Superheroes

It was Billy’s idea to be superheroes on that summer day in July when we were ten years old. The four of us dragged the paint ladder and propped it against the garage. Of course, Billy climbed up first, then the brothers, Chuckie and Mickey.

“Come on, Sue,” called Mickey. “It’s like being in the clouds.” That’s why I liked Mickey – he sought adventure, but always added a touch of whimsy to it.

The boys horsed around up there, pretending they were pirates with imaginary swords. When I stepped onto the garage, I could see the brown shingled roof of my house and hoped mom wouldn’t see me.

We wore towels that Billy smuggled from his house and safety pinned them around our necks to make capes. Billy even used his mom’s red lipstick to draw an ‘S’ on his towel for Superman. He gave me the flowered towel with a lace ruffle on each end because it was a ‘girly’ towel.

“Okay, I go first,” commanded Billy.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Mickey’s freckled face was sweating.

“Yeah, we’re superheroes. What? Are you chicken?”

“No way.” I knew Mickey would have been happy just laying on the roof shingles watching the clouds float by.

Billy said each of us should count to three and then leap off into the grass. He scrambled up to the pitch of the roof, but lost his footing and started to slide down. He flapped his arms to catch his balance, then fell on his back crashing through the roof. This caused a chain reaction for Chuckie and Mickey who jumped off the roof, screaming in panic, instead of falling through the gaping hole.

I climbed down the wobbly ladder and became a superhero when I flew home like Wonder Woman.


Word Count: 300