Sunny Daze by R.J. Ross Read Free Book Online

Is Texas still Central time?  I think it is, probably, they’re right in the middle, but south… ward, or something.  Southward--that’s a word, right?  I wonder if I should buy a ten gallon hat to fit in, or something.  Maybe speak with a southern drawl--nah, probably not.  More than likely it’d give me a lot of strange looks.  I really suck at accents.
    I should have talked to Vinny more about his trip down here.  Actually I’d like to talk with Vinny more in general, he seems like a pretty cool guy.  Well, you know, other than the burning-things-down part.  A part of me is probably always going to be a little bit worried by that.  It might be because I deal with highly flammable trees and plants.
    “Look at this, boys!”  The words make me turn, looking blankly at a group of men heading towards me.  “Shouldn’t you be in bed, boy?” the lead speaker asks.  He’s missing a few teeth, needs a shave, and looks far too fond of flannel in this hot weather, but whatever.  I don’t judge.
    “I’m avoiding curfew,” I say, seeing a gas station up ahead.  “Don’t tell my parents, okay?”
    “Oh, we won’t--if you give us your wallet,” the man says, pulling a gun from the back of his pants.  I’ve never understood the logic of sticking a gun down your pants--I mean, what if it goes off?  You’d have this bleeding hole in your butt!
    “I can’t,” I say, “I’ve got to get food for an entire group, and if I come back after being mugged I’ll never live it down--”
    “This ain’t a JOKE, BOY!”
    I let out a long breath and reach into my back pocket.  “Okay, fine, just give me a second.  I’ve got to get it out, right?” I pull out a seed, bringing up my hand and slamming the head guy in the gut with a thick vine.  It shoots forward, sending him flying back into the street and pinning him to the ground with one stalk.  “Wait, that’s not my wallet, sorry, think it’s in my other pocket,” I admit as the other men start backing away urgently.  “Oh, man, so THAT’S why the ride down here was so rough!” I say as I bring out an acorn.  “This grows into an oak!  Wanna see?”
    They run, but they’re passing right past the still-growing vine so I can’t help myself, really.  Green, leafy stalks wrap around their ankles, hauling them into the air upside down.  “You know, I still can’t find my wallet,” I say, walking over as the items in their pockets fall to the ground.  “So… why don’t I take yours?” I ask with a brilliant grin.  I scoop up all the wallets and a few other things off of the ground, including a really nice looking lighter.
    I stop at the main guy, leaning over and taking the gun from his fingers.  “This is a no-no,” I tell him, holding it up.  Think it’ll work?  It’d look really lame if it doesn’t--I grab the gun barrel and bend it.  It works!  Sweet!  Now I just need to get rid of it.
    I would say it’s well past time to get going, wouldn’t you?  I start going through the wallets as I walk away, pulling out all the cash before tossing the rest over my shoulder.  I should probably call the cops on them or something, right?  But if I take too long, I’ll be in really big trouble for abandoning Cubby.
    Yeah, they’ll be found sooner or later.
     
    ***
     
    “What, exactly, is your boy doing in my territory?”  The question is a bit too loud for this early in the morning, Nico thinks, pulling the phone away from his ear.  “Not only is he running around unmasked, but he’s hanging people off of giant vines!”
    “He what?” Nico asks, wondering if he’s still sleeping.  “How do you know it’s my boy?”
    “Short kid, black hair, capable of growing massive vines with just a seed?  The poor norms he left hanging were all extremely helpful in their descriptions.”
    “There could be any number of black haired super teens with plant powers,” Nico says, quite proud of the fact he said it with a