A Flying Birthday Cake? (3 page)

Everyone laughed some more.

Mrs. North had to remind the class not to laugh at their classmates. “We go to school to learn. If we already knew everything, then we wouldn’t have to go to school.”

Marvin didn’t laugh. Maybe in Chicago they didn’t teach about presidents until the fourth grade.

Joe was still wearing his baggy pants and Mickey Mouse T-shirt. He’d worn the same clothes all week.

“I wonder why he never changes his clothes,” Judy said at lunch. “Do you think those are the only clothes he owns?”

She was sitting next to Casey Happleton.
Marvin, Nick, and Stuart sat across from them.

“He owns other clothes,” said Marvin. “The moving van probably got lost. So he has to wear the same clothes every day, until the moving van gets here.”

Joe was sitting all by himself, way down at the end of the table.

“How come you’re always sticking up for him?” asked Nick.

“I don’t always stick up for him,” said Marvin.

“Yes, you do!” said Casey. “When I told you he kissed the flagpole, you said he was being patriotic.”

“Do you like him?” asked Judy. “Is he your friend?”

“He’s stupid,” said Stuart.

“Maybe he knows things we don’t
know,” said Marvin. “Maybe he knows some really fun games that we’ve never heard of. Just like he’s never heard of wall-ball.”

“He’s never even heard of
baseball
,” said Casey, and everybody except Marvin laughed.

“He’s a door key,” said Nick.

“Just because he’s not from here?” said Marvin. “If you went to Chicago, the kids there might think you were a double door key!”

“That’s why I’m not going to Chicago,” said Nick.

Judy Jasper had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a bag of Cheetos. Marvin watched as she opened up her sandwich. She carefully placed the Cheetos, one at a time, on top of the peanut butter.
The Cheetos fit together like tiles on a bathroom floor.

Stuart had a bag of potato chips. He crumbled the potato chips in his fist and dropped the crumbs into his carton of milk.

“Admit it, Marvin,” said Judy. “Joe is just plain weird.” She placed the bread with the jelly back on top of the peanut butter and Cheetos.

“He does some pretty strange things,” Stuart agreed.

Judy bit into her peanut butter, Cheetos, and jelly sandwich. Stuart drank his potato chip and milk mixture.

“I guess,” said Marvin.

The Flagpole

After school, Nick and Stuart had to stay inside while Mrs. North talked to them about running in the hallways.

Marvin waited outside. He saw Joe come out of the building and walk down the stairs.

“Hi, Joe,” Marvin said.

Joe smiled. “Hi, Marvin.”

“So, how’s it going?” asked Marvin.

Joe shrugged.

“I guess it’s hard being new,” said Marvin.

“I guess,” said Joe.

Marvin thought about asking Joe if he wanted to come with him to Stuart’s house. But he was afraid what Nick or Stuart would say. “Well, maybe it will get better next week. You won’t be new anymore.”

Joe smiled. “Maybe.”

Nick and Stuart came running out of the school building. “We’re free!” Nick shouted as he leaped down the stairs.

They stopped short when they noticed that Marvin was talking to Joe.

“C’mon, let’s go,” said Stuart.

“Where are you going?” asked Joe.

“My house,” said Stuart.

Marvin decided to take a chance. “You want to come with us?” he asked.

“Um, I don’t know,” said Joe. He looked at Stuart.

“You better not,” Stuart said. “See, we
have to give my dog a bath.”

“That’s right,” said Nick. “We have to bathe Fluffy. Fluffy is a real mean dog. He might bite you.”

“Dogs like me,” said Joe.

“It’s my parents’ rule,” explained Stuart. “If Fluffy bites another person, we could get sued for a million dollars! Isn’t that right, Marvin?”

Marvin didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to lie to Joe, but he also didn’t want to betray Nick and Stuart. Besides, if he told Joe the truth, that they really didn’t have to bathe Fluffy, it would hurt Joe’s feelings.

“And you might get your clothes wet and dirty,” said Nick. “You don’t want to ruin your
only
clothes, do you?”

He glanced at Stuart and smiled.

Joe shrugged.

“Well, maybe another time,” said Marvin.

“Okay,” said Joe.

Marvin felt terrible. “See you Monday,” he said.

“See you,” said Joe.

As they walked away, Stuart said, “I can’t believe you asked the Door Key to come home with us.”

“I was just trying to be nice,” said Marvin.

“Well, you shouldn’t just think about yourself,” said Nick. “That’s selfish. You should think about other people’s feelings, too.”

Marvin stopped walking. “You’re right,” he said. He turned around and headed back to the school.

He found Joe standing by the flagpole.

Actually, it looked like Joe was kissing the flagpole.

Maybe Casey Happleton wasn’t crazy.

“What are you doing?” Marvin asked.

Joe turned and looked at Marvin. “I was pressing my face against the flagpole.”

“Why?” asked Marvin.

“I like the way the cool metal feels when it squashes my nose.”

“You weren’t kissing the flagpole?” asked Marvin.

“No,” said Joe.

Casey Happleton was crazy!

“I decided not to help Stuart and Nick bathe Fluffy,” said Marvin. “Do you want to come over to my house?”

Joe smiled and said, “Sure!”

Jell-O

“Fluffy wouldn’t bite me,” Joe said as they walked to Marvin’s house. “I’ve been all over the—well, I’ve been lots of places. And I’ve never met a dog who didn’t like me. People don’t always like me. But their dogs always do.”

“Do you have to move around a lot?” asked Marvin.

Joe nodded.

“I guess it’s hard to make new friends all the time.”

“I don’t know what I do wrong,” Joe
said. “I try to be like the other kids. But somehow they always know I’m different.”

Marvin didn’t know what to say.

“It’s not all bad,” Joe said. “It’s fun to get to see all kinds of strange and interesting places.”

Marvin never thought that his hometown was strange or interesting.

They came to Marvin’s house. There was a fence around his house. The fence was white, except for one red post next to the gate.

“Red post,” said Joe. “That’s your last name!”

“That’s right!” Marvin said, a little surprised that Joe had figured it out. Usually, he had to explain it to his friends. “My dad paints the post once a year.”

“Cool,” said Joe.

“My mom says she’s glad she didn’t marry someone whose last name was Purplehouse,” said Marvin.

“Why?” asked Joe.

“I don’t know,” said Marvin. “I think it would be cool to live in a purple house.”

“Me, too,” said Joe. “Back where I come from, the houses are a lot more colorful than they are here—stripes and polka dots.”

“Polka-dot houses?” asked Marvin.

“Sure,” said Joe. “Usually, each dot is a different color.”

“Boy, I’d like to go to Chicago sometime,” said Marvin.

They went inside Marvin’s dull gray house.

“Hi, Marvin!” Linzy shouted from the kitchen. She was sitting at the table, eating something out of a bowl.

Marvin set his backpack on the counter. “That’s my sister, Linzy,” he said. “She’s five.”

Joe walked to the table. “How do you do, Linzy?” he said. “My name is Joe Normal.” He held out his hand.

Linzy giggled and shook his hand.

“What’s that red stuff?” asked Joe.

“Jell-O,” said Linzy.

Joe stared at it. “What is it?”

“Strawberry,” said Linzy.

Joe couldn’t take his eyes off of it. “Is it a solid or a liquid?”

“It’s Jell-O,” said Linzy.

“He’s from Chicago,” Marvin explained. “I guess they don’t eat much Jell-O there.”

“Can I touch it?” asked Joe.

“Sure,” said Linzy.

Joe poked his finger into Linzy’s Jell-O.
“What holds it together?” he asked.

Linzy thought it over. “It’s sticky,” she explained. “It sticks to itself.”

“You want some?” said Marvin.

“I don’t know,” said Joe.

“It’s good. You’ll like it,” said Linzy.

Marvin opened the refrigerator. He removed a large flat dish filled with strawberry Jell-O. Then he got a small bowl from the cabinet and served some Jell-O to Joe.

Joe sat down next to Linzy. He stared at his Jell-O. He scooped some up on his spoon and watched it jiggle. “It’s weird,” he said. “I can cut through it with my spoon, like water. But it doesn’t fall apart.”

“That’s because it’s sticky,” said Linzy.

Joe put some in his mouth. He swished it around and swallowed. “This is delicious!”
he exclaimed.

“Told you,” said Linzy.

Joe finished his bowl of Jell-O, then ate a second bowlful, and then a third.

“I like Joe,” Linzy said to Marvin, while Joe slurped his Jell-O. “He’s not like Nick and Stuart. They’re weird.”

Wizzle-fish

“Do you want to call your parents and let them know you’re here?” Marvin asked.