Almost Starring Skinnybones by Barbara Park

Author:Barbara Park [Park, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-79705-6
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2011-06-01T04:00:00+00:00

6

Real life is almost never like the movies. In the movies if something bad happens to a kid, something good happens to make it all better. Like if a kid is accidentally run over by a steamroller, he’ll end up winning the Olympics and get his picture on a Wheaties box.

Stuff like that doesn’t happen in real life though. In real life if you’re accidentally run over by a steamroller you just sit around the hospital all flat. You practically never end up on cereal.

You never get to drop out of school and work in the park either. Even after I finally told my parents about the rotten things that had happened to me, they still made me go back to school the next day.

I didn’t stop trying though. That’s the great thing about me. I hardly ever give up.

“Put the pointy stick away, Alex,” ordered my father one night as we were watching TV. “For the last time, you’re not dropping out of junior high. Your school years are the best years of your life.”

I speared a gum wrapper lying next to the table. “I could be good at this. I know I could.”

My mother sighed and shook her head. “I told you before, Alex. You expected too much. Friends will disappoint you sometimes. It happens to all of us.”

“They’re not my friends,” I informed her for the millionth time. “Alex Frankovitch has no friends.”

“Brian’s still your friend,” she offered. “At least the two of you are walking to school together again.”

I frowned. “Big deal. He said I was a habit.”

“Well, what about everyone who has called to say how much they liked the commercial, Alex? What do you call them?”

“I call them Nanna and Pop Pop,” I replied, rolling my eyes.

My mother just shook her head. I swear, it’s getting looser by the minute.

Just then a familiar little tune filled the room. I didn’t have to look up to know what it was. It was the Kitty Fritters jingle. My commercial was on TV again.

Like so many other times that week, I tried my best not to watch. I hid my head in the chair cushion and covered up with my arms. I pretended to be ashamed. It was no use though. After only a second or two, I found myself peeking at the screen. The truth is, even after all I’d been through, I was still a big fan of mine.

Seeing myself on television continued to amaze me. Every time it happened, my eyes opened wide and my heart began to pound. I even started to smile a little. I couldn’t help it. I just did.

It’s too bad, you know. Too bad that there are mean people in the world who try to make you feel ashamed when you should feel proud. Seeing yourself on national television shouldn’t make you hide your head in the chair cushion. It just shouldn’t.

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