She studied us both, rubbing her tiny pointed chin. The hall was silent. I never heard such a deep silence in my life.
“Okay,” she said finally. “Go back to class, you two.” She turned to me. “I didn’t think you’d fight in school, Matt. You’re too smart for that.”
“Th-thanks,” I stammered.
She started back toward her office. “No more violent TV shows,” she called back. “You guys should watch the National Geographic Channel instead. Keep you out of trouble.”
Bradley had a huge grin on his face. His brown eyes were practically twirling with excitement. He slapped me a high five.
“Dude, I saved your life,” he whispered.
I waited till Mrs. Grant turned the corner. Then I gave Bradley an angry shove. “I should pound you!” I said.
“Huh?” He backed away.
“You wrecked my laptop with some dumb Monster Blood thing!” I screamed. “And after everything else, you stole my science project! I’m warning you. After the swim meet, you’d better hide! Because I’ll be coming for you!”
“Don’t get your boxers in a twist,” Bradley replied. “You can keep your dumb birdhouse. I have something new on the way. Something awesome. I had it sent overnight. My whole life is going to change — big time!”
I laughed. “You’ll still be a worm!”
“You’ll see,” Bradley said. “I’ll show it to you tonight. You won’t be calling me names for long.”
* * *
Swim practice went on for two hours after school. We had a lot of practice races. Coach Widdoes had tips for us after each race.
The championship meet was the next day. Less than twenty-four hours away!
This was our last chance to tune up.
My three events are the 100-meter freestyle, the 500-meter freestyle, and the 200-meter butterfly. No one can touch me in these races. I always blow everyone out of the water.
But this afternoon, Kenny Waters and Jake Deane tied with me on both events. After the second tie in the butterfly, we were holding on to the pool wall, trying to catch our breath. Shaking off water, they both stared at me in surprise.
Jake laughed. “Did I get faster, or did you slow down?” he asked.
I spit a mouthful of water on him. “I let you two tie,” I joked. “I just wanted to give you a thrill.”
Coach Widdoes leaned over the pool. He’s tall and lean, with spiky black hair and the hairiest arms I’ve ever seen. We all call him Wolf — but not to his face.
“Concentration, Matt,” he said to me. He tapped his temple. “It isn’t the physical. It’s the concentration. Know what I’m saying?”
I nodded. I tapped my temple, too.
Widdoes is a pretty smart guy. I guess he could tell my mind kept slipping to other things. Like this morning. Like coming so close to being kicked out of school.
I got changed quickly and began walking home. The sun was already dropping behind the trees. The air grew cool, and deep shadows shifted over the sidewalks.
I was half a block from my house when two men stepped out from behind a car and blocked my path. “Hey!” I cried out.
They were both dressed in black pants and black hoodies. Their hoods were pulled down low over their heads. Their faces were hidden in the evening shadows.
I tried to sidestep them. But they closed in tight on me.
“Don’t move, kid,” one of them said in a deep, low voice.
“Let me go!” I screamed. “What do you want?”
They were both big and solid, built like tree trunks. Their dark eyes glowed from under their black hoods.
A chill ran down my back. I wanted to run. But my legs were shaking so hard, I could barely stand. I could see my house. So close … so close.
One of them stuck out a big hand. He had jeweled rings on every finger. “No trouble, sonny,” he said.
“That’s right.” His partner spoke up. He stuck out his hand, too. I saw a tattoo of a spider on his palm. “If you just hand it over to us, there won’t be any trouble,” he said.
I tried to swallow. My mouth was suddenly as dry as cotton. “Huh? Hand what over?” I choked out. “Who are you?”
“We’re your friends,” Spider Tattoo replied. “We only want to help you.” He glanced behind him, as if to see if anyone was watching.
“But, but —” I sputtered.
“Don’t act scared,” Ring Fingers snarled. “You ordered it. But we need it back.”
I glanced around. Why wasn’t there anyone on the street? Anyone who could rescue me?
“Ordered?” I said. My voice came out shrill and high. “I — I didn’t order anything.”
“Come on, kid,” Spider Tattoo said. “Don’t make it hard for us. A terrible mistake was made.”
“Truth,” his partner chimed in. “The stuff is dangerous. I mean, very dangerous. No joke. We can’t let you keep it.” His eyes kept darting all around.
“We never should have sent it,” Spider Tattoo said. “We’ll get in BIG trouble if anyone finds out.”
“Do you have it on you?” his partner asked. “Is it in your backpack there? Just hand it to me, okay? No problem.”
“No,” I started. “I told you. I don’t —”
Ring Fingers pointed toward my house. “You have it at home? You can give it to us there. We’ll come with you.”
What were they after? What could be so dangerous? Why were they so desperate to get it back?
I didn’t know how to answer them. I only knew I didn’t have it. “You — you’ve made a mistake,” I stammered. “I —”
Bright white lights rolled over us. I glimpsed the men’s faces. Hard. Tough looking.
I turned and saw a green car pull up to the curb. The passenger window rolled down. Mr. Scotto poked his head out. “Matt — how’s it going? How was practice?”
I dove to the car and grabbed the door handle. I leaned down close to Mr. Scotto. “Those two men,” I whispered. “They’re really scary. I don’t know what they want.”
His eyes went wide. He gazed past me. “Men?” he said. “I don’t see any men.”
I swung around.
They had vanished into thin air.
After dinner, I was up in my room, bending over my ivy plants. I was using plant shears to cut them back.
I gasped as I felt cold, hard fingers wrap around my neck. “Hey!”
Livvy laughed. She pulled her hands away.
“Why do you love sneaking up on me like that?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Because it’s fun?”
“Get me a garbage bag for the clippings,” I said.
“Like I’m your servant?” She gave me a push and danced away. “Those plants are creeping along the floor,” she said. “Like in a horror movie. One night, they’re gonna creep into your bed and strangle you.”
Livvy has a good imagination.
“If they get really long, they’ll reach to your room,” I said.
I heard loud thuds on the stairs. A few seconds later, Bradley came bursting into the room. “My two favorite people!” he exclaimed.
“Bye,” Livvy said, rolling her eyes. She hurried out as fast as she could.
Bradley strode up to me, an excited grin on his face. He was wearing baggy khakis and my Shandy Hills swim team sweatshirt. I never gave it to him. He must have stolen it from my closet.
“Check this out, dude,” he said breathlessly. I could smell spaghetti sauce on his breath. I tried to back away, but he had me cornered.
He held up a small green plastic egg. “I already took it out of the box. I couldn’t wait. This is gonna change everything,” he said. He was so excited, his hands were trembling as he held up the egg.
“I ordered this online from a secret site,” he said. “I am so psyched!”
I gazed at the plastic egg. The same size as a real egg. “What kind of secret site?” I asked.
“You can’t get on it unless you know three secret passwords,” Bradley said.
He waved the green egg in front of my face. “Know what this stuff does?” he asked.
“Makes an omelet?” I joked.
“It grows,” Bradley said. “Once you open the egg, it grows and grows. And if you EAT it, you grow, too. Bigger and stronger.”
I rolled my eyes. “Hel-lo. Bradley, you are a total sucker. You really believe the stuff in this egg will make you grow? How can you be so dumb? How could you fall for another fake?”
“No. No,” Bradley said, breathing hard. “No way this is a fake. This stuff is for real, Matt. Know what I’m going to do?”
I shrugged. “I can’t guess.”
Bradley rolled the plastic egg in his hand. “I’m gonna eat just a tiny chunk,” he said. “Just enough to make me gain weight and grow big muscles. Then I won’t be a skinny worm anymore.”
I laughed. “Give me a break,” I said. “I can’t believe you’re serious.”
“I’m totally serious,” Bradley said. “After I eat this, I’ll be a different person. I’ll be strong. And athletic. I won’t have to copy you. I’ll be better than you!”
“But, Bradley —”
“Kids will invite me to parties. And choose me to be on their soccer teams. And want to hang out with me,” Bradley went on. “And you’ll stay home by yourself talking to your ivy plants.”
“Let me see it,” I said.
He dropped the egg into my palm. It was warm and damp from his sweaty hand.
I raised it close to read the words engraved in the green plastic: MONSTER BLOOD.
“Whoa. Wait,” I said. Suddenly, it all came clear to me. “Bradley, did you send for this last night when you were using my laptop?”
Bradley nodded. “Yeah. So?”
The two men in black flashed into my mind. I pictured their hard faces, their dark, angry eyes.
This Monster Blood had to be what they were after.
Bradley ordered it on my computer. So they think I have it.
And they’re desperate to get it back. Because … because it’s so dangerous!
I stared at the innocent little egg. I used to have Silly Putty that came in an egg like this.
So … why were those two men so eager to get it back?
What’s wrong with this stuff?
The plastic egg suddenly felt hot in my hand….
I set the Monster Blood egg down on my desk.
“Give it to me,” Bradley said. “I’m not going to wait. I’m going to take a taste right now. I’m serious. This is going to change my life.”
He shoved my shoulder. “And guess what, dude? This Monster Blood is going to win me Mr. Scotto’s Science Prize, too. Know what the Science Experiment is? ME!”
Bradley did a wild dance around my room, tossing his arms in the air and cheering for himself.
I had a heavy feeling in my stomach. I gazed at the green egg. “Bradley, I have to tell you about these two men,” I started. “They —”
Bradley stopped his crazy dance. “Don’t try to talk me out of it,” he said. “My mind is made up, Matt. This is the biggest thing I’ve ever done, and I know it’s going to be awesome.”
“But, Bradley, let me tell you —” I tried again.
“No. No way,” he said. He clamped a hand over my mouth to silence me. “I’m going to eat just enough Monster Blood to make me as big and strong as you. Read my lips. No one will ever call me Worm again.”
I pulled his hand off my face.
I should stop him, I told myself. Those two men in black said this stuff was really dangerous. Bradley is a creep. But I can’t let him eat something that might make him sick.
Yes, Bradley is a creep. A creep …
Suddenly, my mind returned to the past few days. All the close calls. Mr. Scotto’s broken windshield. Bradley getting us caught cheating on the math test … My wrecked laptop … Almost being suspended from school …
All because of Bradley.
A creep. A total creep.
I couldn’t help it. My anger came sweeping back. It flooded over me. Payback time, I told myself.
Bradley deserves it.
I grabbed the egg off my desk. I pulled off the top. And gazed at the bubbling green gook inside.
Then I raised the Monster Blood to Bradley. “Go ahead,” I said. “Slurp it up.”
Bradley’s face turned serious as he took the egg from me. He held it in one hand and raised it close to his face.
“It’s bubbling a lot,” he murmured. “Ha-ha. Listen. Hear that plop plop sound? Weird? Let’s see what it tastes like.”
He dipped his little finger into the green goo.
“Hey, it’s hot,” he said. “And real sticky. Look how it sticks to my finger.”
“Go crazy,” I said. “Taste it.”
“Say good-bye to the old Bradley,” he said. And he lifted his little finger to his mouth.
Bradley stuck out his tongue. He raised the little glob of Monster Blood to his mouth.
And I grabbed his arm and pulled it down. “No!” I cried.
“What are you doing?” Bradley said angrily. “Let go. What’s your problem, Matt?”
He tried to lift the Monster Blood to his mouth, but I held his arm away. “I can’t let you do it,” I said.
I changed my mind. I guess I have a conscience. I couldn’t do something that evil — even to Bradley.
“Let GO of me!” Bradley screamed. “You’re not the boss of me!”
That made me laugh. “Big baby!” I said. I grabbed his little finger and wiped the glob of Monster Blood off on his jeans. Then I grabbed the bottom part of the egg and clamped the top down on top of it.
I had to squeeze the lid on. The Monster Blood was rising up out of the egg.
“Give it to me!” Bradley swiped at the egg. But I swung it out of his reach. “It’s mine. I can do what I want with it,” he whined.
“Just shut up and listen to me,” I said. “Two men stopped me on the street. They said it was dangerous. They wanted it back.”
Bradley rolled his eyes. “Two men? Ha-ha,” he said. “Tell me another one.”
“I’m serious,” I said. “I can’t let you eat this stuff.”
“You’re a dirty liar!” Bradley shouted. He dove at me, grabbing for the plastic egg. I raised it out of his reach.
He tackled me to the floor and fell on top of me. He tried to wrestle me, but he was too skinny and light. “Give it to me! It’s mine! Give it to me!” he shouted.
I tucked the egg into my jeans pocket. Then I rolled on top of him and pinned his arms to the floor.
I held him down till he stopped squirming and shouting.
“Give up?” I said. “Come on, Bradley. You’re pinned. Say it. Give up?”
He groaned. “Okay. Okay. You’re crushing me!”
I climbed to my feet and helped him up. He groaned and rubbed his skinny arms. I don’t think I hurt him too bad.
“Are you going to give me the Monster Blood or not?” he asked.
“Not,” I said. I patted my jeans pocket. “I’m keeping it safe and sound.”
Bradley let out a cry and dove at me again. “Give it back to me, Matt! It’s mine!”
That’s when Livvy poked her head into the room. “What are you doing?” she cried. “I heard you all the way down the hall.”
Bradley let go of my jeans and backed away. “None of your business, Geek Nose,” he snarled.
“Huh?” Livvy’s face turned an angry red.
“Okay, no biggie. I’m outta here,” Bradley said, fists at his sides. “You keep the Monster Blood, Matt. Go ahead. You just don’t want me to be as big and popular as you are.”
“Bradley, you don’t get it,” I said. “You can’t eat something if you don’t know what it is.”
“No biggie,” Bradley said again. “You keep it. But I’m keeping the birdhouse project — and I’m gonna win with it!”
He shoved Livvy out of his way and stomped out of the room, muttering furiously to himself.
/>
“Whoa. What was that about?” Livvy said.
I pulled the egg out of my pocket and held it up to her. “It’s some stupid gunk Bradley ordered online. He wanted to eat some of it, but I wouldn’t let him.”
“Let me see,” Livvy said. She grabbed the egg and pulled it open. “Oh, sick,” she moaned.
I watched it bubble over the side of the egg. “It’s really gross,” I said.
Livvy pushed it to my nose. “Smell it. It’s totally pukey.”
“Yuck.” It smelled like moldy brussels sprouts. I hate brussels sprouts. I grabbed the egg from Livvy’s hand.
“Bradley really wanted to eat this stuff?” Livvy said.
I nodded. “He’s one sick dude.”
Livvy stared into the egg. “Yeah. Sick.” We both heard Mom calling from downstairs. Livvy turned and ran to the stairs.
I watched the Monster Blood bubble and pop. Did people really eat this stuff? Or was this one of Bradley’s crazy ideas?
I carried the egg to the window and peered down to the street. I thought maybe the two men in black might be hanging around outside. I could run out and hand them the Monster Blood.
But no. Two rabbits stood on the front lawn, up on their hind legs, frozen in headlights as a van rumbled past. No sign of the men in black.
“Whoa!” I felt the Monster Blood drip onto my hand.
I looked down. The green goo had bubbled up over the side of the egg. It poured onto my palm and began spreading to my fingers.
I dropped the egg onto my dresser. But a big blob of Monster Blood clung to my hand. It oozed over my fingers, hot and sticky. I struggled to pull it off, but it clung tightly. The putrid smell was making me sick!
What if I can’t pry it off? I thought. What if it just keeps growing on me?
Finally, I pried the sticky stuff up and rolled it into a bubbling ball. I turned to my dresser to stuff it back into the egg.
“Whoa!” I let out a cry when I saw the green gunk pouring over the side of the dresser — into one of my ivy plants.
I glanced frantically around the room. I had to find something to hold this disgusting stuff!
My eyes stopped at something on my bottom bookshelf. Something that might be big enough and strong enough to hold the Monster Blood until I could get rid of it.