Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend (32 page)

Oswald starts to ask questions as soon as we step outside.

‘What is that little box at the end of the driveway?’ he asks.

‘The mailbox,’ I say.

‘What’s a mailbox?’ he asks.

I stop and turn. ‘If we do not catch that bus, we can’t save Max. You can ask me as many questions as you want once we are on that bus, but we have to run as fast as we can right now if we are going to catch it. Okay?’

‘Okay,’ Oswald says and he starts to run. He is a giant but he can run fast. I can barely keep up with him.

The bus passes us when we are two driveways away from the Savoys’ house. I am sure that we will never make it to the bus stop in time. But there are three Savoy boys and a first-grade girl named Patty who all get on the bus at this stop, so they might slow down the bus driver a little while they climb aboard. Probably not enough, but there is a chance.

Then I see our chance. As Jerry Savoy is getting ready to step onto the bus, his big brother, Henry, knocks the books out of Jerry’s hands and laughs. The books fall to the ground in front of the steps, and one book tumbles under the bus. Jerry has to bend over to collect them, and he has to get on his hands and knees to reach the book that landed under the bus. Henry Savoy is a big, mean jerk, but today he has done me a favor. Henry doesn’t know it, and Jerry doesn’t know it, but they may have just saved Max. We reach the Savoys’ bus stop just in time to squeeze through the door behind Patty.

Ten seconds later and the bus would have already been moving.

I try to catch my breath as I point Oswald to the seat where Max and I usually sit.

‘Why do kids ride buses?’ Oswald asks. ‘Why don’t their moms just drive them to school?’

‘I don’t know,’ I say. ‘Maybe some people don’t have cars.’

‘I’ve never ridden on a bus before.’

‘I know,’ I say. ‘How do you like it?’

‘It’s not as exciting as I thought it would be.’

‘Thanks for running so fast.’

‘I want to save Max,’ Oswald says.

‘You do?’

‘Yeah.’

‘Why?’ I ask. ‘You don’t even know him.’

‘He is the bravest boy in the world. You said so. He pooped on Tommy Swinden’s head and goes to school every day even though no one likes him. We have to save Max.’

Listening to Oswald say these words makes me feel warm inside. This must be how Mrs Gosk feels when she tells a story that becomes a part of her students.

‘Except how are we going to save Max?’ Oswald asks. ‘You didn’t tell me that yet.’

I decide it is time. I spend the next ten minutes telling Oswald everything I know about Mrs Patterson.

‘You’re right,’ Oswald says when I am finished. ‘She is the devil. She is a little-boy-stealing devil.’

‘Yes,’ I say. ‘But you know what? I don’t think Mrs Patterson knows that she is the devil. She thinks that Max’s parents are the devils. She thinks that what she is doing is right. I still don’t like her, but it makes me hate her a little less.’

‘Maybe we are all somebody’s devil,’ Oswald says. ‘Maybe even me and you.’

As he says these last four words, I notice for the first time that I can see the houses and the last few brightly colored leaves flashing by the windows as the bus moves down the street.

I can see the trees flashing by
through him
.

Oswald is fading away.

It makes no sense. What are the chances that Oswald would start to fade away on the very day I need him? On the day that Max needs him?

It doesn’t seem fair.

It seems impossible.

It feels like one of those television shows where too many bad things happen at once and the show feels fake.

Then I realize what has happened. It is my fault. Oswald is dying because of me.

Oswald said that before he went to sleep, he would spend every night talking to John. He would tell John what he did and who he saw, and after he was done telling about his day, he would fall asleep.

This must have been what kept John believing in Oswald. John must have been able to hear Oswald tell his stories every night. Either with his ears or maybe just inside his head. Inside his mind. Maybe this is why Oswald existed in the first place. John is trapped in a body that won’t wake up, so Oswald is like John’s eyes and ears. His window on the outside world.

I thought that Oswald could move things in the real world because John is a grown-up. I never met an imaginary friend whose human person friend was a grown-up, so I thought this was what made Oswald special. This was what gave Oswald his special powers.

But maybe Oswald can move things in the real world because John can’t move things anymore. Maybe John is so sad about being stuck in his coma that he imagined Oswald being able to move things because he couldn’t. Maybe Oswald is John’s window to the world and the way that John can still touch the real world.

Except now I have taken that window away. Oswald was not able to talk to John last night, and now John has stopped believing in his imaginary friend.

Oswald is dying because of me.

Oswald was right. Everyone is somebody’s devil, and I am Oswald’s devil.

CHAPTER 52

We are sitting in Mrs Gosk’s classroom. Mrs Gosk is telling a story about her daughters, Stephanie and Chelsea. She is still not herself. I can see the sadness in her eyes. She does not bounce around the room like the floor is on fire. But the kids are still sitting on the edges of their chairs. Oswald is sitting on the edge of his chair. He cannot take his eyes off Mrs Gosk. I think this is the only reason that he hasn’t noticed that he is disappearing. He is disappearing fast. Much faster than Graham. I’m worried that he might be completely gone by the end of the school day.

Oswald turns to me.

I brace myself. He knows that he is fading away. I can feel it.

‘I love Mrs Gosk,’ he says.

I smile.

Oswald turns his attention back to Mrs Gosk. She has finished telling the story about her daughters. She is talking about something called a predicate now. I do not know what a predicate is. I don’t think Oswald knows either, but he seems more interested in predicates than anyone else in the room. His eyes are glued to Mrs Gosk.

I know what I have to do. I don’t know how I will do it, but I have to find a way. It is the right thing to do.

It feels impossible to do the wrong thing when Mrs Gosk is in the room.

‘Oswald, we have to go,’ I say.

‘Where?’ he asks, still staring at Mrs Gosk.

‘The hospital.’

He turns to me. Those caterpillars above his eyes kiss again. ‘What about Max? We have to save him.’

‘Oswald, you’re disappearing.’

‘You know?’ he asks.

‘You know?’ I ask.

‘Yes. I noticed when I woke up this morning. I could see through my hands. You didn’t say anything, so I thought that maybe only I could see it.’

‘No, I can see it, and I’ve seen it happen before. You’re going to disappear completely if we don’t get you back to John.’

‘Maybe,’ Oswald says, but he does not believe maybe. He believes definitely, just like me.

‘Not maybe,’ I say. ‘I know it. John believes in you because he hears you talking to him every night. But he didn’t hear you last night because you were with me. That is why you’re disappearing. We have to get you back to him.’

‘But what about Max?’ Oswald asks. There is a tiny bit of anger in his voice that surprises me.

‘Max is my friend, and I know that he wouldn’t want you to die saving him. It’s not right.’

‘I want to save Max,’ Oswald says. ‘And I get to choose.’

His fists clench and he glares at me. I can’t help but wonder if even Oswald is forced to do the right thing when Mrs Gosk is in the room.

‘I know you want to save him,’ I say. ‘But not today. We have to get you back to John. You can save Max tomorrow.’

‘I might not get back to John in time,’ Oswald says. ‘And even if I did, I can’t feel John anymore. I think it’s too late.’

I think so, too. I remember what happened when I tried to save Graham. I’m starting to believe that once an imaginary friend begins to disappear, nothing can stop it. But I don’t want to be the one to say it aloud.

‘You’re going to die unless we do something,’ I say.

‘It’s okay. I know.’

‘You’re not going to become a ghost if that’s what you’re thinking. You’re just going to disappear for ever. It will be like you were never here.’

‘Not if I save Max,’ Oswald says. ‘If I save the bravest boy in the world, it will be like I am here for ever.’

‘That’s not true,’ I say. ‘You’ll be gone and no one will remember you. Max won’t even remember you. It will be like you never even existed.’

‘Do you know why I was so angry when you met me?’ Oswald asks.

‘You thought I was a ghost. And you thought I was going to steal John.’

‘Yes, but not really. It was because when I was in that hospital, it was like I didn’t exist. I was stuck in that room and in those hallways with no one to talk to and nothing to see or do. Maybe I’m not a ghost, but it was like I was a ghost.’

‘This is ridiculous,’ I say.

And it is. I feel like Oswald and I have switched places. I am angry and scared and ready to punch someone in the face, and he is so stupidly calm. He is disappearing right in front of his own eyes but he doesn’t even care. He doesn’t want to fight.

He reminds me of Graham after our plan to save her failed. She quit, too.

Then Oswald does the unbelievable. Oswald reaches out and hugs me. He wraps his giant arms around me and squeezes. He lifts me right out of my seat. It’s the first time he has touched me without hurting me, and it makes no sense. Oswald is disappearing but I am the one being hugged.

‘I knew I was disappearing this morning when I looked through my hands,’ he says, still squeezing. ‘I was scared at first, but I was scared the whole time I was in the hospital, too. And now I got to meet you and Teeny. I rode on an elevator and a bus. I got to see Mrs Gosk. And I will save Max. That is more than I have ever done in my whole life.’

‘Just think about all you could still do,’ I say.

Oswald puts me down. Our eyes meet.

‘Not if I have to stay in the hospital every day. I’d rather have one good adventure than stay at the hospital for ever.’

‘It’s wrong not to try to get you back to the hospital,’ I say. ‘I feel like we’re giving up.’

‘It’s wrong not to help Max,’ Oswald says. ‘He’s the bravest little boy in the whole world. He needs to be saved.’

‘You can save him after you save yourself.’

Oswald suddenly looks angry. It’s the kind of anger that I saw on his face just before he started throwing me around the hospital room. His muscles tighten and he seems to grow six more inches.

Then just as quickly I see him change again. His fists unclench. His muscles relax. His face softens. It is not anger anymore. It is disappointment.

Disappointment in me.

‘Stop,’ he says. ‘I want to listen to Mrs Gosk. Okay? I just want to sit here and listen to Mrs Gosk until we have to go.’

‘Okay,’ I say.

I want to say more but I am afraid. I am not afraid because Oswald is angry or disappointed in me, even though that hurts more than I thought it could. I am afraid because I need Oswald. I cannot save Max without him. I am glad that he wants to save Max instead of himself, but that makes me feel awful inside for wanting it. Like I am the worst imaginary friend who ever lived.

Max is the bravest little boy in the world, but Oswald is the bravest imaginary friend in the world.

CHAPTER 53

Oswald stays with Mrs Gosk all day. He even follows her into the bathroom. I tell him not to, but I don’t think he understands about bathroom privacy.

I stay with Mrs Gosk for most of the day, too. I keep an eye on Oswald. I am worried that he will disappear before he can help me save Max. I stare at his transparent body and try to guess how much longer he has. It is impossible to tell. It makes me crazy just thinking about it.

I also check on Mrs Patterson. The first thing I did when we arrived at school was check to be sure that Mrs Patterson is working today. She is. We saw her getting out of her car as the bus pulled into the circle.

Everything is going according to my plan. Except that the most important person for my plan to work is disappearing before my eyes.

Even though the school day ends at 3.20, Oswald and I leave Mrs Gosk’s classroom at 3 p.m. Oswald has to climb into Mrs Patterson’s car when she opens the door, so I want him to be ready.

He says goodbye to Mrs Gosk before he leaves. He walks up to the front of the room and tells her that she is the greatest teacher in the world. He tells her that sitting in her room was the best day of his life. I am not sure if I will see Mrs Gosk again, but I know that Oswald will not. Watching him wave to her as he steps out of the classroom is almost as sad as watching Graham disappear. Almost the saddest thing ever. I say goodbye, too, but I make my goodbye as quick as possible.

I can’t imagine never seeing her again. I love her so much.

Mrs Patterson walks out the side door of the school five minutes after the bell rings. She is carrying a large, cloth bag with both hands. It looks full. Her purse is slung over her shoulder.

‘Don’t worry about me,’ I remind Oswald. ‘I can pass through car doors just like the front door of my house. Just get inside. When she opens the door, jump in ahead of her. Don’t wait a second. You have to be fast.’

Mrs Patterson stops by her car. She puts the bag down on the pavement and opens the back door. She lifts the bag. It looks heavy. I can see books and picture frames and snow boots inside. Other stuff too underneath all that. She is going to put the bag on the back seat. Oswald is not in position to enter through this door. He is standing in front of the door as Mrs Patterson opens it. But he panics. He tries to run around the door and around Mrs Patterson and sneak in as the door closes but he does not get there in time. He slams into the door and bounces off, landing on the pavement. He grunts, shaking his head.