Pinocula

  We walked into the school as a large group. The school had gone all out with the decorations. The doorway to the gym was a big whale’s mouth that everyone walked through.

  As I stepped into the mouth, I got a sinking feeling. I felt like Pinocchio as he was swallowed up by the giant mile-long shark. Janae and her friends walked off to talk with some of their other friends while we settled in by the punch bowl.

  The room was decorated to make it look like we were under the sea, but some of the kids who had wanted a vampire theme had added their own touches to the decorations. There was a table with some food and a skinny kid with big earphones working as the DJ. The students had voted not to have Principal Smelt and his two-man rock group, Leftover Angst, play at the dance. Principal Smelt was still mad about it.

  None of the students were dancing. Everyone was just lining the walls, trying to look and act cool in front of the hidden cameras that weren’t there. The only people dancing were three teachers—two who were dancing together and a third who was humming and dancing by himself in an uncomfortable way.

  Maggie, one of Janae’s friends, came over to our group and stopped in front of me.

  Maggie turned and walked away. All my friends stared at me as if I had just been told the most amazing thing in the world. I looked over at Janae, and she was pretending to be busy talking to someone. My tongue dried out and began to crack.

  I looked down at my feet and wondered how I was still standing. It was one thing to come to a dance, but it was another thing altogether to actually dance. Teddy started chanting,

  I looked over at Janae and decided to do what a real man would do—I turned and walked to the bathroom as quickly as possible. When I got there, I went into one of the stalls and sat down on top of the toilet to think.

  I didn’t feel right at all anymore. My eyes burned and the strength I had been feeling the day before was wearing off. How was I supposed to dance with Janae when I had never actually danced with a girl? Unless you count the time I had been forced to dance with my cousin Trish at our family reunion. But that was more like being carried around than dancing.

  As I sat on top of the toilet, I heard something tapping against the window. I stood on the back of the toilet and looked up. I opened the window a little, and Jim fluttered right in. He glided down and landed on the roll of toilet paper. I was finally able to get a good look at him.

  Jim was definitely half cricket, half bat. He had an interesting face and appeared to be looking right at me. I considered trying to catch him in my hands, but I didn’t want to scare him. He winked at me and spoke.

  Jim was a little more sarcastic than I had expected. I was going to defend my being in the bathroom, but he just kept talking.

  Jim was preachier than I preferred. He told me that bad things were brewing and the only way to stop them was for me to tell the truth.

  Jim fluttered to the window. He looked back as if he was going to leave. I jumped up and begged him to stay.

  Jim flew out the window and disappeared into the night. If he was supposed to be my conscience, he was the worst conscience ever. I now understood why Pinocula hadn’t tried harder to find him. I hopped off the toilet and left the stall. I walked back into the dance, and stepped across the dance floor and up to Janae. She reached out, and without knowing what I was doing, I took her hand and we moved to the dance floor. There was music playing, our fingers were touching, and we were swaying.

  Janae smiled and thanked me for coming to the dance with her. I opened my mouth to thank her, and she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. I stumbled backward and suddenly became very light-headed.

  My first kiss! Maybe all my lies were worth it. I mean, how bad can it be if this is the result? I’m sure I was about to do something smooth to let Janae know how I felt, but Jack ruined it all.

  There he was, standing right next to me. Jack had crashed the dance and was holding what looked a little like Pinocula. Before I had a chance to tell him I had just been kissed and that he needed to leave, he spoke up.

  Everyone gathered around noisily. Pinocula was no longer wearing the hoodie and pants. He looked wooden and was beginning to turn into a donkey. His legs and arms and ears hung down like pieces of wood. The DJ began to play some sort of polka song. Jack looked around at all the decorations and people.

  Janae was curious about what Jack was holding. Rourk answered her question.

  Principal Smelt approached our group and looked at Jack and donkey Pinocula. He wasn’t glad about Jack showing up with an odd puppet in his arms.

  Principal Smelt took Jack by the arm and started to lead him away. Jack turned to say one last thing to me.

  Principal Smelt and the rest of the students looked at Jack like he was crazy. Most of the students laughed, assuming that Jack was just being difficult like always. Principal Smelt scolded Jack for interrupting such a beautiful night with his made-up stories. He nudged Jack to get moving.

  I heard myself say it, but I still wasn’t sure why I had. Janae and my friends looked at me, curious to hear what I’d say next. I wanted to lie, I wanted to tell everyone that Jack collected donkey dolls and had brought this one to show it off to the hidden cameras. I wanted to tell them that I had done nothing wrong and that I had no idea what was going on, but I was done lying. I kept thinking of Jim and his warning. I turned and looked at Janae. I had just had my first kiss, and now I knew it would probably be my last. I took off my sunglasses and looked at her. My eyes didn’t burn and things didn’t seem quite as bright anymore. It was time to tell the truth.

  Janae blushed slightly and stepped back. I had thought telling the truth was supposed to feel good, but I felt worse. Principal Smelt put his arm around me. He congratulated me on my eye acne clearing up and then commented on what I had just admitted.

  Everyone began to holler and boo. A kid with head gear and thick corrective glasses called me a nerd. Janae turned away from me and slipped into a crowd of angry kids. The DJ began to play some sad music.

  Principal Smelt looked bothered and confused. He stared at me and pointed across the room to a man with a small camera who appeared to be following us.

  The man was a reporter who had come to film our dance because he was curious about the secret news cameras I had lied about. I didn’t know what to think. I had lied about the limo, and one had shown up. I had lied about the cameras, and one had shown up. I should have lied about being stronger and better at playing sports. Principal Smelt looked at me and spoke.

  I wanted to stay there and defend myself, but I needed to help Pinocula. I looked around for Jack, but he was already gone. I ran through the whale’s mouth and out the front doors of the school. The dark sky was filled with stars. In the distance, I saw Jack carrying Pinocula and walking away. He was heading toward the park right across the street from our school. I ran up to him, and he turned to look at me.

  I was going to apologize more, but there were no words that could correct what I’d done. I had messed up, and I’d have to pay for it. Trevor ran up to us. He had seen me run out and had chosen to follow.

  I took Pinocula from Jack, and all of us ran to the park. I knew what we needed to do. We needed to return him to the soil.

  For some reason Trevor and Jack kept running with me.

  CHAPTER 12

  SOME BURIED PINOCULA

  There was nobody in the park this late at night. Still, I wanted to make sure we found a good spot to bury my log-like friend. Pinocula was nothing but wood now. He looked like a donkey doll built out of wood. I knew he was no longer himself because I felt completely healed.

  I was myself again, but I was very tired. All the sleep I had missed over the past week was trying to catch up to me.

  I ran faster. I needed to bury Pinocula. I wasn’t certain this would work, but it was what Pinocula had asked me to do.

  We found a hidden spot behind a row of bushes where nobody ever walked. I dropped to my knees, set Pinocula on the ground, and told my friends to
start digging. We started to dig with our hands, but the ground was hard and we weren’t making much progress.

  It was a great suggestion, but we didn’t have a shovel, and we didn’t have time to go and get one. According to Pinocula, he needed to be quickly buried under a solid foot of soil to have any chance of surviving. We all scratched at the ground violently. We were so involved in what we were doing that we didn’t notice someone step up next to us and clear his throat.

  I recognized the visitor immediately. It was Principal Smelt’s second cousin, the city worker who had given the assembly that I had laughed at.

  I was so juiced up on telling the truth that I just went for it.

  The city worker stared at me. He looked at Trevor and glanced at Jack. He took Pinocula from Jack’s arms and studied him closely.

  He got his shovel, and after a while, we had a small hole big enough for Pinocula. I laid him carefully in the hole, and we pushed the dirt back over him.

  We all thanked Principal Smelt’s second cousin, and he walked off whistling with his shovel over his shoulder. Jack placed an old milk carton he found on the dirt as a headstone. We stood around the covered hole wondering what to do next.

  I wanted to wait around to see if something would happen to Pinocula, but we heard a loud honking out in front of the school.

  When we got a little closer, I saw that the person honking was my dad. He was blasting the horn of the long limousine. Everyone was leaving the dance, and I saw Janae and her friends getting back into the limo.

  I wasn’t going to show my face, so I sent Trevor to tell my dad that I had walked home because I needed to think about what I had done.

  Jack and I took the alley and made our way to our houses. I felt horrible about leaving Pinocula. It was strange, though. I knew I was going to be in big trouble, but I felt a little lighter knowing I had finally told the truth. I figured I’d go home, get in trouble, and then tomorrow morning I’d come dig up Pinocula. It wasn’t a great plan, but it was all I had at the moment.

  Unfortunately, even un-great plans can experience great changes.

  CHAPTER 13

  TRANSFORMATIONS AND WELCOME GUESTS

  I got in big trouble—huge trouble. I told my parents everything, and they didn’t take it well. Mom was beyond mad about all my lies. She didn’t know if she should wash my mouth out with soap or put me up for adoption. Libby suggested that she …

  After the dance, my dad had driven everyone home and returned the limo. When he got back he was so disappointed in me, he almost looked mad.

  I tried to tell them how sorry I was, but there weren’t enough words in the English language to properly express myself.

  When my parents were through lecturing me, they sent me to my room to think about what I had done. They also told me that I wasn’t allowed to come out until they said so.

  I sat on the edge of my bed and sighed. I was so tired I thought I was going to just drop to the ground and start snoring. I stared in the mirror on my wall. I was surprised at how different I looked. My skin wasn’t as pale, and my eyes were clearer. The experience of hanging out with Pinocula had been way different than hanging out with Hairy and Wonk. I needed a new closet.

  I crawled into my bed, pulled up my blankets, and was out in two seconds flat.

  In no time at all, the sun was up and someone was knocking at my window. I blinked rapidly and rubbed all the sleep out of my eyes. Someone knocked on my window again. I pulled the curtains open, and there was Trevor.

  Trevor was very pleased with his find. He had put a leash on the wolf. He also had his own theory about where the animal had come from.

  I knew Trevor was wrong. The animal he was holding had familiar eyes and the same hat as Pinocula. The wolf leapt up and jumped in through my window. Trevor crawled in after him. The beast began to shake and change its shape right in front of us.

  In a few moments there was no sign of the wolf—only Pinocula, and he looked alive and strong. Plus, his arms and legs appeared to be real now. I knew from the book that vampires can shift their shapes, and Pinocula had just done a great job of it. Trevor looked a little disappointed, but I was relieved. The soil had revived Pinocula, and in the tradition of Dracula, he had traveled back here in the shape of a wolf. Pinocula had just been resting on the island when Trevor found him.

  Pinocula apologized for all the lying he had done from the start. He admitted that he wasn’t supposed to have busted out of the closet in the first place. According to him, he had left the closet when he shouldn’t have. I was supposed to have been visited by a different creature before him. He said the things I learned about him in the books I read were a happy accident. At the end of his speech he told Trevor and me that he now wanted to travel the world and bite famous wooden objects.

  Jack popped up at my window.

  I pointed to Pinocula, and Jack climbed in. I filled Jack in on what was happening while Trevor tried to reason with Pinocula. I liked Pinocula a lot, but of all my visitors so far, he stressed me out the most. He had been here less than a week, but it felt like a year. As we were arguing, something strange began to happen.

  My closet door started to shake, and Beardy looked worried. We all stepped back and stared. The smile sticker on the bottom of the door seemed to glow and fade. There was a creaking followed by a soft …

  We held our breath as the closet door slowly swung out. After it opened a few inches, two heads appeared.

  Wonk and Hairy were back! I was so thrilled to see them. They stepped out of the closet and walked up to me. Wonk hugged my right leg, and Hairy gave me a low five. Then, instead of telling me how much they had missed me, they grabbed Pinocula and began to drag him toward the closet.

  I didn’t want them to go. I looked around for something or some idea of how to stop them from leaving so quickly.

  Wonk and Hairy looked at me kindly.

  Wonk reminded me that both he and Hairy had left me something when they were here.

  I looked at the top of my dresser where I kept Wonk’s cane and Hairy’s scarf. Now Pinocula was leaving me a bat-cricket? I had no idea how those items could ever help me. As I stepped closer to stop them from entering the closet, Beardy growled at me.

  Pinocula struggled with my former visitors, but in the end Hairy shoved him into the closet with one strong push.

  The door closed, and they were gone. I reached for Beardy and grabbed hold of him. I pulled and the closet door opened easily. Just like before there was nothing but a mess inside. There was no sign of any of the creatures that had come out.

  I didn’t want to close the closet door because I was scared that if I did, it wouldn’t open again. Beardy, however, didn’t want to stay open. He bit my hand with his tiny brass mouth. As I let go, he swung the door shut and it locked once again. I pulled and pounded on the door, but it was no use. After a minute of silence, Jack spoke.

  I looked at my hand where Beardy had bitten me. There was a small mark, but I noticed that the bite I had gotten from Jim four days ago was now completely gone. I had no idea where the mixed-up bat was, but I felt pretty certain I’d see him again.

  I thanked Jack for being such a good friend last night. He and Trevor had saved me and Pinocula. Jack told me I owed him. Then he and Trevor left through the window, and I was alone. I cleaned up my room a little so that my parents might go easier on me. As I was tidying up I saw a dark flapping object swoop down and land on the edge of my open window. It was Jim. I figured he was here to see Pinocula.

  Jim chirped like a cricket for a few seconds and flapped his wings. He told me a few nice things as well as a few things he thought I should know. After he had spoken his mind, he tipped his cap as if to say farewell. I asked him where he was going, and he told me that he’d be around.

  I shut my window so he couldn’t watch too closely. I used to be scared of Santa Claus. Now, I had Jim watching me too.

  I don’t think I’ve ever felt more motivated to behave.

  CH
APTER 14

  OPPORTUNITIES

  After about a half hour of cleaning my room, I opened my bedroom door and hollered,

  My mom yelled back something about how there were honest children all over the world who were far hungrier than me.

  At around eleven o’clock, my dad finally came to my room. He was trying to look serious and stern, but I knew it was a struggle for him. I told him how sorry I was for about the hundredth time.

  I started to think about all the stuff I had been through. I guess I learned a few things. Maybe Pinocula had used me to help him, but I had used a few people to help me as well. I didn’t want to end up like Dracula, dead, or Pinocchio, obnoxious. It probably was a wise idea for me to make a few adjustments. Once again my life was different because of books I’d read. I might have figured out things in a roundabout way, but the stories of Dracula and Pinocchio would be with me forever.