The Midnight War of Mateo Martinez

The Midnight War of Mateo Martinez — page 7 — Barbara Caballero Road Caballero actually means knight in Spanish I don’t speak Spanish but my dad does Well to me that street name has always been a sign that I was supposed to be a knight Like for real If your home is a castle and my house totally is then the driveway is a drawbridge The sidewalk’s a moat My bedroom’s even like a watchtower I have a win dow right over the driveway with a view straight out to Caballero Road It’s my job to keep a lookout and that’s what I was doing the first time I saw the skunks Seeing Steed out there made me smile even though I was sleepy but then I heard this weird creak and leaned a little closer to my window I squinted up and down the driveway checking everything out Something was missing from the dark jumble of stuff by the garage and I was pretty sure what it was My rusty old trike doesn’t shine in the dark anymore like Steed does but the right back-wheel has this creak and I definitely heard that I don’t ride the trike or anything but my little sister Mila does And I always have to make sure she puts the trike back where it’s supposed to be That night the trike should have been where I used to park it when I was a little kid It shouldn’t have been out on the corner or sideways in the dirt and it definitely shouldn’t have been rolling down the driveway But it was My breath was making the glass all foggy I rubbed it away so I could see better and at first I thought the trike 2

The Midnight War of Mateo Martinez — page 8 — was rolling by itself I don’t know like being pushed by the wind But when the driveway light clicked on I saw them Two little black-and-white skunks one on each pedal holding onto the handlebars with their tails high in the air One skunk went up the other went down Up-down up-down up-down right out onto the sidewalk When they got to the street the skunk on the right pulled hard on the handlebar and they wobbled around the corner That’s weird I said leaning so close my nose touched the glass I waited for a few minutes but nothing else hap pened Staring into the dark to see if the skunks would come back my head felt all fuzzy My eyes went all blinky I flopped onto my bed kicking at the covers thinking Two skunks can’t steal a trike No way I kept popping up onto my elbows to peek out the window but pretty soon my head was too sleep-fogged to even look I jerked awake a couple times and wiped some drool off my cheek But I never heard that rusty creak again Did I fail in my solemn duty as a watchman as a knight What was I supposed to do raise an alarm Even half asleep I guess I knew nobody would believe me I knew what Mom and Dad would say And after a while even I thought those skunks had to be a dream But they weren’t 3

The Midnight War of Mateo Martinez — page 9 — 2 The Smile The next morning I was crunching a huge bite of cereal when I remembered my dream that wasn’t really a dream It squirted back into my brain Last night two skunks stole my old trike I said Little bits of cereal exploded out of my mouth and oozed down my chin My little sister Mila laughed I kicked her under the table Not hard But you know just to keep her in line That’s a funny dream Mateo Mom said putting the milk away Then she smiled at me over the rim of her coffee cup Whenever she smiled that smile I smiled back I was always dreaming up strange stuff and I loved making Mom laugh at breakfast before it was time for all of us to leave the house So I forgot all about the skunks and that old trike I forgot about protecting my castle and being a knight 4

The Midnight War of Mateo Martinez — page 10 — But only for a while Mom stacked our cereal bowls in a heap and sploshed them into the kitchen sink Time to go she said clicking across the kitchen Her smile was gone And Mateo no more leaving Mila behind You have to wait for her and cross Las Positas together I will I said barely moving my mouth Mila laughed again but I didn’t kick her It’s not me that leaves Mila behind but I could tell Mom wasn’t in the mood to hear that excuse again Besides a knight does his duty without complaint Mostly Mom stopped at the door to the garage and scooped her keys out of the bowl I mean it Mateo If you still want to walk to school with Ashwin then you have to be responsible for Mila Otherwise I’ll just drive you both I said I’ll do it I told her Mom gave me a different kind of look the one I hated the one that said Please don’t make me late for work She scooped up her purse a stack of papers and her black laptop She stopped for a second in the doorway to the garage holding the door open with her shoulder And hold her hand at the light mijo It’s your job to keep her safe Mom didn’t wait for me to answer The door to the garage slammed shut behind her Bang So I zipped my lunch into my backpack and pushed Mila out the front door I wanted to get to the side walk before Mom got her car out of the garage so she 5

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