CHAPTER 11

ALWAYS LET YOUR CONSCIENCE BE YOUR GUIDE

At first, everyone tried to act all reserved and proper in the limo, but then Aaron opened the moon roof and began yelling stupid things out the top.

Teddy wondered if the secret news crew had put hidden cameras in the car, so he kept flexing his muscles and smiling at nothing. There was a radio in the back and I turned it on. We all sang and talked loudly. It was so much fun that I was almost able to stop thinking about all the lies I had told. I also put Jim out of my mind and tried not to worry about Jack looking after Pinocula, even though I knew Jack probably was an awful babysitter.

The parking lot of Softrock Middle School was filled with cars. Word had spread about the news crew and their hidden cameras. When our limo pulled in, people stared and pointed like we were stars arriving at a show. I had never seen Janae and her friends so happy. My friends were happy too, but they expressed it differently.

We walked into the school as a large group. The school had gone all out with the decorations. The doorway to the gym was a big whale’s mouth that everyone walked through.

As I stepped into the mouth, I got a sinking feeling. I felt like Pinocchio as he was swallowed up by the giant mile-long shark. Janae and her friends walked off to talk with some of their other friends while we settled in by the punch bowl.

The room was decorated to make it look like we were under the sea, but some of the kids who had wanted a vampire theme had added their own touches to the decorations. There was a table with some food and a skinny kid with big earphones working as the DJ. The students had voted not to have Principal Smelt and his two-man rock group, Leftover Angst, play at the dance. Principal Smelt was still mad about it.

None of the students were dancing. Everyone was just lining the walls, trying to look and act cool in front of the hidden cameras that weren’t there. The only people dancing were three teachers—two who were dancing together and a third who was humming and dancing by himself in an uncomfortable way.

Maggie, one of Janae’s friends, came over to our group and stopped in front of me.

Maggie turned and walked away. All my friends stared at me as if I had just been told the most amazing thing in the world. I looked over at Janae, and she was pretending to be busy talking to someone. My tongue dried out and began to crack.

I looked down at my feet and wondered how I was still standing. It was one thing to come to a dance, but it was another thing altogether to actually dance. Teddy started chanting,

I looked over at Janae and decided to do what a real man would do—I turned and walked to the bathroom as quickly as possible. When I got there, I went into one of the stalls and sat down on top of the toilet to think.

I didn’t feel right at all anymore. My eyes burned and the strength I had been feeling the day before was wearing off. How was I supposed to dance with Janae when I had never actually danced with a girl? Unless you count the time I had been forced to dance with my cousin Trish at our family reunion. But that was more like being carried around than dancing.

As I sat on top of the toilet, I heard something tapping against the window. I stood on the back of the toilet and looked up. I opened the window a little, and Jim fluttered right in. He glided down and landed on the roll of toilet paper. I was finally able to get a good look at him.

Jim was definitely half cricket, half bat. He had an interesting face and appeared to be looking right at me. I considered trying to catch him in my hands, but I didn’t want to scare him. He winked at me and spoke.

Jim was a little more sarcastic than I had expected. I was going to defend my being in the bathroom, but he just kept talking.

Jim was preachier than I preferred. He told me that bad things were brewing and the only way to stop them was for me to tell the truth.

Jim fluttered to the window. He looked back as if he was going to leave. I jumped up and begged him to stay.

Jim flew out the window and disappeared into the night. If he was supposed to be my conscience, he was the worst conscience ever. I now understood why Pinocula hadn’t tried harder to find him. I hopped off the toilet and left the stall. I walked back into the dance, and stepped across the dance floor and up to Janae. She reached out, and without knowing what I was doing, I took her hand and we moved to the dance floor. There was music playing, our fingers were touching, and we were swaying.

Janae smiled and thanked me for coming to the dance with her. I opened my mouth to thank her, and she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. I stumbled backward and suddenly became very light-headed.

My first kiss! Maybe all my lies were worth it. I mean, how bad can it be if this is the result? I’m sure I was about to do something smooth to let Janae know how I felt, but Jack ruined it all.

There he was, standing right next to me. Jack had crashed the dance and was holding what looked a little like Pinocula. Before I had a chance to tell him I had just been kissed and that he needed to leave, he spoke up.

Everyone gathered around noisily. Pinocula was no longer wearing the hoodie and pants. He looked wooden and was beginning to turn into a donkey. His legs and arms and ears hung down like pieces of wood. The DJ began to play some sort of polka song. Jack looked around at all the decorations and people.

Janae was curious about what Jack was holding. Rourk answered her question.

Principal Smelt approached our group and looked at Jack and donkey Pinocula. He wasn’t glad about Jack showing up with an odd puppet in his arms.

Principal Smelt took Jack by the arm and started to lead him away. Jack turned to say one last thing to me.

Principal Smelt and the rest of the students looked at Jack like he was crazy. Most of the students laughed, assuming that Jack was just being difficult like always. Principal Smelt scolded Jack for interrupting such a beautiful night with his made-up stories. He nudged Jack to get moving.

I heard myself say it, but I still wasn’t sure why I had. Janae and my friends looked at me, curious to hear what I’d say next. I wanted to lie, I wanted to tell everyone that Jack collected donkey dolls and had brought this one to show it off to the hidden cameras. I wanted to tell them that I had done nothing wrong and that I had no idea what was going on, but I was done lying. I kept thinking of Jim and his warning. I turned and looked at Janae. I had just had my first kiss, and now I knew it would probably be my last. I took off my sunglasses and looked at her. My eyes didn’t burn and things didn’t seem quite as bright anymore. It was time to tell the truth.

Janae blushed slightly and stepped back. I had thought telling the truth was supposed to feel good, but I felt worse. Principal Smelt put his arm around me. He congratulated me on my eye acne clearing up and then commented on what I had just admitted.

Everyone began to holler and boo. A kid with head gear and thick corrective glasses called me a nerd. Janae turned away from me and slipped into a crowd of angry kids. The DJ began to play some sad music.

Principal Smelt looked bothered and confused. He stared at me and pointed across the room to a man with a small camera who appeared to be following us.

The man was a reporter who had come to film our dance because he was curious about the secret news cameras I had lied about. I didn’t know what to think. I had lied about the limo, and one had shown up. I had lied about the cameras, and one had shown up. I should have lied about being stronger and better at playing sports. Principal Smelt looked at me and spoke.

I wanted to stay there and defend myself, but I needed to help Pinocula. I looked around for Jack, but he was already gone. I ran through the whale’s mouth and out the front doors of the school. The dark sky was filled with stars. In the distance, I saw Jack carrying Pinocula and walking away. He was heading toward the park right across the street from our school. I ran up to him, and he turned to look at me.

I was going to apologize more, but there were no words that could correct what I’d done. I had messed up, and I’d have to pay for it. Trevor ran up to us. He had seen me run out and had chosen to follow.

I took Pinocula from Jack, and all of us ran to the park. I knew what we needed to do. We needed to return him to the soil.

For some reason Trevor and Jack kept running with me.