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while stuffing long
strands of spaghetti into my mouth. "Vic and his posse chased me home on
their scooters again, and I was almost to the hedgerow by our house but my
shoelace came untied, and I ran out of my shoe and tripped right in front of
the house next door. They surrounded me and grabbed my backpack and stole my snack
money and then they said something about Dad, and I tried to punch Vic but he
punched me in the gut instead, and they started pounding me, and I got really mad,
and I threw my fists out at them like this"—I demonstrated—"and they just
went flying way down the sidewalk. Their scooters were all bent up and ruined.
I think I'm like the Hulk."
    "The
Hulk?"
    "Yeah,
he's a nice guy until he gets mad, then he turns into the Hulk with superpowers."
    "You
beat up four bigger boys?"
    "Yep."
    I
swallowed and looked up. Mom and Scarlett were staring at me.
    "You're
right, Max," Scarlett said.
    "That
I have superpowers like the Hulk?"
    "That
we don't believe you."
    "It's
the truth."
    "Liar."
    "I'm
not a liar!"
    "No.
That's my word." She put down four letters. "L-I-A-R. Four
points."
    Mom looked real concerned. "Max, the therapist said if you didn't talk about the anger,
you could explode. That's not good for you."
    "It
was good for me today. Mom, beating up the bullies, that was way better than
seeing that therapist."
    "Max,
violence never solves anything."
    She
had never been bullied.
    "It
solved a big problem today. Besides, Dad told me he had fights growing
up."
    Mom smiled. "He was an Irish boy trying to survive South Boston."
    "I'm
trying to survive fourth grade."
    Scarlett
won again, and we finished dinner. I put my dishes in the sink then headed
upstairs but turned back to tell Mom that I was just going to the bathroom and
would be back down to wash the dishes. I was almost to the kitchen door when I
heard Mom and Scarlett whispering like they always did now whenever they were
talking about me or Maddy. So I listened at the door like the time Mom talked to Scarlett about the facts of life, which grossed me out so much I could only listen
for an hour.
    "He
sleeps with his teddy bear," Scarlett said.
    Dang,
she ratted me out.
    "I
know," Mom said.
    She
knew? Is there anything moms don't know?
    "The
therapist said his world's been turned upside down, that he needs a sense of
security, something that makes him feel safe."
    "He's
sleeping with his teddy, and Maddy's sleeping with you."
    "And
what about you, Scarlett?"
    "I
don't sleep."
    I
could tell they were hugging like girls do, and I heard Scarlett's sniffles.
    "Are
you okay?" Mom asked her.
    "Let's
talk about Max. Saying he beat up four bigger kids, Mom, that's not
good."
    "His
dad is his hero," Mom said. "He's trying to be like his dad."
    "Mom, pretending he's the Hulk and has superpowers? I'm worried about the little guy."
    But
I wasn't pretending. I did have superpowers.

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four
    "Superpowers?"
Sunny said the next day as we walked to the cafeteria.
    "Yep."
    "You
hit them, and they all went flying?" Dee said.
    "Yep."
    "And
bent their scooters like pretzels?" Eddie said.
    "Yep."
    "Are
you making this up?" Sunny asked.
    "Nope."
    Vic
and his gang were sitting at their usual table, but they didn't trip us when we
entered the cafeteria. They turned and stared at me—but their eyes were different
today. They weren't so cocky now. But I was. I took a step toward them,
threw my fists out at them, and yelled, "Aaah!"
    They
jumped back and covered their faces. When they realized nothing had happened,
they dropped their hands. But they were nervous. I pulled my fists back then
struck a Hulk muscleman pose. Okay, I was enjoying myself. I turned and walked
over to the food line.
    "Wow,"
Eddie said.
    "That
was interesting," Sunny said.
    "Max,
what's going on?" Dee said.
    "I
don't know, but I like it."
    I
smiled.
    You
couldn't slap the smile off my face that day.
    It's
funny how having superpowers changes your view of the world. You're not afraid
of