The Boy with 17 Senses (14 page)

A tiny magician stood in the tank, waved the flowers at the crowd, and bowed. The crowd edged closer, oohing and aahing.

“Spicy worms, that was amazing!” Bonip said.

“Bonip!” Jaq said. “Look at him.”

Bonip looked at Jaq. He looked back at the stage, where the little magician in the glass tank was doing another trick. He looked back at Jaq. He gasped. “Jaq, are you thinking what I'm thinking?”

“Yes, I am,” Jaq said.

“These giants can change size at will!”

“No, you idiot!” Jaq said. “The little man is Plenthy! You know, the guy who wrote the note asking for help. We have to save him.”

20

I FEEL A SONG IN MY HEART, AND ALSO ON MY ARMS, AND A LITTLE ON MY CHEEK

J
aq and Bonip raced through the plants that bordered the side of the big open space until they were as close to the stage as they could get while still staying safely hidden. Jaq was certain that the little man in the tank was a Yipsmixer. He was doing the rope trick now, looking at the crowd as his little hands held a smaller rope up high.

Jaq peeked out and waved, trying to get his attention.

The little magician folded the rope in his hands and cut
the loop. He did the moves robotically, completely uninterested in his own trick. He looked up again.

Jaq waved like mad.
If he sees me
, he thought,
then maybe he can give me a clue as to how to rescue him
.

He waved furiously.

And Plenthy's bored eyes suddenly lit up.

“He's mouthing something,” Bonip said from his perch on Jaq's shoulder. “Can you tell?”

“It looks like he's saying
magic
,” Jaq said. He edged closer. “No, it's
music
.”

“Wait,” Bonip said. “Now he's saying,
Look out!
”

A giant hand suddenly appeared from nowhere, curved around Jaq's middle, and lifted him out of the bushes. Bonip fell off his shoulder. Jaq felt a scream ready to burst from his lungs, but he clamped down on it, terrified.

“Got you.”

Jaq found himself face-to-face with the giant called Uncle Gunther. The fearsome creature smiled, revealing teeth that were speckled with food. His breath was horrible. Jaq felt like he was being bathed in a burp.

“You're not getting away this time,” the giant said, smiling. “In fact, you're gonna make me some money. Morgo will pay big for another little guy like you.”

Jaq struggled in the grip of the huge monster. His mind filled with the terrifying image of being stuck in a glass box like Plenthy. He squirmed and twisted, but it was no use. Gunther had stuffed him beneath his jacket and was holding him tight. Jaq sensed that the giant was walking quickly, and that he was getting farther and farther away from the safety of the wormhole.

Suddenly, the giant stopped walking and shook his leg. He reached down to scratch his ankle, then his calf, and then the back of his knee. And then he scratched all those places faster and more frantically. Jaq was pulled out from the jacket, and Gunther switched him from hand to hand, trying to get at the itch.

“Ouch,” Gunther said. “Ow! Ouch! What the—?”

He reached behind him with his free hand, trying to scratch a spot on his back.

Jaq was swirled about in the air. Up and down, left and right, the grip tightening and loosening as Gunther did his strange dance. Gunther jumped behind a pillar to avoid the stares of the other giants.

“Ouch. Dagnabbit!”

Oh, Bonip—you amazing little wipper
, Jaq thought.

“Uncle Gunther, what's wrong?” It was Fiona's voice.

Jaq looked over and saw her just before Gunther swung him around and blocked her from his view.

“Something's biting me. Ouch! It's driving me crazy!” He switched Jaq to his other hand, and when he did, Jaq bit down hard. Gunther flung Jaq away, and he sailed through the air, hitting a pillar and then falling into a planter. He thumped into soft soil.

“Let me look,” Fiona said.

“It stings!” Gunther cried. “I feel burns all up and down my back. And it's still biting! Get it off me!”

“Fiona! Help!” Jaq cried from the planter.

Gunther was too frantic from the biting to hear Jaq, but Fiona heard him. She looked right at him, and he waved his hands.

“You should go to the bathroom and take off your shirt,” Fiona told her uncle. “Splash some water on your back or something.”

Gunther nodded. Jaq saw Bonip crawl out of the top of the giant's shirt. The little wipper jumped unseen from Gunther's back to Fiona's shoulder just as Fiona reached down and grabbed Jaq. She sprinted away, hiding Jaq from Gunther.

“Fiona!” Gunther yelled, still scratching.

“Be right back!” Fiona yelled. “Go to the bathroom!”

“Come back! I need your help!”

Fiona ran to a moving staircase in the middle of the mall, and they were lifted to safety.

As he bounced along beneath Fiona's jacket, Jaq felt sick. He knew they were heading away from the wormhole, and with each step, his panic intensified. The magic show must have ended because the giants who had been watching now filled the hallways of the mall. Jaq could see through a buttonhole in Fiona's jacket that there were huge bodies everywhere.

At last, Fiona ducked into a restaurant and ran to a booth in the back. She sat down, placing Jaq on a vinyl bench that stretched under a table. Her focus stayed on the door.

“Is he coming?” Jaq asked.

“No,” Fiona said. “I think we're safe.
Phew
.”

“Thanks for saving me.” Jaq sat down on the rubbery seat, fatigue replacing the fear he'd been feeling. “You too, Bonip.”

“Who's Bonip?” Fiona asked.

“Him.” Jaq pointed to her shoulder

Fiona nearly flicked the little fluffball off her shoulder, but she froze when Bonip waved at her.

“Oh my goodness,” Fiona said. “He's so small, like a fluffy white roly-poly bug.”

“He's a wipper,” Jaq said. “Your uncle Gunther's sense of itch was going crazy, thanks to this guy. I've never seen anyone react to a wipper bite like that. He must be really sensitive to the poison. Good job, Bonip.”

“Just doing what comes naturally,” Bonip said modestly. He jumped off Fiona's shoulder and landed next to Jaq. He spat a couple of times and then wiped his mouth. “Ew, that guy was so hairy.”

“Hey,” Jaq said, realizing something. “All those times you didn't even break my skin—you weren't really trying, were you?”

“You taste funny,” Bonip said.

Jaq smiled. He looked up at Fiona. “Where are we?” he asked.

“This is a Mexican restaurant,” Fiona said.

Jaq risked a peek by pulling himself up to look over the top of the table. The restaurant was mostly empty, but a couple of giants stood next to a long counter, looking through a glass shield at what lay underneath. They were selecting different items from tilted containers and adding them to their plates.

“Food?” Bonip asked, following Jaq's gaze.

“That's the salad bar,” Fiona answered, but Bonip had already bounced over to it. She turned to Jaq. “This is the quietest restaurant in the mall, which is why Plenthy and I like it.”

“You and Plenthy are friends?” Jaq asked.

“Yes. He got caught in a humane rat trap, and I rescued him. We've been friends ever since. I have something called synesthesia, and he's the only person I've met who understands. He believed me when I told him that I can see sounds.”

“Can't everyone?” Jaq asked.

“No. Very few people on Earth have synesthesia, and no two people seem to have the same type. Usually, if I tell people that their whistling makes me see green lines, they look at me like I'm crazy.” Fiona sighed. “Nobody I know senses things like I do.”

“Like what?”

“That 4s are purple,” Fiona said, pointing to the number on the menu. “That when I do this”—she tapped her finger on the table—“I see little brown flashing dots.”

“Me too.”

“That's what Plenthy said!” Fiona laughed. “Oh, he's the best. He told me not to tell anyone about him, and I laughed, because of course I wouldn't. If people thought I was crazy
for seeing colors that aren't there, they'd probably lock me up if I told them I was friends with a little alien.”

“Morgo the Magnificent has him now,” Jaq said. “We saw him. That's how I got grabbed by your uncle.”

“Wait . . . you
saw
Plenthy?”

“Yes, he was in that magic show downstairs.”

“I thought he'd abandoned me. I have to talk to him,” Fiona said, looking panicky herself now. “I
really
have to talk to him. He's the only one who can save me.” She reached over and grabbed Jaq and raced out the door, holding him beneath her jacket again.

“Bonip!” Jaq yelled, but his voice was muffled. The wipper wouldn't have heard him anyway—his head was happily submerged in the shredded-cheese container.

21

ONE MAN'S TRASH IS ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE

“
O
h no! They're gone,” Fiona said. She stood in front of the empty stage. “We missed them.”

She had been holding Jaq, and now she put him on the stage and sat down next to him, resting her head in her hands.

“What's wrong?” Jaq asked. He couldn't help looking toward the bushes. His own safety was so close.

“Plenthy was going to save me.”

“Save you? From what?”

“From having to live with my evil step-uncle Gunther.”

“How?”

“You can't imagine what it's like for me,” she said, ignoring his question. “Uncle Gunther is so mean, but he's all my mom and I have.” Fiona lifted her head out of her hands and looked at Jaq. “My mom is trying to save money so we can get our own place, and she works super-long hours. But Uncle Gunther makes us pay for everything. He even charges my mom for watching me after school, even though I do all his work for him.”

“That sounds terrible. How was Plenthy going to save you?” Jaq asked again, because he was curious how someone his size could do anything on this huge, crazy planet.

“We had a deal,” Fiona said, and then her eyes went wide. “Oh no! Uncle Gunther is heading this way, and he looks really mad.”

Jaq felt the pull of the wormhole—it was so close. He could make a run for it. But instead he hid behind Fiona, nestled beneath her jacket, and hoped the angry giant wouldn't see them.

“He sees me,” Fiona said. “Keep still—you're tickling me.”

Jaq froze.

“Fiona, you little brat!” the angry giant screamed. “You ran off! That's gonna cost you.”

“Please, Uncle Gunther,” Fiona said, her voice cracking. “I didn't run off. I couldn't go into the men's room with you, so I went upstairs to see if they had any itch cream in the pharmacy.”

He was silent for a second. “Well?”

“They do, but I didn't have any money.”