Lucky Cap (14 page)

Evan clearly had no idea what to do with this.

“Enzo's kind of our leader,” Gio went on.

“Our figurehead, more like,” Iris added.

“He's class president,” Kai said.

“Enzo Prezidenzo!” Misa chimed in.

Evan looked at me, his head tilted. “Is this
so,
Enzo?”

“It's so. I ran for class office.” I didn't say “against your advice.” It was implied.

“But you
are
involved in athletics?”

“He's a starter on our basketball team,” Chase said. “We've won three in a row.”

“
Ex
cellent!” Evan said, pumping his fist.

“Chase is on the team, too,” I said. “He's real good. He starts sometimes, too.”

“Go, Chase!” Evan said. “I like your apparel, dude.”

“Thanks,” Chase said, looking down at the Kap jersey he was wearing,

I wasn't wearing any Kap.

“I guess I really got the brand out there for you, Ev,” I said.

He slapped me on the back. “That's my man! Which is why I brought you this!” He lifted up a gift bag with a Kap logo on it and offered it to me. “Happy Xmas, Enzo Prezidenzo!”

I took the bag, opened it by the handles, and pulled out some tissue paper. Underneath was a cap.

“It's another prototype,” Evan said with pride. “The cap won't be on the market till next year, which means,
Enzo scoops America again!”
And he held up his hands as if he expected applause.

Analisa gasped a little. Kai said, “Lucky.” Everyone else just gaped.

The cap was just incredible. The logo was holographic. When you tipped the hat an image inside the logo changed from a starry night to a guy slam-dunking a basketball. Not just a guy. LeBron. On the back of the hat was a silk-screened version of his signature, very similar to the one on the back of my old prototype. But not the same.

The others gathered around to see the holographic effect up close.

“Whoooa!” Kai said.

“That is one extraordinary cap,” Gio said.

“You sure got that right, Giuseppe,” Evan laughed.

“Giovanni,” Iris corrected.

“Sorry,” Evan said.

“Thanks, Ev,” I said.

Iris glared at me.
Don't go down that road again,
the glare meant.

“
De nada,
” Evan said. “It's too bad we won't be doing any more road trips. That last one was amazing.”

“The amazingest,” I said, though that was a word I'd decided not to use anymore. It was too fifth grade.

“Right! The
amazingest
! I forgot about that!”

“Did you find a replacement for Dad yet?” I asked, feeling a little jealous and sad. It really had been an amazingly fun trip.

“I did,” he said. “A guy from right here in Pasadero. Guy's name is Steve Velador. He has a kid your age, I think.”

“Lance!” Chase said with a laugh.

“So you know him?” Evan said.

“We know him,” I said.

Evan looked at me. “I guess it'll be your friend Lance then who'll be going on the next amazing Kap trip.”

“Oh,” I said, my heart sinking.

Chase, Kai, Gio, and Analisa were staring at me, watching me. They got what I was feeling. Disappointment. Jealousy. Plus embarrassment for feeling it in front of them. After all, they'd never gotten to go on a Kap trip at all.

It occurred to me then that I shouldn't take the new prototype. It should go to Lance. He was the new Kap prince, not me. But I didn't want to hurt Evan's feelings. I thought maybe I'd just give it to Lance after the break. But wouldn't Lance tell his dad? or Evan? Yeah, he would.

I decided to lie. Maybe that's not what I should have done. Maybe I should have been honest and said I didn't want the cap. The truth was, it didn't fit me anymore.

Considering that, what I said wasn't exactly a lie.

I put the cap on my head and pretended I couldn't get it on.

“Aw, man,” I said. “It's too small, Ev.”

“Really?” he asked.

“Just adjust it,” Gio said.

“It's
not
adjustable, kid,” Evan said, offended.

“You know,” I said, pretending to be disappointed, “you should give it to Lance. His head is smaller than mine.”

Iris giggled. I'm sure she'd told herself some joke about Lance's head size compared to his intelligence. But that wasn't what I meant. His head really was small.

Evan took it from me gently. “Dude, you are noble, you know that?”

I was?

“I'm going to fix you up with something else, though,” he said. “You just wait and see. It's going to be
sweet
.”

“It's okay, Evan. Really. I'm good.”

“Toast!” my mom announced from the dining room, and tapped her glass with a fork. She and all the grown-ups were holding flutes full of bubbly golden liquid.

“Time for me to go hang with the adults,” Evan said, rolling his eyes. “You guys take care. And don't burn down the school, okay? At least, don't get caught!” And he winked.

We all just gaped at him, not knowing how to respond.

Then he made a gesture like he was shooting us with a pretend pistol and left.

“I think Evan Stevens forgot to grow up,” Iris said.

“Lenchito!” Mom called. “Come on! Bring your friends!”

Everyone jumped to their feet.

“Don't get too excited,” I said. “It'll just be sparkling apple juice for us.”

This didn't stop them in the slightest, which I took to mean it was okay for middle schoolers to still like apple juice.

“‘Lenchito'?” Chase asked as we walked to the kitchen. He nudged me with his shoulder and laughed.

“Yeah,” Kai said. “Lenchito!”

Oh, gee, thanks, Mom.

Patrick Jennings
is the author of many books, including the critically acclaimed
Guinea Dog, Faith and the Electric Dogs, The Beastly Arms
, and
We Can't All Be Rattlesnakes.
He lives in Washington State.

Visit him at
www.patrickjennings.com
.