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each other, and for a moment I really thought we were going to fall into each other’s arms andblubber like a couple of babies.
    But then Mr. Marlin appeared behind her. His enormous frame filled the doorway. “What the hell are you doing here?” he shouted, his eyes bulging out of his head. “Stay away from my family! Stay away from my daughter!”
    Then he slammed the door in my face.
    After that, I pretty much stayed inside.
    I think that’s when my wobblies started to grow.
    I guess that’s when my furies started to grow, too.
    I know Jodie’s address. Sometimes I think about writing to her, but what would I say?
Seen any good starfish lately? Sorry my brother killed your brother?
    Yeah, no.
    Just before dismissal time, Mrs. Bardus walked around the room, checking out everyone’s sewing. She held up Alberta’s and said, “This is a fine example of shoddy workmanship. However, Henry’s here is nicely done.”
    Alberta just scowled. Then the bell rang.
    “How come you weren’t at the Reach For The Top practices last week?” she said as we gathered up our stuff.
    I shrugged. “Farley dragged me there that one time. I never said I was joining.”
    Alberta looked at me. Well, one eye looked at me. The other one looked somewhere over my shoulder. “Let me guess.You think it’s too nerdy.”
    “Did you see the kids in that room?”
    “So? Have you looked in the mirror lately?”
    I confess: That hurt. “Why did
you
join?” I asked her.
    “You don’t seem –”
    “Nerdy enough?”
    I was going to say
smart enough
, but I didn’t.
    “Here’s the thing about Reach For The Top,” she said as we walked out of class. “It’s so nerdy, it’s crossed back over into cool.”
    I snorted.
    “Hey, whatevs. If you want to stop yourself from doing something fun ’cause you’re afraid of what other people might think, that is totally your beeswax.” Then she walked away. The green-and-white striped tights only made her big thighs look bigger.
    They looked spectacular.

T UESDAY , F EBRUARY 5
    Dad measured me tonight. I’ve grown half an inch. Dad said it might just be that I need a haircut because my hair grows up and out instead of down. I told him I didn’t appreciate his pessimistic attitude.
    A while later, Mom called. I guess I’ve been really missing her ’cause I didn’t have the energy to do my usual “one-word answers in a frosty tone” routine. I really wanted to talk to her. “Did you ever get to watch ‘Saturday Night Smash-Up’?” I asked. They rerun it on Sunday afternoons, so if she misses it, she can sometimes watch it then.
    “No,” she sighed. “I went to the TV room, but some other patients were already watching a hockey game.”
    “Want me to tell you what happened?”
    “Please.”
    “Okay. Close your eyes.” I started with a play-by-play account of the match between El Toro (her favorite) and Jack Knife. It was a great fight. El Toro and Jack Knife used to be best friends, and they’d often partner up in the ring to fight a couple of heels. Then, one day, El Toro got sweet on Jack Knife’s ex-girlfriend (another wrestler named Holly Wood), and next time they were in the ring together, Jack Knife turned on El Toro, whacking him in the head with a metal chair. Since then, they have been archenemies.
    “It looked like El Toro had it in the bag,” I told her. “Jack Knife was lying on the mat. El Toro turned away and pumped his fists in the air. So he didn’t see Jack Knife stand up. Next thing you know, Jack Knife spins him around and gives him a Bionic Elbow. El Toro dropped like a rag doll.”
    “No! Oh, I hate Jack Knife!” she said.
    It was a
brilliant
conversation, and no, I’m not being sarcastic. Mom is almost as big a GWF fan as I am, and it’s the one thing we can talk about that doesn’t end in tears.
    Then I made the mistake of telling her about the tote bag, and it ended in tears. “I wish you were here,” she said.
    “Yeah, well,” I replied, my