Day of the Dragon Read Free Page A

reading over X’s shoulder. “Doesn’t look like any dragon I’ve ever seen.”
    X lifted the book up so the cover was off the table. Mark blinked when he saw the book’s title:
The Beginner’s Guide to Kung Fu
.
    “Hey, where’d you get that?” he asked Jonas. Jonas rolled his eyes. “My dad checked out every kung fu book the library had. Big mystery what his next game is about!”
    But Mark was only half paying attention. He suddenly realized what Bizz had said.
    “Let me see that picture,” he said, grabbing the book out of X’s hands.
    “Whoa, steady there, big fella!” X said, pulling the book back. “You’ll get your turn!”
    Mark had only gotten a glimpse of the picture, but that had been enough. As he feared, the costume Jonas wanted to make was of a Chinese Dragon.
    “It’s beautiful,” Savannah was saying. “I bet I could get some supplies from my mother’s shop.” Mrs. Smith owned and operated a successful chain of arts-and-crafts stores.
    “Excellent, excellent,” X said gleefully. “Says here that the frame of the costume is made out of bamboo. Hmm. Where are we gonna find bamboo around here?”
    “Maybe we could just use sticks instead,” Charlie suggested.
    “Too heavy.” X drummed his fingers on the table. “I’ve got it! Cardboard tubes from paper towels, rolls of wrapping paper, and toilet paper! They’d be light enough.”
    “We’re gonna have to use a lot of toilet paper to get enough tubes,” Bizz said. “But I’ll do the best I can!”
    As his friends continued to joke and laugh about toilet paper, Mark stayed silent. His brain was a jumble of mixed-up feelings. One part of him wanted to tell his friends that dressing up as a Chinese Dragon for Halloween wasn’t right. The Dragon is an important symbol of the Chinese culture and to students of kung fu. Using that symbol to win a prize in a holiday parade seemed, well, disrespectful.
    But at the same time, Mark didn’t want to be the one to squash his friends’ excitement. Plus, if he told them what he knew about the Dragon, they’d ask him how he knew about it. He’d have to tell them about his kung fu lessons — and he also wasn’t sure he was ready to do that. Not yet.
    So instead of saying anything, Mark sat back in his chair and kept his mouth shut.

CHAPTER EIGHT
    The next week was miserable for Mark. All his friends wanted to talk about was the costume. They used Savannah’s basement as their base, and every day someone brought new supplies. Savannah’s mother contributed rolls of brightly colored crepe paper. Bizz found a couple of old sheets to use for the body. Charlie brought tape and magic markers. And on one day, Jonas and X arrived with a box full of cardboard tubes.
    “Let’s just say my dad wasn’t psyched to see a garbage bag full of unrolled toilet paper in the bathroom,” Jonas answered when asked where they’d gotten such a huge stash.
    Throughout the preparations, Mark’s brain was in the midst of a war. One side wanted to tell his friends not to make the Dragon. But the other told him to keep his mouth shut. So far, he listened to the second side. Yet as the day of the parade loomed closer, the knot in his stomach drew tighter.
    By Friday afternoon, they had all the supplies they needed. “Be here first thing tomorrow morning,” Savannah said. “If we get the costume finished this weekend, we can practice using it all next week.”
    “Where are we going to practice?” Charlie wanted to know.
    Mark’s heart pounded. Maybe if they couldn’t find a place to practice, they’d dump the idea altogether and his problem would be solved! But his hopes were dashed when X said, “I’ll talk to Alison. I bet she could come up with a good idea.”
    The only bright spots in Mark’s whole week were his kung fu lessons. The Wednesday night class started with a recap of what they had learned the first session. He’d practiced the moves at home as Sifu Hale had asked, so his kicks and