Blossoms and the Green Phantom Read Online Free PDF

very, very careful not to make one.
    Like one time he had stood at the top of White Run Falls with an inflated garbage bag under each arm. Icy green water pulled at his feet. From the bank Vern had said, “I’m tired of waiting. I don’t think you’re going over the falls. I don’t think you’ve got the guts.”
    “Oh, yes, I do,” Junior had answered.
    “Blossom promise?” Vern had asked.
    Junior would have given anything to have said with a sneer, “Yes, Vern, Blossom promise,” but he knew that if he did, he would have to do it.
    Even though the falls were a lot higher than he had thought, even though the rocks were a lot craggier and the water a lot colder, even though the garbage bags were leaking valuable air out under his arms, he would have had to go.
    “Blossom promise?” Vern asked again.
    Junior’s lowered head was his answer. Vern had gotten up with a snort of disgust and started home. Later, Junior had folded up his shrunken garbage bags and followed.
    The Blossom promise had made Junior stop crying completely, at least it made his eyes stop. His chest was still shaking with an occasional leftover sob every now and then. Every time Junior’s body shuddered, his mom hugged him.
    Vicki Blossom was now looking at Maggie and Ralphie and Vern and Michael over the top of Junior’s head. Although Junior could not see her expression, he knew from the length of the silence that it was a serious look.
    When she finally spoke, her voice was serious too. “You,” she said, and just the way she said it let Junior know every one of them better do what his mother said. “You are going to help Junior with his flying saucer, do you understand me?”
    Ralphie pointed to himself and raised his eyebrows.
    “Yes, you too, Ralphie, Junior may need you. I’m including all of you.” She looked at Michael. “I’m sorry, I don’t know your name—”
    “Michael,” Vern said quickly.
    “Michael. Junior needs every single one of you. Now, Junior will be in charge tonight. I want that clearly understood. Junior is in charge, and you four will do whatever he tells you to do.”
    If anybody other than a Blossom had said that to Ralphie, he would have answered, “You aren’t my boss,” but he acted differently when he was with Maggie and her family.
    Junior’s chest shuddered with what was to be his last sob. There was no reason to cry now. He had everything he wanted out of life. He could not have worked it out better if he had sat down with a pencil and a piece of paper.
    He was in charge and they would do what he told them. His mother was wonderful at arranging things.
    “This is Junior’s UFO—”
    “It’s known as the Green Phantom,” Junior interrupted. Then as he saw them glance at the barn, he added quickly, “Well, it’s not green yet, but it will be when I spray paint it. I’m not going to do that till the last minute. Just before it goes up, I’m spraying it”—he paused for effect—“Day-Glo green.”
    He could feel his mom nod. She rested her chin on the top of his head.
    She said, “The Green Phantom is, as of right this minute, the first priority in the Blossom family, is that understood?”
    Everyone nodded.
    “It is even more important, Maggie, than our riding.”
    “Yes’m.”
    Then she said, “Now what exactly do you need, Junior? You tell them what you want them to do.”
    “I only need one thing. Everything else is done. I’ve wired the air mattresses together myself. I’ve tied the garbage bags where I want them. I’ve filled the whole thing up with air—I used the bicycle pump. That was just so I could see how it was going to look. Now I only need one thing.”
    “What is it, Junior? Tell us and we’ll get it.” It was Vern who spoke this time. Now that his mother had included Michael in the project, he figured they couldn’t lose. After all, Michael and his family had every single thing there was in the world. Michael’s father’s workshop was like a hardware