King of the Mutants Page 15
I ripped the package open in a frenzy, finding my electric guitar. I thought I’d never see him again. I couldn’t believe it.
“We hid it from the doc,” said Tony.
Tony rushed toward me, picked me up, and spun me around. He hugged me so tightly my entire spine cracked—but not in a bad way. In the corner of the room, Freddie was bent over and grunting like a wild boar. He picked up a large black box, stepped back, and lunged toward me, nearly dropping the thing on my foot. He missed my toe by millimeters. “I wanted to get you something really cool.”
I stooped down to take a closer look.
And I was blown away!
They got me the one thing I would have asked for, if I had asked or wanted for anything. An amplifier for my guitar. My hand went to my heart and I didn’t say a word.
“Don’t you like it? Is it the wrong kind?” asked Freddie. “The guy at the store told me this one was the top of the line.”
Darn it, I didn’t want to cry in front of him, in front of anybody. I gulped, “It’s absolutely awesome.”
Freddie broke out into a smile that covered his entire face.
“Give him ours,” chanted the kids. “Give him the present from us!”
Fly Boy, who we decided to call Buzz, flew over my head, picked up another large package from the other side of the room, and brought it over. It was hard getting it released from his sticky grip. The kids crowded around, giggling, waiting for my reaction.
“No freaking way! I’ve always wanted this,” I squealed. “This totally rocks!”
Although I know Freddie had come up with the idea, I hugged each of the kids and threw a sly wink at Freddie. “I’ve always wanted a PlayStation, and Guitar Hero is the perfect game for me. For all of us.”
The kids jumped up and down, Roo jumping the highest.
Freddie hit me on the back. “Let’s say we get this party started and eat us some cake and ice cream?”
Richie lit the candles one by one. The kids clapped excitedly as he lit up sparklers. I just stared at the cake, so many thoughts reeling in my mind, so many unanswered questions. I didn’t know how I’d win over the maniacal mutant kids. I didn’t know how we could alert all the missing children’s parents to their fate. I didn’t know what we were going to do with Greizenheimer. And when was Ashby going to grace us with his nasty presence again?
“You’ve got one wish. Make it a good one,” Glow Girl whispered sweetly.
Flickers of candlelight danced in my friend’s eyes. In this one moment, everybody around me was truly happy. Me? I now had a family that cared about me and accepted me for what I was. I’d take things one day at a time. I’d figure something out. I always came up with some kind of plan.
I took off my fake teeth and smiled my first real smile.
And everybody smiled back.
I closed my eyes and blew out the candles.
My wish had already come true.
Acknowledgements
Every book starts with an idea. Sometimes these ideas are crazy, and, as everybody knows, you can’t run from crazy; you have to run with it. But what started out as a crazy idea turned into a book I’m really proud of. One of the sanest decisions I’ve ever made was approaching Month9Books/Tantrum Books.
First off, I’d like to thank the awesome Georgia McBride, my publisher, for taking Maverick’s story from a crazy dream into a not-so-crazy reality. I am absolutely thrilled to be a part of the Month9Books/Tantrum Books family, where there is no dysfunction, just fun (and a whole lot of support)! I’d like to thank my editor, Ashlyn Yuhas, who helped polish this story up one page at a time, and whose enthusiasm for Maverick’s story was contagious. Likewise, I’d like to thank the Month9Books team, with a special shout out to Jennifer Million, Candace Y., Jamie Arnold, Brooke Hamilton, and the amazingly talented illustrator that is Zachary Schoenbaum. (Seriously, what a cool cover!)
A heartfelt thanks goes to two amazing writers who believed in Maverick from the get-go and were with me on this entire publication journey. Angela Cerrito and Stephen Eastman, thank you for your critiques and for pushing me (and the story) onwards. It’s been a crazy ride!
Thank you to my beta readers Lisa Kelly Eason, Becky Wojahn, and Michael Morrel, who embraced the madness and delivered thoughtful critiques. A big hug goes to Kelly Polark and Carrie Harris, who cheered Mav on and urged me to bring back the tail! Well, thanks to everybody mentioned above, I did it. The tail? It’s back.
Finally, I’d like to thank you, awesome reader. Just like Maverick, you rock! Now put this book down and go embrace your inner crazy...because it’s good to be weird. Being normal is boring.
Samantha Vérant
A classically trained mezzo-soprano, at the age of fifteen I auditioned at The Chicago Academy for the Performing and Visual Arts for voice, got in, but ended up choosing theater as my major. When my family moved to Boston the following year, I stayed involved in the acting community, but thanks to an awesome teacher, art became a big part of my life. A triple threat, I could sing, act (like a clown), and draw. But I couldn’t do all three things at once, or so I thought. Alas, once high school came to an end, it was on to Syracuse University, where I traded in arias and monologues for advertising design. After graduating from Syracuse with honors, I’ve worked at some of the biggest agencies in Chicago.
Over the years, I’ve traveled the world, lived in many places, and worked many jobs. I’ve had many successes, and a couple of failures — always on the search for the one thing that truly excited me. Then, one day, I finally found everything I’d been looking for: a passion for the written word. Thanks to writing, I can sing on the page, act out scenes, and design new worlds.
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Acknowledgements
About the Author
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