Free Regular Guy by Sarah Weeks

him.
    â€œSpeak up, will ya?” I said.
    â€œI, uh, wanted to thank you,” he said.
    â€œMe? For what?” I asked.
    â€œWell, for, for a bunch of stuff.”
    â€œLike?”
    â€œLike caring about my being dead even though I wasn’t. And letting me come to the fort. And making me realize that they’re driving me nuts.”
    â€œWho’s driving you nuts?” Buzz asked.
    â€œMy parents, who do you think?” Bob-o answered.
    â€œYou know, Bob-o, I have to agree with you on that one,” said Buzz. “Those two are definitely bizarre-o.”
    â€œYou’re telling me. They’re turning me into a nervous wreck,” said Bob-o. “I had no idea what it felt like to relax until I spent the weekend with your folks, Guy.”
    I had to laugh. “You found my parents relaxing ?”
    â€œYeah. Plus you can hear your mom coming a mile away, which is a very good quality in a mother.”
    â€œI know exactly what you’re talking about, Bob-o,” I said.
    â€œThat makes two of you,” said Buzz.
    I smiled at my old friend.
    â€œOne thing, though,” Bob-o said seriously. “That oyster trick is really disgusting.”
    â€œYou get used to it,” I said. “Listen, Buzz, would you excuse us for a minute? I want to talk to Bob-o alone.”
    Buzz didn’t looked thrilled, but he went outside and pulled the door closed behind him.
    â€œI owe you an apology,” I said. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this mess. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
    â€œForget it,” he said.
    â€œCan I talk to you about something else?” I asked.
    Bob-o gave the half shrug.
    â€œIt’s about the tuna fish balls.”
    Bob-o blushed and looked away.
    â€œI think you should tell your mom you want hot lunch from now on. I told mine last night when we got home and she said okay. You and I can brave the mystery meat together.”
    Bob-o grinned.
    â€œWho knows, maybe it’ll put hair on our chests,” he said as he stuck out his scrawny chest and flexed his nonexistent muscles.
    I laughed and so did he.
    â€œOkay, girls, enough with the private chitchat. Ready or not, here I come!” Buzz called out.
    We spent the rest of that afternoon hanging out at the fort, the three of us, talking and laughing and just being regular guys. Well, Bob-o wasn’t exactly regular yet, but Buzz and I agreed that his weirdness had a certain charm. When I headed for home at the end of the day, I felt older somehow anda little wiser; and when I pushed open the screen door and saw the cake cooling on the counter, I shouted at the top of my lungs—
    Â 
    â€œI’m home!”

About the Author
    S ARAN W EEKS is the singer, songwriter, and author of the best-selling picture books with tapes CROCODILE SMILE and FOLLOW THE MOON , as well as the groundbreaking book with CD-ROM , LITTLE FACTORY . She also wrote lyrics for the 1997 hit Disney video Pooh’s Grand Adventure . REGULAR GUY is her first novel for children. She lives in New York City with her two sons.
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Credits
    Cover art © 1999 by Michael Koelsch
    Cover © 2000 by HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

Copyright
    REGULAR GUY . Copyright © 1999 by Sarah Weeks. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
    Adobe Digital Edition August 2009 ISBN