My Life as a Cartoonist (13 page)

I put together an outline for the six weeks the club will run and include topics like developing characters and layout. For an instant, I consider having my father come in as a guest lecturer, but since he's my dad and I'm trying to project an aura of independence, I decide against it.

In the section on materials, I write down all the different options most comic book artists use: markers, pen and ink, pencils, erasers, and quality paper. I break down the different stages of comic book art into outlining, inking, coloring, and lettering. I've always done all stages myself as I'm sure most of the other kids have, although I'd KILL to have someone else do my lettering. Maybe some of the other kids will have tips they can share on how to get the lettering in my strips to look professional instead of like it was done by a psychotic toddler.

When I'm finished, I check the latest sign-up sheet. Even though neither Matt nor Carly is interested in cartooning, both of them have registered for the class to be supportive. I'm especially happy that Carly is coming; I was worried she'd try to weasel out of it to spend more time with Crash. But one thing about Carly, she's a solid friend.

Of course the real reason I'm exhaustively checking the list is to make sure Umberto didn't sign up at the last minute. I close all the files for the club on my computer and breathe a sigh of relief.

The rest of the night I spend happily sandwiched between Bodi and Frank on the couch. My mother hates it when I let them up on the furniture, but she's doing paperwork in her office and Dad doesn't mind as much as she does. As we watch the sitcom family on TV, Dad reminds me of what we talked about recently—how normal, routine things can become the topic of a comic strip. But my brain is fried. The last thing on my mind is milking this moment for material. Instead, I lean my head against the cushion and enjoy the moment for what it is: perfect.

Today's the Day

After class I hurry to Ms. Ramirez's art room on the other side of the school.

“I'm not going to say a peep. This is your show,” Ms. Ramirez assures me. She's wearing a scarf around her neck that's wrapped so many times I wonder if I'm going to have to save her from asphyxiation.

“Feel free to use any of the materials in the room,” Ms. Ramirez continues. “Make yourself at home.”

She's being so accommodating and friendly, I feel bad for worrying about her so much.

Matt comes in and tosses his stuff on the first desk. “You're not going to give homework, are you? Cuz the last thing I need is to start drawing stick figures on everything the way you do.”

I make sure Ms. Ramirez isn't looking, then hurl an eraser at Matt. He brushes the chalk off his jeans with a laugh. The two of us stop fooling around when we see Carly hovering outside the classroom door … with Crash.

Matt leans over and whispers to me. “Where does he think she's going—Hawaii? The club's only an hour. Can't they live without each other for that long?”

I'm so busy watching Carly's body language that I barely listen to Matt. She's twirling her hair, throwing her head back, and laughing at something that doesn't sound remotely funny. What is happening to her? Just as I'm about to gag at Carly turning into some airhead girlfriend, Matt smacks me with the eraser.

“Dude, wake up! You've got a club to run.”

He's right. I take my place in the front of the room and try not to fixate on Carly when she finally joins us.

I open my pad and check my notes. “I want to welcome everyone to the first meeting of the cartoon drawing club. We're going to have a lot of fun.”

I look around the room at Matt, Carly, Terry, Tommy, and Susan, who I don't know but already looks bored. “I thought we could start by checking out what we'll be talking about for the next six weeks.” I take a stack of pages from my pack and pass them out.

“Handouts!” Matt jokes. “You went all out.”

Carly laughs and for a moment it's as if it's just the three of us, goofing around in BC time—Before Crash.

“Today's topic is creating original characters,” I continue.

“Speaking of original characters, any room for me?”

I don't need to look to see whose voice that is. Umberto wheels himself into the room with a flourish. “I didn't sign up. I hope you don't mind walk-ins.”

Everyone in the room stops what they're doing to process Umberto's joke. Finally Susan bursts out laughing, then the other kids do too. Matt and Carly check to see how I'll react but I just laugh along with the others. What I really feel inside isn't delight but dread.
Has Umberto made it his life's work to torture me?
If so, he's doing a bang-up job.

I muster all my strength to bring the club back on track and hand Umberto a copy of the class outline. “We're talking about creating characters. I thought Terry and Tommy could talk about the cat comic strips they do.”

“Can't wait,” Umberto says. “After that, I want to talk about my monkey strip.”

“Cool,” Terry says. “I love monkeys.”

Umberto reaches into his pack and pulls out a stack of papers.
This is not happening.

“These are awesome,” Tommy says. “Using a monkey is a great idea.”

I stare at my pack on the desk. My own work will now look like a replica of Umberto's. The kid hasn't been in the room for a minute and he's already succeeded in taking the wind out of my sails.

Even though she's been focused on Crash 24/7, Carly immediately comes to my rescue. “Can we see the cats?” she asks the twins. “They sound really great.”