The Great White Flash (Part 2)
“EVERYBODY STAY at their desks, and nobody move. If all of you listen to what we are telling you, no one will get hurt. We are just here for the money. We will be gone in a minute,” he said.
I had always figured that I would be as scared as lost puppy in a dark field on a cold winter’s night if a burglar ever broke into my home or classroom. But instead of getting scared, I got good and angry. All I could think about was that I was not going to get my ice cream sundae if these two goobers in ski masks stole our coins.
Before I knew it, the big metal cart was filled to the brim with all of my class’s precious coins, and the two goobers were wheeling the cart out the back door of our classroom. Ms. Glasscow told all of us to stay calm and not to move, because the police were on their way. But I just couldn’t help myself. I hopped up onto one of the empty desks, and looked out the back window of our classroom, helplessly watching as the two goobers rolled the big metal cart across the blacktop, toward the parking lot, where their getaway truck was parked.
The police will never get here in time. I have to stop them before they load the coins into their truck and get away.
I hopped down from the desk, and used my butt to push open the back door.
“Jasper, you get back here right now. Do not chase after them. The police are on their way!” yelled Ms. Glasscow.
I knew that she was angry too, because her face was red, and it looked like big fat tears would start gushing down her cheeks at any moment.
Little Brandy from the back row was looking at me too, with tears in her eyes, surely thinking about the ice cream sundae that she would not get unless I was able to rescue our cart full of coins.
“Go get ’em Flash. Hurry, before they get away!” yelped little Brandy.
Before I had time to think about it any longer, I was off, flying across the blacktop as fast as my two feet would carry me. I was running so fast that the wind made my cheeks jiggle and my eyes burn. Then I started smelling smoke. I looked down at the ground, and saw that smoke was coming off my new Converse shoes. When I turned around for just a second, I saw a skinny trail of fire leading from my feet, all the way back to the classroom.
I was closing in on the two goobers so fast, that if I didn’t slow down, I might have chopped them into tiny little pieces once I hit them. Then I heard a loud noise behind me. I quickly glanced back, and saw that all of the students from my class were standing on the blacktop clapping their hands and cheering for me to catch the thieves. Then they all started chanting at the same time. GO FLASH GO FLASH GO FLASH!!
The two goobers saw all of the commotion, then turned around and finally saw me coming at them.
“Well, what do we have here? A little boy with no arms thinks that he’s going to save the day. Listen kid, why don’t you turn around and crawl back to your classroom before you get hurt,” said the tall goober.
It wasn’t bothering me so much that the two goobers were teasing me about not having any arms. I am used to that. I just couldn’t get over the fact that they had the nerve to barge into our quiet little classroom and steal all of our hard earned coins.
Then one of the goobers said, “Hey kid, shouldn’t you be wearing a hat or something. You’re so white, you look like a frozen milkshake.”
I started backing up slowly, one step at a time, not taking my eyes off of either of them. I stopped, put my head down, then charged straight for the first goober. Before I knew it, I was flying through the air, feet first, with the soles of my shoes getting ready to pummel his face. My left leg wrapped around his neck, while my right leg flung itself across the front of his chest. Then we were down on the ground, as I wrestled him with my legs. He tried to escape, but my legs were just too strong. I wrapped my right leg around his throat and pulled hard, and within 10 seconds, he passed out from exhaustion.
That’s when I saw that goober #2 was making a run for it. Apparently, he thought that he could out run me, but he was wrong. I sprinted after him, and within five seconds, I had hopped onto his back like a crazy frog, wrapping both of my legs around his stomach. I flung him to the ground with a sudden thrust, and heard him go UMPPHH! when his tummy slammed on the ground. I rolled him over onto his stomach, sat on his back, and pushed his face into the ground with my right foot.
“The police will be here in a minute, tough guy, so don’t even think about trying to get up,” I said.
He must have known that I meant business, because he was more still than a fat old lizard lying on a hot rock under the bright desert sun.
***
I told my parents and the teachers at school to not make a big deal about what I had done. But sometimes, adults just can’t help themselves. They declared June 1 at our school to forever be “Jasper Day,” a day when all of the kids at school would get a great big ice cream sundae to celebrate what I had done to the two goobers.
The people from the news station came out to interview me for TV. My mom made sure that I had plenty of gel in my hair that day, so that the cow lick at the back of my head was not sticking straight up. The news reporter was a nice enough lady, but she kept looking at me with an exaggerated smile and great big eyes, nodding her head up-and-down like a bobble head doll. She asked me how I had found the courage to catch the two burglars and re-capture the coins for our school. She also asked me how I had the strength to chase down two grown men, without having any arms.
I simply told the news reporter lady that I had never let my lack of arms stop me, and that I would do it all over again if I had to.
J.S. Lender’s new book “They Are Here Now (Short Tales)” is available in paperback on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/They-Are-Here-Now-Short/dp/1708895272
