Middle School: Get Me Out of Here! (24 page)

A
fter we left the cemetery, Mom asked if I wanted to go get something to eat or if I just wanted to go home.

I know that in movies and stuff, people are always losing their appetites when something sad happens. But to tell you the truth, I was starving.

“Let’s eat out,” I said.

As we were driving back into town, we went by the place where Swifty’s Diner used to be—and something amazing had happened.

Swifty’s was back!

So of course, that’s where we stopped and got breakfast. I ordered a tall stack with bacon
and
sausage, and Mom got a piece of Swifty’s apple pie with a cup of coffee and orange juice.

When Swifty saw us, he came right out of the kitchen. I’d never seen him and Mom hug before, but they did then.

“Well, well, look who it is,” Swifty said. “I thought you’d left town.”

Mom looked over at me and smiled. “We’re just back for a little visit,” she said.

“That’s too bad,” he said.

“Too bad?” Mom said.

“I could really use you around here,” Swifty said.
“Look—I even managed to save one of your paintings from the fire.”

Sure enough, there it was on the wall behind the counter.

“Anyway,” Swifty said, “you ever decide to move back to Hills Village, you let me know, Jules.”

When he was gone, Mom sat back down in the booth across from me, and we were both looking at each other in this funny kind of way.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Mom said.

“I don’t know,” I said. “But I think I am.”

We didn’t even have to say it out loud. Everything was about to change—again.

Because it always does, doesn’t it?

B
oy, did things change!

I’m back in school now, finishing out the year at Airbrook Arts, where I was supposed to start seventh grade in the first place. Ms. Donatello went to bat for me—
again
—and they said I could do fourth quarter there, and then eighth grade after that, if I did some makeup work over the summer.

That’s right. I’m going to be back in summer school, just like last year. Except this time it’s because I want to be there. Crazy, right?

Of course, we’re living back in Hills Village again—me, Georgia, Mom, and Grandma Dotty.

It turns out that even a semi-cruddy house in the city is worth something. Once we sold Grandma’s,
it was enough to help pay the rent on our new place for a long time. We’re in an apartment now, not a house, but it’s big enough for all four of us. That means no more sleeping on the couch!

I guess if there’s a bad part to all this, it would be Matty the Freak. I tried calling him again before we moved out of the city, but he never called me back.

And you know what? That’s okay too. I had a lot of fun with Matty for a while there, but I don’t think he was ever a very good friend to begin with.

Besides, maybe none of this good stuff would have happened if he hadn’t done what he did. So I can’t be completely mad about that either. I even got to put him on my Get a Life list—twice! Not only did I make a friend for the first time in middle school, but I also lost one for the first time. (Hey, getting a life is all about the good
and
the bad, right?)

And yes, I still have my list. I’m up to 279 things now, and counting. Once I thought about it, I figured why stop at 195? Or ever? Sometimes Mom says life is just a work in progress, and that seems about right to me. I’m still working on getting a
life, and MAYBE even turning myself into an artist. Who knows?

Which brings me to the last, very best thing that happened.

Swifty gave me something else I could add to my list that I’d never done before—my very own art show.

Maybe it was because the pressure was off… I don’t know… but it didn’t even take me long to figure out what I wanted to do. In fact, it kind of seemed obvious once I thought about it.

Turn the page and check it out.

Everyone came to the opening reception at Swifty’s and ate a ton of pie. Jeanne brought her parents. Ms. Donatello brought her husband. Bigfoot Hairy brought chocolate cigars. Even a couple of my new teachers at Airbrook were there. It was a little embarrassing, but in another way it was also kind of the best night of my life.

I mean… so far, anyway.