Free Notes from the Life of a Total Genius by Stacey Matson

to him. It must be hard to be a teacher and have to be nice to kids that you actually can’t stand. I feel like I’d be terrible at it, because if I was Von’s teacher, I would fail him on everything, and give him detention just for being annoying.
    Kennedy came up to talk to me too, and I thought at first she was going to ask me to dance, but she said that she couldn’t believe I would write an anti-dance article. I tried to explain that it wasn’t anti-dance, it was just a suggestion to add some variety in our social events, but she was so mad that she wouldn’t listen. I don’t know why she has to take everything so personally. I wasn’t attacking her! I tried to find her later to apologize, since I figured that it was better to apologize than explain, but she was with Catie all night, so there wasn’t any point. I’ll try and explain again another time. I wish she would see that I’m way more fun to hang out with than Catie. And I’m nicer too. I’m nice to everybody!
    Yours truly,
    Arthur Bean

    I saw an ad for an illustrator today. It’s for a graphic design company in Calgary. You should work for them!
    dude im 14. im not looking 4 a career
    They might have an internship. You’d get to draw all day!
    pretty sure that interns make coffee + dont get pd. i want $$$
    They have a writer position too. I’m going to apply. We could work together!
    i m connstantly impressed by ur cluelesness
    I think they will like that I am so in touch with the youth, being one myself.
    Ha! more like out to lunch!
    which is what ill be if u get me an intern job.
    I don’t get it.
    cuz ill be fetching sandwiches all day

    Assignment: Winter Break Excuses
    Your assignment over the break is to come up with a convincing story as to why you couldn’t get any of your homework done!
    Put your storytelling abilities and persuasive writing skills to the test, and write me a short story detailing what happened to you to hinder your homework completion and explaining why you should get an extension on your assignment. What makes your situation “extenuating circumstances”? Why should you get special treatment?
    Due: January 7

    December 17th
    Dear RJ,
    We had auditions today at Leg Breakers for our plays, and I think mine is going to be awesome. Hark had us do auditions inside the playwriting group, and then we opened it up to other people who wanted to be in our plays. Millie actually came to audition like she said she would, so I gave her the part of Serpentine. Ben’s going to be Captain Subtle, because he’s so tall he’ll be imposing and he’s so funny and deadpan. I think he’ll kill at it. Latha and her little sister Bhakti are playing the time travellers, which will be amazing, because they look so similar, except Bhakti is shorter. Von literally BEGGED me to be in my show, so I kind of had to cast him as a spy. I was hoping that Kennedy would show up, because I think she would be a really funny Rat-ical, but she didn’t come. I chose Julia instead, since I’m going to be in her play too. I’m going to be in another play as well. I’m in Julia’s as the dad (hers is about a girl who goes to juvenile detention), and in Vincent’s as one of the mutant slayers. I have more lines in Vincent’s play, but it’s shorter. I don’t really do much in Julia’s, but I do get to yell “Damn it, Beyoncé!” (that’s the name of the girl who goes to juvie. I guess Julia’s big into her music), and I have to pretend to be drunk and start crying.
    I haven’t read all our scripts, but I think they sound pretty awesome. Although, I have to admit, RJ, mine is probably the best. Some of them don’t really go anywhere (like Julia’s). (Don’t tell her I said that.)
    We’re not starting rehearsals until after the break, but I’m going to get off-book, which Hark says is theatre-speak for memorizing all our lines, before we even start. I asked my cast to do the same, so that we can work on making the fight scenes look super