13. The Detention

CHAPTER 13 THE DETENTION "I don't want you guys messing with me ever again!" George said firmly, as the bullies squealed in high-pitched terror. "And that yellow-haired kid is off-limits, too! You mess with us, you answer to The TIE!" George snapped his tie in the air one last time, causing the four sobbing sixth graders to shriek like hyenas. "Uh-Uh-Uncle BENNY!" Kipper wailed through his tears.

Suddenly, Mr. Krupp came storming out of the building. "WHAT'S GOING ON OUT HERE?" he screamed. "That little kid beat us up!" Kipper sobbed. "Oh, he DID, did he?" yelled Mr. Krupp, as he grabbed George by his arm. "I don't take kindly to bullies in this school!" "They're the bullies!" cried Harold, pointing at Kipper and his three frightened friends. "Those guys were just about to beat that kid up... He was just defending himself!" Mr. Krupp reached over and grabbed Harold by his arm. "I don't like LIARS, either!" he growled.

Mr. Krupp yanked both boys to the detention room. "You two troublemakers are going to stay here until you've learned your lesson!" he shouted, then slammed the door. "So much for a good first impression," said George. The two boys sat in silence for several minutes. Harold opened his backpack and took out a notebook and the pointy half of one of his broken pencils. He started to draw. "What grade are you in?" asked George. "Kindergarten," said Harold. "Me, too," said George. "I'm new. We just moved here three days ago."

"Oh," said Harold. "I think you live next door to my house." "Really?" said George. George glanced over and noticed that Harold was drawing a giant monster. "Hey, you're a good drawer," George said. "Thanks," said Harold. George watched as Harold drew a flying hero zapping the monster with a laser beam. "Cool!" said George, pointing to the superhero. "What's that guy's name?" Harold shrugged. "He doesn't have a name." "How come?" asked George. Harold shrugged again. "It's just a picture," he said. "It's not really a story." "Oh," said George.

George watched intently as Harold finished his picture. When he was done, Harold folded the page back and started drawing a new picture on the next page. "Um... do you want to draw, too?" Harold asked. "I have some more pencils. They're broken, but the pointy parts still work OK." "No," said George. "I can't draw good. I'm a writer." "Oh," said Harold. He tore some fresh pages out from the back of his notebook and handed them to George. "Here. You can write on these if you want."

George took the papers and thought for a long time. Then he wrote The Adventures of Dog Man at the top of the first page. At the bottom he wrote By George and... "Hey, what's your name, kid?" George asked. "Harold," said Harold. George wrote Harold's name down at the bottom. "I'm gonna write a comic book," said George. "You can draw the pictures, OK?" "Umm... OK," said Harold.