Mid-January.
‘Ah, you should’ve seen it!’ I said to Brock, still reeling about my completely colossal grand slam at the last Power Battle. ‘Kids were all over me for autographs.’
I threw a couple of punches into the cold night air, making sure I was in full view of the North Star, because it felt like I was showing off for my dad.
‘I’m, like, the coolest kid in school right now! Everybody wants a piece of me, or they want to be me! I can’t believe I was such a lamewad at the beginning of this year. I wish I could go back in time and tell that scared little baby Ben how awesome he’d be by the end of the semester!’
Brock agreed, obviously.
‘This is what I’ve always wanted, dude … if only my parents could see me now.’
I found the North Star and stared at it.
‘Can’t wait to tell them when I get home. They’re gonna be so proud of me. I mean, not for faking a superpower, but for getting over my fear.’
I sat on the stone snake, catching my breath.
I was afraid for so long – afraid of failing, of worm-eaters, of what other kids thought of me – that I almost forgot what it was like to just be chill.
I liked this feeling.
It was a feeling I hadn’t had in a long time.
I wasn’t afraid anymore.
Nailed it.