Otis Spofford (8 page)

There was something about the way the girls acted that made Otis afraid not to grin. “Aw, come on. I know you’re just joking,” he said.

“Oh, no, we’re not,” said Ellen and Austine at the same time. Once more they turned and started out of the park. By that time a group of skaters, including Stewy and George, had gathered to watch Otis and to laugh at him.

“I guess they’re going to fix you,” called Stewy.

“Boy, this is going to be good,” said George, and the boys laughed.

Otis stepped up onto the bank of the lake. “Hey, Ellen,” he pleaded. “Come on, cut it out.”

“Frizzletop to you,” Ellen answered over her shoulder. Then she and Austine shrieked with laughter. The rest of the skaters laughed too, but Otis didn’t think it was funny. It wasn’t funny at all.

There was nothing for Otis to do but go after the girls. He ran out into the snow on his skates, calling, “Hey, Ellen, wait a sec.”

The girls paused to let Otis come closer. Ellen dangled the shoes by the laces. Austine, who was wearing a boot on each hand, clapped them together.

Just as Otis thought they were going to let him catch up, the girls turned and ran. Otis ran faster, but they had a head start. Besides, they were not wearing skates. Maybe they would stop teasing and give back his shoes when they came to the edge of the park. They could hardly expect him to run after them on his skates on the sidewalks, which had been cleared of snow.

At the edge of the park, the two girls paused and waved. “Yoo-hoo, Otis,” they sang out before they ran on.

Through the shrubs that bordered the park, Otis could hear two pairs of boots clomping on the cement. A shortcut was his only chance. He pushed his way into the bushes. Branches caught at his clothes and snapped in his face. Snow showered over him. He burst out onto the sidewalk in front of the girls.

“Look out, there he is!” Ellen shouted, and both girls turned and ran the other way.

Otis did not care how dull the cement was making his skates. He was going after those girls and he was going to catch them. “You just wait,” he yelled as the steel blades on his feet ground against the sidewalk. Running on skates made his toes hurt and his legs ache.

Ellen paused long enough to stick her tongue out at him. Otis scooped up a handful of snow, squeezed it into a ball, and hit her between the shoulders. Bits of snow clung to her coat.

At the intersection, the girls crossed the street with the green light. Otis reached the corner just as the light turned to yellow and then to red. As he waited for it to change, he saw George and Stewy running down the street toward him. They
would
have to turn up now, thought Otis miserably. Now I’ll never hear the last of this.

As the signal changed, George and Stewy caught up with Otis. The girls, standing on the opposite curb, waved the shoes and boots. “Yoo-hoo, Otis,” they yelled. His shoelaces gleamed brightly through a flurry of snow.

“I guess they fixed you.” George was laughing so hard that he could hardly get the words out.

“And old Ellen Tebbits, too.” Stewy laughed even harder. “Boy, I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”

Otis wasn’t going to listen to any more of the boys’ guffawing. He stepped out of the snow and ground his way across the street. The two boys followed.

“Hey, Ellen,” Otis called desperately. “I’m sorry about your hair.”

“It’s too late now,” yelled Ellen.

The girls began to run again. Then Austine tripped and fell. As Ellen paused to help her to her feet, Otis nearly caught up with them. Now I’ve got you, he thought grimly.

“Hey, Ellen,” yelled Stewy. “Throw!”

Two shoes and two boots sailed over Otis’s head. He jumped and tried to snatch them out of the air, but the girls had been too quick for him. He landed on the sidewalk with a jolt that turned both his ankles. George and Stewy scrambled to pick up his footwear.

“Ellen, Austine, run!” ordered Stewy. The girls ran. Then the two boys dashed past Otis and caught up with Ellen and Austine. The girls took back Otis’s shoes and boots and ran on down the street.

George and Stewy turned back toward the park. Otis glowered as they passed him once more. “You’re some pals!” he grumbled.

“Remember the bullfight?” asked George.

“And remember Spud’s flea?” asked Stewy. Otis had no answer.

“We’re going to get a couple of hot dogs and then go skate some more,” said George. “Too bad you don’t have shoes so you could come with us.”

“Go on, eat your old hot dogs. I don’t care,” muttered Otis, but he knew he did care. Anyway, he thought, those girls can’t run all the way home. I’ll catch them at the bus stop. I’ll fix them yet.

Even though it was difficult to run in rubber boots, the girls managed to stay half a block ahead of Otis. When they turned the corner by the bus stop, Otis thought, Now I’ll get them. He decided the first thing he would do would be to wash Ellen’s face with snow. That Ellen Tebbits! She’d be sorry.

As Otis limped around the corner, he stopped and started. The bus was pulling out from the curb. Ellen and Austine were not in sight.

“Hey, come back here,” Otis yelled at the bus. He could not believe the girls had actually left him to go home on the bus without his shoes. He looked around to see if they had hidden his shoes and boots. Then he looked after the bus. There in the back window was the very thing he did not want to see. Ellen was waving his shoes. Austine was waving his boots.

Otis made a good hard snowball and threw it after the bus. How his legs ached. Leaning against the bus-stop sign, he glumly made a design in the dirty snow with the point of his skate. Girls! he thought bitterly. And Ellen Tebbits, of all people. And just because they were best friends, Austine had to help her. When he caught up with them, he would not only wash their faces, he would put snow down their necks.

Otis began to worry about getting on the next bus. Probably the driver wouldn’t let him on wearing skates. Well, he couldn’t very well take them off. He turned down his pants cuffs and stepped into a pile of snow so his skate blades wouldn’t show.

When the bus came, Otis’s fingers were so cold that after finding the dime in his pocket he dropped it on the floor, where it rolled under the driver’s seat. “I’ll get it,” said Otis quickly, but the driver had already bent to pick it up.

When the man straightened up with the dime in his hand, he looked at Otis, shook his head, and said, “I suppose there’s some reason why you’re wearing skates on the bus?”

“Isn’t it all right?” asked Otis. “They aren’t very sharp. See?” He grabbed the fare box to steady himself and held up one foot.

“I see,” said the driver, as the passengers began to laugh.

“Is there a rule that says I can’t wear skates on the bus?” Otis wanted to know. The driver had to let him ride. He couldn’t walk home with his toes hurting and his legs aching this way.

“The only reason there isn’t a rule is that nobody ever thought anyone would want to wear skates on a bus. It takes a boy to think up something like that.” The driver shook his head again. “Now sit down on that seat behind me and don’t step on anyone.”

Ordinarily, Otis would have been pleased to stir up a little excitement on the bus, but now all he wanted to do was rest his aching legs a few minutes. He wiggled his toes and wondered how many blisters he had. His toes were so numb with cold he couldn’t tell. Maybe his feet were raw and bleeding.

“Boys!” muttered the driver, as he closed the door and shifted gears. “Boys!”

On the way home Otis worried about his shoes. What would Ellen and Austine do with them? They were the only shoes he had for wearing to school in cold weather. He pictured himself going to school on his skates. For a minute he thought it might be a good idea. He would like to see Mrs. Gitler’s face when he walked into her room on skates. Then he thought how his legs ached and how he wouldn’t be able to play dodgeball during lunch period. No, it wasn’t worth it. He would rather wear shoes to school.

When Otis got off the bus at his corner by the post office, he thought he heard giggles. The two girls popped out from behind a sign that said
Uncle Sam needs you
. Rosy and breathless with laughter and cold, they started running again. This time they were not running very fast.

Now I’ll catch them, thought Otis. And I’ll
scrub
their faces with snow. But when he started to run, he found his legs were so tired they would no longer move the way they were supposed to. He felt as if he were running in slow motion.

“Oh, Ellen,” he heard Austine say, as she stopped to lean against a tree, “I’ve run so much my side hurts.”

“So does mine,” panted Ellen, “but we can’t let him catch us now.” In the cold air, Otis could see Ellen’s breath coming from her mouth in quick puffs.

Around the corner they went, past the Payless Drugstore and the entrance to the Spofford School of the Dance. Valerie Todd Spofford was just coming out of the building.

“Hello, Mrs. Spofford,” panted Ellen and Austine, as they ran past.

“Hello, girls,” said Mrs. Spofford. “My, you’re in a hurry, aren’t you?”

Austine nodded, and pointed toward Otis, who was trying desperately to put on a burst of speed.

“Otis Spofford!” exclaimed his mother. “I am disappointed in you. What did I say to you this morning about chasing the girls?”

“But I’m not chasing them,” Otis protested, as the girls slowed down to listen.

“Why, Otis, I just saw you.” Mrs. Spofford sounded shocked.

“He is, too, chasing us,” said Ellen. “He chased us all the way home.” The girls began to giggle.

“I was running after them, but I wasn’t
chasing
them.” Otis did not suppose his mother would see the difference.

“Now, Otis,” said Mrs. Spofford. Then she saw his skates. “Otis Spofford, is that any way to treat a perfectly good pair of skates?”

“No, but…” Otis saw Ellen and Austine walking rapidly down the street. Now how was he going to explain to his mother? “No, but…” he started again.

His mother interrupted. “Otis, I don’t know what gets into you. Now run along home while I pick up some groceries for lunch.” Valerie Todd Spofford turned up the collar of her coat against the cold and hurried down the street.

Girls! thought Otis grimly, as he limped along on his aching legs. And now his mother said he was chasing them. Well, they could keep his old shoes. He didn’t care. He probably had so many blisters on his toes he couldn’t get them on anyway. Maybe he would have to stay home from school. Then they would be sorry.

Otis felt more and more sorry for himself. The more he thought about himself, the sadder he became. Half frozen. No shoes. Blisters on his feet. Picked on by girls. Misunderstood by his mother. And hungry besides.

When at last Otis limped up the street to his apartment house, the only person in sight was Bucky, who was sitting on the front steps eating a cupcake. There was a lopsided snowman near the steps.

Wearily, Otis threw himself down beside Bucky. “Hi,” he said, looking hungrily at the cupcake. Just his luck to run into Bucky. Now he would have a lot of explaining to do about his skates. Little kids always asked so many questions.

“Hi,” said Bucky, digging into the pocket of his snowsuit. “Want a cupcake? I saved one for you.”

“Sure.” Otis took the crumbled cupcake. He took a big bite. Mmm, chocolate with nuts. He felt better almost at once, but, boy, how he ached! And his feet!

“How come you’re wearing skates?” Bucky wanted to know.

“Because.” Otis’s answer was muffled by a mouthful of cupcake. What would the kids at school say when they heard about the good joke Ellen played on him? And it was a good joke, he grudgingly admitted. She sure did get even with him for cutting her hair. He just hoped she brought his shoes back before Monday. Otis started to lick the frosting off his fingers so he could unlace his skates.

Suddenly Ellen and Austine popped around the corner of the apartment house. “Why, there’s Otis Spofford.” Austine pretended to be surprised.

“Fancy meeting you here,” said Ellen sweetly.

Now what? thought Otis, as he glared at the girls.

“We found a pair of shoes and a pair of boots at the lake and we wondered if they were yours,” said Ellen. Both girls went off into a gale of giggles.