“You brought Cheerio?” I whispered.
“He wouldn’t miss this for anything,” Papa Pete said. “Don’t tell. It’s our secret.”
Then he winked at me, and I winked back, except I’m not good at winking so both eyes closed instead of just one.
We heard Principal Love coming down the hall before we saw him. His sneakers were especially loud as they squeaked toward us. I wondered if his sneakers have a special button that lets him turn up the squeak.
“Well, hello, everyone,” he said, taking a brown manila envelope from his jacket. “We’re here to celebrate a special moment for these three young people. And as I always say, childhood is a time to climb the mountain of moments until you reach the moment of adulthood. And what a moment that is.”
I wish he would get to the moment of putting up our picture!
I looked around at all our families. They seemed just as confused as we were. They weren’t used to hearing Principal Love’s speeches, which are even longer than a spider monkey’s tail. And he still wasn’t finished.
“You children have represented PS 87 in the best possible light,” he went on. “You showed Paula Hart what a warm welcome is all about. Ashley and Frankie, you were your usual outstanding selves. And Hank, you certainly added your own personal touch to the event.”
I was standing there, thinking that I couldn’t listen to one more word. But when I realized he was talking about me, suddenly his speech wasn’t so bad. In fact, I was really liking it.
Then came the best part.
Principal Love opened the brown envelope and took out the picture. It showed Frankie, Ashley, and me, standing next to Paula Hart. It was the one where we were all smiling, not making goofy faces. You could tell that we were having a great time.
Principal Love took down the picture of Emily and handed it to my dad. I looked over at Emily. I was pretty sure that this was going to upset her. But Emily is full of surprises.
She gave me a big smile.
“Katherine and I are really proud of you,” she said.
Katherine flicked her long tongue at me and hissed.
“Well, at least I am,” Emily said.
Principal Love tacked up our picture right in the center of the bulletin board, where Emily’s had been. Next to it, he placed a sign that said STUDENTS OF THE MONTH.
I let those words roll around in my head. In my whole life, I never thought I would even be a Student of the Minute or Student of the Hour. And now, here I was, standing in the hall, staring up at a picture of me as a Student of the Month.
All I could say was WOW.
And then I said it twelve more times.
Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.
And once more for luck.
Wow.
Each family took a picture in front of the bulletin board. Frankie stood with his family and held his hands over his head like an Olympic champion. Ashley’s family stood holding hands. Then it was time for the Zipzer family photograph.
“Hank, stand as close to your picture as you can,” my mom said.
“And make sure you don’t block it,” my dad added.
“Dad, I’m not tall enough,” I said, and we all laughed.
“Do you want me to take the picture?” Emily asked. I think she was remembering when I was the one who took a picture of her. I remembered how that felt, how it hurts to be left out.
“No,” I said to her. “I want you to be in the picture, too.”
She smiled and scooted in next to me.
“Just make sure you look like the proud little sister,” I whispered.
“I’ll be glad to take your family photo,” Principal Love said. “I’ve been known to snap a prizewinner or two.”
We lined up in front of the bulletin board—my mom, my dad, Emily, Katherine, Papa Pete, and me.
“Everybody say ‘Student of the Month,’” Principal Love called out.
Before Principal Love snapped the picture, Papa Pete pulled down the zipper of his sweatshirt just enough to show Cheerio’s entire face.
He was smiling really big. And I was, too.
CHAPTER 12
All in all, it was a great day. There was the photo. There was the pizza party afterward with all our families. There was the mint-chip ice cream for dessert.
And let’s not forget the whipped cream with the cherry on top.
By the time I got into bed, I was as tired as a bear in the middle of winter.
“Knock, knock,” I heard my mom say just outside my door.
“Come in,” I said, with a yawn.
She pushed the door open, came in, and sat down on the edge of my bed, tucking the covers up under my chin like she used to do when I was little.
“You should feel great right now,” she said.
“I do,” I answered. “Can you believe that my picture is hanging on the bulletin board in the hallway of PS 87? I never thought that would happen.”
“But you see, honey, it did,” she said softly. “Everything you do, Hank, you do in your own way. That’s your gift.”
“Yeah, but a lot of times, that gift gets me into trouble.”
“You’re very special,” she whispered. “Never forget that.”
She gave me a kiss on the forehead and left the room.
I heard the door click behind her and felt my eyes get heavy. I felt good all over. The last thought I had before I drifted off to sleep was Hank Zipzer, someday you’re going to be somebody.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Henry Winkler is an actor, producer, and director, and he speaks publicly all over the world. He has a star on Hollywood Boulevard, was presented with the Order of the British Empire by the Queen of England, and the jacket he wore as the Fonz hangs in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, DC. But if you ask him what he is proudest of, he would say, "Writing the Hank Zipzer books with my partner, Lin Oliver." He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Stacey.
Lin Oliver is a writer and producer of movies, books, and television series for children and families. She has written more than forty books for children, and one hundred episodes of television. She is cofounder and executive director of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, an international organization of twenty thousand authors and illustrators of children's books.
Scott Garrett's work has appeared in GQ, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Businessweek, and more.
What’s next on
your reading list?
Discover your next
great read!
* * *
Get personalized book picks and up-to-date news about this author.
Sign up now.
Everybody Is Somebody Page 4