A mile marker later, Jimmy provoked the old man by saying, “You want to drive the television van back because you’re afraid of the horse power in this baby. Got you too spooked to drive it.” Chief scoffed, “Huh.” Jimmy floored the gas pedal. RPM dial arced. Feeling G Forces, Chief reached for the dashboard. Jimmy grinned.
*****
That red-striped face appeared. They saw each other through the intermittent gaps of the moving train. Click, clack, click, clack... Iggy pulled a gun and aimed straight at where he could see a man’s silhouette in headlights shine on the other side of the tracks. Jimmy realized he was being aimed at. The gun fired.
*****
“For this sponsor, I always crack open a fortune cookie here.” Cracking was audible. With a crunch from a bite, Ben reported, “And uh, its message inside reads: Welcome an opportunity to travel, and do good work wherever life takes you.”
*****
Caped Super Rooney postured triumphantly with an exclamation, “Look out! Look who’s here. Commander Blast Off! Super Secret Agent in the Stratosphere.” The kids responded with fascination. “Blast off, back again! Wow.” The wanna-be superhero looked at Joey and asked, “What’s the best stoo?”
Joey said, “Beef stew.”
Rooney said, “No, it’s stupendous.” He struck a pose and proudly advised, “Never be the stoo in stupid. Always be the stoo in stupendous.” April laughed with a hand clap. Giving two comic books to each child, Rooney said, “Read, readers. . . .”
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