We passed the street where Winnie would have normally turned to go home. But she kept walking with us. I understood. The fact is, we’d passed my turn three blocks back.
It’s just that now that Trevor was talking, and I was reasonably sure he was human, I wanted to know more about him. I guess Winnie felt the same way. If that meant we’d end up taking the long way home, that was a pretty small price to pay.
“Hey, Trevor, there’s still one thing I don’t understand,” I said. “You remember that day the fire alarm went off and I saw you at the window? What was the deal with that?”
Trevor rolled his eyes. “I just didn’t hear it,” he said. “See, until I came here this year, I’ve always gone to the school for the deaf. So I’m not used to so much noise. Sometimes it’s just too much, and I have to turn off my implant for a while. Anyway, I turned it off that day, and I didn’t hear the alarm.”
“But who was outside the window?” I asked.
Trevor looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole. “My mom,” he groaned. “She’s deaf, and she worries about me being at a hearing school. I told her it was fine, but you know . . . moms. Anyway, every day between second and third period, she stands out behind the cafeteria, and I have to come to the window and sign to her that I’m OK. It’s so embarrassing!”
“Embarrassing! It’s like a secret code! Why would you be embarrassed about that?”
“Because I’m in seventh grade! And my mom comes to school to check on me! Wouldn’t you be embarrassed?”
I shook my head.
“You don’t know my mom. She does way more embarrassing stuff than that,” I said.
We laughed, and we walked, and finally, we ended up on Lamar Street about three blocks from the PizzaDog. Considering what happened the last time I was there, I felt a little nervous.
Then I saw him. A boy was at the end of the street waving his arms like a panicked swimmer. We ran to him. It was Gerald Forster. His tongue was frozen to the pole of a street sign.
The sign said, “CAUTION: Children at Play.”
Gerald was bent over in an uncomfortable-looking position, and I wondered how long he’d been that way.
“Are you stuck?” I asked.
Winnie punched me in the shoulder. She’s stronger than she looks.
“Of course he’s stuck!” she said. “Do you think he’d be standing like that if he wasn’t stuck?”
“Should we pull him loose?” I said.
“No,” Trevor said. “Have him breathe on the pole. His breath is warm, and that should thaw him loose.”
“Right,” Winnie said. “G-Force, just breathe on it. Breathe heavy, like you’re fogging up a mirror.”
The three of us stood around him making breathing noises like panting dogs. But it was no use. He was too scared, and his breaths were short and panicky.
“I’ll stay here. You two run to the PizzaDog and bring back some warm water,” Winnie said.
Trevor and I started sprinting down the street.
“Make sure it’s just warm, not boiling!” she yelled after us.
When we entered the PizzaDog, I did everything possible to make sure I avoided eye contact with the UPs. What’s weird is that Trevor did exactly the opposite. While I ordered the warm water, he locked his eyes on their booth.
The UPs didn’t stare back.
That’s when I figured out what Trevor already knew — Gerald hadn’t done this to himself.
We ran back to the signpost and handed Winnie the water. She slowly poured it over Gerald’s tongue. It took a couple of minutes, but he was able to pull free.
“What happened?” I said.
“Nothing!” Gerald snapped. “The guys made me put my tongue on there, that’s all. They were just playing around.”
“Doesn’t look like they were playing,” Winnie said.
“Those guys are my friends!” Gerald told her.
Trevor looked down the street toward the PizzaDog.
“Then why aren’t they here?” he asked.
Gerald was embarrassed and angry, and the only reason I know that is because I’ve felt that exact same way a hundred times before. I wouldn’t have believed it was possible, but I actually felt sorry for Gerald Forster. And not just because of what happened with his tongue.
He’d thought he was one of them.
“I gotta go,” Gerald said gruffly, then walked quickly to the corner. But he stopped before he got there and turned back to face us.
“Thanks, you guys. Thanks for helping me.”
He disappeared around the corner, and the three of us started walking again.
“It’s not fair,” Winnie said. “Somebody needs to do something about those guys.”
Which was funny. Because I’d just been thinking the same thing myself.