Jump When Ready by David Pandolfe Read Free Book Online Page A

someone in mind?” Curtis seemed to know I did.
    I nodded.
    “Know where he lives?”
    “Sure. He lives over by the high school.”
    “Great, then just close your eyes and picture being
there. Simple as that. Go on.”
    I closed my eyes and imagined seeing Tommy’s house. I
waited but it didn’t seem like anything was happening.
    “Open your eyes,” Curtis said.
    We stood on Tommy Balboa’s front lawn, facing his house.
It seemed totally impossible. At the same time, somehow we’d gotten to the
church yesterday. Same deal, I guessed.
    Curtis looked around. “What do you know, it really is
morning. Who would have thought? Oh, cool, the cars are in the driveway. I bet
it’s Saturday. Okay, this part’s always entertaining. Come on, let’s check
things out inside.”
    “Are you serious?”
    “Of course. Why, are you scared of getting in trouble?”
    Obviously, he had a good point. “But how—”
    Curtis looked at me like I was a total idiot, but then he
grinned again. “Follow me.”
    When I expected him to somehow open the door, he walked
up the front steps and passed right through it. I climbed the steps, then
stopped. How had he done that? Everything I knew told me it was solid wood. A
door was either open or it was closed. But then Curtis’s arm reached through
and he beckoned me inside with his index finger. I stood there staring at that
door with an arm sticking out of it. After a few seconds, Curtis stuck his head
through too.
    “Didn’t you just fall out of a tree the other day without
getting a scratch? Do you really think this door is going to stop you?” “Well,
technically, I was pushed,” I said. But again he did have a point. So, I walked
through the door and we stood together inside Tommy’s house.
    “Okay, that was weird,” I said.
    “Weirder than what? Drowning? Going to your own funeral?
You really are confused.”
    “What are we doing here?” I whispered.
    Curtis rolled his eyes. “Speak up.”
    I raised my voice just a little. After all, we were
standing in someone else’s house. “Why are we here?”
    Curtis cupped his ear. “I can’t hear you! Must be going
deaf! Speak up!”
    Right, okay. I got it. But it still felt weird. “What’s
the deal?”
    Curtis ignored me and walked through the living room,
then into the kitchen. He opened cabinets and left them open. He poked around
inside the refrigerator. “Wow, lots of food. Wish I could eat on this side.” He
turned to face me. “So, why did you hate this guy?”
    I thought of Martha’s words from our conversation
earlier. “Hey, I never said I hated him.”
    “Figure of speech. How did he bug you?”
    “He picked on me.”
    “Well then, now is your chance to pick back. Let’s go
upstairs.” Curtis lifted off the floor and passed through the ceiling, leaving
me standing in the kitchen. About two seconds later, his arm poked through.
Again, the beckoning index finger.
    For a moment, I just stood there again, my brain telling
me what Curtis had just done was totally impossible. But it was possible for
us, obviously. So, I kicked off the kitchen floor, passed through the ceiling
and stood next to Curtis in the upstairs hallway. For the record, the whole
walking through walls and flying through ceilings thing was amazingly cool. But
I didn’t have any more time to think about it since, right at that moment, one
of the bedroom doors opened and Mrs. Balboa stepped into the hall. She walked
right past us. Well, technically, she walked through half of Curtis.
    Mrs. Balboa rapped on Tommy’s door. “Tommy, it’s time to
get up. Better get moving.”
    “I guess that must be Tommy’s room.” Curtis walked
through both Mrs. Balboa and Tommy’s door.
    I had absolutely no idea what to do with that at all. I
mean, come on! Again, I saw it happen but how was I supposed to just walk
through another person like she was a shadow or something? At the same time,
now I was standing in the hallway alone and Curtis was on the