Thomas and Amani Summer Reading Club Mystery

Chapter Three - Parade Party

The float slowly moved out of the garage as dad's black half ton hauled it forward. Black, red and white flowers decorated the sides of the flatbed trailer. A make shift wall had black and red streamers hanging from it, along with posters of Thomas' favorite horror movies. In the centre of all the posters was Thomas' sixth grade picture with the words, Canada Day Baby All Grown Up. Happy 12th Birthday, Thomas Jeremiah Brown.

Thomas face flamed but it was the best feeling ever. There were no more ugly baby pictures to look at. Too bad his parents hadn't thought of this sooner. On the back of the trailer was a sign that read: Sponsored by Cinema Twin Theatre. Thomas beamed. This was the best birthday ever!

"So like you'll sit at the front of the float," Amnai told Thomas. "Like we'll be near the middle and back of the float."

Once the float stopped, Amani took him by the hand and showed him his throne and the other seats. Thomas turned and gave Amani one of his rare hugs. She patted his back.

"Like Happy Birthday, Thomas," Amani said, her voice muffled against his shoulder. She pulled away. "Let's get you in your costume so we can go!"

The heat beat down on Thomas' head as his dad pulled the float into line with the other floats. The Credit Union iplex was off to Thomas' right as the parade faced west. He hoped that his make-up wouldn't run before they went past Herbert Street. His face was painted a grey colour with red lipstick and black eye shadow around his eyes. He wore a tuxedo with ripped off sleeves over a pair of black ragged shorts and his old black sneakers. His stomach buzzed with excitement and he feared he'd be farting all through the parade. Thankfully, the junior and senior bands made enough noise to mask the trumpeting sounds of gas reverberating from his butt. Scottish bagpipes blasted in the distance and Thomas sighed with relief. Everyone looked really great on his float of death. His dad drove the float and the four zombies and Van Thomas had big bags of candy to throw at the crowd.

The truck jerked forward as dad pulled it ahead. A steady tempo of drumbeats filled the air up ahead and slowly they started moving to the marching rhythm. They coasted down the road following Chaplin Street. Crowds cheered and clapped as they went by flinging candy. Some people even hooted as Thomas' float passed.

What felt like seconds was actually an hour as Thomas' float passed down ninth towards central. They would soon be angling off towards Herbert. He hoped that Library Sue was sitting outside on the grass waiting for the parade to pass by. As he thought of her, he sat up as tall as he could, proud to be on his throne while zombies nestled at his feet. He saw many familiar and unfamiliar faces watching him. He beamed. No more ugly baby float! He was so happy.

They turned onto Herbert and the R.C. Dahl Centre came into view. Thomas held his breath as he scanned the crowd for her. Had it not been for her purple and pink streaked auburn hair, he would have missed her. There she was, jumping up and down on the grass waving madly at Thomas...well at his float! She was dressed in pink plaid shirt, blue jean shorts, cowgirl boots, and a cowgirl hat for Frontier Days. Thomas stood, braced his feet shoulder width apart so he wouldn't fall over should his dad hit a bump and slung about five handfuls of candy towards her. The children who were on the grass in front of her, squealed as they lunged for the treats and dogpiled one another to collect as many of the sweets as they could. Thomas felt his heart race as one of the sweets landed in Library Sue's outstretched hand. She grinned, then put her fingers in her mouth and whistled a high pitch sound. Feeling dizzy, Thomas dropped into his seat and waved back.

When the parade finally ended, his head was still buzzing with excitement. He was sure this summer was going to be one of the best in his entire life. Goosebumps peppered his skin as his dad pulled the float into the driveway. Thomas, Amani, Jessica and the two moms jumped off the trailer and headed towards the house.