MY HAPPY(ISH) ENDING

Boy, 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.