Read Kung Fooey for Free Online Page B

‘space cushion.’ ”
    I looked up. “See?”
    Stella grinned. “You remember that yourself, Stump … next time you give me a lollipop with ants in it.”
    “Uh—”
    Saved by the blast of a car horn.

    “Clarence!” Stella scrambled out of the skiff.
    We both ran up the yard toward the house.
    Clarence was waiting in the car, his arm hanging out the open window. “You ready?”
    “As I’ll ever be,” Stella said. “Let’s go.”
    “Hey, your booklet.” I held it up.
    “Keep it. Maybe when you’re fifty they’ll let you drive.”
    “Hardy-har.”
    Clarence flicked his eyebrows at me, Hey.
    I lifted my chin.
    Before Stella got in the car she glanced back at me. “Space cushion. I’ll never forget it. Thanks.”
    “Yeah … and sorry about the ants.”
    “That’s okay, Stump. It wasn’t that much of a surprise.”
    “It wasn’t?”
    “You expect stuff like that from a moron.”
    Stella winked and got in the car.

A couple hours later, I was tossing around a football with Willy and Julio when Clarence’s big pink car came cruising down the street. Willy and Julio jumped to the side of the road. Stella was driving.
    I stayed out in the street.
    Stella pulled up next to me and stopped.
    We crowded around the window.
    “So?” I asked.
    Stella flashed her brand-new driver’s license and a grin that said, Dang it, I did it!
    I took the license. Her picture was pretty good. Better than Mom’s. “Someday I’ll get one of these, too. Is it hard to drive?”
    “If I can do it, you can do it.… No, wait … that’s not right.… I forgot you’re a moron.”
    Stella snatched back her license. “But you could probably get a bicycle license.”
    She drove away with a toot of the horn. Before she got ten feet the radio came on.

    Boooom. Boooom. Boooom
.
    Willy, Julio, and I danced to the beat, grinning like idiots.

    We played football in the street until Mom came home. It was starting to get dark by then.
    She waved when she drove by.
    “Gotta go,” I said, and tossed Julio his football.
    Julio caught it one-handed. “Me and Willy might watch Stella drive you to school on Monday.”
    “Want a lift?”
    Julio grinned. “Not in this life.”
    When I got home, Clarence was squatting down by his car, petting Streak.
    “What are you doing?” I asked. “Where’s Stella?”
    “Which one you like me to answer?”
    I squatted next to him and scratched Streak’s chin. “She’s got fleas.”
    “Who? Stella?”
    I laughed. Funny!
    “Hey,” I said. “Can I ask you a question?”
    “Shoot.”
    “So … uh, well … you got any, you know, like really weird kids in your class?”
    Clarence was a senior at Kailua High School. He was bound to know at least one.
    Clarence chuckled. “Couple, three. Why?”
    I shrugged. “What does
lead foot
mean? My friend Julio said Stella had one.”
    “Ho, you have a strange way of asking questions, you know?”
    “Sorry.”
    Clarence stood. “Let’s see. Lead foot could be couple things. Your friend prob’ly said that because she drives liddle bit fast, ah?” He grinned. “Heavy foot on the pedal.”
    “Ah.” That made sense. Lead was heavy.
    “Also it could mean you dragging your feet. You know, slow, taking your time, not moving fast. You could say you got a lead foot that way, too.”
    I nodded. That made sense, too.
    “Why you asked about weird kids?”
    Streak rolled over for me to rub her belly. “Well … at my school? We got this new guy. From Hilo. I’ve never seen anyone like him. I mean, he tells weird stories, eats bugs, has one-word days, and knows kung fu … but really doesn’t … I mean, know kung fu, he just said he did … and then he got in a fight and ran away.” I frowned and scratched the back of my head. “Now he’s got Tito on his back.”
    “Who’s Tito?”
    “A sixth grader who likes to push us around.”
    Clarence thought for a moment. “This Tito messes with you?”
    “Sometimes.”
    “You