by Ariel Roma
WARNING
If You Hear Someone Hoarking A Wad Behind You: Duck!
11
GOBSMACKED!
“HEY WATCH THIS,” Dexter smirked at Maxx through gooey black teeth. He swiped his arm across his mouth and slurped back the glob of mucky drool land-sliding over his lip and down his chin.
Maxx was freaked out. First by the disgusting gunk oozing from Dexter’s mouth, and then because he was trying to read the gleam in his eyes. It made him squirm. He was up to something and it wasn’t good.
Lucas was flipping out. He was sure someone was ready to jump him. It was like Lenny and the boys were snorting steam at the back of his neck.
The horrific sound started all-of-a-sudden-like and dragged on forever. It was the kind of racket that instantly scared you silly, mostly because you couldn’t tell what it was at first. Smack-bang in the middle of it, Lucas knew. A split second later came the whupping sound. Someone was hoarking a wad! It came speeding like a rocket, blasting like a storm right at the back of his head. Splat!
“Aha, ha-ha, ahaaa!” Dexter was bent over holding his stomach, laughing his head off. He didn’t even try to hold back the muddy slobber from his mouth leaking like a spigot, splashing all over the sidewalk. Lenny was busting over laughing too.
Even though he wanted to run like a race horse, Lucas only took a couple more steps. With eyes wide, he reached for the back of his head and rubbed his hair. A glob of slime oozed through his fingers. “Ewe, Yuk!” he whispered to himself. Yup. He knew it. He was just gobsmacked!
He didn’t need to hunt for clues about the sewer-smelling black muck on his icky fingers. Dexter was already impressing the heck out of Lenny about the “chewin’ tobacco” his uncle Donny gave to him last night.
“He gave me a whole pack and it was brand new, never been opened,” he bragged. With his mouth stretched like a worn out rubber tire, he was finally trying to keep more guck from spilling out.
By now Lenny’s face was so red it looked like it had been torched. He was howling like a hyena. “That was awesome dude!” he cheered Dexter with arms flailing toward Lucas. “Wasn’t that cool Maxx? Look at him!” He pointed at Lucas. “He looks just like a skunk. He’s got a stripe on his back and everything… and he even stinks too!” He and Dexter broke out in a new round of hooting and laughing.
Lucas’s gut ached like he’d been slugged in the stomach. He wanted to barf. He wished he could stand up to these guys but he couldn’t. It just wasn’t in him. None of the others would either. They all ran like gazelles. Except Sloane. She swung around with eyes like fireballs, glaring at Lenny and Dexter. “You guys are such creeps!” she yelled. Dexter grinned goofy. “Oh oh, Lucas. I’m so scared! Here comes your little girl friend to the rescue,” he taunted.
“Yeah Lucas, you loser! Are you gonna let your little girl friend fight your battles for you? Or maybe your mommy can come out here in her hair curlers and scare the daylights out of us instead!” Lenny heckled. Both he and Dexter broke out laughing again.
The words cut Lucas like a knife. He was going after his mother now too. He knew she wore curlers? He must have been spying, he guessed.
Lucas’s feet were so-o-o glued to the ground. He was an easy target for Lenny to swipe his backpack off him and toss it to Dexter. The high sailing backpack ping-ponged back and forth with the two of them beaming. When Lucas’s legs finally came loose, he zigzagged like a mad squirrel to catch his bag.
This is nuts! Maxx thought to himself. He wasn’t used to this kind of craziness and didn’t know what to do. Where he came from manners were compulsory and adult supervision was nearly constant. Even in his short time here he had seen these boys harassing other kids too. It was troubling.
The only reason he was here today was because he hadn’t figured out yet how to politely fend off Lenny’s endless determination to hang out with him. So far, he always managed to come up with something but today he was stuck. He was running short of excuses.
Now he had seen enough.
The schoolbag was tumbling towards Dexter. He was ready for the catch. Suddenly, as if he had springs in his sneakers, Maxx bounced up. He snagged the bag and gave it a slick toss to Lucas.
Lenny’s mouth dropped open in disbelief.
Dexter was smoking-hot furious! His face was painted red. “You stupid punk!” he yelled at Maxx.
Maxx didn’t have time to think but he was ready to react. Dexter was a monster charging straight at him. He stepped aside. Dexter fell like dead weight to the ground. He staggered up with an explosion setting off in his eyes. Maxx would have preferred to end it but instead the two boys stalked each other. It was like a modern day gun-fight.
Dexter rushed for a take-down but it wasn’t Maxx who ended up in a heap. Maxx shocked everyone. He was like a professional MMA fighter. Dexter was stupid enough to want more. In self defense, Maxx twisted Dex into a trip take-down position. A second later he was hurled to the ground with the wind knocked out of him. Dexter was stunned. It would have been better if he gave up right then but he didn’t. He scrambled back up, then in a surprise move he grabbed Maxx hard, trying for a clinch. But Maxx was ready for him with a shoulder-drive exit.
Dexter was red faced and hotter than a pistol but now he’d had enough. Still a bit dazed, he was nearly drowning in confusion. This had never happened to him before. The kid must have something under-the-hood he figured. Under those fancy clothes of his, the guy had some muscle and guts too.
“Your mother would be ashamed of you!” Sloane suddenly lashed out at Lenny. She didn’t know what made her say that. She was used to choosing her words more carefully. Lenny’s story was a rocky one. He didn’t even know where his mother was. No one did.
Sloane never wanted to be mean. She’d already figured out that mean always feels bad. Sometimes it takes time to catch up with you. The temptation to be mean fakes-you-out. But the feel-good doesn’t last. It’s gonna bite you back. As soon as the words flew out of her mouth she wished she could take them back.
This time mean snapped back fast. The look on Lenny’s face said it all. He looked like he was just stung by a bee. Sloane didn’t know what to say. How could she undo it? She sputtered, trying to tell him she was sorry, but Lenny would have none of it. His face turned tough-as-nails. He called her a filthy name and said she was, “just stupid anyway.” She could see through the gritty look on his face. It was like he was a lonely, lost little boy. And maybe he was.
After that everyone left. Dexter was surprised when Lenny just mumbled, “See you tomorrow,” before turning away to follow the crumpled ribbon of a sidewalk into the house. Dexter did an about-face and left troubled, with droplets of sweat pooling under his eyes. At least for now, Maxx was blackballed from going with Lenny anymore. He trailed Lucas and Sloane into Lucas’s backyard.
“Gee, thanks Maxx.” Lucas blurted, just beginning to catch his breath. This was the first time he felt like he could let his guard down around him. He couldn’t believe how Maxx had just come through for him. He still didn’t get it, but wondered if maybe he misjudged him after all.
With a sideways glance, Sloane’s gave Lucas a sassy smile. Her eyes were twinkling at both of them.
“Yeah, you were awesome dude!” Sergio exclaimed.
“That was so cool! Hey, where’d you learn those moves man?” Nick wanted to know.
“Awe, it was nothing,” Maxx replied. He didn’t want to be a hero. “When I was away at camp last summer,” he said casually, trying to deflect the attention, “one of the leaders taught some of us guys a few moves. He was pretty good. He won the belt in his division. I didn’t think that I would still re-member how to do it.” Now the corners of his mouth swayed to a smile.
“Well, you were amazing! You really fixed ol’ Dex. That was awesome!” Sergio was still sounding off.
“What were you doing with those guys anyway?” Nick quizzed Maxx. “You don’t seem like the kinda guy to hang around with creeps,” he added.
“Y
eah, I know. Well,” Maxx started to explain. “At first I thought Lenny was an OK guy. He was cool when I started school here. He showed me around. I liked him.” Maxx said.
“So… you didn’t already know him? You weren’t friends already before you came here?” Lucas was trying to get the story straight.
Maxx looked a little confused and answered a solid “no.”
Sloane shot an, I told you so, look at Lucas, but didn’t say anything.
Maxx went on, “Lenny’s been after me every day. He wants to come over to my house. It never worked out so I was coming to his house today instead.” Maxx was too polite to say that really, he was trying to avoid Lenny, but he wasn’t catching on.
“Besides,” Maxx wanted to make things clear, “Lenny and Dexter are bullies. I wanted to find out what their deal is. Lenny seems to like me. I thought maybe I could talk to him. To both of them. They don’t scare me.”
Lucas was impressed with Maxx’s full-blown confidence. He wished he could be like that. Maxx was even trying to make friends with the kids Lenny and Dexter were picking on. That was good too.
Sloane was right. Maxx really was nice. Lucas felt bad for the way he judged him. His mom was right too. It looked like he had a new friend. Still, he was going to stick close to Sloane.
The oak tree was waiting. Nick announced he had a guitar lesson and could only stay for half an hour. Sergio needed to leave before dinner today too.
The fort ladder hung like a welcome mat. A moment later they were all huddled together on the deck casually gazing into Lenny’s yard. The windows hanging like billboards against the clapboard siding clearly said they were off-limits. Everyone was wondering the same thing. Was Lenny watching them? And maybe he was.
Like teeth on a witch-doctor’s necklace, a chain of ravens with hawkish eyes spanned the rooftop. There was something else too… or someone.
If it hadn’t been for the stale, white, house paint, grayed nearly to the same colour as the peeled off parts, maybe her dull pewter eyes would have stood out more. And, if it wasn’t so still with the afternoon dying, someone could have blamed the movement of the tattered curtain sheers on a fluttering of the wind. Even the heat rising off the crumbling slate roof under the window couldn’t melt Clair Voyance’s icy, arctic stare.
