Storymania - Q by Don F Vaccarino

Q (2)
Don F Vaccarino

“Then we muddy up your license plate, and park it in front of Miss Peal’s house.”
Miss Peal’s house is the local tart palace.
“Half the school board passes that way on their way to church every Sunday,” Q continues.
Fergy fell on the floor laughing.
“Do you think they could fire him before school is out in two weeks?” asks Art.
“One could only hope,” says Q.
Q wanted Ferris to go away, he was a bad influence on the young students.
Saturday evening they all met at Art’s barn. Fergy was masking off the windshield and headlights when Q got there. Art was on his Autophone making a date with Sally for later, she accepted.
“I thought you weren’t going to date Sally,” says Q.
“I like her,” says Art. “Her mom is my Aunt’s best friend. So I have to be a perfect gentleman around her,” Art says.
“Then why are you going out with her?” asks Fergy.
“To get you guys dates for the prom,” answers Art.
“You would do that for us?” asks Fergy.
“That and a lot more,” says Art. “Besides,” he continues. “I have a late date with Pam after the prom.”
“Now I believe you,” says Q.
Art peddled the pump Q had built while Q sprayed the Stuts Bearcat. “Can I put on the second coat?” asks Fergy.
“Sure ,” says Q.
“I need the practice,” says Fergy.
Q mixed up a little mud, and doctored up the license plate.
“Perfect,” says Q.
“Yea,” says Art. “It looks just like Ferris’ car in the dim light,” he continues.
“Fergy,” says Art. “You can take the Bearcat home and park it in your barn tonight,” Art continues. “Then tomorrow morning at 7:45, you can park it in the shade under the tree in front of Miss Peals. Since church starts at 8:00, you can leave at 8:05. Just hide on the floor in the back under this blanket,” Art concludes.
As a final touch, Q places a brief case that looks just like Ferris’ on the passengers seat. The same position too. Fergy dropped Q home, Art took the Bentley to Sally’s for their date.
Saturday morning, Fergy got to Miss Peals right on time. He had just enough time to get in the back seat when Mrs. Dole and her family drove past.
“That can’t be his car?” says a female voice.
“Looks like his brief case,” says a male voice.
“Well, I never,” says the female voice.
“I know, I know,” says the male voice, as the voices fade.
Fergy holds his own mouth shut. Another car passes by slowly.
“Oh my goodness,” says another female voice.
A few moments later, Fergy hears a familiar young male voice, “Hey, look where Mr. Ferris is spending his time.”
“Hush up,” says an older male voice.
Finally one last male voice, “Well, we’ll see about this!”
After about five minutes of silence, Fergy drives the Bearcat back to Art’s barn.
After church, Art went to pick up Q. They met Fergy in Art’s barn. He was still laughing as he described what he heard.
“We better get this stuff off the car now,” says Q.
“Not yet,” says Art.
Art showed Q and Fergy a top coat and hat that looked like Ferris’.
“I have talked Pam and her sister into dressing sexy and riding around with me tonight,” says Art.
“I can make you a fake mustache and side burns,” adds Q.
“Here,” says Fergy.
He hands Art a couple of empty booze bottles.
“It will add to the effect to have the girls wave these around in their hands,” he adds.
“Perfect,” says Art.
“The mayor and his family usually have their desert at the ice cream parlor around 7:00. They walk there and back, so if you can catch them on foot, they won’t be able to follow,” says Q. “Remember,” adds Q. “Ferris calls the mayor Eddy.”
“We will all meet back here after dinner then,” says Art. “You guys can hide in the Bentley on First Street,” he continues. “After I say hello to the mayor, we will switch cars behind the school. Then I can drive past him again with Q, and say hi again.”
“That will give us a great alibi,” says Q.
“Right,” says Art.
All three boys went home to study, there were tests on Monday. The finals were the first three days the week after. As they were leaving, Q and Fergy saw Aunt Millie having tea in the Bentley, and smiling.
“Good-bye boys,” she calls out as they pass her.
“Good-bye,” they respond.
“She looks so happy in that car,” says Fergy.
“Yes,” agrees Q. “It would have been worth restoring it just for her.” Q and Fergy got home in time to finish their chores before lunch. That left the entire afternoon for them to study together. They took turns quizzing each other on math, English and science. By dinner time their brains have had enough.
“If we don’t have it now, we never will,” says Q.
“I think we have had enough for now,” adds Fergy. “I’ll see you at 6:00,” he concludes.
Q has the fake mustache in his hand when Fergy gets there.
“How does this look?” Q asks.
Q holds it up to his nose.
“Not bad, answers Fergy. “You have the side burns too?” Fergy asks. “Sure do,” says Q.
As they are walking toward Art’s house, he meets them in the Bentley. “Hi guys,” he says. “I want you to meet Pam, and her sister Susan. This is Q and Fergy,” he continues.
Everyone says hello, and they drive to Art’s barn. Once inside, Q helps Art with the fake side burns and mustache.
“Wow, you do look like Ferris,” says Pam after Art puts on the hat.
Fergy hands the girls the empty bottles.
“We don’t drink,” says Susan.
“That’s good,” says Art. “Those are empty bottles.” Art continues. “Those are for you to wave around, and pretend to be drunk. Did you bring the wigs for your disguises?” asks Art.
“Right here,” says Pam.
She has them in her large purse.
“How do we look?” asks Susan.
“Like someone else,” answers Art.
“Good,” says Pam.
The girls were wearing borrowed clothes, too.
“Lets go,” says Art.
He and the girls get in the Bearcat.
“Remember to meet us behind the school now,” Art reminds Q and Fergy.
Art and the girls wait up the street from the ice cream parlor for the mayor. The girls stay down in the back seat out of site. They don’t have to wait long, the mayor and his family are about a block from them when Art sees them coming. He makes a quick ‘U’ turn and heads down the street. The girls both hop into the front with him. Driving slowly Art drives passed the mayor. Art waits until they are about five meters away.
“Hi Eddy,” says Art.
The girls both raise their bottles to say hello too. Art keeps driving down the road. The mayor and his wife just stand there with their mouths open. Art takes the next turn and takes the back streets to the school yard.
Art quickly jumps into the Bentley while changing his shirt as Fergy holds the door for him. Q yanks the side burns and mustache from him, and puts them in the hat in the back on the floor. As they drive past the ice cream parlor, the mayor and his family are just about to open the door.
“Hello mayor,” says Q.
The mayor waves hello, and Art waves too. The boys continue down the road, and make their way back to Art’s barn. Fergy and the girls are waiting for them.
“I thought the mayor was going to have a cow,” says Pam.
“That was so much fun,” says Susan.
They all get into the Bentley and take a ride around the farm land. Around 8:30, Art takes them all to the ice cream parlor. His treat, for a job well done. Later, they end up back at Art’s place.
“Can you and Fergy take Susan home for us?” asks Art. “Pam and I are going to take the Austin Martin out for a test spin. You guys better use the Bentley,” Art finishes.
“Sure,” says Q. “But Fergy and I are going to clean the coating off the Bearcat first.”
“Good idea,” says Art.
Susan helps, and the coating is all cleaned off in about twenty minutes. On the ride to take Susan home, they pass Ferris returning from his weekend trip. He had been gone both days.
Monday morning, the boys arrive at school in Art’s Bearcat. The parking lot is full of cars belonging to the school board members. The mayor was pulling up as they got out of the car. His wife looked back and forth at the two Stuts Bearcats.
“I am sure we saw the silver gray one,” she tells her husband.
“It wasn’t white,” he agrees.
“Didn’t we see Art in his other car just outside the ice cream parlor just as we were going in?” she asks her husband.
“Yes,” he answers. “Art and Q waved hello in the Bentley.”
Inside there was a small war going on. The board wanted Ferris out immediately. He insisted he was in London the whole weekend. Mr. Collins spoke up.
“He was in London. We had lunch on Saturday, then we were invited to the same dinner party that night.”
“Was his car there too?” asked the mayor.
“Yes,” answered Mr. Collins.
“All right,” says the mayor. “Where were you around 7:00 PM on Sunday?”
“We were having dinner at a small restaurant just outside Dover,” Mr. Collins answered. “I remember the waitress asking me the time, it was 6:55,” he finishes.
“Then who did we see at the ice cream parlor?” the mayor asks.
“It wasn’t me!” shoots back Ferris.
The mayor stares at Art for quite awhile.
“No,” he says to himself. “It must be a coincidence.”
On the way out the door, the mayors wife says, “The man called you Eddy.”
“I know,” the mayor answers.
On the way home, Ferris blew Art and the boys off the road, flying by in his new Bearcat. Art hit the accelerator, but the old cat could not keep up. “I am going to fix that problem right off,” says Fergy.
When they get to Art’s barn, Fergy pops the hood on the Bearcat. After a few moments thought he turns toward Art.
“Art, is five pounds worth it to make this thing blow Ferris off the road?” he asks.
“No problem,” says Art.
The boys begin work on the Bearcat. Fergy rebuilt the engine in one night. He used a scale to weigh the pistons and lifters.
“Why are you doing that?” Art asks.
“I am balancing the engine to make it run smoother,” Fergy replies. “I also did a little rework on the cam shaft so it can open the valves faster, and for a shorter duration. That will allow the motor to rev faster.”
“Sounds great to me,” Art answers.
The familiar light bulb goes off in Q’s head.
“I have it,” he announces. “We can add some extra zip to the petrol.” “That will help a lot,” says Fergy. “The engine could handle an extra twenty percent more torque.”
Q had to write a paper on explosives for chemistry anyway. Art had a good idea too.
“Say Fergy, will the wheels from the Bentley fit the Bearcat?” he asks. “I think so, why?” Fergy answers.
“The tires for the Bentley are a couple of centimeters wider than the Bearcats. That will give me a better grip on the road for faster starts.”
“Good idea,” says Q. “I have an idea to help with that too,” Q continues.
It was a school night, so the boys got themselves in by 9:00.
The next morning, Q had his paper on explosives, and ‘Powerup’ fuel additive formula ready. In chemistry lab, Q and Art were mixing up a batch. “Exactly what is this stuff?” Art asks.
“Well, I guess you could call it stable nitro glycerin,” Q answers.
Art gets a look of horror on his face.
“You are going to put nitro glycerin in my fuel tank?” Art asks. “I thought we were going to blow Ferris off the road, not me?” he continues.
“It will be perfectly safe, as long as we only add one liter to a full tank, and no more,” says Q. “We will have to mix it up when we add it. We can put it in with a half tank, bounce the car up and down a few times, then fill the tank to the top.”
“Will you ride with me?” Art asks.
“Of course,” Q answers.
“In that case, I guess it will be all right,” Art says.
He and Q mix up a couple of one liter bottles of “Powerup.”
On the way home from school, the boys stop off at the hardware store. Q picks up a few odds and ends for his other idea. At Art’s barn, Q explains the use of the road duster.
“This lever is connected to the tire in the trunk,” he begins. “When you press it, air blows through these tubes, and it dusts off the road in front of your rear tires.”
Q installed the lever under the accelerator pedal.
“What a great idea,” says Fergy. “That, with the extra wide Bentley tires will really do the trick.”
“Wide tires?” says Q.
He looks over the tires on the rear of the Bearcat.
“Putting those on the front will help with cornering too,” Q adds.
The boys siphon off half the petrol in the Bearcat into the Bentley, then head for the station. When the boys get to the station, Q carefully dumps one of the bottles of Powerup into the tank.
“Okay,” says Q. “Lets shake this up.”
They bounce the Bearcat up and down for awhile. After they here the fuel slosh a few times they fill the tank to the top.
“The flow of the fresh fuel into the tank will mix it enough for now,” says Q. “A couple of minutes of driving will blend it thoroughly.”
Art pulls the car out onto the road gingerly.
“You don’t have to baby it,” says Q. “The higher power fuel will get to the engine in about a kilometer or so, as soon as you use up the fuel that was in the fuel line.”
Art was cruising down the highway toward Dover when the Cat began to pick up speed all by itself.
“The Powerup is now helping the fuel produce more power,” says Q. After easing off on the accelerator a little, the car resumes it’s normal speed again.
“It seams to need less fuel to go the same speed,” says Art.
“That is because the fuel has twenty percent more power per drop than before,” says Q.
“Look who is coming up behind us,” Fergy speaks up.
Ferris was roaring down the road behind them. As he was about to pass around them, Art down shifted the transmission down into second gear, and floored the accelerator pedal.
The front of the Cat leaped completely off the road for a moment. The boys were plastered back into their seats as they virtually flew down the road away from Ferris.Within moments he was all alone on the wrong side of the road.
Art never drove that fast before. After only about twenty seconds he removed his foot from the accelerator and allowed the Cat to slow back down to the speed limit. Ferris never did get close enough to pass them again. He remained back and drove at the speed limit all the way to the White Cliffs Park. It wasn’t until they parked that Art noticed that they had gone fast enough to bend the speedometer pointer.
After several moments of silence, Art finally speaks.
“That was incredible!” he says.
“I am glad there were no curves in the road back there,” says Fergy.
Q was deep in thought. Art breaks his concentration.
“What’s on your mind now?” he asks Q.
“The fact that we can never sell Powerup,” Q answers.
“The bottle we left in your barn would take the whole building out, and then some if it were ignited,” he continued.
“What should we do with it now?” asks Art.
“It would be safer if we bury it in the ground,” Q replies. “Once it’s mixed with the petrol, it is much safer,” Q adds. “From now on, we will only make what we are going to use.”
“I don’t think Ferris will try passing you again anyway,” says Fergy.
When they get home, the boys bury the Powerup in a safe spot about fifty feet from the barn.
“I feel better all ready,” says Art. “Too bad we can’t just have a small extra tank to only use that stuff just when you need to,” says Art.
“Why not,” answers Fergy. “We could add a five liter tank in the back beside the regular one. Then run a separate fuel line to the engine. Q could rig some kind of switch to make it quick and easy to change back and forth.”
“It would have to be mechanical,” says Q. “An electric one could ignite the fuel before it gets to the engine,” he says. “We can work on that another time,” says Q. “We better get in the study mode for now. We have finals next week you know,” he continues.

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