might be a total loser on wheels, but he was probably the only kid in the world who could fly. Really, there was no comparison. He ruled.

  He heard the two boys down below calling his name. “Come down,” Alex yelled, waving frantically. It was hard to see at this height, but it almost looked like Alex and Brody were afraid. Their faces were scrunched, and they each held a hand over their forehead to shield their eyes from the sun. What were they worried about? Paul had never felt better.

  “Woo hoo!” he called out, swooping down and back up again in an elegant arc. He was really getting the hang of this.

  Brody waved both hands like trying to signal a rescue ship off in the distance. Paul ignored him, but the sight of Brody reminded him that he still had the ring clenched in his hand. Still airborne, he slid the ring on his middle finger and found it to be a nice fit. The ring wasn’t going anywhere.

  “Come back,” Alex shouted, but Paul wasn’t about to stop. He wanted to fly forever.

  He dove in closer, and both Alex and Brody ducked like they were being attacked. “I’m going home now, Alex,” he yelled down. “Tell your mom thanks for the Coke.” He didn’t wait for a response, just took off. He knew it was bad manners to leave like that, but Alex had Brody to hang out with, so he probably wouldn’t miss Paul at all. Alex seemed to think Brody was cooler than Paul, but that was before Paul took to the air. He’d really showed them. Ha!

  A few blocks away, Paul heard the sounds of a jet above him. He hovered and waved, but the jet was so high and going so fast he doubted they saw him. Too bad. He rose upward until the houses were the size of Monopoly pieces. It was windier up high, so he came back down. He was still getting the hang of this, but the right height seemed to be just above the tree line and telephone wires. On the sidewalk below him, a woman pushed a st
roller holding a baby boy. The little guy wore a red baseball cap and a pair of oversized sunglasses. He had two fingers stuck in his mouth and drooled. As Paul flew overhead, the child pointed and said something that sounded like, “Garby ooluf.”

  “Yes, yes, honey,” said his mother. “We’ll be home very soon.”

  Paul headed in the direction of his house. He’d never realized how the town was laid out before. From this new vantage point, he noticed how many people had pools. And look at all the cars driving around during the day! Where were they all going? He flew over the industrial park and saw men emptying trucks at the loading docks. How odd that no one noticed a boy flying overheard. People were so short-sighted. They only seemed to see what was ahead of them. “Hello,” he yelled, but no one even looked up.

  He was getting tired now and decided to go straight home. If Celia was out in her yard, he could fly right over her. Wouldn’t that blow her mind! The sun was starting to feel intense on his back, and he considered flipping over to see if he could fly that way, but if it worked, he wouldn’t be able to see where he was going. With his luck, he’d fly right into a pole or tree or something. No, he’d just keep going the way he was.

  When he got closer to home, the woods got thicker. From up here the trees looked like clusters of broccoli, so green and thick. When he flew nearer, he could see the individual branches and leaves, but he didn’t want to look down for too long. The motion made him a little sick.

  He reached Celia’s house, but she wasn’t outside. Too bad. He considered landing and knocking at the door, but he was sweaty and tired and just wanted to go home. Maybe he would go for a swim, and afterward he could show Celia his new talent. Perhaps he’d start off by saying they should pretend to fly by jumping out of trees. They’d done this before, so she wouldn’t think too much about it, he thought. He’d leap a few times, and then, when she wasn’t expecting it, he’d levitate just a little bit. She’d be amazed, of course, and from there he’d work his way up to flying above her head. He laughed out loud just thinking about how she was gonna flip out.

  Yes, that’s what he’d do. He knew Celia would be happy for him. She was a true friend, he saw that now. She almost always agreed to let him play what he wanted to play, which made her pretty fun to be around. He wanted to show her how Clem could talk too. He knew Clem didn’t want to talk to the grown-ups, but hopefully he’d make an exception for Celia, who always rubbed behind his ears and talked so sweetly to him even during the times Paul had thought Clem was being a pest.

  He did a perfect landing in his backyard, setting down as lightly as if he’d been flying for years. Clem came trotting around from the side of the house, his mouth hanging open. “Hey, Paul,” he said.

  Paul just now noticed that Clem’s voice had an annoying nasal quality. Before he’d been so amazed that Clem could talk that he hadn’t thought too much about it. “Hey, Clem, guess what? I can fly.”

  “Okay,” Clem said and snarfed. “Know what, Paul? I saw grasshoppers, and one of them went really high. Yup. Really, really high. They push off with their legs, ya know. I caught one and ate it. It was kind of crunchy.”

  Paul leaned over, putting his hands on his knees. “You know you shouldn’t eat insects. That’s disgusting.”

  “No, not disgusting,” Clem said. “Crunchy I tell ya, and it squirted a little in my mouth.”

  Talking to Clem was such an unsatisfying experience. Half the time, the dog didn’t even listen. Once more Paul tried telling him his big news. “Hey guess what, Clem?” he said. Not waiting for a reply, he continued, “I can fly now. I had the ring in my hand, and I made a wish, and that’s what I wished for. You should have seen me. I was soaring over houses and zooming above trees. It was awesome.”

  He didn’t get the desired reaction. Clem said, “Yup. I know the feeling. One time I jumped really high and my ears kind of went up and my fur went fluffy for a second. I was like a duck. Yup, like a duck. I know that flying feeling.”

  “That’s not the same at all,” Paul said. “I was actually flying. Look,” he said, shaking his hands and rising a foot above the ground. He dropped back down and said, “If I wasn’t so tired, I’d show you. I can fly, really fly. Like a plane, or a helicopter, or a bird. I can do something no one else can. I was over at Alex’s house, and that nasty Brody was there giving me a hard time. I stood right up to him even though he’s bigger than me. I said, ‘Give me back my ring!’ and I knocked him down and grabbed it from him, and I must have been thinking the wish because the next thing I knew I was lighter than air. Brody was sorry he’d been so mean to me. He got down on his knees and begged my forgiveness.” Okay, it wasn’t the complete truth, but he’d only changed the story slightly. Most of it was the same. Ninety-five percent anyway.

  “I need more water in my water dish,” Clem said, looking around. And he took off, barking.

  Paul sighed. Talking dogs were so annoying.

  The back door opened, and his mother stuck her head out. “Oh, there you are.” She had the phone pressed against her ear. “Don’t worry, he’s here now.” She glared in Paul’s direction. “No, don’t worry about it. I’m glad you called. Yes, I’ve got it from here. Thanks. Bye.” She closed the phone and beckoned with one finger. “Come inside right now, young man. That was Alex’s mom on the phone. You’ve got some explaining to do.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  As always, Jasmine was taking care of business. She had been perched on the branch of a tree watching the house when she saw Paul come flying home, his face flushed and red. This whole thing was getting out of hand. She was horrified. She found herself wishing she was in charge of the old retired man on the corner. That guy’s biggest problem was losing the remote.

  “What to do, what to do?” she said to herself. She flapped her wings to create a breeze. Maybe some cool air would help her think.

  Was there no end to the complications at Paul’s house? First there was a magic ring, which needed to be destroyed. Secondly, was there anything more annoying than a talking dog? She didn’t think so. All that talk of water dishes and how things smelled was getting to be tiresome. Aunt Vicky turning into a swimmer didn’t seem to be such a big deal, although Mira had indicated it would get to be a problem. And now the boy, Paul, could fly. Great, just great. She tapped her toe against a rock and thought hard. Worst-case scenario, the kid would fly into a power line and electrocute himself. If that happened, she’d definitely get demoted. Oh why did she get assigned the difficult house?

  She furrowed her brow and concentrated on what was happening inside with Paul and his mother. In her mind’s eye she could see that Paul was getting a good talking to, that his mother was saying something about how he shouldn’t have walked home on his own, that it was dangerous and he could have gotten killed. By tuning into their thought waves, she could hear their conversation as well. “I love you so much,” his mother said, pulling him into a hug that left him breathless and unable to talk. “I wouldn’t have been able to bear it if anything had happened to you.”

  Jasmine could tell that he wanted to tell her about the flying, but he couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

  His mother kept a firm hold on Paul. “Alex’s mother was so concerned about you. Alex came in babbling something about you flying away. He was white as a ghost and said he needed to take a nap. He’s never been like that before, according to his mother. She wanted to know if that Brody was bothering you boys. He’s got quite a reputation for meanness, she said. Was he bothering you? You can tell me if he was.”

  Paul swallowed and shook his head.

  “Are you sure? He wasn’t harassing you?”

  “No, Mom, Brody was fine.” He smiled at the thought of Brody’s open mouth when Paul zoomed past.

  “Well, okay then, but if anyone ever bullies you, I want you to know you can tell your father and me.” And then the doorbell rang, and Paul’s mother was distracted. “Go to your room and think about what I said about walking home without
permission,” she told Paul. “I’ll go see who that is.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Paul’s mom opened the front door to find her sister Vicky standing on the welcome mat. Vicky wore a turquoise one-piece swimming suit with a towel wrapped around her middle. On her head was a stretchy tan bathing cap. It completely covered her hair, giving her a bald look. “Hi, sis,” she bellowed. “Glad to see me?”

  Paul’s mom couldn’t hold back her surprise. “Vicky, what’s going on?”

  “I came to go swimming. I’m finding that I can’t think of anything else lately. I was in the middle of a board meeting at my company. We were discussion a new division that would cost a few million dollars, and I couldn’t concentrate. All I could think about was how good the water feels when I’m floating on my back. Well, let me tell you, I told them to do whatever they thought was best, and I left the meeting.”

  “You left work to swim?” Paul’s mother asked incredulously.

  “You don’t mind, do you?” Vicky pointed to the towel around her waist. “I brought everything I need, and you don’t need to stop what you’re doing. Just go about your business as if I wasn’t even here.”

  “Oh, okay, I guess.”

  Vicky stepped inside and walked through the house toward the patio door with Paul’s mom following her. “If Paul wants to join me, tell him I’d love the company,” she said, sliding open the door. “I’ll be swimming for hours.”

  Paul’s mom watched her for a few minutes through the patio door. This was so unlike Vicky. But of course, her sister had changed a lot lately. She tried to think of how to describe Vicky now and only came up with one word. Nice. Vicky was nice. No more mean looks or snarky comments. No more telling Paul to “get lost.” Vicky was nice now. What a refreshing change.