Free My Life as a Stuntboy by Janet Tashjian Page B

it’s okay. His face lights up just as Ms. McCoddle approaches our desks to tell us to get to work.
    â€œIt wasn’t just that you were making fun of me. You could get in a lot of trouble for posting videos without someone’s permission.”
    â€œBelieve me, I did. My dad was furious.”
    I don’t say anything, but inside, I’m not unhappy Matt got yelled at.
    As we collaborate on the worksheet, I change the subject and tell Matt about Tanya Billings on the set yesterday. “It’s not just me,” I say. “Lots of kids have a hard time studying.”

    â€œNo,” he answers. “It’s mostly you.”
    He shoots me a giant grin, and just like that, things are back to normal with my best friend.

 
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    An Idea
    When I get home from school, I’m greeted by not only Bodi and Frank but my parents’ copy of our contract, lying on the kitchen table.
    My dad points to the contract and then points to Frank. After a moment, I realize what he wants.
    â€œFrank’s probably fine,” I say. “Mom changed him this morning.”
    â€œHis diaper’s not fine,” Dad says. “And I’ve been saving it for you.”

    heinous
    As soon as I protest, Dad directs my attention again to the contract. I carry Frank to an empty examination room in Mom’s office and begin the heinous task of changing my monkey’s diaper. Just as I’m about to tell one of Mom’s interns that I forgot how to do it and ask if she can help, Mom appears. Her right eyebrow is raised as she leans inside the door frame to ensure I finish the job.
    â€œVery good.” She hands me a plastic bag for the dirty diaper, which I can’t get rid of fast enough.
    â€œThe woman from the capuchin organization called to check on Frank,” Mom says.
    â€œYou didn’t tell her about the horse, did you?”
    â€œI had to. He’s had major surgery.
She wasn’t too happy and wants to reevaluate his placement with us.”
    â€œI don’t want to give him up,” I say. “What do we have to do to keep him?”
    reevaluate
    â€œYou’re going to call her,” Mom answers. “And ask her that very question.”
    Out of all the teaching moments my parents throw at me, the worst is talking to grown-ups about my mistakes. Whether it’s apologizing to Mr. Parker for using his faucet to fill up water balloons or telling Mrs. Donaldson that I didn’t really mean to dig up part of her yard when I built my skateboard ramp, Mom’s insistence on “personal responsibility” has never been anything but embarrassing. And now she wants me to call someone three thousand miles away and beg her to let me keep my monkey?
    insistence
    appointment
    Just when I think things can’t get worse, I walk next door to find Ronnie waiting on our porch.
    â€œDid you forget about our appointment?” he asks.
    I hate that my house is no longer a safe place from schoolwork.
    â€œWell, I didn’t forget. Let’s start by reading out loud where we left off last time.”
    â€œOh, no!” If I tell him about the YouTube video, my parents will definitely find out, and now that things are okay with Matt, it hardly seems worth putting them through that.
    â€œOkay, then, how about doing some of your drawings?” Ronnie says. “You can illustrate the story as we read.”

    I’ve been so busy with the movie these past few weeks that I almost forgot about my sketchbook. I get it from my room and flip through the pictures of my recent vocabulary words. Then I get an idea.
    I tell Ronnie I’ll be right back and find the movie script in my dad’s office. I still haven’t read it but scan through the ninety pages until I find scene 31. Sure enough, there are the words Tanya was trying to remember yesterday.
    â€œYou want to illustrate a screenplay?” Ronnie asks. “Shouldn’t we be working on