Flying Feet Read online

  The author would like to thank Carol Lynn Kearney, senior adjunct in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Adelphi University, for her careful attention to the manuscript, and advice.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Text copyright © 2011 by Patricia Reilly Giff

  Interior illustrations copyright © 2011 by Alasdair Bright

  All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Wendy Lamb Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  Wendy Lamb Books and the colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Giff, Patricia Reilly.

  Flying feet / Patricia Reilly Giff ; illustrated by Alasdair Bright. — 1st ed.

  p. cm.

  Summary: Charlie often thinks of inventions that seldom work, but his latest idea just might be able to help Jake the Sweeper get rid of a big pile of trash and save “Come as a Character” day, too.

  eISBN: 978-0-375-89637-8

  [1. Schools—Fiction. 2. Inventors and inventions—Fiction.]

  I. Bright, Alasdair, ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.G3626Fly 2011

  [E]—dc22

  2010022645

  Random House Children’s Books supports the First Amendment and celebrates the right to read.

  v3.1

  Love to Mari-joy’s boys,

  Will and Jack O’Leary—P.R.G.

  To my good friend Lucky Jacobs—A.B.

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Chapter 1 - Friday

  Chapter 2 - Monday

  Chapter 3 - Still Monday

  Chapter 4 - Tuesday

  Chapter 5 - Wednesday

  Chapter 6 - Thursday

  Chapter 7 - Still Thursday

  Chapter 8 - Friday

  Chapter 9 - Saturday

  Chapter 10 - Monday

  About the Author

  Charlie counted in his head. Three. Two. One.

  Brrrriiiinnnng!

  The three o’clock bell.

  It was time for Afternoon Center.

  Everyone was going outside today. Some kids were playing basketball. Some kids were doing a potato race.

  Charlie had a new invention.

  Wait until everyone saw it. They’d be yelling, “Char-lie, Char-lie!”

  He was even wearing his brother Larry’s good luck T-shirt.

  Larry was in high school now. He’d gone to the Zigzag School, too. He’d read every book in the library. Even the boring ones.

  The teachers still remembered him.

  Larry’s shirt said WISHBONE on the collar.

  Charlie was wishing, all right.

  Wishing his invention would work.

  Charlie grabbed his bag. “Come on, guys,” he yelled. “Invention time.”

  He raced downstairs and outside. A bunch of kids raced, too.

  “Wait up, Charlie,” Destiny called. Today she had braids and beads all over her head.

  Beebe, a new girl, was with her. Her hair was the color of a carrot.

  “I don’t hear very well,” she told Charlie.

  She flipped up her curly hair.

  He could see little tan circles in her ears.

  “Hearing aids,” she said. “They help me hear better.”

  Charlie leaned against the wall to wait. The school was long and yellow. The bricks were warm.

  Beebe was still talking. “My name is Beebe. Like two ‘B’s.”

  Charlie nodded. He could see Ramón, the college helper. Ramón was bouncing balls at the handball court.

  Sumiko burst out the door. “I’m here.” She had a book in her hand. It had a bunch of Japanese words.

  Habib came out next. He was juggling two Popsicle sticks. “Me too.”

  “I hope your invention is good,” Mitchell told Charlie.

  “Did you ever see anyone walk up a wall?” Charlie asked.

  “You’re going to do that?” Mitchell asked.

  “You’ll see.” Charlie tapped his bag.

  “Hey, Ramón,” Mitchell called. “Charlie’s going to be a human fly.”

  Charlie’s heart began to pound.

  If only this worked.

  He’d be a hero.

  His picture would be on the wall. Right next to Zelda A. Zigzag’s. She had been the first principal of the school.

  Charlie opened the bag. He took out his Flying Feet.

  He’d been working on the feet for days.

  It had started with a buzz in his head.

  That was the way all his inventions began.

  Buzz! An idea!

  He’d taken Larry’s thrown-away sneakers. They were huge.

  He’d found suction cups on his father’s workbench.

  He’d glued.…

  Painted the sneakers bright red.…

  Outrageous!

  Now he took off his socks. His toes had to hold on.

  He edged his feet into them. Perfect. Flying Feet!

  Ramón frowned. “Are you sure you can do this?”

  Charlie wasn’t so sure. He had to do it, though.

  The whole Afternoon Center was watching.

  “Stand back.” He made swimming motions with his arms. “I need room.”

  Mitchell’s sister, Angel, shook her head. “We’re going to need an ambulance,” she told Ramón.

  “I’m right here,” Ramón said. “Don’t worry.”

  Charlie wanted to tell Angel to be quiet. But she remembered his last invention.

  The Breathe-Underwater Box.

  He’d nearly drowned.

  Charlie wiggled his toes in the Flying Feet. Larry’s sneakers were a lot bigger than his feet.

  He hoped they’d stay on.

  “Go, go, go, go,” Mitchell and Habib yelled.

  “Stop, stop,” Angel said.

  Charlie took a look at the handball wall.

  He took five steps back. Then he began to run.

  He could see Angel. Her hands covered her eyes.

  The wall was in front of him.

  He took a giant step. Up. The sneaker stuck to the wall.

  It was going to work!

  Charlie, the greatest inventor in the Center.

  His foot slipped out of the sneaker.

  “Bonk!” he heard Mitchell yell.

  Charlie hit the ground.

  “I knew it,” Angel said. “Call the ambulance.”

  Ramón helped him up. “He’s all right. I have him.”

  What Charlie had was ten sore toes.

  Larry’s WISHBONE shirt was ripped.

  Worse than all that, his invention had failed.

  Again!

  Charlie looked under his desk at his feet. His mother had cut out the front of his sneakers.

  Band-Aids were stuck on his toes.

  Too bad he couldn’t invent an Instant Stop-Scratches Pill.

  WHAM!

  Outside there was an explosion of noise.

  “A UFO has crashed!” someone screeched.

  “Nonsense,” said Ms. Katz.

  Charlie stood up. He could see Jake the Sweeper’s truck. A huge pile of stuff had fallen off the back.

  Jake jumped up and down. He pulled at his hair.

  The end-of-the-day
bell rang.

  Some kids headed for home. But almost everyone headed for the stairs. They were going to the Afternoon Center.

  There’d be snack, and climbing in the gym, and a bunch of other things to do.

  Charlie limped down the hall as fast as he could. He had to get outside.

  He wanted to see what had happened to Jake’s truck.

  Sumiko walked next to him.

  Her ponytail bounced. Her sneakers slapped on the floor.

  She had great feet for running, Charlie thought.

  “Your invention was a good try,” she said.

  Charlie swallowed.

  His brother, Larry, didn’t think it was a good try. Charlie had to give Larry his allowance. Maybe for the rest of his life.

  It was because of Larry’s ripped WISHBONE shirt.

  Someone clapped.

  It was Mrs. Farelli, the art teacher.

  She was tough. Almost as tough as Zelda A. Zigzag, the school’s first principal.

  Was she calling him?

  “Charles,” she shouted. “And Sumiko.”

  Charlie looked at the door.

  He was almost there.

  Lucky Sumiko. She dashed outside.

  Mrs. Farelli clapped her hands. “I’ve been looking for someone from the Afternoon Center,” she said. “Anyone.”

  Charlie took turtle steps to the Art Room.

  “I have a great idea,” Mrs. Farelli said. “Your brother, Larry, would have loved this. Too bad he’s not here anymore.”

  Charlie looked up at her.

  He was getting a little sick of Larry.

  Mrs. Farelli rushed on. “We’re going to have a Come as a Character Day,” she said.

  The hall was empty. Everyone must be scarfing up cheese poppers in the lunchroom.

  “Isn’t that grand, Charles?”

  Charlie could see Sumiko’s ponytail around the edge of the door.

  She was hiding at the end of the hall.

  She had come back to wait for him.

  “We’ll dress as book characters,” Mrs. Farelli said. “We’ll tell everyone a tiny part of each story.”

  Mrs. Farelli drew herself up. She squinched one eye shut. “Yo-ho-ho. I’m a pirate from Treasure Island,” she boomed. “And this is how my story begins.…”

  She unsquinched her eye. “Know what I mean?”

  Charlie gulped.

  “It’ll be a blast,” Mrs. Farelli said. “We’ll invite the parents to come next Monday. And Mr. Randolph, the principal, of course. And maybe Zelda Zigzag.”

  She tapped his arm. “You could ask your brother, Larry. He loves to read.”

  Larry again! “I don’t think—”

  Mrs. Farelli tilted her head. “You might even be Peter Rabbit.”

  Charlie could see himself with long paper ears. He’d have a round cotton tail.

  Larry would be laughing his sides out.

  What could be more horrible?

  “Get all your friends,” she said. “Meet me in the art room tomorrow afternoon.”

  He gave a half nod.

  “We do things together at the Zelda A. Zigzag School,” she said.

  Charlie limped out of the art room.

  Sumiko was right outside the door.

  Charlie hopped down the hall on one foot. The one with three Band-Aids. His toes hurt.

  Sumiko began to laugh. “You really look like Peter Rabbit!” she said.

  “I think I need a snack,” Charlie said.

  They headed for the lunchroom.

  Outside, Charlie looked back at the yellow brick school.

  He could see Habib across the yard. He was juggling two golf balls. Almost juggling.

  They kept rolling away from him.

  Mitchell was watching, laughing.

  Charlie stopped. “Hey, guys.”

  “It’s Charlie Flying Feet,” said Habib.

  “I don’t want to think about that,” Charlie said.

  “Think about cheese poppers.” Mitchell handed one to him and one to Sumiko. “I’ve had a ton already.”

  “Thanks.” Charlie put his popper in his mouth. Cheese melted into a bread ball. Mmm.

  “Mrs. Farelli grabbed me,” he said when he could talk. “She wants—”

  “Mrs. Farelli is tough as nails,” Mitchell said.

  “Almost as tough as Zelda A. Zigzag,” said Habib.

  “She’s going to have a Come as a Character Day.” Charlie talked as fast as he could. “Next Monday.”

  “Sorry,” Habib said. “I’m working on juggling.”

  Mitchell wasn’t paying attention. He sprinkled cheese-popper crumbs on the cement. “It’s a lunchroom line for ants,” he said.

  Sumiko leaned over to watch. But Charlie kept going. He hobbled toward Jake.

  Destiny stood on the stone wall with Beebe.

  Fifth graders were climbing over Jake’s pile of stuff.

  So was Terrible Thomas, Jake’s cat. Oops. Terrible Thomas was Mrs. Thomas now. She’d had a bunch of kittens.

  “Out of here!” Jake yelled at everyone. Jake was a yeller.

  They all scattered.…

  Except Mrs. Thomas and Charlie.

  “Look at this, Charlie,” Jake said. “It’s all good stuff. Old but clean. There’s just no room for it.”

  Charlie walked around the pile.

  There were lumps of straw and pots of droopy flowers. A tin hat and eyeglasses without the glass. Curtains. Yellow bricks from when the school was built.

  The bricks must be as old as Zelda A. Zigzag.

  On top were the red Flying Feet.

  “I was taking all this to the dump,” Jake said. “Then, BAAAAM. Two flat tires.”

  Charlie sat on a falling-apart chair. It was almost an invention. A Three-Legged Tilting Seat.

  He looked over at a broken door and a couple of pipes.

  “I’ve got to get rid of this junk,” Jake said. “Mr. Randolph, the principal, will have a fit.”

  “We could drag—”

  “Drag it where?” Jake moaned. “I’ll never get my work done. The whole school is a mess. Cheese poppers all over the place!”

  “We could put it all back on the truck.”

  Jake sighed. “That’s a big job. It took me days to get it out of the storeroom.”

  “Time for kickball,” Ramón yelled.

  Charlie jumped off the chair. It kept rocking.

  “I’ll help you tomorrow,” Charlie said. He ran over to the game.

  “Charlie’s on our side,” Habib yelled.

  Afternoon Center was over for today.

  Charlie headed for the bus.

  He nodded at Mrs. Dover, the bus driver.

  Her baseball hat was perched up on her hair.

  He went to the back. The whole school didn’t have to know that the new bus driver was his mother.

  Sumiko sat next to him. Her face was red. “I’ve been running like a cheetah,” she said.

  Sumiko was the smartest girl he knew.

  She knew sixteen words in Japanese.

  Whoosh! The bus started up.

  “How about signing up for Come as a Character Day?” Charlie asked Sumiko.

  “What?”

  “You dress up as someone in a book.” He raised his shoulders. “You talk about—”

  Sumiko shook her head. “Sorry. I’m training for the Olympics. Ramón says I’m a really fast runner.”

  Destiny and Beebe sat in front of them.

  Destiny patted a sparkly scarf on her head. “My hair isn’t so hot today. The beads keep falling out.”

  “Mrs. Farelli said—” Charlie began.

  “Make sure you look at Beebe when you talk,” Destiny said. “She can read your lips.”

  “That’s really good,” Charlie said.

  Beebe grinned. “Yup,” she said.

  “About Mrs. Farelli,” Charlie said.

  Destiny stopped patting her hair. “Mrs. Farelli is too tough for me.”

&nb
sp; “It’s for next Monday,” he said. “We’re going to do Come as a Character Day.”

  “I’m too busy. I’m going to be a ballroom dancer,” Beebe said.

  Gina was sitting in front of them. “I’m too busy, too. I’m going to be an opera star.” She opened her mouth. “Tor-eeeeee-a-dora,” she sang.

  Gina was loud. Screechy.

  “Stick to inventing. Don’t bother with”—Destiny waved her hand—“come as a … whatever.”

  Charlie looked out the bus window. Next Monday was going to be the worst!

  Just Mrs. Farelli and a bunch of parents.

  And Charlie, by himself, as Peter Rabbit.

  It was time for Afternoon Center.

  Charlie was hiding in the mop closet.

  Never mind that the mop was dripping.

  Never mind that his shirt was sopping wet.

  He could hear kids going down the hall.

  Today there was knitting. Some kids were making scarves. Beebe was showing them how.

  There was painting, too. Some kids were making flags for the walls.

  But Charlie had to think.

  The only two who wanted to come as characters were Trevor and Clifton.

  Kindergarten kids!

  Outside the door, he heard a meow.

  It was Mrs. Thomas.

  Sometimes she sneaked into school with her six kittens. Sometimes she came alone.

  She thought she owned the mop closet.

  Charlie opened the door a crack.

  Mrs. Thomas darted in. She gave Charlie a quick scratch with one claw.

  Yeow. Charlie moved over to give her room.

  He peered out the door.

  Sumiko was peering in. “What are you doing in there, Charlie?”

  He opened the door a little wider.

  He wanted to see Sumiko’s whole face. Not half a ponytail.

  Sumiko leaned closer. “Are you going to stay in there all afternoon?”

  Charlie thought about staying in the mop closet.

  He could invent something new. Maybe a machine that made dollar bills. He’d be rich. Too bad it was against the law to make your own money.

  Or how about a potato chopper?

  Yes! He felt that buzz in his head.

  An invention buzz!

  He’d stick in a potato.

  Out would come French fries. Or potato chips.

  What an invention! He’d call it Pop Out a Potato.