They called themselves the Twelfth Street Terrors, but they never terrorized anyone -- unless you count old man Hodges, and then it was nothing worse than toilet papering his trees or smashing pumpkins on his driveway. Besides, he had it coming. Old man Hodges was a Nazi dog hater. Two of the boys had witnessed him throwing rocks at neighborhood dogs that did their business on his lawn. It was reason enough to consider him fair game for their mischief.
But mischief wasn't the Terrors' main pursuit; competition was. All five boys were students at Fairmont Elementary School, all within a year of graduating to Central Middle School. None of them admitted it, but mixed with the excitement of joining the ranks of the older kids at Central, was a fear that they would not measure up. And so they challenged each other to anything that they could think of. Points were awarded according to the level of difficulty.
Tony had been winning the majority of challenges lately. He was the first to eat a worm, the first to steal a candy bar from Miller's Grocery, and the first to take a leak in Jefferson Park in full view of an old lady that fed the pigeons there every day. He was also the first to sneak into the cemetery with a flashlight after dark. Tony was much admired and way ahead of the pack.
Kevin had the distinction of being the only one to get into trouble winning one of the challenges. He had been the first to steal a pear from old man Hodge's pear tree, but he got caught and was grounded for two weeks. They gave him the points, though, 15 of them, because it was all about having the courage to do the deed, not the consequences.
It was hard to say who won the challenge of swimming in the raw up at North Creek. Tony was naked first, but Brian got to the water before anyone else. They settled it by giving them both 10 points.
Shawn won a fair number of challenges, mostly those that required physical strength or endurance. He won the two-mile race to the gas station and ate more hard-boiled eggs than anyone else did. He couldn't think his way out of a paper bag, but size had its advantages.
Jason wasn't doing too well. He hadn't won one of the challenges for months; and the last one was a dubious victory. He was the first to touch a dead person. It was only hard because dead people are hard to find; so the points went to the boy lucky enough to go to a funeral first.
When Tony came up with an idea for the next challenge as the five boys were walking home from school together, Jason's heart sank.
"How about 25 points for the first one to kiss Kimberly Langley on the lips?" Tony asked the guys.
"Kimberly?" They said almost in unison. Kimberly was the prettiest girl in school, but shy and, as far as any of them knew, she never had a boy friend. It would be the toughest challenge yet.
"How we gonna prove we done it?" Brian asked.
They thought about that for a long time, and decided that the honor system was the only way. They were buddies, and not one of them would lie about a sacred challenge.
Jason didn't have a chance with this one; he was sure of that. He was tongue-tied anytime he got around girls, especially girls he liked. And he had always liked Kimberly Langley. But, then, who doesn't, he thought. She was near perfect.
But Jason was luckier than he knew. He hadn't counted on the surprising fact that Kimberly Langley had a secret crush on him. She had been too shy to let on. That week Jason glanced back at her in class several times wondering how he would find the courage to even speak to her. Their eyes met once, and incredulously, Kimberly smiled at him.
The other Twelfth Street Terrors had no luck at all. She ignored them, as one by one they vied for her attentions. Tony tried to ambush her with a kiss-and-run tactic, but she was too quick and he missed her lips.
Jason couldn't believe his good fortune when Kimberly tripped and dropped her books as they were leaving school on Friday. He was just five feet from her and hurried to help pick them up. Kimberly blushed and said, "Thank you, Jason. I'm so clumsy." She smelled sweet as a flower.
Jason didn't know where he got the courage to say it, but something about that blush emboldened him. "Mind if I walk with you?"
"Sure." Kimberly smiled and blushed again as she got up from the ground. "I mean, no; I don't mind, that would be nice."
Jason continued to walk Kimberly home and carry her books. In less than a week he was lingering at her front steps to talk for a while. It wasn't long until she invited him to sit with her on the back porch before her mother came home. By the time a month was up Jason got his kiss. They were sitting in the porch swing together after Jason walked her home from school. He didn't know if it was the honeysuckle vine near by or that willing look in Kimberly's blue eyes, but the moment was just right. The kiss was quick but warm and sweet, and Jason was sure he would never love another girl as much as Kimberly.
Kimberly stiffened when she heard a door close in the house. "Momma's home." She jumped to her feet. "You better go. Please don't tell anybody. I am not supposed to have a boyfriend until I'm 16. She has silly rules like that."
The Twelfth Street Terrors knew that Jason had been walking her home. They reckoned his kiss was just a matter of time, since none of them could even get to first base with Kimberly. But Jason never collected his 25 points. When they ask, he always said, "We're just friends, but she sure smells better than you guys."
THE END