Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja (a hilarious adventure for children ages 9-12) (6 page)

Friday. 10:35 AM. Gym class.

I wasn’t sure what to do in gym. Zoe had already gathered
with her group of friends, which included Emily. They stood just outside the
girl’s locker room, gossiping and talking loudly to one another.

I was on the other side of the gymnasium, standing alone
until
Brayden
joined me.

“Where’s Zoe?” he asked.

I nodded my head in her direction.

“Oh,” he said. “I heard you guys arguing in art class.”

Staring at the floor, I made sure not to make eye contact.
The fact that he heard us talking meant he might have heard about Emily’s
purse. “What did you hear us say?”

“
Everything
,” he sighed.

I took a breath and continued studying the gymnasium floor.

“Kind of shady to steal a girl’s purse like that,”
Brayden
said. “Kind of
shadier
to put that pressure
on a family member.”

I feigned a large smile. “
Thaaaaaanks
.
I’ll be sure to remember that next time.”

“Told you those were the bad guys,”
Brayden
said.

Would this kid just shut up already? “Look, I’m not arguing
with you here.
Alright
? Would you mind walking away?”

Brayden
chuckled as he shook his big
dumb head. Finally he pushed himself off the wall and started walking toward
the gymnasium doors.

I let everyone filter out before exiting. I didn’t feel like
having anyone walk behind me.

When I reached the track, I waited until the coast was clear
before entering the ninja’s secret hideout. Wyatt was already there in full
uniform, as were most of the other ninjas. It was strange because they were all
lined in a circle. At the center of the circle was a ninja uniform, tightly
folded and resting on a small wooden table.

“Welcome, brother,” Wyatt’s voice said from beneath his
mask. “You’re one of us now.”

I won’t lie to you – all the guilt I had felt earlier
disappeared
.
The sun was pouring in from overhead, slipping through the leaves of trees. The
ground twinkled from specks of water left behind from the morning dew and moist
air, like diamonds sprinkled around the hideout. The rays of light fell upon
the ninja uniform as if God himself had blessed the cotton it was made from. I
scratched at my eyebrow, careful to hide a tear that had formed in the side of
my eye.

Wyatt put his arm around me. “There’s a spot behind those
trees for you to change your clothes. Be quick, brother. We have an important
task for you when you’re ready.”

It was everything I could do to keep from squealing like my
sister on Christmas. I did my best to answer calmly, but it only came out in a
rapid slur. “
SureI’llberightback
!
”

The ninja costume fit like a glove, I tell you. It was like
a finely tailored suit that a rich gentlemen would special order from Europe.
When I emerged from the tree, many of my ninja brothers and sisters gasped and
clapped softly. I made the outfit look
good
.
Or scary.
It might’ve been because my overly skinny
body made it look
like I was the grim reaper. Whatever though – strike fear into my
enemies, right?

Another ninja to the left of me whipped out a couple bags of
Oreos, and we continued our celebration with cookies. I don’t even care how
silly that sounds – ninjas and cookies are two of the most
awesome
things on the planet. Of course they’d go great together!

Wyatt sat by my side with a mouthful of cookie. He chewed it
sloppily like a dog. “I’m thankful that you’ve chosen to become a member of my
clan.”

“Are there other clans?” I asked.

“No,” Wyatt said. “Are you ready for the task we’ve
specifically chosen for you?”

I set my Oreos down on the little table. My first job as a
ninja, and in a real ninja uniform –
of course
I was ready! “Yes,
tell me what I must do.”

Wyatt paused. “Are you sure? You wear the uniform now so you
can’t reject any kind of duty you’re given.”

For a second, I imagined he said “
doodie
,”
and I laughed. “No, I won’t reject anything. Whatever you want from me,
consider
it done.”

Wyatt nodded, and made a “
tch
tch
” sound with his cheek. Immediately, one of the other
members of the clan tossed a backpack to the ground in front of me. It was
bright red with speckled straps.

I studied it for a moment. I had seen a backpack like this
before, but where? And then it hit me – I saw the same bag sitting by
Zoe’s desk earlier in the week. This was
Zoe’s
backpack.

“Why do you have that?” I asked.

Wyatt shook his head. “Members of my clan don’t ask
questions when they’re given a task, and yours is simple. All you have to do is
take this bag to the front office.”

“Sneak it in there? You want me to walk through the school
wearing this ninja uniform?”

“No,” Wyatt said. “That’s why it’ll be easy. After gym,
you’ll change into your normal street clothes and simply take this bag to the
front desk. You’ll deliver it to the principal, and tell them that you found it
under a bush outside.”

I looked at Zoe’s backpack. Could it have been a
coincidence? Could this just be the same bag that she has? As I scanned the
side of it, I saw her name scribbled on the plastic shield, complete with the
smiley face in the “o.” This was definitely her bag.

“What’s inside?” I asked.

“Vengeance,” Wyatt said.

“Vengeance? For what?”

Wyatt pulled his mask back and revealed his face.
A face that was filled with anger.
“She
rejected
our
offer, and embarrassed me in front of my clan. That
cannot
go
unpunished.
Enough
questions. As a member of this clan, you must deliver
this bag to the office and say nothing else of it. Do you understand?”

Reluctantly, I nodded.

“Do
not
open this bag, or you will suffer the same
fate as your cousin,” Wyatt warned.

There was that same sick feeling in my gut. I almost felt
like barfing.

11:25 AM.
Between gym class and lunch.

I waited until everyone in gym had returned to the locker
rooms before I stepped out of the woods. The other ninjas had changed clothes
and returned with the rest of the class. Mr. Cooper wasn’t too attentive so the
fact that I wasn’t with them slid past him pretty easily.

With Zoe’s backpack slung over my shoulder, I started hiking
across the track and field. If I went in through the gymnasium doors, I was
sure to get caught so I decided to walk around the school to where the front
offices were.

The bag was heavy on my back.
Heavier than
a normal bag should be anyway.
I imagined she had all her textbooks in
it, but I knew that wasn’t the truth. Why would Wyatt call it “vengeance” if I
were simply delivering an item to the lost and found?

My stomach curdled once more, and I couldn’t take it. Zoe
was my cousin, and even though she hurt my feelings, she was
still
family. I’ve already betrayed her once, and I didn’t want to do it again.

I set the bag on the sidewalk and stared at it. I didn’t
want to see what was inside, partially because whatever was in there was there
because I’m an
idiot
. It’s
my
fault that Zoe was in this mess,
and I was prepared to do whatever it took to get her out of it.

My hand shook as I gripped the zipper. The cold piece of metal
stung from pinching it too tightly. I clenched my jaw and decided to treat the
bag like a
bandaid
– rip it open and get it
over quickly.

I jerked my hand into the air, unzipping Zoe’s red backpack.
The bag lifted off the ground and flipped upside-down. As it landed, hundreds
of coins rolled out as lumps of cash fell to the pavement.

“Oh no,” I whispered. My knees betrayed me, and I fell to
the ground, staring at all the money that spilled from the red bag.

There was a yellow sheet of paper sticking out from under
the coins. I could only read part of it, but I knew what it said. When I yanked
it free, I found that I was right.

“Student Hunger Drive, Money Donations,”
was printed in bold black ink on
the yellow paper.

The food drive money that was found missing this morning had
somehow reached its way into Zoe’s backpack. The ninjas had stolen it and were
planning on framing her.

This was bad. Not
just
bad, but
epic
bad.
Like “
end of the world
” bad.
Zoe wouldn’t just get a
slap on the wrist for something like this – she would get expelled and
then it would be on her permanent record. Her parents would ground her for the
rest of her life! My parents would never let us hang out together again! She’ll
probably grow old and die alone because of the contents of this backpack!

I couldn’t take it to the office! Not even if I told them
the truth because c’mon, a ninja clan in the woods wants to frame a sixth grade
girl because she refused to join? I just
lived
through it, and even
I
don’t believe that tale!

I scooped the loose change and clumps of paper money back
into Zoe’s backpack, and then I remembered that
Brayden
said it was nearly three grand that was stolen. If you’ve never held three
grand in a backpack, let me tell you right now that it’s not very light.

Paranoid, I made sure nobody was outside watching me. If
Wyatt was able to steal all this money from the front office, he could easily
be spying on me right at that moment.