Kid Power (15 page)

Authors: Susan Beth Pfeffer

BOOK: Kid Power

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There was nothing innocent about Johnny, and we both knew it. I considered refusing to answer his question, but then I decided that would be a mistake. “This is my friend,” I said. “And she owed me some money for Kid Power. That's all.”

“Kid Power,” Johnny said. “Oh, yeah, I know that. I saw the sign up in the supermarket. You do jobs.”

“Right,” I said. “We're shoveling snow this winter, that's all.”

“I shovel snow, too,” Johnny said. “All my friends, we shovel snow. Are you gonna take our business away from us?”

“Of course not,” I said, trying to smile at him. “We just have a few contracts with people. You probably have lots and lots of people's walks to clear. We just have a few.”

“A few too many,” Johnny said. “Listen here, Golden, I don't like the idea of anybody muscling in on my territory. See what I mean?”

“Don't worry,” I said. No reason for him to; I was worrying enough for both of us. “It's a big town. There's lots of snow. We'll both end up rich by the time winter's over.”

“How much are you charging?” Johnny asked. I noticed Margie slipping away from us. I certainly didn't blame her.

“A dollar fifty for sidewalks, two dollars for driveways,” I said. Maybe all he wanted was some business tips. I'd certainly be happy to supply him with those if he spared my life.

“That's less than I charge,” Johnny replied. “A lot less. You trying to undercut me?”

“Oh, no,” I said. “We just charge less because we don't do nearly as good a job as you probably do. I'm sure you do quality work. You're so strong and everything.” I swallowed hard. It might not have been a good idea to remind Johnny just how strong he was.

“Me and my friends plan to stay in business,” Johnny informed me. His smile made my intestines shrivel. “We'll do what we have to, to see to that, Golden. Get my meaning?”

“I can certainly respect that,” I said. “No problem, Johnny. You shovel your jobs, and we'll shovel ours.”

“I don't know about that,” he said. “You'd better be careful, Golden, or you're going to end up on the wrong end of the shovel.”

“I'll be careful,” I said. “Thanks for the warning, Johnny. Oops, I'd better be running. I had no idea how late it was. Bye.” And I scurried down the hallway into the safety of the cafeteria.

I sat down at the table next to Lisa and Margie. “Margie told me what was happening,” Lisa said. “Do you think Johnny is going to cause trouble?”

“Of course not,” I said. “There's plenty of work for all of us. Besides, it may never snow again. Maybe all we'll have from now on is rain because of the greenhouse effect. You know about that. The world is warming up, and places where it used to snow are turning into Florida. No more snow here, I'll bet. One snowfall at Thanksgiving time, and then it's surf's up for the rest of the winter.”

“I don't think we should count on the greenhouse effect,” Margie said.

“I'll talk to my father,” I replied. “Sometimes he has very good advice on problems.”

“Maybe,” Lisa said. I could see she was thinking about quitting altogether. I knew it wouldn't take much to get everybody to quit. We were all suffering from aching muscles. And the other kids might not have an important goal, as I did. A talk with my father was definitely in order.

I waited until after supper to bring up the subject with him. Dad had gone into the den to read, so I followed him upstairs and knocked on the door.

“What can I do for you?” he asked me, as I sat down.

“There's this guy,” I said. “Johnny Richards. Carol's mentioned him because he's in her grade. He's a big bully.”

“Sounds familiar,” Dad said. “Is Carol having problems with him?”

“I am,” I said, and I told Dad about the conversation Johnny and I had had. Dad nodded thoughtfully when I finished.

“That's what happens in the open marketplace,” he said. “You didn't think you were going to have a monopoly, did you?”

“What's a monopoly?” I asked. I knew what the game was, but I had the feeling Dad was talking about something else.

“It's when you're the only person doing a certain kind of business,” Dad explained. “Suppose there were only one kind of car manufacturer. Then it would have a monopoly on the car industry.”

“That sounds good,” I said. “I like that.”

“Sure you do,” Dad said, “you little capitalist exploiter of the masses. If you have a monopoly on something, you can control what it's going to cost. Since there's no competition, people can't buy your product anywhere else, so they have to pay what you ask.”

“It's sounding better and better,” I said. “How do you get to be a monopoly?”

“You buy your own country and make up your own rules,” Dad said. “In the United States, we try to avoid monopolies for the most part. We're big on freedom of choice around here.”

“But if I had a monopoly, Johnny would have to leave me alone,” I said.

“And if Johnny had one, you'd have to leave him alone,” Dad replied.

“That isn't fair,” I said. “It was my idea to get Kid Power into snow shoveling. I thought of it first.”

“I doubt that Johnny sees it that way,” Dad said. “It sounds as if he was shoveling snow last winter, before there even was a Kid Power.”

“Does that mean I have to give it up?” I asked. “Just because he got there first? He was born before me, so he had a head start.”

“Neither one of you has to give up anything,” Dad said. “First of all, there are plenty of walks to shovel. But even if there weren't, that's what the open marketplace is all about. Whoever does the better job will get more customers. It doesn't sound as if Johnny is going to keep his because of his charming personality and delightful smile.”

“I don't want his customers,” I said, thinking about my aching back. “I just don't want him to steal mine.”

“Well, you're going to have to be careful, then,” Dad said. “Because if he wants to, he can get into a price war with you.”

“What's a price war?” I asked. It sounded like a place where people threw prices at each other.

“It's a way of taking business away from your competition,” Dad replied. “Suppose Johnny decides to offer prices lower than yours. Your customers might all go over to him. And then you might decide to cut your prices, too, and maybe go after his customers. You could each slash your prices until you're barely making a profit. Price wars are good for customers, but bad for businesses.”

My head was starting to ache almost as much as my back. “You don't think that's going to happen, do you?” I asked. I wasn't sure I could bear it if it did.

“No,” Dad said. “I doubt that Johnny has the imagination to think of lowering his prices. And since yours are already lower than his, there's no reason for you to cut yours.”

“What else could he do to me?” I asked.

“Not much,” Dad said. “After all, if he does something really wrong, we'll contact his parents. Even the police, if necessary. And I'm sure he knows that. Most likely, he'll just growl at you and try to intimidate you. If you stand your ground, you should be fine.”

“Then that's what I'll do,” I said. “I'll stand my ground and make sure Kid Power does the best possible job and hope that Johnny keeps all of his old customers, and then we'll all be happy.”

“Excellent,” Dad said. “I'm glad you respect Johnny's needs, too. Sometimes I think you want Kid Power to take over the entire world.”

“Me?” I said, trying to look innocent. “You really think I want that?”

Dad raised his eyebrows at me. “That's exactly what I think,” he said. “Are you going to try to deny it?”

“See you later, Dad,” I said instead, and left the den fast. I didn't really want Kid Power to take over the entire world. At least not before I had my computer set up so I'd know what to do with the world once I got it.

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About the Author

Susan Beth Pfeffer wrote her first novel,
Just Morgan
, during her last semester at New York University. Since then, she has written over seventy novels for children and young adults, including
Kid Power
,
Fantasy Summer, Starring Peter and Leigh, and The Friendship Pact
, as well as the series Sebastian Sisters and Make Me a Star. Pfeffer's books have won ten statewide young reader awards and the Buxtehude Bulle Award.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

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

Cover design by Mimi Bark

ISBN: 978-1-4976-8289-4

This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.

345 Hudson Street

New York, NY 10014

www.openroadmedia.com