Pushing her Mama Baxter glasses up her nose, Raven waddled right up to the kid. “I heard you stole my baby’s locker,” she barked.

“Look, all I — ”

Raven cut the kid off with a big swing of her purse. Whap! She whacked him right in the shoulder.

“Whoa!” cried the bully in surprise.

“All right,” said Mama Baxter, “you get your things out of there. Pronto. Am I making myself clear?”

“But — ”

Whap! She whacked him again.

“Now, don’t you ‘but’ me, boy,” threatened Mama Baxter. “And if you say any of this to Eddie... I’ve got a bigger purse. With buckles. OW!”

Pleased with herself, Raven strutted her fat suit on down the hall. But she didn’t get far before she felt a familiar tingle through her whole body.

Through her eye

The vision runs

Flash of future

Here it comes —

I see my parents.

Uh-oh... They’re opening the door to Mr Petracelli’s classroom.

Now my father’s speaking.

“We’re looking for Mr Petracelli,” he’s saying. “We’re Raven Baxter’s parents.”

The moment Raven shook her head clear of her vision, she panicked. She had to get back to Petracelli’s classroom — pronto!

Waddling over there in the fat suit would take too long, she realised. So when she noticed a kid walking his scooter in through one of the school doors, she rushed up to him.

“You’re young. Walk,” she told him as she grabbed his scooter, hopped on the back, and coasted away.

“All right! Mama’s in the hall!” she cried, parting the students as she scooted by.

* * * * * * * *

Meanwhile, down the hall, Eddie was about to confront the locker thief giant.

With his chest puffed out and his fists clenched, Eddie strutted up to the bully. Right behind him were Larry and Brendan.

Eddie had thought four of them would look more threatening, but Leland and his neck brace had opted out.

“All right, look,” said Eddie, facing off with the bully. “The guys and I have talked this over, and although we prefer to avoid physical violence — ”

“Or harsh language — ” noted Brendan in a nasal tone.

“Or intimidating gestures — ” added Larry, pushing up his nerdy glasses.

Eddie tensed. “I got this, guys,” he told them quickly. He didn’t want to lose any edge the three of them might have had.

He turned back to the bully. “Now, could you please give us back our lockers?” he asked.

Continues next weeku
Based on the popular TV series created by Michael Poryes and Susan Sherman. Illustrations: Uday Deb