The Boy with 17 Senses (16 page)

“Really? Thanks, Fiona.” Jaq lifted the music player with both hands. He was just able to fit it inside his backpack. There was a bit of room left, which reminded him that he'd wanted to fill it with glug. “Can I ask you another favor?”

“Sure,” Fiona said.

“Would you mind scraping some gum off the tables for me?” Jaq asked.

“That won't work,” Fiona said. “Plenthy tried it. With all sorts of gum, too. Something about going through the wormhole, or just being on your planet, made the Earth gum turn to dust after a couple of days. That's why he wanted to start the tree farm.”

“So all that gum in the chicken . . . ?”

“Will soon be dust.”

Jaq should have been happy that the Vilcot thieves stole worthless dust, but he wasn't. Bringing back glug was his only hope of saving his family from starvation. But he had no Plenthy and no glug, either. This trip was turning out to be a disaster.

He slumped in the seat. “What do we do now?” he wondered out loud.

“Aww, you look so sad,” Fiona said. “Don't worry. We'll see him at the next show. I know we will.”

At that moment, Jaq felt an idea sparkle in his brain. “Do all Earthies like diamonds?” he asked.

“Definitely.”

“What if I bring back some diamonds? Do you think you could find Morgo and offer a trade?”

“Yes! That's a great idea,” Fiona said.

Perfect!
It would be so easy to collect a backpack full of diamonds. And then Jaq could free Plenthy, and they could return to Yipsmix together. Plenthy would tell Vilcot he hadn't swindled him, that he'd been trying to find a way to grow glug trees on Yipsmix, as ridiculous as that sounded. It might be enough to make the Vilcots leave them alone and get Grandpa out of jail.

“Come on,” Fiona said. “We can check downstairs for his next act, and then I'll take you to the plants.”

Jaq was so relieved, he nearly fainted when he stood up.

“Maybe I should get you some food first,” Fiona said. “I'll grab some stuff from the salad bar. I know the owners, and they always give me food. Here, jump in my backpack.” She held it open, and Jaq crawled inside. “I can show you around a bit while you eat. My mom won't mind.” She wore her backpack on her front, so Jaq could peek out from a small gap in the zipper. Bonip perched on his shoulder.

Because it was getting late, the hallways were less crowded now, and Fiona walked at a leisurely pace, taking time to point out to Jaq the things that Plenthy had found interesting. Jaq's mood gradually improved as they toured a toy store, bought chocolate in a candy shop, and sampled some ice cream.

“Try this,” she said, holding a tiny (for her) spoon up to Jaq's mouth.

Jaq licked the cold treat. “Wow!” he said. “Do you hear what it's saying?”

“It's ice cream,” she said. “It doesn't talk.”

Jaq took another lick, and his head nearly burst with joy. “Of course it doesn't talk,” he said. “It sings.”

By the time they reached the moving staircase, Jaq's belly was full and he'd filled his backpack with treats.

Fiona pointed at a woman standing downstairs by the golden-arches restaurant talking with Gunther. “That's my mom. She's got my stuff and is ready to leave. Do you want me to take you back to the plants?”

Jaq nodded.

They went down the moving staircase, and Fiona edged behind the long row of plants. The sight of Gunther made Jaq's heart thump with panic. He remembered the feeling of being yanked into the air, having his ribs squeezed tight, and staring into that angry face.

“He's dressed differently,” Jaq said, noticing that Gunther had changed out of his red shirt and was now wearing a crisp white shirt with a gold badge on the front. He was still scratching like crazy, and he looked extremely irritated.

“He moonlights as a security guard,” Fiona said. “Sometimes I have to stay with him until my mom is done working, but I get to skateboard around the mall, which is fun.”

“Don't let him see me,” Jaq said.

“I won't. I'll go check the performance schedule.” Fiona pointed to the stage. She placed Jaq and Bonip in the plants. “Wait here a sec.”

Jaq and Bonip hid in the bushes. They were very close to the wormhole, so Jaq felt safe. He watched as Fiona ran over to her mother, grabbing a board with wheels on the bottom. She rode it over to the stage, gliding across the floor with graceful speed. In no time, she was back with Jaq.

“What's that?” he asked, pointing to the board.

“My skateboard,” Fiona said. “But listen, they just put up a new sign. That Shrinking Magician trick of Morgo's has gotten him some attention, and he's moving to Reno! He's putting on one final act tomorrow.”

“Where's Reno?” Jaq asked.

“It's in Nevada,” Fiona said.

That meant nothing to Jaq. Fiona noticed the blank look on his face, so she added, “Really far away!”

“One final act?” Jaq said. “Then we have to move fast. I'll get the diamonds and bring them right back.”

“It has to be tomorrow, when Morgo's here. Come back at the same time as these last two days. Any earlier and I'll still be at school.”

“Any later and . . .” Jaq didn't have to finish the sentence. Any later and Plenthy would be gone.

“Good luck,” Fiona said.

Jaq grabbed Bonip and dove into the wormhole.

23

IT SMELLS ANGRY IN HERE

T
his time, going through the wormhole was even more painful and terrifying. Jaq felt his body being pulled apart so violently that when he landed, he had to make sure all his limbs were still with him. He noticed that the shimmering oval definitely looked dimmer.

“That was horrible,” he said.

Bonip didn't say anything, and the reason he didn't say anything was because he had passed out. Jaq put his ear to the wipper's mouth and pressed lightly on his chest. “Bonip?”

Bonip sucked in air and sat up. “Ack! Never again.”

Jaq silently agreed. In making his plan with Fiona, he'd forgotten about how the wormhole seemed to be disappearing, and how going through it was more torturous each time. But he knew he'd have to go through it again. He looked back at the hole, thinking about Fiona. “I have to get the diamonds to Fiona tomorrow. In the meantime, I've got no glug and no way to save my family's farm. Grandpa's still in jail, and poor Plenthy is stuck on that awful planet, a prisoner. And I really, really don't want to go back.”

“Maybe you can send your backpack through, filled with the diamonds. Fiona will find it—if it doesn't disintegrate, like I almost did. Then she'll save Plenthy. She can take the diamonds to his next show and buy him off Morgo.”

Jaq thought about his options, and the more he thought about it, the more he liked Bonip's plan. That was all he could do, really. Collect the diamonds, send them to Fiona, and hope that she found them. She would be looking for him at the same time the next day; he'd wait until then to send them through, just to make sure nobody else found them first.

They began the hike down the hill. Jaq was completely exhausted. The iPod was heavy on his back, but knowing he had a plan gave him energy for the walk home.

As they walked through the marketplace, Jaq spotted Tormy Vilcot sitting by the fountain, staring at him. Jaq hustled away from Tormy, taking the long way around the fountain. He gripped the straps of his backpack tightly. He did not want to lose his new music player. He really wanted to find that mysterious song, but if he couldn't find it, he hoped to sell the magical music player so he could buy food for his family.

He had just reached the other side of the fountain when he felt someone grab his backpack and yank him to a stop.

“What are you up to, huh?” Tormy asked. “You're always running through the marketplace with that backpack of yours. I know you don't have any money. What are you doing?”

“None of your business,” Jaq said, and he immediately regretted it. He should have made up something boring, because now Tormy was even more curious.

“What's in the backpack?”

“Tormy, leave me alone. You've already stolen everything from us. Just leave me alone.” Jaq pulled himself free and walked away, but Tormy ran in front of him and put both hands on his shoulders to stop him.

“It's just so easy,” Tormy said, smiling. “All I have to do is say that what you have is mine, and everyone believes me.
And I know you won't put up a fight, because you're a coward. So, what do you have of mine in that backpack, hmm? Or should I call over my grandfather's friend?” He nodded toward a policeman standing on the corner.

Jaq couldn't lose his gift from Fiona. He couldn't let Tormy steal yet another thing from him. He clutched his backpack tighter, but this only made Tormy want it more. Tormy grabbed the backpack, trying to wrestle it off Jaq's shoulders. As he did, the flap flipped open, and out popped Bonip, squeaking.

“It's a wipper!” Tormy shouted. Immediately, everyone in the area raced away from the pair. One man scowled at Tormy, but Tormy just shouted at his back—“Wipper! Wipper! Wipper! I don't care about Contagion! I have a wipper-slinger!”

Jaq closed his backpack and put it back on.

“That's really sad,” Tormy said, laughing. “Your only friend is a wipper.”

Like everyone else, Jaq hurried away from Tormy. This time, only Tormy's laughter chased after him.

Jaq slowed once he reached the road that led to his home. Tormy rode past him on his hoverbike, still laughing and swirling up dust.

“Did I do good?” Bonip asked, climbing up Jaq's leg.

“Huh?” Jaq plucked Bonip off his leg and put him on his shoulder.

“I jumped out so he wouldn't find the music thing,” Bonip said. “I thought the squeak was a nice touch. You know—really distracting.”

Jaq smiled. “Thanks, Bonip.”

He walked on, wishing he had a hoverbike. Tormy would probably finish his dinner before Jaq even reached home. Bonip yawned and ducked into the backpack. Soon, soft snoring sounds surrounded Jaq's head like pastel bubbles.

As he passed the Vilcots' farm, Jaq knew he shouldn't look over, but he did. He saw them in their big front yard—Tormy, his mom and dad, his grandfather, and a crowd of farm workers. They were watching the plastic chicken walk and lay its glug eggs. They all laughed and cheered every time it did. Jaq saw Klingdux whiz around one of those glugballs and sling it across the yard. The Vilcots screamed at poor Klingdux, and Tormy slapped his pet, pushing him to go retrieve the glug.

Jaq wanted to throw rocks at the whole awful family.

Klingdux ran to fetch the ball of glug. He came right up to the fence where Jaq stood.

“Hey there, buddy,” Jaq said.

Klingdux stopped and stared at Jaq for a second, but then Tormy screamed at him to come back. Klingdux let out a yip as he turned to hustle the glugball back to his new master.

“That's gotta hurt,” Bonip said. He was peeking out of the backpack.