Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 1

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 1 Page 8

by Jeff Kinney


  Irvine’s house, and that he learned a valuable

  lesson, too, which is this: Be careful about who

  you lend your coat to.

  To be honest with you, my message didn’t seem

  to be getting through to Rowley.

  We were supposed to hang out after school

  today, but he said he was just going to go home

  and take a nap.

  I couldn’t really blame him. Because if I didn’t

  have my hot chocolate this morning, I wouldn’t

  have had much energy, either.

  i guess this has

  been a learning

  experience for

  both of us!

  184

  When I got home, Mom was waiting for me at

  the front door.

  Mom took me out to get some ice cream as a special

  treat. And what this whole episode has taught me

  is that every once in a while, it’s not such a bad

  idea to listen to your mother.

  did you do

  the right

  thing?

  yeah!

  slurp

  185

  Tuesday

  There was another announcement on the loudspeaker

  today, and to be honest with you, I kind of

  figured this one was coming.

  I knew it was just a matter of time before I

  got busted for what happened last week.

  When I got to Mr. Winsky’s office, he was

  really mad. Mr. Winsky told me that an

  “anonymous source” had informed him that I

  was the real culprit in the worm-chasing incident.

  Then he told me I was relieved of my Safety

  Patrol duties “effective immediately.”

  greg heffley, please

  report to mr.

  winsky’s office.

  sipppp...

  186

  Well, it doesn’t take a detective to figure out

  that the anonymous source was Rowley.

  I can’t believe Rowley went and backstabbed

  me like that. While I was sitting there getting

  chewed out by Mr. Winsky, I was thinking, I

  need to remember to give my friend a lecture

  about loyalty.

  Later on today, Rowley got reinstated as a Patrol.

  And get this: He actually got a Promotion.

  Mr. Winsky said Rowley had “exhibited dignity

  under false suspicion.”

  187

  I thought about really letting Rowley have it

  for ratting me out like that, but then I

  realized something.

  In June, all the officers in the Safety Patrols

  go on a trip to Six Flags, and they get to take

  along one friend. I need to make sure Rowley

  knows I’m his guy.

  Tuesday

  Like I said before, the worst part of getting

  kicked off Safety Patrols is losing your hot

  chocolate privileges.

  Every morning, I go to the back door of the

  cafeteria so Rowley can hook me up.

  let me get

  this for you,

  “captain”!

  188

  But either my friend has gone deaf or he’s too

  busy kissing the other officers’ butts to notice me

  at the window.

  In fact, now that I think of it, Rowley has been

  totally giving me the cold shoulder lately. And

  that’s really lame, because if I recall correctly,

  He’s the one that sold me out.

  Even though Rowley has been a total jerk lately,

  I tried to break the ice with him today, anyway.

  But even that didn’t seem to work.

  psst!

  psst!

  hi,

  pal!

  189

  April

  Friday

  Ever since the worm incident, Rowley has been

  hanging out with Collin Lee every day after school.

  What really stinks is that Collin is supposed to

  be my backup friend.

  Those guys are acting totally ridiculous. Today,

  Rowley and Collin were wearing these matching

  T-shirts, and it made me just about want to vomit.

  After dinner tonight, I saw Rowley and Collin

  walking up the hill together, chumming it up.

  best

  friends

  190

  Collin had his overnight bag, so I knew they

  were going to do a sleepover at Rowley’s.

  And I thought, Well, two can play at tHAt

  game. The best way to get back at Rowley was

  to get a new best friend of my own. But

  unfortunately, the only person who came to mind

  right at that moment was Fregley.

  I went up to Fregley’s with my overnight bag so

  Rowley could see I had other friend options, too.

  When I got there, Fregley was in his front

  yard stabbing a kite with a stick. That’s when

  I started to think maybe this wasn’t the best

  idea after all.

  pant

  pant

  pant

  191

  But Rowley was in his front yard, and he was

  watching me. So I knew there was no turning back.

  I invited myself into Fregley’s house. His mom said

  she was excited to see Fregley with a “playmate,”

  which was a term I was not too enthusiastic about.

  Me and Fregley went upstairs to his room.

  Fregley tried to get me to play Twister with

  him, so I made sure I stayed ten feet away

  from him at all times.

  I decided that I should just pull the plug on

  this stupid idea and go home. But every time I

  looked out the window, Rowley and Collin were

  still in Rowley’s front yard.

  192

  I didn’t want to leave until those guys went back

  inside. But things started to get out of hand with

  Fregley pretty quickly. When I was looking out the

  window, Fregley broke into my backpack and ate the

  whole bag of jelly beans I had in there.

  Fregley’s one of these kids who’s not supposed

  to eat any sugar, so two minutes later, he was

  bouncing off the walls.

  Fregley started acting like a total maniac, and

  he chased me all around his upstairs.

  I kept thinking he was going to come down off

  of his sugar high, but he didn’t. Eventually, I

  locked myself in his bathroom to wait him out.

  193

  Around 11:30, it got quiet out in the hallway.

  That’s when Fregley slipped a piece of paper

  under the door.

  I picked it up and read it.

  Dear Gregory,

  I’m very sorry I

  chased you with a

  booger on my finger.

  Here, I put it on

  this paper so you

  can get me back.

  slip

  194

  That’s the last thing I remember before I

  blacked out.

  I came to my senses a few hours later. After I

  woke up, I cracked the door open, and I heard

  snoring coming from Fregley’s room. So I decided

  to make a run for it.

  Mom and Dad were not happy with me for getting

  them out of bed at 2:00 in the morning. But by

  that point, I could really care less.

  clack

  195

  Monday

  Well, me and Rowley have officially been ex-friends

  for about
a month now, and to be honest with

  you, I’m better off without him.

  I’m glad I can just do whatever I want without

  having to worry about carrying all that dead

  weight around.

  Lately I’ve been hanging out in Rodrick’s room

  after school and going through his stuff. The other

  day, I found one of his middle school yearbooks.

  Rodrick wrote on everybody’s picture in his

  yearbook, so you can tell how he felt about all

  the kids in his grade.

  196

  Every once in a while, I see Rodrick’s old classmates

  around town. And I have to remember to thank

  Rodrick for making church a lot more interesting.

  But the page in Rodrick’s yearbook that’s

  really interesting is the Class Favorites page.

  That’s where they put pictures of the kids who

  get voted Most Popular and Most Talented and

  all that.

  Jerk

  Jerk

  Cool

  jerk.

  197

  Rodrick wrote on his Class Favorites page, too.

  You know, this Class Favorites thing has really

  got my gears turning.

  If you can get yourself voted onto the Class

  Favorites page, you’re practically an immortal.

  Even if you don’t live up to what you got

  picked for, it doesn’t really matter, because it’s

  on permanent record.

  People still treat Bill Watson like he’s something

  special, even though he ended up dropping out of

  high school.

  MOST LIKELY TO SUCCEED

  Netd

  Bill Watson

  Kathy Nguyen

  198

  We still run into him at the Food Barn every

  once in a while.

  So here’s what I’m thinking: This school year

  has been kind of a bust, but if I can get voted

  as a Class Favorite, I’ll go out on a high note.

  I’ve been trying to think of a category I have

  a shot at. Most Popular and Most Athletic are

  definitely out, so I’m going to have to find

  something that’s a little bit more in reach.

  At first I thought maybe I should wear really

  nice clothes for the rest of the year so I can

  get Best Dressed.

  will that be

  paper or

  plastic, ma’am?

  199

  But that would mean I would have to get my

  picture taken with Jenna Stewart, and she

  dresses like a Pilgrim.

  Wednesday

  Last night I was lying in bed, and it hit me: I

  should go for Class Clown.

  It’s not like I’m known for being real funny at

  school or anything, but if I can pull off one big

  prank right before voting, that could do it.

  yeeoww!

  thumb

  tack

  May

  Thursday

  Today I was trying to figure out how I was

  going to sneak a thumbtack onto Mr. Worth’s

  chair in History when he said something that

  made me rethink my plan.

  Mr. Worth told us he has a dentist’s appointment

  tomorrow, so we’re going to have a substitute.

  Subs are like comic gold. You can say just about

  anything you want, and you can’t get in trouble.

  greg heffley,

  will you please

  do this problem?

  your mama!

  excuse me?

  your big

  fanny granny!

  well, i hardly

  think that’s...

  your slap-

  happy

  grandpappy!

  201

  Friday

  I walked into my History class today, ready

  to execute my plan. But when I got to the

  door, guess who the substitute teacher was?

  Of all the people in the world to be our sub

  today, it was Mom. I thought Mom’s days of

  getting involved at my school were over.

  She used to be one of those parents who came

  in to help out in the classroom. But that all

  changed after Mom volunteered to be a

  chaperone for our field trip to the zoo when

  I was in third grade.

  hi, honey

  bunches!

  202

  Mom had prepared all sorts of material to help us

  kids appreciate the different exhibits, but all

  anyone wanted to do was watch the animals go

  to the bathroom.

  Anyway, Mom totally foiled my plan to win Class

  Clown. I’m just lucky there’s not a category

  called Biggest Mama’s Boy, because after today,

  I’d win that one in a landslide.

  hee hee hee hee!

  elephants

  you forgot

  your lunch

  at home!

  203

  Wednesday

  The school paper came out again today. I quit

  my job as school cartoonist after “Creighton the

  Curious Student” came out, and I didn’t really

  care who they picked to replace me.

  But everyone was laughing at the comics page at

  lunch, so I picked up a copy to see what was so

  funny. And when I opened it up, I couldn’t

  believe my eyes.

  It was “Zoo-Wee Mama.” And of course Mr. Ira

  didn’t change a single word of Rowley’s strip.

  Zoo-Wee Mama

  by Rowley Jefferson

  Hey beautiful

  lady do you

  want to go

  on a date

  with me?

  I am not a

  lady I am just

  one of those dogs

  with long hair

  so no thanks

  to that date.

  zoo-wee

  mama!

  204

  So now Rowley’s getting all the fame that was

  supposed to be mine.

  Even the teachers are kissing Rowley’s butt. I

  almost lost my lunch when Mr. Worth dropped his

  chalk in History class—

  will you put

  us in your

  comic?

  sure!

  heh, heh.

  zoo-wee

  mama!

  ha ha

  ha!

  ha ha

  ha!

  205

  Monday

  This “Zoo-Wee Mama” thing has really got me

  worked up. Rowley is getting all the credit for a

  comic that we came up with together. I figured

  the least he could do was put my name on the

  strip as the co-creator.

  So I went up to Rowley after school and told

  him that’s what he was gonna have to do. But

  Rowley said “Zoo-Wee Mama” was all His idea

  and that I didn’t have anything to do with it.

  I guess we must’ve been talking pretty loud,

  because the next thing you knew, we attracted

  a crowd.

  fight! fight!

  fight!

  fight! fight!

  fight!

  206

  The kids at my school are AlWAys itching to

  see a fight. Me and Rowley tried to walk away,

  but those guys weren’t going to let us go until

  they saw us throw some punches.

  I’ve never been in a real fight before, so I didn’t

  know how I was supposed to stand or hold my
r />   fists or anything. And you could tell Rowley

  didn’t know what he was doing either, because he

  just started prancing around like a leprechaun.

  I was pretty sure I could take Rowley in a

  fight, but the thing that made me nervous was

  the fact that Rowley takes karate. I don’t know

  what kind of hocus-pocus they teach in Rowley’s

  karate classes, but the last thing I needed was

  for him to lay me out right there on the blacktop.

  207

  Before me or Rowley made a move, there was a

  screeching sound in the school parking lot. A

  bunch of teenagers had stopped their pickup

  truck, and they started piling out.

  I was just happy that everyone’s attention was

  on the teenagers instead of me and Rowley. But

  all the other kids took off when the teenagers

  started heading our way.

  And then I realized that these teenagers

  looked awfully familiar.

  That’s when it hit me. These were the same

  guys who chased me and Rowley around on

  Halloween night, and they had finally caught up

  with us.

  208

  But before we could make a run for it, we had our

  arms pinned behind our backs.

  Those guys wanted to teach us a lesson for

  taunting them on Halloween night, and they

  started arguing over what they should do with us.

  But to be honest with you, I was more concerned

  about something else. The Cheese was only a few

  feet from where we were standing on the blacktop,

  and it was looking nastier than ever.

  209

  The big teenager must have caught my eye,

  because the next thing I knew, he was looking

  at the Cheese, too. And I guess that gave him

  the idea he was looking for.

  Rowley got singled out first. The big kid grabbed

  Rowley and dragged him over to the Cheese.

  Now, I don’t want to say exactly what happened

  next. Because if Rowley ever tries to run for

  President and someone finds out what these guys

  made him do, he won’t have a chance.

  So I’ll put it to you this way: They made Rowley

 

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