Tommy Puke and the Boy with the Golden Barf by Robert T. Jeschonek Read Free Book Online Page A

bully the only way he understands... with strength. The same way Tommy dealt with those other bullies when we first met.
    Even if it kills me.
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    *****
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    Chapter 19

    I take a deep breath and square my shoulders. "That's enough!"
    As soon as the words leave my lips, I feel a rush of air on my face. I sense his presence there in front of me, inches away.
    "What did you say?" His deep voice curdles like smoke in the pitch blackness. "What did you say to me?" He has the worst vomit breath I've ever smelled in my life, tangy and putrid and fishy and sweet.
    It makes me want to puke, and I have to fight the urge. "I said that's enough! Leave my friend alone! Quit acting like a jerk!" I have to fight to keep myself from shaking, too. I hope he can't sense how scared I am right at this moment.
    "A jerk ? Is that what I am?" Chonganda roars with cruel laughter. "Who are you to call a god like me a jerk ?"
    "A god , that's who!" The words tumble from my mouth, surprising me when I hear them out loud. I'm thinking so fast, I can't keep up with myself. "A god like you!"
    I didn't think Chonganda could get any closer, but he does. "If you're such a god, what's your name?"
    My mind races, and I surprise myself again. "Mighty Jiggles!"
    Chonganda breathes more putrid vomit breath in my face. I can't tell if he's taking me seriously or just biding his time till he squashes me like a bug. "And what are you god of , Mighty Jiggles?"
    "God of shaking ." I bark out the words with as much confidence as I can muster. If there's any chance at all of him backing down, I need to be totally convincing. "I have power over all manner of vibrations!"
    "Vibrations?" Chonganda snickers. "Not much of a power, is it?"
    Good thing I've read so many comic books. "Not much of a power, you say?" The words pour out of me like dialogue on the page of a super-hero comic. "Only if you think an earthquake isn't powerful! Only if shaking apart a mountain range means nothing to you!"
    For a moment that feels like a month, the only thing I hear from Chonganda is the rasping of his putrid breath. I start to worry that he hasn't bought a word I've said. I mean, come on: Jiggles , god of shaking ? How intimidating is that ? I could've done so much better.
    But I said what I said, and it's out there now. All I can do is wait and hope for the best. Hope he doesn't kill me on the spot with a deluge of vomit. Hope Tommy's still alive over there in the sewage where he landed.
    Another moment passes. I wonder if I should say something else...or maybe I should just run. Take my chance s in the darkness and hope I do n't bash my brains out on the sewer wall.
    Suddenly, Chonganda speaks. "You are trespassing , Mighty Jiggles." I don't think he's making fun of me anymore. He sounds more angry than amused. "I have every right to destroy you for intruding on my territory."
    I take a deep breath and snap right back at him. "How would you like it if I shatter your territory to pieces? What if I shake the ground so hard, it tumbles down and becomes your eternal tomb ?"
    "And what if I vomit up horrors you can't imagine ," snarls Chonganda, "and turn them loose on you and that mortal excrement you call a friend ?"
    Reaching deep, I dredge up every last bit of courage I can find. It's time to put everything on the line. "Go ahead and try!" I lunge forward, shouting into his putrid presenc e. "I'll show you what a god is made of!"
    Chonganda swoops closer, his reeking breath oozing over my face. "You think you're better than me, Mighty Jiggles?"
    That's when I get the idea. I think of a way to turn this around. "I do think I'm better than you ...but my friend doesn't." I wave in what I think is Tommy's general direction. "Some friend!"
    "What are you tal king about?" Chonganda sounds more puzzled than furious.
    I think I might have him on the hook. Now to start reeling him in. "Tommy worships you. I thought I was his favorite god, but I don't even come close to you