Chapter Ten: The gorilla photographer
When Nikki awoke she was sweating. Not because she was sick, but because it was really hot in her room, and she was under the covers. The sun was streaming through the window next to her bed. What time is it? she wondered. She looked at the clock on the bedside table: two o’clock in the afternoon.
She ripped off her comforter and sighed as air, albeit hot air, rushed over her arms and legs. She heard heavy breathing and saw that Mr. Miyagi had decided to join her for an afternoon nap—he was curled up on the rug next to her bed.
Her stomach hurt, not because she was still sick from the morning’s events, but because she was famished. Having not eaten breakfast, or lunch for that matter, her tummy was angry with her and growled and groaned, causing a dull ache in her gut.
Nikki slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb her peaceful-looking dog, and dragged herself downstairs, where her mom was in the midst of baking something. The aroma filled the entire downstairs and as soon as it hit Nikki’s nostrils she began craving the source of the wonderful smell. There was no doubt in her mind: it was apple pie!
When she entered the kitchen, her mom asked, “Are you feeling any better, honey?”
Nikki nodded, “A little bit, thanks, Mom. What are you baking?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
“I’ve already baked one apple pie and I have another in the oven,” she answered. “Farmer Miller brought apples over today, freshly picked from his orchard. Considering your stomach issues, I think you better wait a couple of days before having any though. You should just stick with chicken soup and Jell-O for now.”
A look of terror crossed Nikki’s face. “Please, please, Mom. I swear I am well now, it was just a quick stomach thing and I am completely fine, I promise!”
“Hmmm,” her mom mused. “Well, I suppose we can try giving you a small piece and if you can keep that down we can try a bigger one. But I want you to eat some chicken soup too. Deal?”
A big smile spread across Nikki’s face. “Sure, Mom, can I have the pie now?” she asked, rubbing her hands together. Her mom cut her a thin slice that Nikki thought was ridiculously small, but she didn’t argue. She was happy to get any at all. She devoured it in seconds and slurped up the soup her mom had prepared.
An hour later, when she had proven that her stomach could handle solid food, her mom allowed her to have a normal-sized piece of pie. She devoured the sweet treat and then lay on the couch to watch TV. The third Spiderman movie was playing, starring Toby McGuire. She watched him make mistakes and occasionally screw things up, but eventually save the day in the end, a true hero.
She thought about her own mistakes and realized that although she had been very careless with her powers, she had never intended to hurt anyone. Having good intentions—that is important, she thought. As long as she intended to do good, and was more careful in the future, maybe she could still be a superhero.
Nikki’s mom walked into the room. “Are you feeling any better, honey?” she asked.
“I think so,” Nikki replied. She considered whether to open up to her mother. Her mom had always been honest with her and she usually felt better when she talked to her. She decided to give it a try. “I have just been feeling a bit sad lately.”
“Aww, honey. What’s eating you?”
“Do you think I’m a good person?”
Mrs. Nickerson’s brow furrowed. “Now why would you ask a silly question like that?”
“Well, sometimes I want to do the right thing, but when I try to do it everything turns out all wrong.”
“It might be easier for me to help if you could give me an example,” her mom said.
“I don’t really have one.”
“Okay, I’ll do my best with just your general question. You asked if I think you’re a good person and my answer is that I think you are one of the best people I know. Let me give you an example. If Spencer asked you for help with his homework, wouldn’t you help him?”
Nikki thought about this for a moment and then replied, “Yes, but Spencer never asks for help with his homework!”
Nikki’s mom laughed. “Good point, bad example. But you would help him if he asked, that’s the important thing. Let me see if I can come up with a better example. Ahh, I’ve got it. Remember when Grandpa Bernard needed help with his yard?”
Nikki’s eyes lit up. “Yeah! After Grandma died, he had trouble keeping it pretty. So I helped him pull out all the weeds and spread the mulch.” Nikki’s eyes clouded. “Do you miss Grandpa, Mom?”
She nodded.
“Me, too,” Nikki said. Memories flooded Nikki’s mind. Her grandpa had been one of the most important people in her life, almost like a mentor. He lived in Cragglyville his entire life and had served on the police force for more than forty years. Sometimes he would let her ride in his police car, and he would stop to buy her candies from the corner store. If she asked, he would tell her stories about his life. His father, her great-grandfather, had been one of the original town planners for Cragglyville. Grandpa Bernard used to say, “You look just like my father, Francis Nickerson, God bless his soul. You are a lot like him too, Nikki. He was brave, a good man. He would be very proud to have you as his great-granddaughter.”
Nikki smiled at the memories.
“What?” her mom asked.
“I was just thinking about Grandpa.”
Mrs. Nickerson nodded. “He would have said you are a good person, too.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Nikki glanced toward the TV and noticed that it was still on, but that she had turned the volume to mute. The news had come on and the top story was a strange one. The live picture showed a gorilla jumping up and down on the steps outside Town Hall. Every couple of seconds, the beast would stomp one of its feet and the stone steps would smash and crumble into pieces from the force. Nikki was about to ask her mom where the gorilla could have come from, when the camera zoomed in on the animal’s face.
“Heyyy, that’s not a real gorilla,” Nikki said.
“No, it appears to be someone dressed up like one. That is really sad that someone would do that. Those steps are a hundred years old and considered to be a historic landmark. Do you remember whose name is on them?”
Nikki thought hard and then it hit her. “Great-Grandpa Francis!” she yelped.
“That’s right. As one of the twelve town planners, his name is carved into the steps of Town Hall.”
Nikki remembered what her mom had said about Grandpa Bernard: He would have said you were a good person, too. Now was her chance to prove it.
She said, “Mom, I’m going to go outside to play for a while.”
“Are you sure you feel well enough?”
“Yes, I’m okay now.”
“Okay, sweetie. Be careful and come home in time for dinner.”
“I will, Mom.” Before leaving the house, she darted down the steps to the basement. There was a large storage closet where the Nickerson’s kept holiday decorations and other items that were only used at particular times during the year. It was also where they kept old Halloween costumes. Nikki rummaged through the box marked “Ghosts ‘n Things,” and found what she was looking for—what she liked to call her Old Man Mask. The mask was in the form of a wrinkly, warty, hairy, old man’s face. Nikki had worn the mask for Halloween a year earlier. Now, it would hide her true identity just in case someone saw her using her superpowers.
She donned the mask and opened her treasure chest, quickly slipping on her sky blue flying gloves, so she could get into town quickly. She raced out the basement door and into the sunshine. Once she was sure no one was looking, Nikki took off into the air and flew in the direction of Town Hall. The wind whipped through her hair as she flew. The sun warmed her face underneath the mask. In less than a minute she could see the building. A crowd was gathering to watch the chaos on the steps. The gorilla-imposter continued its destructive dance and Nikki could see that more than half the steps ha
d been smashed to bits. Police had cordoned off the area, but seemed hesitant to approach the lunatic. She had to do something.
Just when Nikki was considering diving toward the hairy vandal, the beast cocked its head upwards and looked at her. Undaunted, she raced toward it, landing a few paces away.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked.
Instead of answering her, the gorilla placed a hand into a hidden pocket and pulled out a small, metal rectangle. “It has a gun!” someone yelled from the crowd. But Nikki could tell that it wasn’t a gun. It was just a camera. The beast pointed it at Nikki, and with a blinding flash, snapped a photo of her. Less than a second later, the person in the gorilla suit vanished into thin air.