Cold and so so Bad In the parking lot Coach Ben was loading a big net bag of soccer balls into the trunk of his car Dad was still asking Why Dad might not let Jasper drink the Bad drink even though he’d already bought it But if Jasper opened it and started drinking now he would at least get to taste some of the Bad drink before he had to pour it out He stepped around the side of the machine where Dad wouldn’t see him and pulled the tab First came the sound of a torpedo firing Fizzy brown liquid bubbled out and over his hand Jasper leaned away from the can When he was sure it wouldn’t explode he changed hands and licked the sweet drink off his fingers His tongue prickled like there were tiny bombs going off in his mouth Wow he said Jasper Dad shouted making Jasper swing around and splash Bad drink onto Dad’s pants Jasper shrank down He looked from the can to Dad’s pants then up to his face
Dad said You scared me I looked over and you weren’t here He was breathing hard from running all the way from the parking lot He didn’t seem to notice the Bad drink splash on his pants Come here Jasper he said grabbing him and hugging so hard that some of the Bad drink spurted out of the can like water in a fountain It spurted up the back of Dad’s jacket Phew he said On the way to the car Dad squeezed and unsqueezed Jasper’s shoulder Remember that time You were about three I guess I lost you in the grocery store Yes Jasper said holding the Bad drink out so he wouldn’t get splashed too while Dad squeezed him I do remember It was horrible I felt like that just now And Dad squeezed him even harder
Chapter 2 Before they got in the car Jasper showed Dad the Torpedo High Energy Drink He said Look what came out of the machine I wanted apple juice Dad wasn’t focusing Jasper could tell Usually Dad passed the key toggle to Jasper so he could unlock the car and make it beep It was a nice beep not an impatient beep like the drink machine had made The beep of the car meant Hello Where would you like to go The drink machine beep meant Hurry Hurry Dad blinked at the red and black can in Jasper’s hand Can I drink it Jasper asked You’re thirsty aren’t you Jasper took a so small sip Right away his mouth exploded in prickles When he swallowed the prickles went down too But the drink was sweet and as soon as he took one sip he wanted another He paused to scratch his tongue Don’t mention this to Mom Jasper Okay The can was halfway to his mouth again The drink he asked No Don’t say that I told you to go ahead and almost lost you
That other time You were probably too young to notice but she wouldn’t speak to me for a whole week He opened the car door for Jasper When he turned to get in the car himself Jasper saw the Bad drink stain on the back of Dad’s jacket Okay Jasper John We won’t say anything right Right Jasper said just before he took a second sip This time it was a bigger sip He had to shake his head around like he was doing the Hokey Pokey He felt dizzy getting into the car With the can between his knees he fastened his seat belt fast Without a seat belt he might blast right through the roof After that for the whole drive home Dad talked about soccer He said Coach Ben thinks you’re afraid of the ball Are you afraid of the ball Jasper Why would I be afraid of a ball Jasper asked taking another tiny sip of the Torpedo High Energy Drink then clenching his jaws so his head wouldn’t blow off Sometimes the ball comes at you pretty fast Dad said I can see why you’d be afraid of it But I’m not afraid of it Jasper said I like fast things I like so so fast things I like things like torpedoes Torpedoes Dad said and Jasper giggled His head felt like a balloon It probably felt that way because of the enormous burp building up inside him BUUURRRPPP
