Maniac Monkeys on Magnolia Street & When Mules Flew on Magnolia Street (6 page)

Lump looked at me.

I said, “Don't pay any attention to that creature on the bike. He's just this kid who climbs in our house through a window now and then and eats up all our food. My parents feel sorry for him, so they let him stay. We figure he'll go away on his own after a while and catch up with
his real family. He says he's related to us, but I think that's just to get birthday presents and things.”

Sid crossed his eyes, parked his bike, and went into the house.

I smiled at Billy and Lump.

A windy day just blows in all kinds of things to do.

Soon me, Billy, and Lump were chasing runaway belongings from all the neighbors down the sidewalks and into all the yards.

Billy decided that it would be fun to wear everything we found. Lump grabbed the first thing that blew by him.

In a few minutes, I was wearing a straw hat with fruit and a horn on top of it and Billy was wearing an apron that said
KISS THE COOK
.

The strangest outfit of all, though, was Lump's. He was wrapped in a baby blanket and had a green plastic bucket on top of his head.
We marched down Magnolia Street. It was just us and the wind.

Miss Marcia waved to us and called, “Got time to visit?”

We ran up her sidewalk and sat on the steps. She was covered in yellow paint.

I said, “This is our new friend, Lump.”

Miss Marcia stopped painting a big piece of plywood.

“Nice to meet you, Lump. Windy, isn't it?” Then she pointed to the marshmallow brownies on the table and talked about trains and her flower garden and how she hoped the wind wouldn't blow it away.

When we'd eaten most of the brownies, we thanked Miss Marcia and marched back down the walk.

Lump said, “I like her. She didn't even ask me my real name like most grownups do. She didn't say anything about our clothes, either.”

Billy said, “Yeah, she's okay. She's not nosy, and she thinks 'most anything we do is funny.”

Lump smiled back at Miss Marcia, who was painting up a storm. He started running down the sidewalk, blanket blowing. Billy and I took off after him.

The wind began to get stronger. We ran up and down the street a few times, but ended up in front of my house.

We lay down in front of the tree and listened to the wind again.

Suddenly Lump stood up.

He said, “If you want to go somewhere you've always wanted to go, all you have to do is spin around three times, put your arms out like you're flying, close your eyes, and there you'll be.”

So me, Billy, and Lump sailed on past the ocean.

But the whole time, if we looked out the
corner of our eyes, we could spot the willows that welcome you to Magnolia Street and Miss Marcia's house and Mr. Pinkton's roses. Once, I could even see Sid's bike as a dolphin racing past us in our sailboat. A few times me, Billy, and Lump even caught sight of the tree branches we sailed away in.

Mom came out and snapped an instant picture of us in the tree.

We sailed until the sun started to go down and we all got called in to eat.

We ran up and down the street returning the windy day stuff back to where we thought it belonged, then we said good night to each other and went home.

It came to me now just as I was about to fall asleep that Lump had been looking for us when we first met him. Now he was here with me and Billy, and it's like we've been together forever.

I looked at the picture of us all in the tree. I think it may be a good idea to put the picture Mom took of us into the pumpkin box. Maybe we'll find more things for it later.

I hope I have nice dreams of Billy, Lump, and me on Magnolia Street and hope the wind always brings us wonderful things.

CHAPTER ONE
We Go Fishing

CHAPTER TWO
A Mystery (Where're the Carters?)

CHAPTER THREE
Magic

CHAPTER FOUR
A Friend

CHAPTER FIVE
Billy's Letter from Camp

CHAPTER SIX
A Letter from Lump

CHAPTER SEVEN
When Mules Flew on Magnolia Street

chool is out for summer! So today is the first summer-vacation fishing trip for me and my two best friends, Lump and Billy. And here is what I'm taking:

I don't think it's too much to take with me, even though Mom said something about how huge my backpack is. We love to fish, even though we're not very good at it.

The fish like us 'cause they love the cheese we put on our hooks.

I could fish all day long. My big brother, Sid, says he doesn't know why we don't just throw the cheese in the water with bread so the fish can make themselves sandwiches. He says we're feeding them, not fishing for them.…

The sun came up a few minutes ago, and I'm done packing. Mom wasn't looking too good, though. She was all huddled over her cup of coffee and she wasn't smiling like she usually does in the morning.

I looked at her feet.

“Mom, are you going to drive us fishing in your bunny slippers?”

She looked down and stared at her slippers
like she didn't know how the bunnies got on her feet. The bunnies were a birthday gift from me to her. Mom always wears them. She says they're better than pets because they don't shed fur on the sofa and they don't eat out of the garbage can.

My mom is a little different from most people. I like her a lot.

“Well, I think the girls won't mind driving you and the boys to the fishing hole. They've combed their ears and brushed their noses.”

“Huh?” I said.

“The bunnies are going. Do you think Lump and Billy will like them?”

“Lump and Billy won't mind. Billy's mom wears a hat with a propeller, and Lump's uncle always wears yellow Hawaiian shirts.”

“Wow,” Mom said.

“Yeah, they all dress pretty cool.”

“Well, I'm glad you think the bunny girls are cool clothing.”

“Hey, I wouldn't have gotten them for you otherwise.”

Just as Mom went to look for her car keys, Lump and Billy fell into the kitchen.

Lump asked, “Are you ready to go fishing?”

“We're ready and waiting,” Billy called out to anybody in the room who might have been listening.

We sang a fishing song till Mom dropped us off on the side of the road and waved good-bye.