wasn’t the same without her either.
After his mother’s death, Vincent’s dad threw himself into his work. So did Vincent. With his dad out of the house, Vincent
was able to spend hours in the secret attic lab his mom had helped him build. But all that changed one day when his dad wandered
into an online chat room for widowed parents. That is where he met Vibs. They were married shortly thereafter and Vibs and
her daughters moved to New York.
Vibs was from Minnesota. Vincent had visited the Mayo Clinic when his mom was sick and remembered Minnesota as painfully cold.
He had no interest in ever returning to the Mayo or to Minnesota again. But if his father was offered the job at the Minneapolis
Institute of Arts, Vincent knew he would be leaving New York forever.
A WALK IN THE PARK
4
Vincent waited until Vibs had left for work to go downstairs.
“So, what’s up with the blue skin?” Stella asked as Vincent walked into the kitchen.
“Don’t ask. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“All right. Well, come on, little boy blue. We’re going to be late for school,” Stella said as she lifted her overstuffed
backpack.
Even though they were in many of the same classes, Vincent’s backpack was much lighter than Stella’s. He didn’t take school
as seriously as she did. It wasn’t that he didn’t like it; it was just that he’d sometimes think about other things. An entire
class could pass without him hearing a single word the teacher said. That never happened to Stella.
As far as stepsisters went, Vincent thought Stella was okay. They weren’t exactly best friends, but Stella made him laugh
and it was nice to finally have someone to eat lunch with in the cafeteria.
“Oh, wait. Mom left your migraine medicine out for you,” Stella said, motioning to the large pill sitting on the kitchen counter.
Mom?
Vincent thought to himself. She wasn’t his mom. Vincent grabbed a glass out of the cupboard, filled it with water, and carefully
pretended to swallow the pill. He cupped the pill in his hand and made a loud gulping sound. He had to do this magic routine
every morning, and every morning everyone fell for it.
Vincent and Stella were already late for school. This didn’t bother Vincent, but Stella hated to be late for anything.
“Come on, walk faster,” she said as they cut through Central Park.
Even though Vincent was in no hurry to see Jeff Benz and find out what horrible nickname awaited him, he was now running to
keep up with Stella. And the sight of a small blue boy chasing after a young girl didn’t go unnoticed… even in New York City.
But just before he could catch up to Stella, Vincent saw streaks of light and everything went blurry. Vincent knew this would
be followed quickly by total darkness. He looked around for a park bench—too late. He couldn’t see a thing.
“Wait,” Vincent yelled to Stella. But she was already out of earshot.
Something was now coming at him out of the darkness. It was small and moving fast. Maybe a football, he thought. As it got
closer, Vincent could see it had teeth. No, fangs. Razor-sharp fangs with globs of drool hanging off them. This was no ordinary
ball. This ball had fierce red eyes and a piglike snout bent backward. Its mouth was open wide and it was definitely on the
attack. Instinctively, Vincent fell to the ground just as the ball was inches from his face.
This was Vincent Shadow’s 49th toy idea. He called it the “Biting Beast Ball.” A football with a mouth. Pull the Beast Ball’s
tongue and its mouth would open to reveal “razor-sharp” foam fangs. Throw the ball just like you would a regular football,
but instead of catching the ball, watch it bite onto your opponent’s arm.
“Are you okay, Vin?” he heard Stella ask. “Is it a migraine?”
The Beast Ball was floating in front of Vincent. It was the only thing he could see.
“I’m okay. Can you just help me up?”
Stella took
After his mother’s death, Vincent’s dad threw himself into his work. So did Vincent. With his dad out of the house, Vincent
was able to spend hours in the secret attic lab his mom had helped him build. But all that changed one day when his dad wandered
into an online chat room for widowed parents. That is where he met Vibs. They were married shortly thereafter and Vibs and
her daughters moved to New York.
Vibs was from Minnesota. Vincent had visited the Mayo Clinic when his mom was sick and remembered Minnesota as painfully cold.
He had no interest in ever returning to the Mayo or to Minnesota again. But if his father was offered the job at the Minneapolis
Institute of Arts, Vincent knew he would be leaving New York forever.
A WALK IN THE PARK
4
Vincent waited until Vibs had left for work to go downstairs.
“So, what’s up with the blue skin?” Stella asked as Vincent walked into the kitchen.
“Don’t ask. You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“All right. Well, come on, little boy blue. We’re going to be late for school,” Stella said as she lifted her overstuffed
backpack.
Even though they were in many of the same classes, Vincent’s backpack was much lighter than Stella’s. He didn’t take school
as seriously as she did. It wasn’t that he didn’t like it; it was just that he’d sometimes think about other things. An entire
class could pass without him hearing a single word the teacher said. That never happened to Stella.
As far as stepsisters went, Vincent thought Stella was okay. They weren’t exactly best friends, but Stella made him laugh
and it was nice to finally have someone to eat lunch with in the cafeteria.
“Oh, wait. Mom left your migraine medicine out for you,” Stella said, motioning to the large pill sitting on the kitchen counter.
Mom?
Vincent thought to himself. She wasn’t his mom. Vincent grabbed a glass out of the cupboard, filled it with water, and carefully
pretended to swallow the pill. He cupped the pill in his hand and made a loud gulping sound. He had to do this magic routine
every morning, and every morning everyone fell for it.
Vincent and Stella were already late for school. This didn’t bother Vincent, but Stella hated to be late for anything.
“Come on, walk faster,” she said as they cut through Central Park.
Even though Vincent was in no hurry to see Jeff Benz and find out what horrible nickname awaited him, he was now running to
keep up with Stella. And the sight of a small blue boy chasing after a young girl didn’t go unnoticed… even in New York City.
But just before he could catch up to Stella, Vincent saw streaks of light and everything went blurry. Vincent knew this would
be followed quickly by total darkness. He looked around for a park bench—too late. He couldn’t see a thing.
“Wait,” Vincent yelled to Stella. But she was already out of earshot.
Something was now coming at him out of the darkness. It was small and moving fast. Maybe a football, he thought. As it got
closer, Vincent could see it had teeth. No, fangs. Razor-sharp fangs with globs of drool hanging off them. This was no ordinary
ball. This ball had fierce red eyes and a piglike snout bent backward. Its mouth was open wide and it was definitely on the
attack. Instinctively, Vincent fell to the ground just as the ball was inches from his face.
This was Vincent Shadow’s 49th toy idea. He called it the “Biting Beast Ball.” A football with a mouth. Pull the Beast Ball’s
tongue and its mouth would open to reveal “razor-sharp” foam fangs. Throw the ball just like you would a regular football,
but instead of catching the ball, watch it bite onto your opponent’s arm.
“Are you okay, Vin?” he heard Stella ask. “Is it a migraine?”
The Beast Ball was floating in front of Vincent. It was the only thing he could see.
“I’m okay. Can you just help me up?”
Stella took
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