Katfish

  Jack stood up and noticed me for the first time. He seemed embarrassed to be there and kind of sad about something.

  Jack walked off dejectedly. After the gate had closed, I kneeled down and offered Kat a sandwich. She ate it really fast. So I offered her another.

  She finished the second one even quicker. I gave her both my sandwiches and the whole bag of potato chips. She was like a vacuum.

  Kat started to go on and on about things she liked about me. Normally I would have killed for a girl to list things about me that were good, but I kind of felt like Kat wasn’t talking to me exactly.

  I was the one? The Little Mermaid part of Kat was concerning me. I needed to find out what was going on so that I could figure out what I was supposed to do. She had said she was here to help me and now I wasn’t so sure. I just couldn’t see how I could make a mermaid fit into my life. I had read The Little Mermaid, watched the movie, read The Hunger Games, watched the movie, and now I was reading Catching Fire. I had all the information, but I wasn’t even sure how to move her around or where to put her. I told her I was worried about her condition, and she said,

  I reminded her that she was supposed to be helping me smooth things over with Janae. She was all set to tell me about something when Mr. Foote’s gong rang out two streets over. I was looking right at Kat, so I was pretty certain that she wasn’t the one who gonged it.

  I let her know she had already said that. Things were getting uncomfortable. Kat’s personalities were much more distinct than the past creatures’. When she was speaking as a mermaid, her voice was soft and almost a whisper. But when the Katniss part came out, she was much bolder. Kat shook her head and the bolder part started talking.

  I wanted to point out that she was a big part of my problem, but I didn’t have the heart. I talked with Kat for about an hour. She wanted to know everything about me. I told her everything I could think of. I told her about Janae and how badly I had messed things up at my school. I also told her about the funstival and how Principal Smelt was putting on a Fun-ger Games contest.

  I told Kat about how I was going to play in the band for the funstival. She jumped out of the water as I stood up. I also told her how I had read and watched The Little Mermaid. The fish part of her liked that.

  Her Katniss part apologized. We talked some more, and she told me about herself. I really liked Kat, but I could see now that I didn’t like her the way I liked Janae. It was cool to have a friend who was a girl. Oh yeah—and a fish. Kat confessed to me that part of her was really hungry and another part of her just wanted to sing. I told her I needed to get home but that I would bring her food every three hours. She said she would miss me, but she was more worried about the sandwiches.

  I ran home and made six more sandwiches. I dropped them back off with Kat and then jogged to Trevor’s house. He was waiting outside with his guiro.

  Principal Smelt and his group, Leftover Angst, always practiced on Sunday afternoons in Principal Smelt’s open garage. He and the other band member would play music for anyone who wanted to stop by and listen. Not many people did. When we got to the garage they were already practicing. The other member was Mr. Pickel. Everyone called him Pickle. He taught Italian to the gifted students of Softrock Middle School. I hadn’t even spoken to him before, and now that we were in the group, he still didn’t speak. Principal Smelt did all the talking.

  The things we sang didn’t seem very cultured—they seemed dumb.

  I just kept hitting my piece of wood while Trevor slid his stick up and down the guiro. It sounded horrible, but Principal Smelt felt differently.

  After practice I went with Trevor to the mall because he needed to look for a costume to wear to the funstival. I didn’t mind shopping with Trevor, but he was too obsessed with his guiro. He couldn’t put the thing away.

  We left the mall as soon as Trevor found a costume. He then went to his house to practice, and I headed home to make some more sandwiches. I had been making so much food that we were running out of normal ingredients, so I had to use what I could find.

  It wasn’t something that I would enjoy, but I had a feeling Kat would eat every bite.

  CHAPTER 16

  WATER BABIES

  Monday morning I got up early so that I could get ready and slip out to school before anyone woke up. I took a shower, and after getting dressed, I found Tuffin in the kitchen, washing his feet in the sink.

  I think he was trying to make his legs turn into a fish tail. He had talked nonstop about Kat having a fin, but luckily nobody took him seriously. I left a sticky note on the fridge for my mom and headed out.

  I ran down the alley to deliver the sandwiches to Kat. Kat saw me and quickly swam up to the side of the pool. She shook her head, jumped out of the water, and began to give me a hard time.

  I gave Kat all the food I had brought and told her I would be back after school to feed her more. She surprised me by leaping up and grabbing my shirt. She pulled me into the water and dragged me across the pool to the other side near the fountain as I choked and sputtered. It all happened so fast I could barely breathe. I had no idea why she had pulled me in, but as we surfaced next to some pool floaties, Kat whispered,

  I could hear Pilot Dean coming out the back door of his house. He was home and looking to have an early morning swim. He was also in for a big surprise. We ducked down as low as we could. He stopped near the edge of the pool and took off his shirt.

  It was uncomfortable enough to see Pilot Dean without a shirt, but it got even worse when he started to do some preswim stretches.

  The pool floaties were hiding us okay, but if Pilot Dean jumped in, we would be spotted for sure. He kept stretching and making odd noises. Then he put on his goggles and turned to the pool. As he leaped into the air, Kat wrapped her arms around me and shot up out of the water to the edge of the pool.

  Her timing was perfect. Pilot Dean didn’t see us because he was jumping in. We quickly made ourselves look like statues next to his fountains.

  Pilot Dean just kept swimming laps. After what seemed like his hundredth lap, I realized that I had to do something to get out of this. I couldn’t put Kat back into the pool. I also couldn’t bring her to my house. She needed water, and I needed to get to school or I’d be in a whole new kind of trouble. I couldn’t think of what to do. My mind began to sizzle under the pressure.

  I had an idea. I suddenly remembered something at my school that I might be able to hide Kat in. It wasn’t the greatest plan, but it was all I could come up with.

  As Pilot Dean was swimming the other way, I picked up Kat and carried her to the wheelbarrow that was still sitting by the back gate. We then dashed out the gate and into the alley without him spotting us. I ran as fast as I could, knowing that Kat needed water, and also knowing that I needed to get to Softrock Middle School before all the students began showing up.

  I got to school in good time and put Kat in the safe place I had thought of. I knew she couldn’t stay there forever, but it was okay for now. My clothes were still wet from the pool, and my arms and face were covered in sweat from the running. I bumped into Janae as I was wheeling the empty wheelbarrow out the door. For the first time in a while she actually spoke to me. I kind of wish she hadn’t.

  I hid the wheelbarrow behind the school sign and then went to the bathroom to try to clean myself up. As I was drying myself, Mark Delgado came in.

  Mark Delgado was probably the coolest kid at school. He had a mustache and chest hair. Everyone called him Got-to-Go because whenever he left a room he would click his fingers and say,

  For some reason girls thought it was cool and other boys thought it was funny. Everyone besides me wanted to hang around Mark. Principal Smelt had even picked him to be the master of ceremonies at the funstival tonight. Still, I didn’t really like him. Mostly because when we were younger and on the same baseball team, he had told me that if I wet my pants while I was at bat the umpire had to let me go to first base. I don’t know why I believed him,
but for some reason I tried it.

  Even worse, the umpire didn’t let me go to first. I had tried not to talk to Mark since then. Now, as he strutted into the bathroom with his mustache and chest hairs, I was drying my armpits with toilet paper.

  Mark Delgado is not one of my favorite people.

  CHAPTER 17

  WHY ME?

  The rest of the school day wasn’t quite so wet. It was crazy how amped up everyone was. People were talking loud and acting like school wasn’t so bad. Each classroom was excitedly setting up for the Fun-ger Games Funstival tonight. The halls were decorated with banners everywhere.

  I checked on Kat twice, and she was doing okay. If I could get her out of her hiding place after school, everything would be all right. Principal Smelt was running around happily checking the rooms and making sure everyone was ready to have a blast tonight.

  The plan for his Fun-ger Games was that twelve different classrooms would compete. Each of the twelve rooms had been decorated, and tonight when the parents and families came they would vote for their favorite. The classroom with the lowest vote would be eliminated first. Then the next classroom and the next until there was just one classroom standing. The winning classroom would receive a blueberry pie for each student.

  My homeroom class did a pretty good job decorating. We had chosen to make our room all about sponsors. In The Hunger Games there were sponsors who helped the kids stay alive. So we had drawn posters of different companies and sponsors. In the end, our room looked like a giant ad for everything.

  When the last bell rang I ran from class to where I had hidden Kat. I knew that if she stayed where she was she would be found during the funstival. As I was racing I turned a corner and ran right into Principal Smelt. I tried to get away from him, but he put his arm around my shoulder and started leading me down the hall for what he was calling a last-minute …

  It was horrible. No matter how much I begged and pleaded, Principal Smelt would not let me get out of practicing. To make matters worse, he made us practice for almost two hours. As we were practicing, other teachers and students began to set up the gym for the funstival. They put all the booths up and lined the refreshments on tables. I was feeling worried about Kat, and I felt even worse when I saw one of the school’s janitors wheeling in her hiding place.

  He set the dunk tank on the far end of the gym near the doors. If the janitor took off the cover he would see Kat and then everything would be over. Someone would capture her and take her away for scientific purposes, and I would be in trouble, trouble, trouble …

  Nobody had any idea what my life was like these days. Most middle school students had enough to worry about without adding crazy creatures to the mix. I know my closet was trying to point out that books are a part of my life whether I like it or not. There were lessons I had learned and things about my life that were now more interesting due to the books that I had read, but the truth of the matter was that I just wanted things to smooth out for a while. I wanted my school to not hate me and for Janae to like me. I think that Beardy and my closet had the wrong definition of help. Kat had been up-front with me, telling me that she was here to make things better, but at the moment things felt way worse. Kat was about to be discovered, and I was in for a whole new level of mess.

  At five o’clock Principal Smelt made everyone exit the gymnasium. He locked the doors and sent us all home to …

  Kat was now locked in the gym. I tried to get back in, but it was no use. I explained the situation to Trevor. He was too excited about the funstival and the horrible music we were going to be a part of to worry about Kat. I couldn’t get him to focus on my situation.

  CHAPTER 18

  FIRST ANNUAL FUN-GER GAMES FUNSTIVAL

  When I got home I changed into some clothes that kind of looked like a costume and then I joined my family for dinner.

  It was bad enough that I had to play in Principal Smelt’s awful band, but it was even worse that most of my family would be there to see it.

  After dinner we piled into the car and drove to Softrock Middle School. When we got there the parking lot was already packed. I could see that the people from P.E.E.T.A. had set up a booth across from the school and were protesting against students reading a book that they had not approved.

  The parents’ association hadn’t read The Hunger Games yet, so they weren’t sure the students of Softrock Middle School should be having a funstival about it.

  They yelled a few things at us as we parked and went inside.

  We moved away quickly, mainly because they were spitting a lot as they talked. When we got inside the school, everybody was dressed up in costumes. We were all handed little round disks labeled …

  It was a play on the Hunger Games author’s name. I’m not sure why Principal Smelt’s face was on it. The idea was that people had fifteen minutes to vote for the decorations they liked best by putting the coins in special bowls in each classroom. The room with the most votes would win. I put my coin in my pocket as my mom was telling us all to …

  At that, my dad took Tuffin to vote for the classroom they liked best and I took off to find Kat. I was worried that someone had already found her in the dunk tank. If any adults saw her they would be screaming and shouting to the world that mermaids were real. I had listened to the car radio on the way over trying to hear any news about a mermaid spotting or information on how much trouble I would be in.

  Luckily, I didn’t hear anything about me. The halls of the school were packed. People were hurrying to put their Suzanne Coins in the boxes to cast their votes before time ran out. I voted for my classroom and then made my way to the gymnasium. When I walked in I couldn’t believe my eyes.

  The dunk tank was uncovered, and Kat was sitting up on the seat, smiling. There was a line of people waiting to throw baseballs at her as she swished her tail in the water.

  I don’t know why I hadn’t thought about it, but since so many people were in costumes Kat just fit right in.

  I worked my way behind the dunk tank. I stuck my face up and spoke to her over the back of the booth.

  Kat insisted I go. I walked away, wondering what to do. Trevor spotted me, and I walked over to him.

  A bell rang, and Principal Smelt came over to the loudspeaker. He cleared his throat and announced,

  Everyone clapped. The gymnasium was loud and exciting and warm due to all the people coming in. There was a little stage set up on the side and booths where people were buying tickets to play games. It would have been pretty fun-ger if I hadn’t been so nervous about Kat and having to play in the band. After about fifteen minutes Mark Delgado stepped onto the stage and tapped the microphone to test it. Everyone started to quiet down and pay attention. Mark welcomed the crowd to the …

  Everyone laughed at his dumb joke. Then in his annoyingly cool way he thanked everyone for coming and voting. He also announced that Principal Smelt had begun counting the coins. I looked over and saw Principal Smelt sitting at a table near the edge of the gymnasium.

  The crowd watched him count. When he was done he handed the results to Mark Delgado.

  Then like in The Hunger Games, the eliminated classrooms were projected on the wall while Mark made a cannon noise.

  After the first two classrooms were eliminated, Mark promised more results in a minute, and everyone clapped. I could see my dad walking around in the crowd with Tuffin up on his shoulders. The two of them were looking at the athletic equipment we had in the gym. My dad’s company had sold most of the equipment to our school.

  Every five minutes Mark Delgado would loudly announce the two classrooms with the next lowest votes.

  It was kind of startling to hear Mark yell “Boom” every five minutes. Everyone would jump and clap. The gym became more and more packed as people continued to pour in and classrooms were eliminated. When it came down to only two classrooms, Mark Delgado turned the microphone over to Principal Smelt to announce the winning room. The crowd quieted as Principal Smelt spoke.


  Mrs. Hyden-Finch’s class won the contest with their zombie-themed room. It had nothing to do with the Hunger Games, but I guess people loved it.

  After Mrs. Hyden-Finch’s class came up and got their blueberry pies Principal Smelt announced,

  He told the crowd that Trevor was playing because of his guiro skills. He then said that I was playing because …

  I had really hurt my school when Pinocula was here, and I was about to pay for it. Our first song went pretty well. I thought that Trevor was a little heavy on the guiro, but the crowd seemed to like it. Usually when Principal Smelt played, everyone tried to get away, but tonight it seemed like the whole town of Temon was here and actually enjoying the show. As I was tearing it up on the wood block, I noticed that Mark Delgado was talking to Kat across the room.

  I don’t think I’m jealous—I’m just nervous. For some reason the sight of Kat talking to Mark seemed like a bad idea. I could see Mark laughing over something Kat said. I didn’t know what they were talking about, but I knew it probably wouldn’t be good for me.