Free Skinnybones by Barbara Park Page B

if he could sharpen his pencil. Harold’s a troublemaker, so right away I was suspicious.
    I watched him get out of his seat and turn down my aisle. I was positive he was going to try something. Only
this
time, things were going to be different.
    As Harold got closer to my seat, I got ready for him.
    Here he comes … here he comes … okay … okay … NOW!
    Just as Harold started to lean over and whisper, I quickly turned my cheek and leaned in his direction.
    Then I jumped up and hollered. “SICK! SICK!” I yelled, wiping off my face. “HAROLD MARSHALL JUST KISSED ME! HOW DISGUSTING!”
    Harold turned bright red. “I did not! I did not kiss you!” he sputtered.
    I pointed at my face. “Then how did my cheek get so wet? Huh, Harold?” I asked. “Mrs. Grayson, can I go to the bathroom and wash it off? It’s totally slimy and slobbery.”
    Mrs. Grayson waved me out the door and ordered Harold to sit down. As I left the room, I saw several kids covering their faces as Harold passed by. It was the high point of my day.
    Unfortunately, though, making fun of Harold didn’t really put an end to my problem. As soon as I got back from the bathroom, the booga boogas started all over again.
    I looked at the clock. Forty-five minutes to go. I didn’t know if I could make it that long. I was really feeling down. Nothing I ever did turned out right.
Nothing
. Even when I did something well, like bunting, it turned out wrong.
    Face it, Alex. The only thing you’re good at is being a runt. You’re nothing. A big, fat nothing!
    I put my head down and rested it on my desk. I felt my eyes start filling up with tears.
    Great. This is perfect. Now big, fat nothing Alex Frankovitch is going to cry in front of the whole class. A perfect ending to a perfect day
.
    Suddenly, I heard my name being called. “AlexFrankovitch?” said the voice. “Is Alex Frankovitch there?”
    Quickly, I wiped my face and looked up. The voice was coming from the loudspeaker on the wall. Oh, geez! It was our principal, Mr. Vernon!
    “Mrs. Grayson? Can you hear me? Is Alex Frankovitch in class right now?” he asked.
    “Yes he is, Mr. Vernon,” she answered. “Would you like me to send him down to your office?”
    “No,” said Mr. Vernon. “I have an announcement to make and I just wanted to be sure that he was there.”
    T.J. looked at me and laughed. We both knew what was coming. Mr. Vernon was going to take this opportunity to make a couple of booga booga jokes so the whole school could have a good laugh before the bell.
    He clicked on the speakers to the other classrooms.
    “Attention, boys and girls, may I have your attention, please? First of all, would like to congratulate T.J. Stoner on his brilliant Little League performance. The entire school is extremely proud of his achievement, and I think that we should all give him a big round of applause.”
    He stopped talking so that every kid in the whole school could applaud. You could hear it echoing up and down the halls.
    “I have already spoken to T.J. today,” Mr. Vernon continued, “and he has agreed to stay after school in case any of you would like to stop by and get his autograph. We’ll have a table set up for him in the Media Center.”
    T.J. put his arms behind his head and leaned his chair back on two legs like a big shot. One little slip would have sent him sprawling … but no such luck.
    Mr. Vernon’s voice came back on. “Okay … now for the surprise. There’s someone else in Mrs. Grayson’s sixth-grade room who also deserves congratulations. It seems that Alex Frankovitch has also made quite a name for himself.”
    I swallowed hard.
Here it comes
, I thought. Tears started to fill my eyes again, but I forced them back into my head.
    “I have just received news from his mother that today, Alex Frankovitch received a letter in the mail announcing that he is the winner of the national Kitty Fritters Television Contest.”
    What? What did he just say?
    “As