36

 

The next three hours went by in a blur.

5:00 p.m. A short guy in one of those Crocodile Hunter jackets introduced himself to me. “I’m Mel, Brody’s producer,” he explained.

I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”

“We are going to kill it tonight,” said Mel, whatever that means.

6:00 p.m. Mrs. Fleck drove past our house and up to the cul-de-sac at the end of the street. The first thing she did was put up a huge poster between two trees. It had a picture of an overweight kid sleeping on a couch and it said, It’s Wrong to Lie, which was kind of clever, I had to admit.

6:15 p.m. People started joining Mrs. Fleck. I recognized a couple of the stricter teachers from school, a couple of parents and their hopefully unwilling children, and my standardized-test tutor. (He probably figured he had to support Mrs. Fleck, since it’s people like her that helped him put a pool in at his house.)

6:30 p.m. A bunch of kids from school came over to our house, cheering and yelling and holding up signs that said things like Jack Makes Us All Strong! and My Schedule Includes Xbox! Nana and my mom fed them all pizza. I was too nervous to eat. Which was a first.

6:45 p.m. People kept coming. Some I recognized, some I didn’t.

7:00 p.m. A student string quartet started playing Beethoven in the cul-de-sac. Mrs. Fleck cheered as if they were Lady Gaga. The cello player wasn’t as good as me. Just saying.

7:30 p.m. The stage was finally ready. There were three cameras. Brody emerged from his trailer and brought a woman over to me to put some makeup on my face. It itched.

7:45 p.m. The couch was lifted up onto the stage, with me on it.

7:50 p.m. The lights came on.

7:59 p.m. Brody looked at me. “You ready, kid?” I nodded. He pointed at the camera. “When you see that red light go on it means we’re on the air.” He chuckled. “So don’t be picking your nose or anything.” I responded to that the only way I knew how—by touching my nose. Sweat beads started popping out on my forehead. Brody cracked his knuckles, stretched out his neck, and gave me a thumbs-up. “It’s show time.”

8:00 p.m. Show time.