“Okay, little swimmers! Today you little dudes and dudettes get to take turns diving off the side of the pool,” Ted announced.
“Isn’t it too shallow here?” Meredith asked.
“Confirm-o-mento, Mere,” Ted replied. “And that’s why we’ll be jumping into the pool in the deep end!”
The kids cheered! The kids splashed! The kids high-fived! Well, all the kids but one to be exact.
“IN THE DEEP END!”
“IN THE DEEP END!”
“IN THE DEEP END!”
The words echoed over and over in Eugene’s head like a broken parrot robot. The thought of going back to the deep end gave Eugene a funny twisting in his stomach, even worse than the time he snuck some of Charlie’s spicy jalapeño cheese.
The other kids in swim class climbed from the pool and walked to the far side. Didn’t they know that the Blobby Blob-Blob from the Deep End might still be down there waiting to blob them!?
Eugene climbed from the pool and tugged on Ted’s hand.
“What’s up, Dude-gene?” Ted asked.
“I . . . um . . . I . . . need to go to the bathroom!” Eugene was already racing away before the last word left his mouth.
Eugene ran into the boy’s bathroom and locked himself in one of the bathroom stalls.
It’s no big deal, Eugene thought. I’m sure Super Dude locked himself in a bathroom before.
Eugene tried to calm himself. He inhaled deeply.
PEE-YEW!
Bad idea! Eugene was in a stinky bathroom!
“Come on, Eugene!” he said to himself. “Instead of hiding here in Stinkopia, you should be out fighting the Blobby Blob-Blob from the Deep End! Who knows what blobby blobness that blob will be blobbing on everyone!”
“Stand back, villain, or else prepare to be cheesed by Nacho Cheese Man!” Charlie rushed into the bathroom, dripping wet and blasting cheese. But instead of seeing Eugene trapped by a villainous villain, Charlie was met by an empty bathroom now covered in cheese.
“Aw, man. What a waste of good cheese,” Charlie sighed, then added, “You in here Eugene?”
“Over here,” Eugene called out from the stall.
“I knew it!” Charlie shouted. “Were you attacked by the Toilet of Terror? Hold on! I’ll save you from its Flush of Fear!
“I’m fine,” Eugene lied. “It’s just . . . I think I ate one too many Super Dude Ice Poptaculars, that’s all.”
“Oh,” Charlie said, disappointed his friend wasn’t stuck in an evil toilet, fighting against the Flush of Fear. “You’ve been gone for like a jillion minutes. Ted said you’re going to miss your turn to dive . . . ”
“Um . . . yeah. Can you tell him that’s okay? Maybe next time?”
Eugene sat quietly and listened to Charlie leave. The twisting in his stomach was replaced with a dull ache—one that seemed to wrap itself around his heart.
That had to be it, right? One too many Super Dude Ice Poptaculars? After all, superheroes like Super Dude don’t get scared.
But, maybe, their secret identities do. . . .
