Hero of Hawaii (7 page)

“My boat!” I ran to the living room to look out the window. Willy jumped off his stool and followed.

“Come right back,” Mom said. “I’m starting the pancakes and eggs.”

The river was as wide and high as I’d ever seen it in my whole entire life, so high it made my stomach swirl. Scary! My skiff was still above it, but not for long. I hoped Ledward was right about the rain ending soon.

“Look at the bridge!” I said.

The water was nearly to the top. There was only about six inches left to go and—boom—that bridge would be under water.

“I hope the river doesn’t take it out,” Willy said.

“Prob’ly could, too.”

We ran back into the kitchen. While we ate the best breakfast ever—bacon, eggs, and pancakes taste so good in the middle of a storm—the rain started to let up.

“Finally,” Mom said.

Stella came into the kitchen. She looked at me and Willy. “Hurry up. I need the kitchen.”

“For what?” I asked.

“For this,” she said, holding up a fist.

“Stella’s making cupcakes,” Mom said. “Special ones for Darci.”

I scrunched up my face. “What’s special about cupcakes?”

Stella moved up next to me, so close I could smell her toothpaste. She put her arm around me. “So, Stumpy, listen. If you saw a special cupcake would you even know it was special?”

I shrank away from her arm.

Willy gaped.

“The answer is no,” Stella said. “So I ask myself: Why are we having this conversation?”

Mom pointed out the window. “Look! The rain stopped.”

My ears swelled in the sudden silence.

Now there was only the rattle of the wind slapping at the window screens.

I shoved Stella away and gobbled down what was left on my plate.

“Let’s get out of here,” I said to Willy.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Mom said. “Where are you going?”

“Just outside, Mom. Check stuff out.”

“Okay, but you listen to me—don’t get close to that river! It’s moving very fast.”

“We won’t.” We headed for the door.

“Let’s go check out the bridge,” I said to Willy.

Streak was in the garage. She hopped up when she saw us.

“Stay,” I commanded. “Guard the house.”

I didn’t want her falling off the bridge or something.

Streak was getting better at staying when I said to.

Willy and I blasted out into the dark gray day.

The wind wasn’t nearly as powerful as it had been the day before, but it was still strong.

We ran across the street, through the jungle, and out onto the golf course on the other side. There was no way any golfers would be out on this day.

Long swamp grass along the shore bent in the wind. On sunny days we found lost golf balls in it and sold them back to golfers for a quarter.

The bridge looked the same as always. But the river was very close to having it for a snack.

I grabbed Willy’s arm and held him back. “Too spooky to go out there.”

“Looks okay to me.”

He started out.

I frowned. “Go slow, then,” I said, creeping along behind him. “Better not go at all.”

“It’s fine. Look. It’s solid. Not rocking or anything.”

The water raced under it, a gazillion gallons, all muddy brown and littered with floating junk. The river moved so fast it made the bridge hum. I could feel the vibrations in my feet and legs.

We walked out to the small platform, taking careful steps, ready to run back if the bridge started to feel weird.

So far, so good.

We crept out onto the platform and crouched. The swirling water made me dizzy.

Downriver I could see my house with my skiff high up in the yard. Farther toward the ocean, the road bridge that crossed over into Lanikai only had a small space under it, too,
but it sat higher than the one we were on, and it was way stronger.

“Man, look at all the junk in the water,” Willy said.

Branches from the mangroves that lined the river had broken off and were sailing downstream. Some got caught under the bridge.

“Here comes a big one,” I said.

It was mostly submerged, but parts of it stuck out of the water. It was heading right toward us and would go under the platform if it stayed on course. Willy crawled to the edge
and looked into the water. “Let’s watch it go by.”

I got down next to him. The branch flowed under, and when it popped out on the other side Willy reached down and grabbed it.

I blinked and he was gone. The branch had pulled him off the platform into the muddy water.

“Willy!”

He looked back at me as the river swept him away.

“W
illy!”
I screamed again.

He was still hanging on to the branch as it dragged him toward the sea. He bobbed, then went under.

I gasped.

He popped back up.

A huge gust of wind rattled the bridge. I
jumped up and leaned into it, started running. Back to the fairway. Along the swamp-grass shore. Into the jungle, pounding down the trail. I broke out onto the street across from my house.

The street was deserted.

Nothing but the wind and empty yards.

Off to my right the river sailed on, and I could see Willy, still clinging to the branch. In a minute he’d glide past my yard. I ran down to the waterline, now eating up most of our yard.

“Willy!”

He couldn’t hear, too busy struggling to hang on to the branch, trying to keep his head up.

“Swim to shore!”
I shouted.
“Let go and swim!”

Willy was new here. He didn’t know about getting out of currents. I’d never even seen him swim. Did he know how?

The boat!

I ran to my skiff, flipped it over, and dragged it toward the water. The oars fell out, twisting in their cables, flopping around behind.

Glancing up at the house, I saw Darci watching me in the big front window.

“Willy’s in the water!”
I yelled.
“Get Mom!”

But Darci couldn’t hear me. She disappeared from the window.

Willy was even with the yard now. There was no way he could angle in to shore before he passed. He was too far out and moving too fast. I’d have to get the boat out and catch up, grab him before the current dragged him out into the ocean.

A car pulled up.

Clarence!

He saw me untangling the oars and ran
down to me, leaving his car door open. “You can’t go out on that water!”

“Willy fell in the river!”

“Where?”

“That branch! See him?”

I tried to unhook the cables from the oarlocks but couldn’t.
Why did Ledward do this!

“Wait!” Clarence said. “I going the house, tell them. Stay here. We go together!”

Clarence sprinted toward the door.

I got the oars untangled and tossed them into the skiff.

Willy hadn’t said a word since he’d fallen in. No screams, no yells. Just silence. Scary, scary silence.

He was past the yard now, moving toward the second bridge.

And the ocean!

No time. I shoved the skiff out and jumped in.

“Hey!” Clarence yelled behind me.

I turned to look back. Clarence held his head in his hands. Streak ran from the garage, down to the water. She barked at me.