A Modern Superhero

Janie, 8^th grade

Laura wasn’t a “superhero”, like her mom, dad, and three sisters. But at least she had something to be proud of. One day, while the rest of her family was rescuing different cats from different trees, an ironic coincidence, Laura was sitting on her bed with a radio tuned to a police station. She wanted to know immediately when any of her family was in trouble, which they weren’t often, being superheroes. Anyway, she twiddled the dial and came upon a woman shouting, “Someone please help me! My daughter is dangling from a branch and needs help! Repeat! Hillside Park, address 3337 Orangutan Parkway! In woods behind swing set! Please hurry!!!”

Laura jumped up, grabbed her sandals and her bike helmet, and rushed out the door. In a flash she was on her bike, heading to Hillside Park a few blocks away. When she got there, she dropped her bike and headed straight for the swing set. When Laura got there she raced around it, but tripped on a stup and fell, splitting the skin on her knees open on the concrete. She yelped, but got up and kept on running. When she got into the dark, green forest, she thought she heard someone shouting, and raced toward the sound. Soon she got to a small, largely pregnant woman who was holding a radio and screaming into it.

When Laura raced into the clearing, she stopped shouting into the radio and screamed at her instead. “Who are you? You can’t save her, you’re just a kid! Why didn’t you fetch real help?”

Lara calmly answered, “Ma’am, my name is Laura Natter. Now if you could just tell me where your daughter is-“

            “Oh, thank goodness. A Natter. With your powers, you can certainly get her down. She’s right there.” The woman pointed above her head to a little girl hanging from a branch and whimpering.

“Actually, ma’am, I have no powers, but I will do my best to save her.”

“What? You’re the dud? How are you supposed to do anything?”

“Actually, ma’am, I am a decent climber and I’m great with kids. I will try to save her if you will keep calling for help on your radio.”

“OK, but I still think you should have brought your parents, or one of your sisters.”

Laura ignored this and started to climb the tree. At first it was easy going, but it got harder and harder and soon she was struggling for handholds. But the child was slipping only a few branches above her, so she shimmied up the rest of the way. Here came the tricky part. She got the child in front of her and got her to hold on to her back. She then half fell, half climbed to the ground and handed the parent their child.

“Oh, well, I guess you do have “superpowers” after all. Thanks.” said the relieved parent.

“Anytime, though I’m sure I don’t. But I may be average, but I still can be a hero.” Laura answered.