Bradley Wallace Murphy just turned thirteen, and he's not happy about it. He doesn't fit in at school, he's no good at sports, a bully torments him, he's a disappointment to his parents, and his only "friends" are fictional characters on a TV show c...
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CHAPTER 4
Assistant Good Humor Man
School the following day was routine and Bradley Wallace managed to get through it unscathed. Aside from one brief encounter at morning recess, Wagner avoided him to such an extent that Bradley Wallace worried over what dirty trick his nemesis might be plotting. As he followed his scrambling classmates toward the playground, Wagner suddenly appeared alongside and grabbed him by the shirtfront. Bradley Wallace nearly gagged from Wagner's fetid breath.
"You got lucky in P.E. yesterday, Murphy," Wagner whispered hoarsely. "I didn't get you in just the right place. But next time, man..."
He let the threat trail off with a vile sneer and released Bradley Wallace's rumpled shirt. Bradley Wallace stared back with defiance, affecting more courage than he felt, and fought to conceal the shaking of his knees.
Wagner turned and strode away. But then he stopped and turned back, gazing long and hard at him. His piercing grey eyes narrowed. "Why didn't you tell Old Skin Head I plugged you?"
"What for?" Bradley Wallace countered, hoping the quaver in his voice wasn't obvious. "This is between you and me."
Their eyes locked for a moment, each trying to stare the other down. What Bradley Wallace saw in Wagner's gaze he couldn't quite define and then it was gone as his enemy turned to strut toward the play yard. It was almost as though Wagner interpreted Bradley Wallace's words as some kind of threat. At least, that's what Wagner's eyes seemed to indicate.
What a jerk!
Wagner stuck close to Raley and Smith the rest of the day and left Bradley Wallace alone, much to his relief. Upon arriving home, he again biked to Rakestraw's and bought some meat for Whilly, which the hungry dragon was only too happy to receive.
Belly bulging with food, the dragon slumped to the ground and prepared to sleep. Young dragons must require as much sleep as they do food, Bradley Wallace decided as he settled to the ground beside his friend. Reaching out hesitantly, Bradley Wallace touched the shiny, smooth scales of the dragon's muscular back, as though he expected to receive an electric shock. The scales were hard and plate-like to the touch. Then he moved his probing fingers to the creature's folded wings, which looked leathery but felt more like Saran Wrap, sort of sticky and plasticky. Very weird.
Just before settling into a deep slumber, Whilly sent this curious question to a startled Bradley Wallace: *Why do you hate John Wagner?*
Surprised though he was, he knew it was no use trying to wake the sleeping dragon to pursue the subject. Unfortunately, it would have to wait till another time. But why would Whilly ask about John Wagner?
He left his napping friend and hurried home in time for Dark Shadows. Since both his mother and Katie were lurking around the house, Bradley Wallace had to be on the extreme alert during that half-hour. Up to now, he'd only had fictional characters for friends - Barnabas, Quentin, Josette, and the others. But now he had a real friend, one he could actually touch, one with whom he could talk and share.
