A Step from Heaven by An Na Read Free Book Online

embarrassing the family. The whole neighborhood will think we are stranger than we already look. For once, I am glad my school is so far from home. At least no one I know will have seen Joon.
    Apa, I say, Joon cannot go to the bathroom in the middle of the street.
    Apa stops soaping the car and turns around to look at Joon.
    Apa, you have to stop him, I say.
    Young Ju, Apa says, shaking his head. Joon Ho is a boy. It is natural for him to pee outside.
    I don’t understand why Apa thinks boys and girls cannot betreated the same. Why they are so different. There is no dictionary for these kinds of questions.
    Joon, now that he has an audience, starts to do tricks. He waves his go-chu back and forth like a fireman hosing down a burning house. Peach Fuzz just stares.
    Apa starts to laugh. Joon Ho, who do you think you are? A fireman?
    Yes, I am, Joon says. He shakes his go-chu clear of the last drops and pulls up his shorts. Peach Fuzz scratches his head and leans forward to see if the mound of bubbles has disappeared. Joon stands with his hands on his hips like he is challenging the kid to do better.
    Joon orders Peach Fuzz around in Korean. Peach Fuzz nods as though he understands and the two of them build a mound of bubbles. Apa kneels and soaps the last two tires on the station wagon. I stand by the car, the soapy sponge still in my hand, and gaze off at the street, empty and long, stretching far into the distance.
    For one second, the time it takes to blink, I imagine throwing my sponge into the air. Running fast, fast down the street. So fast that I begin to fly. Away. From here. From me.
    But when I open my eyes, I am still standing in my place next to Apa. I turn my head so I do not have to watch him spray down the car and make the bubbles disappear.

The Blob
    On some weekend mornings, not always, hardly even any, but some, Apa becomes the Blob. He wakes up with broom hair and catches Joon and me watching cartoons. He sneaks up from behind and scoops us up all at once like a fisherman with a net. We scream and laugh, try to break free, but his lock-strong arms keep us in jail.
    Uhmma! we screech. Uhmma, help! We are trapped.
    Uhmma comes out of the kitchen, smiles, but shows us her hands. I cannot help you, she says. I will get caught too.
    Nooo! the Blob yells and catches a wiggling Joon by the ankle just as he is about to escape. He stuffs Joon under his arm as easy as a squirrel hiding an acorn. Joon and I try to join forces, like Spider-Man and Superman, like Wonder Twin Powers Activate! Form of a tickle torture. Get him!
    Oh no, the Blob does not have a ticklish spot, not even under the arms. But we do. Under our arms. Below our chins. Around our bellies. Help, help! we laugh and gasp.
    You can never get away, the Blob cackles and then farts, not once but three times, loud as a rusty car starting in the morning. Brumm. Brumm. Brumm.
    Ahhh, we scream and try to plug our noses.
    Never, the Blob yells and pins our arms so that we cannot raise our hands to our faces.
    Uhmma! we yell again. Uhmma comes out of the kitchen once more. She sees we are almost out of breath. She cautiouslyapproaches the Blob that stinks of last night’s kimchi stew. She pokes his back with her finger.
    Rooourrr! the Blob growls and reaches out to grab Uhmma’s ankles. She jumps out of the way and runs for the kitchen. Returning with a towel coiled and ready for combat, she swipes the Blob’s butt. He farts again just to make a point.
    We are dying! I moan.
    Hurry, Joon says, his face red and twisted with effort.
    Uhmma grabs the Blob’s shoulders and pulls him back like a weed. Joon and I try to crawl free, but the Blob catches our legs and pulls us back. He snatches the towel from Uhmma and pulls her into his kingdom by the hem of her shirt. There is no chance of escape. Now we are all one big Blob.
    Do you give up? the Blob asks. Do you? Say it.
    Never, we cry.
    Take this, the Blob says and squeezes us tight as saved