Chapter 1

Frank stood at the end of the driveway. He looked out across the street. Lemon Avenue. He turned back and looked at the property he lived on. The fence that his dogs always jumped over to escape. His grandparents’ house. The kumquat tree. The cement driveway with so many skid marks from his bike tire on it. And his house. Frank had one month left living at his house on Lemon Avenue. At the beginning of summer vacation his family was moving to a new house. A house on Naomi Avenue.
He saw his sister Kathleen walking toward him. It was morning and they were heading to school. He looked over and noticed Leon running in his yard. He wondered if Leon was chasing a flying bug.
“Hey Frankie. Did you run down the driveway again?” Kathleen asked.
Frank looked away from Leon. “Yes,” he said.
“You used to run to practice zooming across Lemon Avenue, before Mom taught us,” Kathleen said.
“I know,” Frank said.
Frank and Kathleen looked both ways, up and down Lemon Avenue. Then they did it again. No cars. No speeding trucks. They crossed the street. Frank thought that this would be one of the last days they would ever cross Lemon Avenue.
“Well, what are you practicing for now?” she asked.
“Field day,” Frank said. “I wanna win a silver medal.”
“Silver? That’s second place. Gold is better - it’s first place,” Kathleen said.
“I know. But I don’t like gold. Silver looks shinier. And I just like it better,” Frank explained.
“That’s ridiculous. Don’t you wanna win?”
“Yes. No. Sort of,” Frank said. “I sorta feel bad beating everyone. So I don’t mind letting somebody win. That way I don’t feel as bad.”
“So…you wanna be second because first: you like silver better than gold and second: you don’t wanna make people feel bad about losing to you?” Kathleen asked.
“Yes,” Frank said.
They walked down Lemon Avenue closer to Baldwin Avenue. Their school was on Baldwin Avenue. It was called Baldwin-Stocker Elementary.
“You’re the weirdest kid ever!” Kathleen said.
“Weirder than Leon?” he asked.
“Hmmmm. Not sure. Weird in different ways. But probably equally weird,” she said.
“Well, I know someone weirder than me or Leon,” Frank said.
“Who?”
“His name is Jimmy Choo,” Frank said.
“Who the heck is that?” Kathleen asked.
“It’s Leon’s best friend,”
“What? That kid has a best friend?” Kathleen asked. “How do you know him?”
“I don’t,” Frank said.
“You just said you did,” Kathleen said.
“Well…I don’t know him. I just. Ummm. Leon told me about him,” Frank said.
“Then why is he so weird?” Kathleen asked. “I mean…I can’t believe someone could be weirder than you and Leon combined.”
“Well, ya’ know how Leon eats bugs?” Frank said.
“Duh!!! Yes!!!” Kathleen said.
“Well this kid eats something worse,” Frank said.
“What?”
“He eats boogers,” Frank said.
“Ew. That’s gross. But I’ve seen kids in my class eat boogers when no one is looking,” Kathleen said.
“Then how did you see them if no one was looking?”
Kathleen sighed. “I was looking, silly!” Kathleen said.
“Oh. Well, it’s not just that he eats boogers. He eats them inside of raw hot dogs,” Frank explained.
“What?! Are you kidding me?” Kathleen said. “That IS disgusting. And it is weirder than Leon and you combined.”
“And guess what else?” Frank said.
“What?” Kathleen asked as they walked up to Baldwin Stocker Elementary.
Frank looked up at the flag pole. He loved looking up at the California state flag. He thought the bear on it looked really cool.
Kathleen bumped Frank to make him pay attention. “WHAT?” she asked.
“Oh. He lives on Nay-Oh-Me Avenue,” Frank said.
“WHAT?” Kathleen said. “Great. We finally get away from Bugboy and now we are gonna have to deal with Boogerboy,” Kathleen said.
“You mean Raw-Hot-Dog-Boogerboy!” Frank said, giggling.
Kathleen giggled too. “You’re right Frankie! See ya’ later bro.”
Frank liked that Kathleen called him “bro”. He never heard her say that before.

Chapter 2
Kathleen Gets in Trouble

Kathleen walked into her first grade classroom. It was decorated with bright bulletin boards. They were filled with words like: the, at, said, to, and going. Kathleen’s teacher called them “sight words”. Kathleen thought they were “boring sight words”. She knew all of them by heart already.
Kathleen was super smart. And she loved reading books that were for older kids. So Kathleen was bored by some of the stuff Mrs. Thompson, her first grade teacher, taught. But she always acted interested, because she was serious about school. (Frank’s and Kathleen’s mom taught them to act interested even if someone or something was boring.)
Kathleen sat down in her regular seat. But the person next to her was different. It used to be a girl named Sue. But now it was a boy named Alec. He had a crew cut and his hair was really blonde. But his eyebrows were dark brown. Alec got in trouble a lot. He was usually picking on someone by poking or pinching. Sometimes he started fights between kids and then ran away.
The first hour of the day Alec started whispering mean things to Kathleen.
“Pssst. You love Johnny!” he whispered.
Kathleen just ignored him.
Then he whispered, “Mrs. Thompson hates you.”
Kathleen just ignored him.
Then he whispered, “Pssst. The Easter Bunny is going to eat you next year.”
Kathleen looked at him and turned away.
The second hour Alec started poking. Then he started pinching. When Mrs. Thompson wasn’t looking, he reached over every now and then. He poked her shoulder. He pinched her arm. It didn’t really hurt Kathleen. It was just weird and annoying.
Kathleen thought about telling Mrs. Thompson, but she thought being a tattletale was like being weak. But by after lunch Alec wouldn’t stop. And it got worse. During math time Alec kicked Kathleen’s shin under her desk. Then he quickly did it again.
Kathleen thought about whacking him across the head. She imagined Alec’s dark brown eyebrows rising up and his eyes widening. And then he would burst into tears. He would wail like a baby seal. Then he would start flapping his arms around in his desk throwing a super-supreme crybaby fit. She imagined that all the kids would cheer. But Kathleen just stared at him. She remembered that her mom always said to never hit unless someone is hitting you. She wasn’t sure if Alec’s kicking counted. Then she thought about her mom always saying, “Don’t hit - try to use your words first.” So Kathleen waited.
Mrs. Thompson told the class it was time for snack break. That meant all the kids could eat and walk around and talk. Kathleen made sure she talked to Alec.
“Listen Freak,” she said.
“What?” Alec said.
“You heard me. You’re going to keep the stupid things you say, your hands and your feet to yourself,” Kathleen said.
“No I’m not. I’m not scared of you.”
“Yes you are! And you will be after I tell you something,” she said.
“What?”
“My uncle lives in Ireland. He’s only three feet tall. But he has fangs for teeth. He’s sort of an angry leprechaun,” she said.
“So?” Alec said.
“He’s friends with the Tooth Fairy. I see your front tooth is really loose. You believe in the Tooth Fairy, right?” she asked.
“Yes. Duh! Everyone does. Who do you think gives us money under our pillows for our teeth?” he asked.
Kathleen thought: this kid is a sucker.
“Well…if you don’t stop NOW, I’ll just tell my uncle in Ireland. And he’ll talk to the Tooth Fairy. And when she comes to your house at night looking for that tooth under your pillow…you’ll be sorry.” Kathleen explained.
“Oh yeah…why?”
“Because not only will she not leave you any money she’ll do two things,” she said.
“You’re lying,” Alec said.
“Ok. Keep it up then, Alec,” Kathleen said. Then she turned to walk away.
“Okay. Okay. Tell me,” Alec begged.
Kathleen turned around. Then she whispered (just like Alec had to her), “Pssst. The Tooth Fairy will simply eat your tooth. But she won’t stop there. When she gets angry her tiny little teeth turn into tiny little fangs. But they’re really sharp – like needles. You’ll be sleeping. She’ll start at your feet, because that’s what you kicked me with. Then she’ll eventually make it to your hands, because that’s what you pinched and poked me with. Then she’ll end up at your face – ”
Before Kathleen could say another word Alec was doing exactly what Kathleen had imagined: flapping his arms around in the air and he was throwing a super-supreme crybaby fit.
“Wahhh! WAHHHH! Stop it!” Alec screamed. “STOP IT!!!”
“Kathleen Murphy! Please come here right now,” Mrs. Thompson said. Kathleen turned around and walked up the aisle of desks. Every kid was staring at Kathleen with open eyes and open mouths. Most of the mouths had little smiles built in. Every kid was sick of Alec picking on them. Alec finally had met his match - someone who wouldn’t take his bullying. But Kathleen never pinched, poked or kicked back. She just used her words like her mom taught her.

Chapter 3
No Kathleen

The last half hour of school was recess time for kindergarteners. First graders got dismissed ten minutes earlier. Frank loved the last ten minutes because Kathleen was always right outside the playground fence. She was always there waiting for him. Sometimes they stood and talked. Sometimes she just watched Frank play. On this day Frank didn’t see Kathleen. He got a little worried. First, he was worried that something happened to her. Second, he was worried about walking home by himself. He wasn’t sure what to do or who to tell.
Frank stared up at the flagpole again. He watched the California State flag whip back and forth in the wind. It looked like the waves at the beach. Then he thought about how he couldn’t wait to make sand castles and ride the waves at Huntington Beach. That was the beach his mom always took him and Kathleen to.
BEEP! BEEP! He looked down from the flag and saw his mom waving from her car.
“Hi Honey!” she shouted. “Kathleen’s in the car with me. Just come out and get in when you’re all done.”
Frank wondered why he was getting picked up. Maybe Kathleen was sick. Maybe it was someone’s birthday and he forgot. It was Friday, so maybe mom was taking them to the beach!
Frank hurried out to the car. He opened the door and jumped into the backseat. He saw Kathleen’s face. It was red and it looked like she’d been crying.
“Hi,” Frank said.
“Hey,” she said back.
“Mom, did something happen?” Frank said.
“We’ll talk about it later, if Kathleen wants to. Just leave her alone for right now,” Mrs. Murphy said.
“I’ll talk about it now!” Kathleen said. “Some dorky mean kid kept pinching and poking and kicking me in class. So I scared him until he started crying like a little baby seal.”
“Who was it?”
“Alec!”
“Ohhhh. That kid is mean. His little brother is in third grade and he trips people at recess.” Frank said.
“Third grade? How can his LITTLE brother be in third grade?” Kathleen asked.
“Oh…sorry, I mean kindergarten – with me,” Frank said.
Kathleen started laughing. Mrs. Murphy started laughing. And Frank did too. Then they kept laughing more. Frank thought about how sometimes when one person laughs it’s like a cold and everyone catches it and they just keep laughing. Frank felt proud that he made Kathleen laugh. It looked like she needed to laugh.
Later that day Kathleen told Frank parts of the story. But Frank was most interested in what happened in the principal’s office. The principal’s office is a place where he never imagined he’d see.

Chapter 4
Kathleen Tells All

“So I had to walk down to the principal’s office. It wasn’t so bad inside. Mom was there in like a few minutes. We sat with Mr. Sonnevik. He told mom that first graders don’t usually end up in the office,” Kathleen explained.
“Were you scared?” Frank asked.
“Not really. I don’t think I was wrong. That kid is weird and mean. And everyone is sick of him doing all the things he does. I never smacked him or anything. I wanted to,” Kathleen said.
“What did Mom say?”
“She sorta giggled once or twice,” Kathleen said.
“Really? Wow!” Frank said. “Did Mr. Sonnevik get mad at mom?”
“I dunno.”
“Well, why were you crying?”
“Because I thought I let Mom down.”
“Did you?” Frank asked.
“No. She made me feel better,” Kathleen said. “But I learned one thing.”
“What?”
“I’m never going to let anyone bully me or you, ever again. Especially now that I know Mom thinks I sorta did the right thing.”
“Well, what did you actually do to Alec?”
“Well after he told me that the Easter Bunny was going to eat me next year – ”
“WHAT?” Frank asked. He started to turn pale in his face.
“What? Yes…he is weird,” Kathleen said. “Oh no. Frankie, it’s not really gonna happen.”
“How do you know?”
“Because…I just know. Don’t worry”
“Eventually I told him that – ” she stopped herself. Kathleen quickly realized she couldn’t tell Frankie about the needle-fanged Tooth Fairy part of the story. She knew he’d be way too scared. “Um…I told him he just better stop. And I gave him a really mean look.”
“I’ve seen that look. It looks like you have horns, a tail and a pitchfork!”
“Exactly!” Kathleen said. “But you know I don’t – for real. Right?”
“Yes, what do you think I’m gumball?” Frank said.
Kathleen knew that Frank was trying to say “gullible” because she knew that Frank heard their mom and dad say it before.
“No, I know you’re not,” she said.
“Let’s ride,” Kathleen said.
“Okay!” Frank said. But Frank’s mind wasn’t thinking about wheelies and skidding. His mind was thinking about Easter next year. And he was glad it was a year away.


Chapter 5
Nightmare

Frank climbed into to bed that Friday night. He laid there thinking about his sister and Alec and the Easter Bunny. He was proud of his sister. He thought about how lucky he was to have her. Sometimes she was like a bodyguard. He was glad that Alec got scared about his sister - especially if it made him and his brother stop bullying. But he was scared of the Easter Bunny. Thoughts were floating in his mind:
Could the Easter Bunny really eat his sister?
Or would it maybe eat him?
Wouldn’t the Easter Bunny have to be bigger than him to eat him?
Snakes can eat things bigger than themselves – can a bunny?
Does the Easter Bunny only come around during Easter?
Eventually Frank fell asleep. Sometimes the last thing someone thinks about becomes what they dream about. Frank started dreaming about the Easter Bunny. In his dream Frank was running. He was running and running. There wasn’t anything around him to see. It was mostly just white. He kept running. He was holding his Easter basket. It was filled with jelly beans and chocolates and peeps. He didn’t know why he was running. Then he turned and looked behind him. A gigantic, man-sized bunny was chasing him. And it was running on its back legs, like a person runs. It wasn’t that close at first. But then it got closer and closer. Frank kept run, run, running. The more he looked back, the closer the bunny got. The bunny was white in the middle with brown fur around the edges. Frank thought it just wanted the Easter basket. But when it got closer it showed its teeth. They were big and white. Then…they turned into carrots. Frank felt himself sweating. His face was wet. Then he woke up.
Frank sat up in bed. He was sweating. He knew he was sweating because his pillow was wet. He sat there for a few minutes. He looked over at the little clock on his nightstand. The glowing little hand was sort of on the 4 and the glowing longer hand was on the 3. He knew it was after 4 o’clock. He tried to fall back to sleep. He did. Then he woke up when the sun rose and shined into his room.

Chapter 6
Laughing at Breakfast

Frank did his normal morning routine: brush teeth, get dressed and eat Rice Krispies. When he was eating his Rice Krispies Kathleen walked into the kitchen.
“Hey. You look sleepy,” Kathleen said.
“Why?”
“Because you eyes are puffy. And you have milk dripping down your chin,” she said.
“You always say I have milk dripping down my chin when I eat cereal,” Frank said.
“I know, but you have a lot of milk dripping down your chin. It’s on your shirt too,” Kathleen said.
Frank looked down at his t-shirt. It was wet. It was so wet that it looked like he had been sucking on it. But he hadn’t. It was really connected to the stream of milk that was still dripping down his chin and neck. It kept getting more and more soaked.
“I woke up last night. I had a bad dream,” Frank said.
“About what?” Kathleen asked.
“About the Easter Bunny chasing me,” Frank explained.
“Ohhh, I’m sorry. It’s my fault, Frankie,” she said. “I shouldn’t have told you about stupid Alec.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not. It makes me wish I whacked his head,” she said.
“It’s okay.”
“The Easter Bunny isn’t going to eat me or you,” she said. “The only person he’s gonna eat is Alec. Or maybe Leon. Or maybe even that Jimmy Choo kid.”
Frank laughed. Then he really started laughing.
“What? What’s so funny?”
“I was thinking that if the Easter Bunny ate Jimmy Choo he’d taste a lot of boogies,” Frank said.
Kathleen started laughing too. “You’re right about that, bro!” she said.
“I wonder if mom will take us to the beach. Do ya’ think?” Frank said.
“Let’s ask her!” she said.
“Mommmmm?” they both shouted.

Chapter 7
Huntington Beach


Frank and Kathleen convinced their mom to take them to the beach. It wasn’t hard, Mrs. Murphy loved the beach too. Mr. Murphy didn’t. He stayed home and spent time with his dad – Grandpa Murphy.
Frank and Kathleen carried the buckets and shovels. Mrs. Murphy carried the towels and the Styrofoam cooler. It was filled with sandwiches and drinks. Frank loved the feel of the sand on his feet as they walked out toward the Pacific Ocean. He so wanted to run, but his mom always made him walk onto the beach. She said it was rude to kick sand onto the people who were already sitting on the beach. He had to wait to run along the water.
Kathleen and Frank built sandcastles. They made drippy castles too. They tried to play Wiffle Ball, but it was too hard in the wind. They raced along the wet part of the beach, in between the dry sand and the water. Frank almost always won. Sometimes he lost. But Kathleen didn’t know he slowed down so she could win sometimes. At least that’s what he thought. But Kathleen knew. She knew he liked silver medals.
They sat and ate cheese sandwiches with their mom. They drank soda from cans. And they even ate these delicious cupcakes called Tastykakes. They came in little plastic wrappers. Tastykakes were a special treat that came from Philadelphia. Frank was the only one in his family who wasn’t born in Philadelphia. He was born in California. The Murphy’s sometimes walked to a grocery store called Alpha Beta. It was the only store in California that sold the little cakes from Philadelphia.
Sometimes Frank thought it would be great to move to Philadelphia just because of Tastykakes. Then he could have them everyday. His dad told him they were sold almost everywhere in Philadelphia. But he knew Philadelphia was 3,000 miles away. He knew that because his dad told him that too. 3,000 miles seemed too far away just to eat Tastykakes.
The thought of moving to Philadelphia made him think of moving to Naomi Avenue. It was about a month away. He was a little worried.
“Mom, when are we moving to Nay-Oh-Me Avenue,” he asked.
“Why do you always say it like that? NAY---OH---ME?” Kathleen asked.
“Because that’s how Leon told me to say it,” Frank said.
“Leon? He’s a nincompoop!” Kathleen said. “Just say Naomi!”
“Kathleen! Don’t call people names. Leon isn’t a nincompoop. He’s very intelligent,” Mrs. Murphy said.
“Yeah, about bugs,” Kathleen said.
“KATHLEEN!” Mrs. Murphy said.
“Okay. Sorry,” she said. “Then he’s at least nincompoopish.”
Mrs. Murphy gave up about the nincompoop thing.
“Naomi.” Frank said. He said it faster than he ever had and it sounded perfect. Kathleen started clapping. Mrs. Murphy shot Kathleen a look.
“Now, what were you asking me, Frankie?” Mrs. Murphy said.
“Oh yeah. When are we moving to Philadelphia?”
“Philadelphia? What makes you think that? We are moving just a few blocks away,” Mrs. Murphy said.
Frank still had Philadelphia on his mind and Tastykake crumbs on the corners of his mouth. “That’s what I meant. To Naomi Avenue,” Frank said.
“On June 22nd – it’s a Thursday,” she said.
“When are we done school?” he asked.
“June 16th, I think. I’m pretty sure that’s a Friday,” she said.
“And what’s today?”
“Saturday,” Kathleen said. She knew Frank wanted to know the date.
“I know. Grrrrr!” he growled at Kathleen.
“Today is May 27th,” Mrs. Murphy said. “It’s Memorial Day weekend.”

Chapter 8
Is That Jimmy Choo?

Frank and Kathleen said thanks to their mom for lunch. They hurried to the water for the last hour or two of fun. Their goal – riding waves. They went out into the Pacific Ocean. It was blue and wonderful and warm. They stood and waited to body surf the best waves. Frank loved crashing against the sand at the end of the ride. Kathleen loved trying to float as long as she could and then glide onto the beach.
After twenty minutes of riding they both stood at the edge of the water and took a break. Kathleen was watching some kites flying. One was shaped like a butterfly. Frank was staring at a boy running around in circles. His mom was chasing him. She was calling out, “Jimmy! Stop right now. Give me that now!” Then Frank heard her screaming in a different language. “Jimmy! Koh-mahn-heh! Ee-rhee-joeh!” she screamed. Frank didn’t recognize the language.
“Kathleen! Look! I think that kid’s name is Jimmy. Maybe it’s Jimmy Choo,” he said.
“Where?”
“Right there,” Frank said. He pointed at the boy running away from his mom. He was holding a red ball. “His mom called him Jimmy.”
The boy’s mom called out again to him, “Jimmy Choo. You will stop right now or no hot dog for lunch!” He immediately stopped running. He walked to a little girl and handed her the ball.
“That must be his sister,” Frank said.
Kathleen nudged Frank. “Didn’t you hear her? She said Jimmy CHOO!” Kathleen said. “It IS him! And she talked about hot dogs. It’s gotta be him. How many Jimmy Choos can there be in the world?”
“You’re right!” he said. “He looks like our cousin Jackie. Cool!”
Frank and Kathleen had two cousins named Jack and Patsy. Frank’s and Kathleen’s Uncle Jack was Jack’s and Patsy’s dad. He married a lady from Japan named Chieko. So Jackie and Patsy were part Japanese. Jimmy Choo did look a little bit like Jackie, but not exactly.
“Maybe he’s Japanese too,” Kathleen said.
“I heard his mom yelling at him in a different language,” Frank said. “It sorta sounded like the way Aunt Chieko talks sometimes.”
They watched Jimmy Choo sit down on a blanket with his mom and little sister. His mom reached into a Styrofoam cooler. She took out what looked like a hot dog wrapped in aluminum foil. She handed it to Jimmy. He unwrapped it. Frank and Kathleen stood there, staring. It was a hot dog. They both looked at each other and giggled. They knew they were about to witness something so gross. They couldn’t stop watching. Then Jimmy Choo simply bit into the hot dog on a bun. He didn’t do anything gross. Kathleen and Frank looked at each other again with baffled faces. They were wrong. Jimmy Choo just ate the whole hot dog without adding any extra stuff.
The Murphy’s packed up all of their stuff. They loved their first day at the beach. Now that Frank and Kathleen got a little bit of summer and the beach they couldn’t wait for school to end and summer to come. But they were both thinking about Jimmy Choo. And his hot dog eating.

Chapter 9
Field Day

June 9th. It was a Friday. Frank and Kathleen had only one week left of school. But that wasn’t the best thing about this day. The best thing was that it was Field Day. Frank had been practicing almost his whole life for this day. He couldn’t wait to race.
Frank woke up early. He went through his usual routine: get dressed, brush teeth and eat Rice Krispies. (But he ate an extra bowl for more energy!) He put his bowl and spoon into the dishwasher. Then he double-checked his sneaker laces. They weren’t tight enough. But he couldn’t untie and tie them to tighten them more. Frank hadn’t totally learned how to tie his shoelaces yet. He was a little bit embarrassed about it too. Luckily, his mom always double-knotted them. Frank started worrying. He never worried before about his laces coming untied. But today was Field Day. He needed them to be tight, extra tight.
Kathleen was still getting ready for school. So Frank went out to the driveway and started practicing. He ran from the front porch to the fence. He touched the fence. He ran back to the front porch. Then he looked down at his pretend stopwatch.
“World record,” Frank whispered to himself. Then he imagined winning a silver medal.
“Frankie! You ready?” Kathleen came out to the front yard.
“Yes! But I’m worried about my laces,” he said.
“Why? They looked tied to me,” she said.
“They’re a little loose, I think.”
“Okay. I’ll check ‘em,” Kathleen said. She kneeled down and untied the laces. She tied them, tightly. Then she double knotted them.
“Perfectly perfect!” Frank said. “Thank you, sis.”
Kathleen looked up at him. She smiled. “Good luck today, bro,” she said.
They walked to edge of their driveway. They looked both ways. Then they looked both ways again. No cars. No speeding trucks. All clear. They crossed Lemon Avenue. After today they would only had five days left to cross Lemon Avenue. Five days left of school.

Chapter 10
Field Day and a Special Guest

The whole day was filled with super fun events. The tug-o-war. Relay races. Potato sack races. Obstacle courses with cones and tires and poles that looked like they were for a limbo dance. Dodge ball. Stations with water and Hawaiian Punch and lemonade. So much fun all in one day.
At Field Day the gym teacher grouped each class onto a team. Baldwin Stocker Elementary School’s two teams were Team Red and Team Gold. Frank was glad to be on Team Red. But he didn’t really care which team won.
The only thing Frank was looking forward to was the 50 yard dash. It would be him versus four other runners. They could be girls or boys. He didn’t care who he was racing against. He just wanted to make sure he won a silver medal. He had to make sure he ran fast enough to be winning almost up until the end. Then he had to time it so he could let one runner catch up and pass him. But he needed to make sure that another runner didn’t pass him too. If that happened he’d get a bronze medal. Frank didn’t want a bronze medal. He just didn’t like the color of bronze. He thought it looked like gold.
The 50 yard dash finally came. Frank was standing in line. There were five total lines. Some kids chose their places and traded places trying to run against kids they knew they could beat. Some kids tried to choose places to compete against friends. Frank didn’t care. He knew he could beat anyone. He had practiced enough to win. All he wanted was a silver medal. Frank’s line got shorter and shorter. He was almost to the front. He watched kids run and win and run and lose. He felt bad for all the kids who lost.
Frank was up. He bent down like was ready to race. He looked down at the laces on his sneakers. He whispered to himself, “Perfectly perfect.” Frank’s line was in the middle. He looked over at the two lines to his left. He only looked at the sneakers of the two kids lining up against him. He saw a pair of blue sneakers and a pair of white sneakers. Then he looked to his right. He saw another pair of blue sneakers and then he couldn’t believe his eyes. He saw a pair of flip-flops! One of them had a big white daisy on it. He looked up. It was Leon! Frank thought: Leon doesn’t go to school here! What’s he doing? How’d he get here? Then Frank heard the gym teacher say: “On your mark. Get Set. Go!”
All five kids started. Frank took the lead right away. After ten yards Frank was winning by two yards. After twenty yards Frank was winning by about five yards. He was zooming. After thirty yards Frank looked to his right. He was looking for Leon. He saw him out of the corner of his eye. Leon was catching up. After 40 yards Frank slowed down a tiny bit. He could almost see Leon right at his side. Frank made his last racing step a half step. Leon passed Frank at the line. Leon won! Frank came in second. A girl named Wilma came in third.
Leon started jumping up and down. He was jumping with his arms in the air. He twirled around in the air when he jumped. He was screaming, “WOOOHOOOOOO!” And he kept jumping up and down, down and up, up and down. He kept yelling, “WOOOHOOOOO!” People started staring. Frank thought that Leon looked even happier than he did. He had never seen anyone react like that to anything before. He ran up to the gym teacher to get his gold medal. The gym teacher handed Leon his gold medal. Then he handed Frank his silver medal. Frank stared at his shiny silver medal with the red, white and blue ribbon attached to it. He kept staring at it. But everyone else was still staring at Leon. Leon was still jumping up and down, down and up.
After the gym teacher handed Wilma her bronze medal, he walked up to Leon.
“Son, what is your name?” he asked Leon.
“Leon. I’m Leon Thomas,” he said still jumping up and down.
“Leon. Please stop jumping. Who is your teacher?” he asked Leon.
“Mrs. Thomas,” Leon said.
“Son, we don’t have a Mrs. Thomas here. You don’t go to school here do you?”
“No sir. I go to school at home. My mom is Mrs. Thomas. She teaches me,” Leon said.
“How’d you get here?”
“I crossed Lemon Avenue and walked here. I wanted to race and win a medal too,” Leon said.
“Son, you can’t do that. This Field Day is for kids who go to school here. Please give me that medal back,” the gym teacher said.
Leon was still jumping up and down until that moment. Then he stopped. His shoulders sank. He didn’t say a word to the gym teacher. He handed the gold medal back.
The gym teacher walked over to Frank. Frank wasn’t looking at his silver medal anymore. He was looking at Leon walking away. Leon looked so sad walking home. The gym teacher handed Frank the gold medal. Frank didn’t even really pay attention. He sort of automatically handed him the silver medal after taking the gold medal. Leon kept walking home. Frank stopped looking at Leon. He looked down at his new gold medal. Then he watched the gym teacher hand his silver medal to Wilma. He looked back to where Leon was walking, but Leon was out of sight. He was gone.

At the end of the day everyone was dismissed at the same time. Frank met Kathleen.
“Did you win the silver?” Kathleen asked.
“Yes. No. I won this,” Frank showed her the gold medal.
“Nice!” she said. “You decided to win after all?”
“Not really,” Frank said.
Frank told Kathleen the whole story while walking home. She just listened the whole time. She only interrupted once. She said, “I didn’t know Leon went to school at home. That’s sorta cool.”
After Frank was done Kathleen felt sorry for Frank. Frank felt sorry for himself too. He had worked so long and so hard to win that silver medal. But Frank had another feeling too. One of the reasons he wanted a silver medal was to let someone else win. That way he wouldn’t feel so bad for beating everyone. The way things worked out, even the kid who won ended up losing. And it was Leon! Frank felt so sorry for Leon too. But he couldn’t go back and change it.
Frank went to bed that night of Field Day much earlier than usual. He was tired. He was still a little sad for himself too. But he was wondering how Leon felt more than anything else. Frank thought about how extremely happy Leon looked when he won. He thought that it must’ve been the greatest moment of Leon’s life. He thought about how quickly all that changed when Leon had to give his gold medal back. Then Frank thought that there must be a lot more about Leon than just him studying and eating bugs. He looked over at his nightstand at the gold medal. Frank knew Leon was so sad. And he got an idea. The idea helped him to relax. Then he fell asleep. No dreams. No nightmares. Just deep sleep.

Chapter 11
The Last Week of School

The last week of school for Frank and Kathleen was filled with a mix of tests and games and fun. But no matter how much fun there was Frank and Kathleen were itching to get out. They loved summer. And they were nervous and excited about moving to their new house on Naomi Avenue.
Frank and Kathleen walked to school on Monday morning. It was June 12th. They hadn’t seen Leon in his yard all weekend. And they didn’t see him in the morning walking out to Lemon Avenue. Frank thought that Leon must still be sad.
“Wonder what it’s like to have your mom be your teacher,” Kathleen said to Frank.
“I know. And to have your house be your school,” Frank said.
“Weird. Weird like Leon,” Kathleen said.
“I don’t want you to say he’s weird anymore. It makes me feel bad and worse. Worse about what happened,” Frank said.
Kathleen paused. She looked at Frank. He was walking with his head down.
Frank was a little nervous to have said what he just said to Kathleen.
“Okay. I won’t anymore,” she said. “But that new kid. The Choo kid. Can I call him weird?” she asked.
“I think so,” Frank said, giggling.
Monday, June 12th at school went by fast. No sight of Leon that evening.
Tuesday, June 13th at school went by fast. No sight of Leon in the morning or the evening.
Wednesday, June 14th. School went by fast up until the last ten minutes. It was Flag Day. During school Frank learned that a President named Woodrow Wilson made Flag Day an official day. He learned about some of the words in the Pledge of Allegiance. He learned that Betsy Ross sewed the first U.S. flag. Frank thought it was cool that her house is still in Philadelphia. He imagined that one day he would see it. He wondered if Betsy Ross had Tastykakes in her time. He thought the U.S. flag was pretty amazing looking. But he still loved the California State flag more.
The last ten minutes of the day Frank was out on the playground like always. Kathleen wasn’t there yet at the fence. But he knew she would be.
Frank was staring at the California State flag again. He studied it. It was flowing in the wind perfectly. He could see the grizzly bear. He could see the red star up in the left corner. He noticed the green patch of grass the bear was standing on. He looked at the little brown piles on the grass. And for the first time he thought they looked like little brown piles of poop. But he knew they really couldn’t be that. He started laughing out loud to himself.
A boy with long dark curly hair walked up to Frank. He poked him in the back. He said something, but Frank didn’t hear him. Then he said it again.
“UFOs?” the boy said.
Frank turned and looked at the boy. It was Alec’s little brother. Frank didn’t know his name. He just knew he was mean. He walked away from the boy.
“Are you an alien? You’re always staring into space,” the boy said. Frank turned away. Then the boy poked his back again.
Frank started walking toward the swings. He was hoping the sound to the end the day would buzz soon. Frank felt uncomfortable. He didn’t know what to do to get the kid to stop.
Frank turned toward the fence…and he saw his sister climbing over the fence. He couldn’t believe it. Nobody but kindergarteners were allowed in the fenced playground at the end of the day. If she got caught she’d be back in Mr. Sonnevik’s office again. Kathleen jumped down onto the pavement. She wasn’t looking at Frank, but she had that look. Two horns, a tail and a pitchfork. She stomped directly toward Alec’s little brother. He was standing in back of Frank. She walked right up to him. Kathleen stood about a half foot taller than the kid’s black curly-haired head. He looked up at her. She leaned and whispered something to him. Frank couldn’t hear it. She kept whispering something. The dismissal buzzing sounded. She kept whispering. The kid nodded his head up and down a few times like he was saying yes. Kathleen whispered a few more things. Frank saw the edges of the kid’s eyes start to fill up with tears, but they didn’t fall. He started blinking and then they fell. They streamed down his cheeks. Kathleen kept whispering. The boy turned and ran away. He was sobbing. Kathleen turned around.
“Let’s go, bro,” she said.
Frank was worried that a teacher would see Kathleen. But they walked around to the gate and walked right out of the playground yard.
They headed down Lemon Avenue.
“Thanks K,” Frank said.
“It’s okay,” she said. “I told you I wouldn’t let anyone bully me or you.”
“What did you say to him?”
“I told him that sometimes you have dreams about people if you think about them before you fall asleep. I told him that I would tell you to think about him before you fall asleep tonight. And then I told him that the stuff in your dreams comes true. Then I asked him if he ever saw The Wizard of Oz. He nodded yes. Then I said you were going to think of him melting like the Wicked Witch of the West.”
“Really?!” Frank said.
“Yes! Pretty excellent, right?” she said.
“Yes may-hem,” Frank said.
Kathleen started laughing. Frank did too.
“That kid won’t be bothering you anymore,” she said.
Frank thought about telling her that it was Alec’s little brother. He thought about how his sister really was like a bodyguard. He wondered how she ever got to be so brave. But he didn’t talk anymore. He just walked home next to his best friend.

Chapter 12
The Last Day of School.

Thursday, June 15th zoomed by. The last day of school, Friday, June 16th zoomed by too. Alec’s little brother never came near Frank on the last two days of school. Summer vacation finally came.
Frank and Kathleen raced each other home. Their book bags were light. They both felt free because they had a whole summer ahead.
Frank led almost the whole way running on the sidewalk of Lemon Avenue. Two houses before he reached across the street from their house he slowed down. Kathleen caught up. Frank didn’t let her win. They tied!
“Two silver medals, bro – one for you, one for me!” Kathleen said.
“Yes!” Frank said.

Chapter 13
Kyle is the Real Batman

The first weekend of summer was not filled with trips to Huntington Beach. It was not filled with bike riding and skidding. And it was not filled with fun. It was filled with putting lots of things in big and small cardboard boxes. The Murphy’s spent Saturday and Sunday preparing the house for the moving workers. The mover men were coming with their big truck on Thursday, June 22nd. In between helping pack things up Frank sometimes looked over to Leon’s yard. It was quiet. No Leon. Frank did see Kyle, Leon’s little brother. He was climbing the tree that Leon is usually digging through for bugs. Frank walked over to the fence. He shouted up to Kyle, “Hey. Where’s your brother been?”
Kyle looked down from the top branches of the tree. It was pretty far up and Frank was impressed by how high Kyle could climb. He was only three years old. Kyle moved a branch and some leaves out of the way so he could see who was talking to him. “Which one?”
“Your brother Leon,” Frank said.
“He is playing at his friend’s house. He sleeps over there sometimes,” Kyle said. “I’m part bat.”
“Okay,” Frank said. Then he wondered if it was his friend Jimmy Choo. “Is it Jimmy Choo’s house?”
“No. Not Gimme Choo,” Kyle said. ‘I have super powers too. The real Batman doesn’t. He’s just human. He has neat gadgets. But I have super powers. Did you know that?’
“Um. Sort of. I know Batman doesn’t have super powers,” Frank answered.
“Well I do,” Kyle said. “And I can jump out of tall trees. Wanna see?”
Frank didn’t want to see. It was way too high up for a kid to jump out. It was almost as high as the Thomas family’s house. “No. It’s okay,” Frank said.
Then, it was unbelievable to Frank. Kyle cleared another branch out of the way. He was perched on a thick branch. Kyle’s legs were bent and he was squatting, ready to jump. “Watch this,” Kyle said. Then he leapt into the air. He spread his arms and legs out. He screamed, “duh nu, duh nu, duh nu, duh nu…Batman…..” while almost floating through the air. Frank noticed he was wearing a black cape. It was tied around his neck. It actually flew in the air like the real Batman’s cape. Kyle headed toward the ground. He landed on his feet and rolled over on his side. He lay on the ground. But only for a moment. He stood up fast. Then he flexed his arms to show his muscles. (He didn’t have any!) Then he looked Frank in the eyes and said, “I am the real Batman.”
Frank felt like he just witnessed an amazing feat. He had never seen someone jump from such a high place and land. Frank thought about how Leon said he looked like an acrobat when he fell out of the kumquat tree. He thought about how Kyle was way more of an acrobat than he was.
“You are the real Batman. That was really cool,” Frank said. “Have fun Kyle. Bye.”
“Bye Fred,” Kyle said.
Frank walked over to the kumquat tree. He looked up at where the branch had broken. He thought about that day he and Kathleen tried to splash Leon. He felt sorry again for that day. He looked over to the cement driveway. There were so many skid marks from Kathleen’s and his bike tires. He thought about how Leon said his tire skid marks looked cool. He looked at the fence and the gate. He thought about Hilde and Heidi. He wondered if they were chasing horses at his Uncle Jack’s barn. He turned to his grandparents’ house. There were boxes packed up over there too. He thought about Grandpa’s stories. And he remembered that he never studied about the Wild West and Jesse James. He didn’t care anymore. He liked thinking that his grandpa really did meet Jesse James. Finally, Frank looked back at Kyle. He was running around and his cape was trailing behind him like the California State flag in the wind. Frank wondered if people really can have super powers.

Chapter 14
Goodbye

Thursday, June 22nd came. The mover men were coming at 8 o’clock in the morning. Mr. Murphy told Frank that they’d be all packed up and driving to Naomi Avenue by noon.
“What number goes with noon again?” Frank asked his dad.
“Twelve!” Mr. Murphy answered.
Frank subtracted 8 from 12 and got 4. He had four hours to say goodbye.
Mr. and Mrs. Murphy told Kathleen and Frank to play in the yard, but stay out of the way of the movers. All of their stuff was packed up, so they didn’t have much to play with. Frank made sure some things didn’t get packed up. A pen, a piece of paper, an envelope and the gold medal.
Kathleen was outside in the backyard reading a book called Ramona the Pest. It was Kathleen’s favorite book. She had already read it twice. There were two things Frank didn’t understand about the book: number one – why would someone read a book over and over again, number two – why would someone have a sister named Beezus. (In the book Beezus is the name of Ramona’s sister.) He thought it was the scariest name ever.
Frank sat in his empty room. He wondered how he was supposed to say goodbye to a home. He had said goodbye to people before, like when he says goodbye to his mom before school. He always tells her he loves her. But he realized that kind of goodbye is different. All the times Frank said goodbye to people, he knew he’d see them again. Whenever his birthday was over, at night in bed he always said, “Goodbye birthday – until next year.” But there was always next year. Even when he said goodbye to Disneyland (the first time he went), he knew he’d be back again one day. But saying goodbye to his home on Lemon Avenue was different. It was a lonely goodbye. Frank thought that this was his first goodbye that was forever.
Frank decided to write a letter. And he was glad he had a pen and not a pencil. He figured writing with a pencil wouldn’t last forever. If he was going to write a forever goodbye letter he should use a pen.

Chapter 15
Writing a Letter

Frank knew he couldn’t write a letter to his house or the kumquat tree or Lemon Avenue. So he decided to write a letter to Leon. He lay on the empty hardwood floor of his empty bedroom. As he started to write the letter he realized he still wasn’t the best at spelling words and making sentences. He decided to get Kathleen. He ran out to the backyard.
“K? Will you help me?” he asked.
“With what?” she asked.
“I need to write a letter. And you’re better at writing,” he said. “Can you come to my room?”
“Okay,” she said.
They went back to Frank’s empty room.
“Please just write and don’t say anything? I wanna make this letter,” Frank said.
“Okay, okay. Tell me what to write,” she said.
“Okay. Here I go: Dear Leon,” Frank started.
Kathleen looked up and rolled her eyes.
“Please just write it for me? You said…”
“Okay. I’ll be quiet,” she promised.
Frank started over. “Dear Leon, I’m moving to Naomi Avenue. That’s where your friend Jimmy Choo lives. I wanted to say sorry for splashing you with vinegar and water. And sorry for me and my sister saying you were gross – ”
Kathleen interrupted, “I’m gonna write my sister and I. That’s the way you say it. Okay?”
“Okay,” Frank said.
“Hold on. Let me catch up,” Kathleen said.
Frank waited. “Ready?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“ and weird. You are not weird. Thanks for saying my tire skid marks were cool. Thanks for hanging out that day at the hot dog car too. I think you are cool too. Here’s the gold medal you won at my school. You won it fair and square. I’m saying goodbye now. Good luck looking for flying bugs. Your friend, Fred.”
“Who’s Fred?” Kathleen asked.
“He calls me Fred. So does his brother Kyle. I figured if I signed my real name he wouldn’t really be sure about who wrote it,” Frank explained.
“Weird. Oops. Sorry. It makes sense,” Kathleen said. Kathleen finished writing all the words except one. “Here Fred, you can sign your own name. It’s F – R – E – D.” She handed Frank the pen, then she giggled.
Frank spelled out the name Fred.
“Thanks K,” he said.
“Here, let me have it. I’ll make sure he gets it,” Kathleen said. “I’ll tie it to the fence by the kumquat tree. I’ll slide the gold medal in so it’s like a present.”
“Really? Thanks, sis,” Frank said. He was surprised Kathleen wanted to help him because it had to do with Leon.
“No problem, bro,” Kathleen said. Frank noticed she didn’t have that horns, tail and pitchfork look, so he felt safe about the letter.

Chapter 16
Driving Away

Noon came quick. The mover men were ready in their big truck. All the Murphy’s got into the car. Mr. Murphy started up the engine.
“Alright. Say goodbye to Lemon Avenue, everybody,” Mr. Murphy said.
“Bye Lemon Avenue,” Mrs. Murphy said. “Thanks for the memories.”
“Bye weirdos next door. Bye mud pies in the back. Adios,” Kathleen said.
“I already said goodbye,” Frank said.
The car headed down the driveway, following the big moving truck. Frank turned around and looked out the back window. He saw Leon for the first time in days. He was standing at the fence. He was opening the letter. He watched Leon read the letter. He wasn’t sure Leon could even really read yet. But it sure looked like he could, because he started jumping up and down, down and up. Frank could tell he was shouting: WOOHOOOO! He watched Leon throw his arms in the air. He jumped up, twirling around. He was twirling around the gold medal too.
For the first time in his life Frank felt something he never felt before. Giving back Leon’s gold medal felt way better than winning that silver medal. And after that moment, he never thought about that silver medal again. Now he knew the answer to the question that Kyle made him think about. Frank knew that people really can have super powers.

Chapter 17
The Letter

The Murphy’s were gone. Leon stopped jumping. He was wearing the gold medal around his neck. Leon looked over to Fred’s house. Everything looked empty. It looked lonely.
Leon had already dropped the letter on the ground. He saved the envelope for bug collecting.
“Time for lunch, Leon,” Mrs. Thomas called out.
Leon ran into his house.
The letter lay on the ground, on the other side of the fence, at the bottom of the kumquat tree.
“Dear Leon,
I’m moving to Naomi Avenue. That’s where your friend Jimmy Choo lives. I wanted to say sorry for splashing you with vinegar and water. And sorry for me and my sister saying you were gross and weird. You are not weird. Thanks for saying my tire skid marks were cool. Thanks for hanging out that day at the hot dog car too. I think you are cool too. Here’s the gold medal you won at my school. You won it fair and square. I’m saying goodbye now. Good luck looking for flying bugs.
Your friend,
Fred
and Kathleen

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 08.12.2010

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