Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja (a hilarious adventure for children ages 9-12)

  Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja

  By Marcus Emerson, Noah Child, and Sal Hunter

  Text copyright © 2012 by Emerson Publishing House.

  Illustrations copyright © David Lee. All Rights Reserved.

  For my kids…

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  All Rights Reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Emerson Publishing House

  Oh, the life of being a ninja. I know what you’re thinking – it’s an awesome life filled with secrets, crazy ninja moves, and running on the tops of trees. Well, you’re right. I’m not gonna lie to you – it’s an absolutely fantastic life.

  But it wasn’t always that way.

  This might surprise you, but ninjas are often seen as the bad guys. I know, right? I had no idea either until I became one. Though looking back, I should’ve seen the signs early on. You know what they say – hindsight is 20/20.

  So this is my story – my diary…er, my chronicle. I feel as though it has to be told for others to read so they can learn about the events at Buchanan School. History has to be studied and learned from or else it’s destined to repeat itself. And that’s something I cannot allow.

  My name is Chase Cooper, and I’m eleven years old.

  I’m the kind of kid that likes to read comic books and watch old horror movies with my dad. If you were to see me walking down the street, you’d try your best not to bump into me, but only because I’m sorta scrawny. I see all these articles online with titles about losing weight and getting rid of unwanted body fat, and my jaw just drops because I can’t gain weight to save my life! I’ve started working out with my dad when he gets home from work, but it’s hard to keep up with him.

  All this to say that if you saw me, the last thing you’d think was “dangerous ninja.”

  I’m not the most popular kid in school, that’s for sure. I’ve never had a girlfriend, and I’ve never played sports outside of gym class. That’s not true – I was on a soccer team in third grade, but after a shin guard to the face and a broken nose, I quit.

  So I’m scrawny and unpopular. What else can I apply to those two traits for a completely wretched experience? The start of school. But wait! Let’s multiply that by a million – I’m also the new kid at this particular school.

  My parents decided to move across town over the summer so we could live in a slightly larger house. I mean, really? How selfish is that? A bigger house, but social death for me! Being in a new district means an entire herd of new students that I don’t know.

  Well, that’s not entirely true either. I know Zoe. She’s the same age as me, but doesn’t really count because she’s my cousin.

  Luckily, we had the same gym class together. She was surprised to see me on that first day. I remember it well – it was a Monday, and the day I caught my first glimpse of the ninjas at Buchanan.

  “Chase?” Zoe asked. She was wearing gym shorts and a tank top with the school’s mascot on it.

  “Hey, Zoe,” I said.

  She looked surprised. “It is you! What’re you doing here?”

  Going to school, dummy. That’s what I wanted to say, but decided against it. “My parents moved to this side of town so I go to school here now.”

  Zoe laughed. “That’s so cool! My own cousin in the same school as me! What fun we’ll have!”

  I looked at her silky hair and perfect skin. She kind of looked like one of those models on teenybopper magazines. Yeah, there was no way she’d keep herself affiliated with the likes of me, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt. “Uh-huh, it’ll be great,” I sighed.

  The coach, Mr. Cooper, was at the front of the gymnasium checking off students he knew. He walked up to the rest and asked for their names and grade. Finally, he approached Zoe and me.

  “Good morning, Zoe,” Mr. Cooper said as he scraped a checkmark into the attendance list. Then he looked at me. “And what’s your name?”

  Zoe answered for me. “This is Chase Cooper. He’s my cousin,” she said with a smile.

  “Good to have you here,” said Mr. Cooper. Then he pointed at Zoe. “She’s a good kid to have as a cousin. It’s the start of school, but I’ve already seen her on several try-out lists. You’ll do good to follow her lead.”

  I faked a smile. “Sure.”

  As Mr. Cooper walked away, Zoe continued speaking. “Why didn’t you tell me you were starting at this school?”

  I shrugged my shoulders. “We don’t really talk that much, and it never came up in conversation. We hardly ever see each other.”

  Zoe crinkled her nose. “We see each other every weekend. Our families have Sunday brunch together at the park!”

  I couldn’t argue with her. “It’s just a little embarrassing.”

  “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Starting a new school might be weird, but it’s not like you have the ability to control a situation like that,” she said.

  I didn’t want to tell her I was embarrassed and scared of being the new kid. That making friends isn’t a strength of mine, and I’m destined to be that kid who walks swiftly through the hallways, clutching my backpack straps and staring at the floor, hoping I don’t make eye contact with someone with anger management issues. So I didn’t say any of that. “You’re right. I think it’s just the first day jitters, y’know?”

  Zoe’s eyes sparkled. She didn’t have a clue. “Welcome to the club. We’ve all got the first day jitters. My dad always says the pool is coldest when you first touch the water so the best thing to do is dive right in.”

  I wasn’t sure what my cousin was trying to say. So I replied with, “Wise words.”

  Zoe looked off to her left and noticed a boy standing alone. “That’s Wyatt. He’s never really talked to anyone here. He keeps to himself – always has. Which is why he probably doesn’t have any friends.”

  Wyatt was short. He had wavy black hair and a pale complexion that would make a vampire jealous. He kind of looked like a porcelain doll. “Has anyone tried to be his friend?”

  “Actually, yes. I tried talking to him last year, but he wouldn’t hear any of it,” she sighed. “He was a jerk to me.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” I asked.

  Zoe glanced at me. “Because I don’t want you to be like him.”

  I tightened a smile. When I looked back at Wyatt, he was gone.

  “So have you raised any money yet for the food drive?” Zoe asked out of nowhere.

  “Food drive?” I asked. “I haven’t heard of anything about that.”

  “They sent a pamphlet to all of the student’s houses last week,” she said. “Oh, that’s right… you just moved into your new place, didn’t you?”

  I nodded.

  “Well, it’s probably somewhere at your house. We’re supposed to raise money by selling fruit or something. I’m already up to ten boxes sold.”

  “Is there a prize or anything?” I asked. Normally these kinds of things had cool prizes – ray guns and little helicopters and stuff.

  “Not a prize for one person, but if the school collectively raises over ten g
rand, we get to take a trip the week before school is out.”

  “Where to?”

  Zoe shrugged her shoulders. “Does it matter? Anything to get out of school for a day.”

  I smiled at my cousin. She was actually a little cooler than I thought.

  Mr. Cooper opened the side door to the gymnasium. Thank goodness too because Zoe’s conversation was making me feel a little edgy. He stepped outside and held the door open with his foot, ushering the rest of us to exit the gym for some “productive activity” outside. Great, just what I needed. Exercise.

  Outside, the students were given a few different options. Being the first day of school, Mr. Cooper apparently thought the best thing to do was take it lightly and allow kids to choose what sport they wanted to play. Some played football. Only a couple played basketball. The rest of them, like me, chose to walk laps around the track. It was the easiest option that didn’t require choosing teams or working up a sweat.

  I could tell Zoe wanted to play football with a few of her friends, but decided to walk the track by my side. It wasn’t a huge sacrifice for her, but I appreciated it. A little goes a long way with me.

  “So what do you want to know?” she asked.

  I didn’t understand her question. “What do you mean?”

  “About this school. What do you want to know about this school? I imagine most schools are the same, but there’s gotta be a couple differences here and there. What’d you do at your old school?”

  I thought about it for a moment. “I didn’t do much. I was in the art club, but that’s about it.”

  “That’s fun,” Zoe said as she started skipping along the track.

  Zoe reminded me of my sister, Lucy, who was also somewhere in the building, adjusting to life as a new student. To be fair, it was far easier for her since she was in third grade. Most third graders barely even know they exist. They haven’t become “self aware” yet – like artificial intelligence that hasn’t realized it has an identity.

  Zoe spoke in an excited manner, which was surprisingly contagious. “There’s a ton of stuff to do here. Not a lot of schools have as much as us. Buchanan actually prides itself on how huge of a selection we have. There’s all kinds of sports teams, different groups, and a bunch of random clubs you can join. I’m sure there’s an art club somewhere around here. I’ll help you find it.”

  I nodded my head, but was distracted by some movement out of the corner of my eye. It was the edge of the track where the tree line was the thickest. I stopped in place and stared for a second to see if anything moved again, but nothing did.

  “What is it?” Zoe asked.

  I kept staring into the dense foliage. It was just a mess of green leaves and heavy shadows - except for a pair of the whitest eyes I’d ever seen. I froze in place and rubbed my eyes. Am I seeing things straight or was it part of the “first day jitters” that Zoe and I spoke about? When I looked again, they were gone.

  “I guess I just…” I stopped talking when I looked at Zoe’s face.

  Zoe was standing behind me with her eyes peeled wide open, staring into the same spot in the tree line that I was studying only seconds ago. “Did you see that?” she asked.

  A chill ran down my spine. “I did. Do you know what it was?”

  She shook her head and started walking along the track again. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. I think I’d rather not get eaten by a creature in the woods today.”

  I knew it wasn’t a monster that we had seen. I’m not that into scary stories and watch enough with my dad to know that monsters are fake… at least I think they’re fake. At that moment, I didn’t feel the need to test that theory so I caught up with Zoe and we spent the rest of class making jokes to distract ourselves from whatever it was that had spied on us.

  Little did I know that it was the first time I’d ever seen a ninja. I’d do anything to take that moment back and just keep walking. Of course, that’s not how it turned out, and my curiosity got the better of me.

  Tuesday. 10:30 AM. Gym class.

  The next day, Mr. Cooper took attendance as he did before. I was surprised that he remembered who I was. As he approached me, he said my name and checked me off the list.

  Zoe hadn’t left the girl’s locker room yet so I was stuck in the gymnasium standing by myself. I pushed my hands into my pockets and watched the other kids laugh and make jokes with each other before the class officially started. A couple of them even glanced in my direction. I didn’t hear what they said, but I’m pretty sure it was about me.

  “Hey, new kid,” said a voice from behind me.

  I turned around and was met by a taller student. He was very plain looking with slicked back brown hair. It’s possible that it was greasy, but it’s also possible he just used way too much gel. “Me?” I asked.

  The brown haired boy outstretched his arms. “I don’t see any other new kids around here, do you?”

  I glanced around. “Uh, I guess I wouldn’t know.”

  “Of course not,” he said as he held out his hand. “My name’s Brayden, and you just passed my test.”

  I shook his cold clammy hand. It was gross and I had to very consciously decide not to rip my hand away from his in disgust. It was my second day of school! I didn’t want to embarrass anyone… yet. “My name’s Chase. Chase Cooper. What test did I just pass?”

  Brayden shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. It’s just an icebreaker. Y’know, something to break… the ice.”

  Smart one, this kid. “Nice to meet you.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Chase. So how was your first day of class yesterday?”

  “It was alright,” I answered. As I blinked, I hoped he couldn’t read my thoughts. Please just walk away. You’re weird and sweaty.

  “Huh,” Brayden grunted as he crossed his arms. He remained in place like a statue.

  What did this kid want me to say? That it was an epic first day? That it was lame? Whatever it was, I guess I didn’t care because I didn’t try to keep the conversation going. We stood there in an awkward silence, occasionally making eye contact, wondering who the next to speak would be.

  “Chase,” Zoe called from nearby. “Come on, let’s walk the track again.”

  I glanced at Brayden. He still didn’t say anything. He just stood there looking sad. Being the nice guy I am, I couldn’t just walk away from him. “You want to join us?”

  Brayden’s face slowly cracked open a smile. It was one of the scariest things I’d seen in my life. “Sure!” he said.

  Zoe was nice about it. She seemed to know Brayden from previous years at this school. “Hi, Brayden. Find any werewolves lately?”

  “No, but it’s not for lack of trying,” Brayden answered.

  Suddenly, Brayden seemed a little more interesting to me. “You look for werewolves?”

  “Hunt werewolves,” he said sharply. “I hunt werewolves.”

  Yeah, this kid was cool. “Ever find any?” I asked.

  “Never,” he replied. “Not a one.”

  “Maybe someday,” I said. It was pretty unlikely that this dude was going to catch a werewolf, but who was I to shatter his dreams? “Just keep trying I guess.”

  As we stepped out of the gym doors, the sun poured across the school parking lot like a hot wet blanket. It was muggy and awful outside. Zoe immediately started flapping the bottom of her tank top to push air through the shirt.

  “Oh gross,” she said. “Great. Everyone’s gonna sweat and stink for the rest of the day. That’s so nasty.”

  I laughed. When she said it like that, it did seem nasty. Zoe was always the cleanest one at family events, always washing her hands and wiping her face.

  As we walked the path to the track, Brayden was talking about his love of werewolves. At first it was great, but it got boring really fast. He just kept repeating the same things over and over about how real werewolves live in Wisconsin or something. This boy would not shut his mouth.

  Zoe was good at pretending to care th
ough I know she actually didn’t. Seeing her smile and nod, I realized how obvious it actually was and wondered if she had ever done that to me. Didn’t matter – we hardly talked outside of school.

  “So that’s why a lot of people think werewolves actually come from Wisconsin,” Brayden said, breathing heavily.

  “That’s neat!” Zoe said, almost convincingly.

  “What happens if you ever find one?” I asked.

  Brayden paused. “Of course I want to find one someday, but at the same time, I hope I never do. If I ever get close enough to one, I’ll probably snap a picture with my camera. That is, if I have my camera on me.”

  Zoe started glancing at the tree line again as soon as we arrived to the track. There were several other students in front of us with even more trailing behind. I knew she was looking for those eyes from yesterday. What could they have possible been? And then I glanced at Brayden…

  “Hey,” I said to him. “Have you ever heard any stories of anything living in these woods?”

  Zoe’s attention snapped at me. Her brow was furrowed and if she could stare daggers into my soul, she totally would have.

  “In these woods?” Brayden asked as he looked at the trees. “I’ve never heard anything strange about them. Why? Did you see something?”

  Zoe’s glare warned me not to mention anything, but she’s family – she’ll forgive me. “I saw a set of eyes watching me yesterday. Zoe saw them too.”

  “Why would you say anything?” Zoe asked. She looked at Brayden. “If you tell anyone about this, just say it was Chase that saw something, okay? I don’t need this kind of paranoid delusion following me into middle school next year.”

  Brayden scratched his head. “You two saw someone watching you from the trees? What color were the eyes?”

  “Blue,” I answered. At least I remembered them being blue.

  Brayden scratched at his rough chin. “Y’know… I’ve heard stories… no. There’s no way.”