Return to flip book view

SAMPLE

SAMPLE

Copyright © 2021 Angel RamirezAll rights reserved The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, livingor dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form orby any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express writtenpermission of the publisher. ISBN-13: 9798457641549 Cover design by: Angel Ramirez Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309 Printed in the United States of AmericaSAMPLE

CONTENTSCopyright1 A Long Introduction2 The T.J. League3 Shun My Fun?4 The Principal’s Office5 A Future Funmaker?6 Hashing Out Details7 Best Friend Ever8 Heroes and Villains9 Two Whole Weeks?10 Switching It Up11 Can We Talk12 Principal’s Office Again13 Back to Normal (sorta)About The AuthorBooks By This AuthorSAMPLE

Change can be difficult…SAMPLE

T.J.’s AdventuresOperation Full Control“Mr. Angel” RamirezSAMPLE

SAMPLE

1 A Long IntroductionIf this is your first time meeting me, then reading the rest of thisintroduction is definitely in your best interest. If you already knowwho I am, and some of the crazy things that truly, and I mean truly,happen to me, and sometimes my friends, then reading on wouldreally be a waste of your time. But then again, maybe you’re on areally long plane, train or bus ride. Or maybe you just like to read.SAMPLE

Whatever the reason, if you feel like reading on, who am I to stopyou?My name is Tomas (as in Toe-moss) Raymundo Olivera UribeBarrientos Lopez Espinosa, Jr., but everyone calls me T.J. for short.Except when my mom gets upset. I can tell how much trouble I’m inby how many names she calls out. If she makes it all the way through,including ‘Junior’, I know I’m in for it. But that’s only happened oncebefore. And I don’t plan on getting into that much trouble again. Ever.Then again, that’s easier said than done. Trouble seems tofollow me around like an invisible cape. All I need is an invisible pairof superhero tights, and maybe a superpower, and I could be like asuperhero in one of those television series or comic books. But thenagain, I’m not so sure. Most superheroes I know of don’t have anannoying little sister who likes to try and follow them around, so theycan tattle on them whenever they get a chance. She would definitelybe my arch nemesis.Getting back on target. Sorry, my ADHD tends to supply mybrain with enough energy to get it drifting off in enough directionsthat I could sail around the world before the lunch bell rings. As Isaid, my name is T.J., and I’m in the fifth grade. Not that you wouldbe able to tell by just looking at me.Most other boys my age look like they’re ready to start middleschool. Some even have peach fuzz thickening on their upper lip so itlooks like the sun is casting a permanent shadow beneath their nose.SAMPLE

One kid even has three whiskers that are a quarter of an inch longgrowing on his chin! And what do I have? Glasses, no facial hair, anda growth hormone deficiency. What exactly does that mean?Basically, I have four eyes, skin as smooth as a baby’s bottom, andI’m short!My mom keeps track of our height by marking a huge posterruler on the back of my door the morning of our birthdays. My sister,who is younger than me by three years, four months, and sixteendays, is taller than I was at her age! How pathetic is that? And the factthat I still fit into my favorite pajamas from the third grade doesn’thelp things.I once wore them on pajama day, during spirit week, and mysister went around telling everyone how old they were. Nobody caredthat they had Batman on them. The best superhero of all, since he hasno superpowers, but can still kick some villain butt! But once theyheard how old they were, some people started poking fun at me. Let’sjust say, that on that day, I felt closer to the ground than I already was.The only thing I have going for me is my uncharacteristically,light brown, curly hair, and light-colored eyes. It doesn’t make sense,being that both my parents are Mexican. No seriously, my dad finallybecame an official American citizen a couple of years ago and is asdark as a chestnut when he’s not tanned. Having curly hair and light-colored eyes that change depending on the weather, or what shirt I’mSAMPLE

wearing, I look more like the neighbor’s kid than my own parents’son.My older cousin teases that some poor ugly couple, whocouldn’t afford to take care of their kid, left me on my parent’s doorstep, praying that my mom wouldn’t take one look at me and say, ‘Ohmy goodness! What an ugly child!’ and feed me to Sparky, the next-door neighbor’s pit bull. I’ll tell you how he got his name later.Although having curly hair and light-colored eyes does tend to makethe girls sweet on a guy. Which comes in handy after some of the‘nice’ guys in sixth grade decide that dumpster diving is your favoritesport.Speaking of sports. Let’s just say that I don’t get along well withany sport that involves a ball full of air. I tried basketball. ‘Nothingbut net’ became my immediate nickname, and not for the reasonyou’re probably thinking of. Even when I tried with all my might, allI could hit was the bottom of the net!Then I tried football. Even though we are only allowed to playtwo-hand touch, all the guys are so much bigger than I am, just‘touching’ me sends me on a one way trip to Dirt and Grassville atwhat seems like a hundred miles an hour! OUCH!!!So, then I tried handball. No having to toss a ball five feet aboveyour head. No life-threatening meetings with the ground beneath you.All you have to do is hit a red rubber ball against a wall and outwityour opponent. Sounds easy enough. Not! Even the girls in my classSAMPLE

have mastered this sport. Most of the time my opponent hits the ballso far over my head, by the time I reach it, there’s no possible way Ican help that ball find its way home!Tether ball. After the first hit I can’t even reach it anymore.Kick ball. ‘Easy out’! Soccer has the same outcome as football. Ballrelated sports and I have an unspoken deal to keep as far away fromeach other as possible.Running, on the other hand, seems to come natural to me. Itdefies the law of physics. Short legs can only cover so much distance,while long legs cover more distance. Somehow, believe it or not ifyou like, I, T.J., am the fastest runner not only in my class, but in mywhole elementary school! It’s been that way since I made it to theupper grades. That’s fourth grade for those of you who don’t know.We were having our annual Field Day, which is basically madeup of athletic and educational challenges. All the upper grade classescompete against each other for the Field Day trophy and braggingrights for an entire year. You see, my school is a little different thanmost schools. Unless your parents specifically whine that the teacheris unfair, and can prove it, you stay with the same teacher andclassmates from kindergarten until you graduate sixth grade.Something about the bond of friendship proving to increase students’learning abilities, and higher test scores, in a study done over fifteenyears ago.SAMPLE

When it came to the twenty-yard dash I ran as hard as I could,with my eyes closed the whole way. When I opened them, I realizedthat I had run so fast, and far, that my teacher and the other kids wereshouting, ‘watch out!’, not because I was going to crash into anotherstudent, but because I was about to collide with the kickball backstopthat was over twenty yards past the finish line.And later on, when it was time for the mile run, I left thecompetition so far behind me, that when I finished, I was able to usethe restroom, get a drink of water, come back, and only half of thekids had crossed the finish line. Some people started calling me ‘TheFlash’ after that day. Besides being able to run really fast, I don’t seewhat’s so special about The Flash.Of course, no one dared challenge me to a race after that firstField Day of my upper grade career. Except every once in a while,when a new kid would come to our school. I felt bad dashing theirhopes so early in their stay at our school. They would always blame iton a cramp. Or say that they slipped and just couldn’t get a good start.One kid even faked a twisted ankle just to get out of losing a race!Everyone made up some sort of excuse. Everyone except forMarcus. When he first came to our school, he heard how fast I wasand being that he was the fastest kid at his old school, he challengedme to a race.‘From the fence, to the Big Tree, and back,’ was the normalchallenge. Most people were barely touching the tree when I wasSAMPLE

already halfway back to the fence. But not this time.When one of the kids shouted ‘go’, Marcus and I shot off thefence like we were blasted out of a cannon. He stayed with me untilwe reached the Big Tree. I could tell he was running his hardest. Sowas I. Halfway back to the fence, he started to slow down. I noticedand pushed myself harder than I had ever pushed when racing anyoneelse. I beat him by only a couple of feet.I immediately sat down. So did Marcus. Then, he held out hishand and said, ‘good race.’ No excuses. No, ‘you cheated’. No cramp.No nothing. Just, ‘good race.’ I could tell from that small gesture thathe was trustworthy.Marcus and I would soon become best friends. Unfortunately,he was in the other fifth grade class. But that never stopped us fromhanging out at recess or lunch time. We even hung out after school.Which was pretty easy. When I got home after our race, I found outhe had moved into the house directly behind me! Our fence waspretty low, so even I could jump over it to hang out with him.Marcus and I would embark on many adventures, learning lotsof valuable lessons along the way. Hopefully, you’ll be smart enoughand learn from our mistakes. Like the warning before some televisionshows say, ‘Do Not Try This At Home’!SAMPLE

SAMPLE

2 THE T.J. LEAGUE“You’re frozen!”Dang! The only way people can catch me when we’re playingfreeze tag is to team up on me. Usually, there’s one person chasingme from behind and there’s one person coming straight at me. Thistime wasn’t like usual.“I got T.J.! Everyone else should be easy!” Marcus shouted.Seeing as how we are the two fastest kids in school, we arenever allowed to be on the same team for freeze tag or capture theSAMPLE

flag, and we are usually paired up for steal the bacon.I can’t believe I fell for it. I was the one who came up with thatstrategy. Outside of school, Marcus and I are always on teams. Nomatter what the game.It was a game of freeze tag we were playing with the kids onour block this past weekend. Marcus and I decided to team up andcatch some of the middle school kids who were bigger, and a littlefaster than we were.Being the faster one, I’m normally the chaser while Marcushides behind a car, looking at the feet approaching from underneath.And when the time is right, he lunges from behind the car and freezeswhoever I’m chasing. There are so many trees, bushes, and cars onour block, that no one ever knows what Marcus, or I, am hidingbehind. It’s proven to be the perfect strategy.“Come on guys! Unfreeze me!” I begged. I can’t stand havingto stay still. I love running away or chasing people in freeze tag.I don’t know how, but only Bret is left. He is one of the slowestkids in our grade. I guess the other team decided to go after the fasterpeople first so the easy people would be left. Probably a strategyMarcus thought up. You see, the last two people tagged are usuallythe ones to be ‘it’ for the next game.“Okay guys,” Bret huffed between words, “I give up!”Great. See if I ever pick him for my team again. Marcus andMichael started cheering. I think that was the quickest game of freezeSAMPLE

tag I have ever played.A supervision aide blew her whistle and ordered everyone tofreeze.“Awww man!” I exclaimed, “recess can’t be over already.”“See you at lunch time T.J.! I’ll save you a spot!” Marcusyelled, as he raced to be line leader for his class.His class always eats lunch before my class. Our lunch scheduleis organized by class. Alphabetically. I think that is totally unfairsince my teacher’s last name is Whiston. By the time our class getsinside the cafeteria, all the good pizza, tater tots and chocolate milkare usually gone. Sometimes Marcus saves me some of his food.When he isn’t that hungry, that is.I decided to walk to my line. I’m in no mood to be first in line,and I’m definitely not in any hurry to start learning again. We’relearning about the Civil War. I don’t get it. I mean, why would fatherfight against son? Brother fight against brother? It just doesn’t makesense.By the time I got to where my class normally lines up, myteacher was already leading it back to our classroom. That means itwas only another hour and thirty-five minutes until lunch and anotherthree hours and twenty-seven minutes until school is out. Thursdaysare early day, except during June. I’ve never understood why, but Idon’t complain.◆ ◆ ◆SAMPLE

“So, what do you think of the assignment Mrs. Whistonassigned us?” Justin asked, as we reached the end of our wing andturned the corner.Just a few moments before the final school bell rang, Mrs.Whiston asked us to write about our favorite television show. Shewants us to tell her the name of the show. About a minimum of threecharacters from the show. About one of our favorite episodes, andwhy the show is our favorite.Everyone in class had started whispering once Mrs. Whistonhad finished her first sentence. We couldn’t believe that she wasn’tmaking us do a research paper. We’ve been doing research papers forthe last three weekends.First, it was about our favorite African animal. Then, it wasabout the history of our favorite ethnic food. You know, where did itstart and stuff. Then, last weekend, Thanksgiving weekend, we had toresearch the history of our family tree, going back at least threegenerations on both sides of our family! I mean, do you have any ideahow many kids Mexicans like to have!“I want it to be one page long. Back and front,” she hadinstructed.This last directive brought groans and whining from most of theclass. Luckily, the bell signaling the end of school rang before shecould add any additional instructions.SAMPLE

“And I want this paper on my desk first thing Mondaymorning!” she had called out, as everyone hurried out of theclassroom.I don’t know about you, but my favorite television show, eversince I was in kindergarten, probably even before that, happens to beBatman. And though most of my friends were into other, more kiddyshows back then, I liked Batman. Always have and probably alwayswill.He didn’t get as much talk time during recess as some of theother television shows did, but he and I have a few things in common.He likes helping people. I like helping people. He’s like a detective. Ilike figuring out how things work. His biggest secret is that he’sBatman. My biggest secret is that I’m… I’m… Well, I’ll save that foranother time.Ever since kindergarten I’ve even dressed up as Batman forHalloween. It was kind of weird but also kind of cool. Even thoughall my other friends had store bought costumes, they all liked minethe best. My nana had sewn it for me. She made it so well that itlooked exactly like the one on television. She even made sure it had autility belt and cape!It was kind of weird. Even though I was the smallest kid in theclass, and even though people couldn’t always understand what I wassaying—since I couldn’t talk right yet—I almost immediately becamethe most popular kid in class! Everyone wanted to be my friend. ThatSAMPLE

is of course until the new season of Pokémon came out. WhenJasmine came to school with a pack of the newest Pokémon cards,most of the kids in my class, and the class next door, wanted to be herfriend.Everyone except for Paul, Erick, and Justin. We’ve stayed bestfriends ever since. Paul likes The Flash, Erick likes Superman, andJustin likes Spiderman.In fourth grade, Sammy, a new student in our class, brought anew comic book to school. Actually, she was always bringing comicbooks to school. Her dad works at a comic book store. As long asSammy gets one hundred percent on her spelling test, her dad buysher a new comic book. Which isn’t exactly hard for her. You see,Sammy skipped the third grade because ‘it was too easy’. Sammyusually knows how to spell most of the words on our spelling listbefore we even get them! That means one new comic book everyweek!Here’s some backstory on the new comic book.“Hey guys! Come here!” I remember Sammy saying, excitedly,before school started.“What is it?” Paul asked, looking at the paper bag in Sammy’shand.“You guys are never going to believe this!” Sammy exclaimed,still excited about something that none of us guys knew about.SAMPLE

“Just get on with it already and show us!” Erick ordered,impatiently.Just then, Justin came from behind Sammy and snatched the bagfrom her hand.“Hey! Give it back!” Sammy shouted, but it was too late. Justinhad already removed the item from the bag.“It’s just another comic book,” I said.“Come on Justin, give it back!” Sammy pleaded, as Justin heldit high above her head.Justin is the tallest out of all of us, but Sammy is the toughest.She stomped on his foot, forcing him to shrink in pain, bringing thecomic book within arm’s reach. She snatched it back with a ‘youshould know better than to mess with me’ look on her face, whichimmediately turned back into the ‘hey guys, look what I got!’ lookshe had on her face when she first called us.“This isn’t just any comic book, T.J.,” she corrected me. “This isa very special comic book.”She turned it around so we could see the cover. It was a comicbook she had never brought to school before. The cover had sevensuperheroes on it, including Batman, The Flash, Superman and…“Wonder Woman!” Sammy shouted. “She’s my favorite! It’scalled The Justice League.”“Hey! We should call ourselves The Justice League. It has allour favorite superheroes!” Paul pointed out.SAMPLE

“Exactly!” Sammy agreed.“Except Spiderman,” Justin noticed.“Oh, yeah,” Erick said.“Well, that’s okay,” Sammy said, “we’ll just be a different kindof Justice League.”“Hey, guys!” I shouted, having gotten a great idea. “What if wedon’t call ourselves ‘The Justice League’, but we still use the firstletter of every word!”“Huh?”“I don’t get it”“Wha—?”“Just listen,” I started. “The first letter of every word in ‘TheJustice League’ is ‘T’, ‘J’ and ‘L’.”“Yeah. So?” Paul said, still sounding confused.“So instead of calling ourselves ‘The Justice League’, we couldcall ourselves the ‘T.J. League’! That way anyone could join!” I said,enthusiastically.“But wouldn’t that need an extra ‘T’?” Sammy asked, trying topoke a hole in my idea.“Who cares?” I answered.“Yeah. Who cares!” Justin backed me up. “I like the idea thatanyone can join. Even if they’re not in the real Justice League.”“I don’t know,” Sammy continued.SAMPLE

“I say we take a vote,” I suggested, before she could come upwith another reason that my idea wouldn’t work. “All in favor ofcreating the T.J. League raise your hand.”Justin and I raised our hands first, followed closely by Paul andErick. Sammy didn’t seem too enthusiastic, but she eventually raisedher hand. Slowly.“It’s official then! The T.J. League is hereby officially inoperation,” I said, with a huge grin on my face.As fourth grade went on, we would add more people to the T.J.League, although our group always seemed to be shrinking.Sometimes, it was because people moved away. Sometimes, it wasbecause people made new friends and wanted to play with them. Andsome people would quit because they wanted to be in charge. Buteveryone knows that I am in charge. I mean, come on. The league iseven named after me! Fortunately, the original five always stayed thesame. That is, until the fifth grade when he came to our school.SAMPLE

SAMPLE

3 Shun My Fun?I know. I know. You probably thought I was talking aboutMarcus. Although Marcus did join the T.J. League when I invited himto join after our first race, he’s not the ‘he’ I was talking about. I’mtalking about Funmaker John. You see, before Funmaker John came,we were able to play whatever we wanted to at recess and lunchrecess. Now we have to play whatever games Funmaker John makesavailable to us.SAMPLE

Now don’t get me wrong. Funmaker John has brought somepretty cool games to our school, but he’s also changed the rules tosome of the games we were used to playing. He’s even limited ouruse of the play structure to three times a week! Why? I have no idea!Not only that, he’s restricted us from ‘wandering the field’. Wetried to tell him that we weren’t ‘wandering the field’. We told himthat we were ‘developing our imagination and thinking skills’ byplaying the T.J. League, which is something we’ve done ever sincefourth grade. It was never a problem before. And it’s not like we do itevery day. Only once or twice a week.Here. Let me give you a rewind so you can understand what I’msaying a little bit better. It all started a couple of weeks ago.◆ ◆ ◆“If you like recess, say sweet!”“Sweet!”“If you like recess, say sweet sauce!”“Sweet sauce!”“If you like recess, say sweet sauce samba!”“Sweet sauce samba!”“Good morning boys and girls. My name is Funmaker John andI’m part of the Recess Revitalization Foundation. I’m here to makerecess more fun!”SAMPLE

Everyone in the multi-purpose room shouted, hooted, andhollered to show their enthusiasm.“Over the next few weeks, I’ll be introducing some new gamesto your school, and hopefully improving on some of the games youalready have. I’ll even be leading half an hour of your normal classtime, once a week, so that you can learn some of the new games thatwe’ll be playing at recess.“And for some of you, it gets even better. I’m going to needsome help introducing these games to the whole school, so some ofyou will also get the special privilege of getting out of class to helpme run recess!”The cafeteria erupted in cheers, and it took Funmaker John andour teachers a little while to calm us down so he could continue.“Later this week, I’ll have applications available for fourth, fifthand sixth graders to become one of my Future Funmakers. You’llhave to get your parent’s signature giving you permission to missclass of course. You’ll also have to be approved by your teacher,because remember, this is a special privilege.“Now there are some rules I need to introduce so that we canget as much fun out of recess as possible. Rule number one, repeatafter me: Tattle Tales Don’t Prevail.”“Tattle tales don’t prevail!” everyone in the cafeteria shouted.“This means that we don’t go around pointing out anyone’smistakes, except our own. It will also help us to learn how to resolveSAMPLE

conflicts on our own. And I’m going to teach you how, so that youdon’t have to go running to a supervision aide or a Future Funmaker.Raise your hand if you know how to play Rock, Paper Scissors.”Everyone in the cafeteria raised their hand.“Good. You can put your hands down now. Well, whenever wedisagree about something, like who won at handball or who touchedthe basketball or soccer ball last before it went out of bounds, insteadof arguing with each other, we’re going to play Zim, Zam, Zoom. Itworks just like Rock, Paper, Scissors.”“Then why not just call it Rock, Paper, Scissors?” someone atthe back of the cafeteria shouted.“Believe it or not, that’s a very common question. If you’veever tried to teach a kindergartener how to play Rock, Paper, Scissors,you’ll notice that they always end up playing scissors, since that’s thelast thing they say. So, we’ve changed the name to Zim, Zam, Zoom.That way they don’t get confused.“Zim stands for rock. Zam stand for paper. And Zoom isscissors. Anyone care to try their luck at Zim, Zam, Zoom againstme?”Everyone’s hands shot up, including some of the teachers.Funmaker John chose a few people from the front of the cafeteria anda few from the back to play Zim, Zam, Zoom with, including Mr.Eslinger. Somehow Funmaker John managed to beat everyone at Zim,Zam, Zoom!SAMPLE

“Now for rule number two: Try a Game That’s Not the Same.”“Try a game that’s not the same!” everyone repeated.“Some games that we’re going to learn need to have the samenumber of people on both teams. So, if someone comes up to you andasks you to join a game you’ve never played before, or maybe you’renot sure you’re going to be good at, give it a try. You may just find anew favorite game that you never even knew about!“We will also be rotating games throughout the year, so youmay come out to recess only to find out that your favorite game isn’tavailable. That’s a great time to Try a Game That’s Not the Same.“And the final rule of the Recess Revitalization Foundation is,Don’t Shun My Fun.”Instead of repeating or shouting the final rule back at FunmakerJohn, everyone in the cafeteria started whispering. What in the worlddid ‘Don’t Shun My Fun’ even mean?“It seems some of us don’t understand what that means,”Funmaker John commented. “No worries. Let me explain. If someoneinvites you to play a game with them, don’t tell them that their gameis dumb or make a comment that is going to hurt their feelings. Wehave to respect each other on the play structure, the blacktop and onthe field. Respect means that we treat others the same way that wewant them to treat us. Raise your hand if you like to be kicked.”A Few people actually raised their hand, but Funmaker Johnignored them and continued talking.SAMPLE

“Nobody does! So, should we go around kicking other people?”he asked.“No!” we answered.“Does anyone like to be made fun of? Or like being callednames?” he asked.“No!” we yelled.“So, should we make fun of people or call people names?” hecontinued.“No!” we shouted.“So, remember, treat others the way you want them to treatyou,” he instructed.“Going back to Don’t Shun My Fun. We have to remember thatit goes both ways. If you go around inviting people to play yourgame, one day, someone is going to come around and ask you to playtheir game. Now you might be on your way to play your favoritegame, but just like people have played your favorite game with you,you should be fair and give their game a chance.”Funmaker John took a break to drink some water and quicklycontinued explaining about the Recess Revitalization Foundation.“Now, I’ve saved the best for last. Who likes to play basketball,volleyball, football or soccer?”Almost every hand in the cafeteria went up again.“Well, throughout the year, we’ll be having some recesstournaments, and –”SAMPLE

Funmaker John had to stop because everyone had started talkingabout the tournaments. It took a few moments to calm everyonedown.“So, as I said,” he continued, “we’ll be having some recesstournaments, and, we’ll also be having tryouts throughout the year tocreate teams so that we can play against other Recess RevitalizationFoundation schools.”And once again, teachers had to try and calm everyone down.Some people are so competitive. I don’t know why. I mean, it’s just agame. Then again, maybe I’m not as excited because I’m not good atany of the games Funmaker John was talking about.“Before we end our assembly, I want to play a game thateveryone here could play. And it’s a game we can all play at the sametime!”What? What kind of game had almost two hundred players? Ithink maybe Funmaker John should take another drink of water. Hisbrain seems to be getting a little dehydrated.SAMPLE

4 THE PRINCIPAL’S OFFICEWell, without boring you with the details of the game FunmakerJohn decided to play with us, I'll just tell you that I did not win SimonSays. With so many people cheating, we actually ended the gameearly and Funmaker John gave us a little lesson on honesty. Butseriously, did he actually think that he was going to be able to playSimon Says with that many people at once?Getting back to the present day. Let's just say, I'm not too happywith Funmaker John. As I've already explained, he's changedSAMPLE

everything! Even Marcus, who is usually the one who convinces us to'just give it a try', is starting to like recess less."We can't even play defense unless we're inside the three-pointline!" was Marcus' latest complaint, as we lined up to come in fromrecess. "That's like seventy five percent of the court being takenaway!""I think you're exaggerating," Paul commented.“Okay. Maybe it's more like, sixty five percent. But still! Once ateam makes a shot, the other team has to stop playing so that the nextteam can play,” Marcus continued to rant."That's so more people can get a chance to play," Sammypointed out."But that's another annoying thing! Instead of having fivepeople on a team, there's only two! The line ends up getting so longthat sometimes you only get one or two chances to actually playbefore recess is over!"Marcus is starting to raise his voice now. Actually, he’sborderline shouting. And for those of you who don’t know him like Ido, that’s rare."Well, I've got some complaints of my own," Justin chimed in."Handball used to be my favorite game to play at recess. But now it'sso boring. The ball can only bounce one time. If it bounces twice,you're out. We can't catch the ball. If the ball goes outside the whiteSAMPLE

line, you're out! So that means no more hardies! Hardies was one ofthe reasons I was so good at handball!""Funmaker John is ruining recess!" I shouted."I think all of you are making too much of this," Sammycommented."Well, I'm enjoying recess just fine," Erick said, who then blewhot air on his knuckles and wiped them up and down the front of hisshirt."That's because you're a Future Funmaker!" Justin said, raisinghis hands above his head in frustration."Yeah," Paul said, backing Justin up, "you get to miss class andplay during the little kids' recess.""Hey! We all had an equal chance to become Future Funmakers.It's not my fault that none of you decided to turn in an application!"Erick said, in a defensive tone."Well, I don't care what Funmaker John says. At lunch recess,I'm going to 'wander the field'," I declared, holding up quotes with myfingers. “I’m going to play a little T.J. League. Who's with me?”"I am!" Marcus said, raising his hand."Me, too!" Paul joined in."Count me in," Justin said, "we haven't played that this week.""Even though I think you guys are overreacting, there aren'tmany things that are more fun than playing T.J. League," SammySAMPLE

remarked, stretching her arm out to put her hand in the center of ourcircle, so we could do our T.J. League motto."We all placed our hands on top of hers. Except for Erick."I don't think I can play with you guys today," Erick said,almost whispering, "I'm scheduled to run the Zim, Zam, Zoom TunnelChallenge.""Guess you'll be missing out," I said, rather crossly."Are we gonna do this or not?" Marcus asked, impatiently."Let's do this!" I shouted."Flight and speed! Stealth indeed! American pride! Lasso ofTruth and webs to fly! We protect and serve all living things. The T.J.League reigns supreme!"◆ ◆ ◆At lunch time, we all gathered at the Big Tree. Everyone exceptErick, of course."Okay, guys. No matter what happens, we keep playing T.J.League. Deal?" I said, confident that everyone would agree."Deal," everyone said, unanimously."So, here's today's scenario: the evil Dr. Dreamo has justinvaded the dreams of the President of the United States. He'sconvinced the President that all the people in the military are reallydouble agents, trying to steal America's greatest technology, so thatthey can use it to destroy us. The President thinks that the only way toSAMPLE

save the U.S.A. is to destroy all American military bases. He iscurrently on his way to his secret bunker in the White House toenable Operation Full Control, which gives him the power to overrideall American missiles anywhere in the world."Paul, you and Justin head to the Pentagon and warn theSecretary of Defense about Dr. Dreamo's plans to use the President towipe out the military and cripple the U.S.'s defenses," I ordered."Got it!" they said in unison and ran towards the tetherballcourt."Marcus and Sammy, you head to the White House and try tostop the President," I instructed."On our way!" Marcus said, saluting before heading towards thekickball backstop."But what are you going to do?" Sammy asked, as Marcusreached the backstop."I'm going to head to the Bat Cave and see if I can hack into thePresident's secure network and stop him from putting Operation FullControl into action.""But shouldn't one of us try to stop Dr. Dreamo?" she asked,folding her arms."There's no time!” I answered. “Besides, he's gotten sopowerful, that he can take over your mind by just being in the sameroom as you. Our best bet is to try and stop the President. If I can lockhim out of his own network, we can try and reverse the control Dr.SAMPLE

Dreamo has over him. We might even be able to use it to ouradvantage.""Okay. If you say so," Sammy commented, not sounding tooconvinced. Sometimes I think she is too smart for her own good.Which is why I'd rather have her on my side in a battle than to beagainst her!"Batman. This is Captain America. Come in Batman. Over,"Marcus shouted across the field.Now I’m sure that some of you probably know that CaptainAmerica is from Marvel Comics and the Justice League is from DCcomics. But you have to remember something. We're not the JusticeLeague. We're the T.J. League!"This is Batman. What is it Captain America?" I answered."We've made it to the White House, but we're taking on heavyfire. It seems that Dr. Dreamo also convinced the President that weare the enemy!" He continued to shout, as he and Sammy foughtinvisible Secret Service men and women."You've got to make it to the secret bunker at all costs," Icommanded. "If we don't stop the President, the whole world will bein danger.""But they're innocent," Sammy declared. "They're just followingorders.""Fine. Do your best to stun and not kill," I responded. "I'mhaving some difficulty getting through the White House's servers.SAMPLE

Seems the President beefed up more than just his manpower. He'smore than doubled his firewall security.""Batman. This is the Flash,” Paul called. “We've notified theSecretary of Defense. Seems he and the Secretary of State haveoverriding powers that can stop the President’s orders.”"Great! Get on it!" I commanded."There's just one problem," Justin said."And that would be," I said, in a ‘hurry up and finish’ voice."They have to be in the White House's secret bunker to do it!"he shouted."Of course, they do," I said, slapping my hand to my forehead."Flash. Get them to the White House as soon as you can. CaptainAmerica and Wonder Woman should have broken through the SecretService's defenses by then.""But what about Spiderman?" Paul asked. "I can't carry threepeople at once.""Don't worry about me!" Justin yelled. "Just get them to theWhite House!"Paul ran to the tetherball court as fast as he could."I've got the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense,"he said out of breath. "Have you guys broken through their defenses?""Not yet. We can't seem to get through the security door of thePresident's secret bunker!" Marcus stated.SAMPLE

"Stand back," Paul ordered. "Maybe I can vibrate fast enough toget through to the other side."Paul began to 'vibrate' his body. Okay, maybe not so muchvibrate. He was just wiggling his entire body. Or is it ‘flailing’ hisentire body? I don’t know exactly what it’s called, but he sure lookedfunny doing it!"Captain America. This is Batman. Come in Captain America,”I called."This is Captain America,” Marcus answered."The President has just activated every American nuclearwarhead on the planet! The countdown has begun! We only havefifteen seconds to get through the blast doors to stop him!""But the Secretary of Defense said it'll take at least thirtyseconds to deactivate operation Full Control!" Justin shouted. SeemsSpiderman is quicker than I thought."Al... most... through... aaaaaah!" Paul yelled, still 'vibrating' toget through the blast doors.I started counting down and everyone joined in."Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five. Four. Three. Two. One!"Just then, Funmaker John blew his whistle. We were so focusedon stopping the President that we didn't notice him walking towardsus."Guys, we've been over this before," Funmaker John said, withErick standing by his side.SAMPLE

"We know. We know. No 'wandering the field'," I said, in amimicking voice while holding up finger quotes."Come on guys," Erick said, taking a step forward. "You knowthe rules. It's not like Funmaker John is singling you guys out.""Be quiet, Erick," Justin said, "you're just kissing butt likealways.""That's enough," Funmaker John said. "That's not the way wetreat friends.""Friends?" I asked. "He's probably the one who told you wewere going to be playing T.J. League. What happened to Tattle TalesDon't Prevail? You can't pick and choose which rules to follow andwhich to ignore!""T.J.," Marcus began, before I interrupted him."No! I don't see the harm in playing T.J. League. We're nothurting anyone. We're not even interrupting anyone's games.""T.J., there are lots of fun game choices for you and your friendsto participate in during recess," Funmaker John pointed out."Fun? FUN?!" I shouted. "First, you take away our right to playT.J. League. Then, you change the rules to all our favorite games.How can we have fun with you changing everything all the time?!""Calm down, T.J.," Sammy said. "You're going to get introuble.""For what? Speaking my mind?” I asked, not breaking eyecontact with Funmaker John. “Don't tell me he's going to take awaySAMPLE

my free speech next!"Just then, a supervision aide blew their whistle, signifying theend of recess."DOWN AND DONE!" Funmaker John shouted. Everyone onthe playground dropped to the floor and put their hands on top of theirheads. Everyone, except for me, of course."Down and done," Erick told me."You can't tell me what to do," I said, angrily."Down and done," Funmaker John said, calmly."Or what?" I challenged."Or I'll tell Principal Martinez," Erick said, in a perfect littletattle tale voice.He's getting on my nerves!"Shut up Erick!" I shouted, lunging for his throat.“T.J.!" Marcus yelled, as he threw his arms around my waist,stopping my attack before I could reach Erick’s neck.Just then, the supervision aides blew their whistles for everyoneto line up. Marcus was still holding me tightly to keep me from takingErick down."Relax, T.J.," Paul instructed. "There's nothing you can do.""Yeah. Let's just get back to class before you get in trouble,"Sammy suggested.“You can let me go now,” I told Marcus, who released me.Reluctantly. “I can’t believe you guys didn’t back me up.”SAMPLE

“Hey! I called Erick a butt kisser!” Justin reminded me.“I know Justin,” I acknowledged. “I was talking about everyoneelse!”Boy am I livid.So much for the T.J. League being a team.◆ ◆ ◆We were in the middle of Sustained Silent Reading when Mrs.Whiston’s classroom phone rang.“Mrs. Whiston’s class,” she answered. “Yes. Yes, he’s here. Uhhuh. Really? Okay. I’ll send him up right away. T.J., you’re wanted inthe office. Seems Mr. Martinez wants to speak with you.”“Oooo,” everyone in the class said in unison.I put my bookmarker in its place and returned my book to thebasket on my desk. As I stood up and pushed in my chair, Sammy hadan ‘I told you so’, look on her face. Have I mentioned that she can betoo smart for her own good?SAMPLE

5 A Future Funmaker?“Go ahead and put this ice pack on your ankle for now,” Mrs.Kelley told a third grader, “your mom is on her way. And next timeyou decide to do a back flip off the monkey bars, remember howmuch your ankle hurts right now.”Some people think that the secretary is kind of mean. I thinkshe’s cool. She doesn’t try and butter you up and make you feel goodSAMPLE

for the bad choices you’ve made. She tells it like it is. She’s real withyou.“T.J., Principal Martinez will see you now,” Mrs. Langston, anoffice worker, told me.I stood up from the chair I was sitting in and took my timewalking past the attendance desk, where Mr. Ellis was givingsomeone a tardy slip. Boy, are they ever late.I stopped at Principal Martinez’s door and took a deep breath.It’s been quite a while since I’ve stepped inside this room.“You can come in T.J.,” Principal Martinez said, from behindhis desk.“Yes, sir,” I said, sitting in the comfortable chair across fromhim.He leaned forward, resting his chin on his folded hands, andlooked at me intently, without saying anything. It was making me feeluncomfortable. It was like he was scolding me without words. Oh,how I wish this would be over already! I decided to look at the floorso he couldn’t look me in the eyes.“So,” he said, leaning back in his chair, placing his hands in hislap, “I hear the T.J. League nearly saved the planet from Dr. Dreamo’splan to use the President of the United States to wipe out all of ourAmerican Military.”How did he know? I mean, the only people who were therewere members of the T.J. League? Not even Erick was there. Or wasSAMPLE

he? He’s so sneaky. He could have been hiding somewhere. Justthinking about it makes me want to wring his neck all over again.I sat quietly as Principal Martinez waited for me to answer.“Wondering how I knew?” he asked.“I think I know who told you,” I responded, still staring at thefloor.“T.J., you know, since I was your age, my favorite superherohas been Professor Xavier,” he commented. “He’s always trying tohelp people. Even though people don’t always understand him, hetakes his time to understand other people. And he often gives themsecond and third chances.”Why is he telling me this? What does it have to do with whathappened at recess?“So, I’ve made it my life’s mission to give people a chance toexplain themselves, and their actions, before deciding if they are agood guy or a bad guy,” he continued.Is he saying that I’m a bad guy for what I did at recess?“Funmaker John has told me that on multiple occasions, he’shad issues with you, and some of your friends, not participating in theactivities provided during recess,” Principal Martinez stated.“Yeah,” I said, still staring at the floor.“Is there a specific reason you’ve chosen not to Try A GameThat’s Not The Same?”SAMPLE

“I have!” I said, finally looking at Principal Martinez in the eyesagain. “But Funmaker John’s rules are so lame! He’s changedeverything!”“I understand your frustration,” Principal Martinez said, placinghis folded hands on his table.“I mean, what’s so wrong about playing T.J. League?” I asked.“I believe that falls into the category of wandering the field.We’re trying to create an environment where everyone has a chanceto participate in activities, while learning to think for themselves orlearning teamwork,” he explained.“But that’s just it!” I continued, passionately, “you just said‘everyone’ has a chance to learn ‘teamwork’. Why can’t that includemy friends and me playing T.J. League? Not only do we learnteamwork, but we also learn problem solving skills and we improveour real time responses to real life situations.”I have no idea what that last part means, but I heard some smartsounding guy say it on an infomercial once.“I guess you do have a point there,” Principal Martinez said,finally unfolding his hands to scratch his chin in thought.“Didn’t some smart guy once say that imagination is morevaluable than knowledge?” I asked, not caring that I couldn’tremember who had said it. All I care about is that it popped into myhead and seems like it’s helping my case. How do I know? PrincipalSAMPLE

Martinez has now shifted backwards in his seat and has placed hisfree hand under his elbow, while still stroking his chin.“Yes,” he began, taking a few moments before continuing histhought, “Albert Einstein was a ‘smart guy’.”Principal Martinez then did something I didn’t expect. He took awriting pad and a pen and placed them before me, all while wearing ahuge smile on his face. I sat in my seat, staring at the pad and pen, notunderstanding what he wanted me to do with them.“Another ‘smart guy’ said something that I’ve tried my best toshare with every sixth grade graduating class, since my first yearhere: ‘You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. Youcan steer yourself any direction you choose.’,” he quoted.I’ve never heard that before, but whoever said that sure likes torhyme. And I still have no idea what this pad and pen are for.“This is what I want you to do. I want you to come up with agame, similar to playing T.J. League with your friends, but I want itto be a game that everyone can enjoy. It’s going to need a name. Youmight want to write this down,” Principal Martinez suggested,handing me the pen. “It’s going to need a name. It’s going to needrules for students to follow. You’ll have to decide if your game is–.”“My game?” I asked, looking up from the notepad.“Yes, T.J. Your game,” he said, looking me straight in the eyes,the huge smile, still stretching across his face. “You’ll have to decidethe number of participants. You know, whether your game is going toSAMPLE

be a small group game or a large group game. Is it going to be a onegroup game, or will you put two or more teams against each other in achallenge style game? You’ll have to decide how a person, or a groupof people, can win.”“That’s a lot of things to come up with,” I said, trying to keepup as Principal Martinez spoke.“And that’s just the basics,” he explained. “Creating a funactivity that everyone can enjoy isn’t an easy task. Is it?”“I guess it isn’t,” I agreed, beginning to feel ashamed about theway I had treated Funmaker John and Erick. Especially Erick. I mean,he is one of the original T.J. League members. And I had turned onhim quicker than the Joker’s silly string turns to cement.“But you know what?” Principal Martinez asked.“What?” I asked, once again confused as to what was going onin that mind of his.“With your ‘imagination’ being ‘more important thanknowledge,’ as well as all that ‘problem solving’ practice and‘improvement to real time responses to real life situations’, I’mconfident you can create a wonderful game,” he said, changing hissmile from one of excitement to one of reassurance and confidence.“Really?” I asked.“Really,” he replied. “Of course, it will have to be approved byFunmaker John and myself.”SAMPLE

Then something came to my mind. How in the world is anyonegoing to learn about the game I’m about to create? I mean, who’sgoing to teach it to everyone?“And just to make sure your game is a success,” PrincipalMartinez said, opening a drawer in his desk, “let’s make sure that youare the one to introduce it to the school.”He pulled out a blue shirt with the words ‘Future Funmaker’ onthe front. It was as if he had read my mind.“But wait,” I said, before he could hand me the shirt, “I neverturned in an application, and the deadline has already passed.”“Don’t you worry your little head about that,” he said, handingme the shirt anyways. “I’ve got connections with the guy in charge ofthis school. He owes me a favor.”I’m not sure what kind of smile he has on his face this time. AllI know is that it’s making me smile along with him.Imagine that. Me. T.J. A Future Funmaker. Who’d havethought? Wait! Does that mean I get to leave class early? And stayout at recess late? And I get to be in charge of recess. Well, somewhatin charge anyway.But wait again! Does that also mean I have to follow all theplayground rules? Even worse! I have to enforce all the playgroundrules. Oh, boy. Some members of the T.J. league are not going to likethat.SAMPLE

That sneaky Principal Martinez. If I didn’t know any better, I’dthink he had planned this all out ahead of time. He had probably evenfaked the whole ‘I’ve got an idea’ thing. He probably figured thiswould be an easy way to keep me from complaining about FunmakerJohn’s rules and make me learn to take responsibility for my actions.Either way, he’s just given me a small amount of authority. Let’ssee if I can teach him a thing or two about listening to the ideas ofstudents and involving us in making choices that will affect the entirestudent body.Oh, yes, Mr. President, we can stop you from enacting your planto take ‘Full Control’. And yes, you will be stopped by a bunch ofsuperheroes. And yes, they are all members of… the T.J. League!SAMPLE

SAMPLE

6 Hashing Out Details“He did what!” Justin shouted, as we ate our lunch under thecanopy, nearly choking on his food. Today is teriyaki chicken day.Boneless, of course.“Didn’t you hear anything I just said?” I asked.“Oh, I heard everything. I just can’t believe he made you aFuture Funmaker! I mean, how can he do that?”“Uh, he is the principal,” Sammy pointed out.SAMPLE

“But still!” Justin continued, hotly.I’m not sure if he’s turning red from anger or not, because hehas really dark skin. But I’m sure if it wasn’t, he’d be red as a CocaCola can.“Calm down, Justin,” Marcus said, placing his hands on Justin’sshoulders, helping him to sit back down, since people are beginningto stare.“Isn’t there anything we can do?” Paul asked, “like go on strikeor make a petition or something?”“I’m not sure either of those would bode well for us in the end,”Sammy responded.“But if T.J.’s a Future Funmaker, we’ll never get to play T.J.League again!” Justin yelled.“Shhh!” a supervision aide ordered, as she passed by our table.“Technically, we could,” Sammy said, “we would just have tofind a new leader.”“But it’s called the T.J. League!” Justin continued to shout.“If you children can’t control yourselves, I’m going to have toput you on clean up duty,” the supervision aide warned.“Don’t worry ma’am. There won’t be any further outbursts,”Sammy said, giving Justin a ‘sit down and be quiet!’ look.“Calm down, Justin. You’re going to get us all in trouble,” Paulordered.“Guys. Don’t worry. I have a plan,” I said, nefariously.SAMPLE

“Plan?” Justin said, confused, “what plan?”“Well,” I began, “Principal Martinez told me to come up with agame like the T.J. League. He told me he wants everyone to be able toparticipate. I get to come up with the rules. I get to come up with thename of the game. I get to decide how many people are able to play. Iget to be the one to teach the school how to play the game. I will bethe one in charge of the game. Are you guys catching on to what I’msaying?”“Not really,” Marcus said.I motioned for everyone to come in close so that no one aroundus would be able to hear.“I am going to make sure we get to play T.J. League every dayof the week!” I whispered intently.Everyone exchanged looks of excitement as I held my indexfinger up to my lips.◆ ◆ ◆“So, I heard that you’re the newest addition to our group ofFuture Funmakers,” Funmaker John said.He’s standing behind me and looking over my shoulder, as I sitat the Buddy Bench, brainstorming ideas for my new game in mynotebook.“That’s what Principal Martinez tells me,” I answered, writingdown another rule for my game.SAMPLE

“I guess we’ll be spending a lot more time together,” he pointedout, walking around to the front side of the bench.“Just a perk of the job,” I responded, not looking up from mynotebook.“What have we got here?” Funmaker John asked, as he satdown next to me. Very next to me.“Nothing important,” I answered, closing my notebook, andwalking towards the Lizard Tail circle.Being the fastest person at school helps when running in a race,but this game had definitely proven to be a challenge for me.“I can’t wait to learn all about your new game,” Funmaker Johnsaid, just as Erick walked up to me.“So, is it true?” he asked.“Is what true?” I asked, answering his question with anotherquestion.“Are you going to be a Future Funmaker?” he asked, as heplaced himself in front of me so that he was now walking backwards.“Doesn’t seem like I have a choice,” I said, still not exactly overwhat happened earlier at recess.“It may not seem like a fun thing to do,” he said, gettingexcited, “but just you wait. Being a Future Funmaker is one of thegreatest things that has ever happened to me!”I almost want to tune him out, but I think I’ll keep on listening. Imean, he is a member of the T.J. League. Although, I’m not sureSAMPLE

that’s going to last much longer. I’ve never actually kicked anyoneout of the T.J. League, and I’m not sure I want to start now. I think I’llgive him another chance. But I’m definitely keeping a close watchover him. That’s exactly what Batman would do if a member of theJustice League were acting different or strange.◆ ◆ ◆“So, what have you got?” Marcus asked me, as we walkedhome from school.“What have I got for what?” I asked back.“You know! For the new game. So, we can play T.J. Leagueevery day!” he said, excitedly.It seems he’s a bit more excited about all of this than I currentlyam.“I don’t have all the details hashed out just yet,” I said,adjusting my backpack. One of my books had shifted and was makingmy left shoulder start to hurt.“What if we worked on it together after we finish ourhomework?” Marcus suggested. “I’m sure if we put our two mindstogether, we can make this the best game the school’s ever seen!”“I think you mean the best game the school’s ever played,” Icorrected.“You know what I mean!” Marcus said, still excited. “So, whatdo you say? How about it?”SAMPLE

“Well, I guess another brain wouldn’t hurt,” I answered.“Yes!” Marcus shouted, nearly falling over after doing ajumping fist pump.“But I get the final say so!” I finalized.“Deal,” he said, sticking his hand out to shake on it.◆ ◆ ◆Luckily, we didn’t have too much homework to finish, and weboth decided to do our reading logs later, before bed.“So, here’s what I’ve got so far,” I said, taking my notebook outof my backpack and placing it on the floor between us. “The best wayI can think of, to make sure everyone gets to play, is to make sure it’sa game that has an unlimited number of teams.”“Unlimited number of teams?” Marcus said.“Yes, Marcus, an unlimited number of teams. Anyone can createtheir own team, that way no one has to be on a team with people theydon’t necessarily get along with,” I explained.“Oh,” Marcus said, not exactly knowing what I was talkingabout. I could tell by the confused look his face was making.“You see, if there’s one thing that I’ve noticed at recess,” I said,“it’s that everyone is pretty much broken up into groups, even if theyhaven’t noticed it. Although Funmaker John has made lots ofdifferent games available for people to play, most people still playSAMPLE

with their own group of friends. They may Try A Game That’s NotThe Same, but they usually do it together.”“Okay. Now I think I understand what you’re saying,” Marcussaid, trying to read some of what I had written in my notebook. Toobad it’s written in a code I had created. I haven’t taught anyone howto read it yet, but I’m considering teaching it to Marcus. Just not rightnow.“Giving everyone a chance to create their own team, will getmore people interested in playing my game,” I continued. “Anothergreat thing I’ve made sure will be a part of my game, is that it has tobe played on the field.”“But only sports are allowed to use the field,” Marcus remindedme. “Like football, soccer and kickball.”“Oh, trust me, I didn’t forget that,” I said, confidently. “Like Isaid before, I get to come up with the rules of the game. And that’sone of the rules. It’s the only place we’ll have enough room to play.Not to mention, we’re not allowed to run on the blacktop. Unlesswe’re playing basketball of course.”“T.J., that’s genius!” Marcus said, motioning for a high five,which I happily obliged.“No need to worship me just yet,” I told him. “There’s more tothis game I haven’t even told you yet.”“Like what?” Marcus asked.“Like the name of the game, for example,” I reminded him.SAMPLE

“Oh, my goodness! I completely forgot that you get to nameyour new game!” Marcus shouted, sitting on his feet with his handson his knees, while staring at me like an eager puppy. “What’s thename!”“That’s one detail I’m keeping to myself,” I said, crushing hisexcitement. “At least until it’s time to reveal it to the school.”Just then, there was a knock at the door.“Yes,” I said.“May I come in,” my mom asked.“Yes,” I said, closing my notebook.“Um, Marcus. I need to speak with T.J., alone,” she said.Marcus got up from his ‘eager puppy’ position and startedwalking to the door.“We’re about to have dinner. If you and T.J. were working onsomething, you can wash up and join us,” she told him. “Thenperhaps you can finish your project afterward.”“Yes, ma’am,” Marcus said, politely, as he exited my room.“But be sure to call your mother and ask permission first!” mymother called after him.I don’t exactly know why my mother is in my room, or why shehas just asked my best friend to leave, but I do have an idea as to whomight be responsible for this unexpected visit.“So, Tomas, Xochitl just told me that there may be somethingyou’d like to tell me,” my mother said, pretty much telling me thatSAMPLE

she already knew about what had happened earlier at recess. Mysister is such a tattle tale!“Regarding what?” I asked, pretending to have no idea what shewas talking about.“So, it’s going to be like that?” she said, with a ‘you know whatI’m talking about’ tone in her voice.“No,” I answered, knowing there is no way I’m going to win abattle against my mother.“So, I’ve heard your sister’s side. Now I want to hear yourside,” she said, taking a seat on my bed.I was tempted to just start shouting about how Funmaker Johnwasn’t being fair, but I know better. If I start that way, not only will Ibe in trouble for having to go to the principal’s office, I’ll also be introuble for yelling at my mom. So, I took a deep breath and startedfrom the beginning.Thankfully, mom isn’t like dad. Instead of interrupting me everyfew sentences, so she can point out what I did wrong, mom satsilently and let me finish my entire story before saying anything.“It seems your luck with Mr. Martinez hasn’t run out yet,” momcommented.The last time I was in Principal Martinez’s office was after I hadshoved Andrew off the monkey bars, causing him to sprain his ankle.He knew I was next in line and had pushed me aside so he could goSAMPLE

first. Luckily, Andrew had admitted to pushing me out of the way, somy punishment wasn’t as harsh as it could have been.“But just because you didn’t get in trouble with Mr. Martinez,doesn’t mean you’re going to make a clean getaway with me,” momexplained.“Aw,” I said, knowing that there is no way I’m going to changeher mind.“You’re going to start with a letter of apology for FunmakerJohn. And when you’re done with that, you can write one for Erick,”she instructed.“But mooom!” I whined.She held up her finger, letting me know she wasn’t finished. Ihate when she does that, because it’s never just the finger alone. It’salways paired with the closed eyes and head turned to the side, so shecan’t see my puppy dog eyes. And I’ve been practicing. I’m almost atPuss In Boots level!“I want them handwritten and I want to see them when you’redone, so I can proofread them and make sure your handwriting is neatand the spelling is correct,” mom continued. “And I don’t want themto say exactly the same thing. I want two distinctly writtenapologies.”Mom knows I have horrible penmanship and spelling. This isjust another way for her to punish me.SAMPLE

“And when you’re done with that,” mom said, as if the writtenapologies weren’t enough, “you’re going to apologize to the membersof the T.J. League.”“For what?” I asked, a bit confused.“For setting a bad example to those who look up to you,” shesaid. “As the leader of the T.J. League, you have a responsibility tothe members of your team. Even Batman apologizes when he’s madea mistake that could affect the whole team.”“But I didn’t do anything that affected the whole team,” Iprotested.“But you did, sweetie,” she said, motioning me to sit next to her.“You’ve taken their leader away from them.”“How did I do that?” I asked, facing her as I sat on my bed.“Now that you’re going to be a part of the Future Funmakergroup, you’re not going to have as much time for the T.J. League,”she said, looking me straight in the eyes, but not in an intimidatingway.“But I get to make up my own game. And I get to teach it to theschool. And I get to be in charge of the game,” I said, just as I hadexplained it to my friends earlier, during lunch.“And that’s just it,” mom said, “since you’re going to be incharge of the game, you’re not exactly going to get to play the gamewith your friends.”“I don’t get it,” I said.SAMPLE

“You’re going to be so busy making sure that everyone else isplaying by the rules, that you’re not going to have time to play withyour friends the way you used to,” she clarified.Whoa. I hadn’t thought of that before.SAMPLE

7 Best Friend EverAfter dinner, Marcus and I headed back up to my room to finishworking out all the details of the game. I’ve already come up withmost of the ideas in my head, Marcus pretty much just has to help medecide if the ideas are good or bad. Or if maybe I just needed tochange them up a bit.Unfortunately, Marcus forgot that he had church, so he had togo home. I have so much excitement built up from creating my ownSAMPLE

game that I need an outlet to release it into. I know. I think I’ll do abit of drawing. I started a comic strip a while back and I haven’tworked on it in a couple of weeks. Maybe I can use all of this energyto create a few blocks.Batman is currently in the middle of a high-speed chase, tryingto catch Joker. Of course, Joker isn’t playing fairly. He’s just blownup a freeway bridge after passing under it. Batman has to figure out away to get through the debris without crashing or being crushed bylarge chunks of concrete.As I sat at my desk, pondering possible ways for Batman toescape the danger, my mom poked her head through my opendoorway.“So, did you and Marcus finish working out all the details ofyour new game?” she asked.“Not yet,” I said. “He forgot he had church. But when we do,it’s going to be the best game, ever!”“I can’t wait to hear all about it,” she said. “And, uh, how arethose apologies coming.”“Oh! Uh, they’re coming along fine,” I lied. “I’m just trying toget all my thoughts in order before I start to write them out. Youknow, so I don’t get writer’s block.”“Okay,” she said, trying to see the paper I was covering with myarms.SAMPLE

I don’t think she fully believed what I was saying, seeing ashow she was wrinkling her eyebrows as she passed on by my room.I’m just glad she reminded me that I had to write those apologies, or Iwould have been in lots of trouble.◆ ◆ ◆I made sure to deliver my handwritten apologies to Erick andFunmaker John first thing in the morning since Xochitl was followingme around like a hawk stalking its prey. I knew that if I didn’t deliverthem right away, she would tell mom as soon as we got home.Erick took his, after some coaxing. I guess he thought that I wasgoing to lunge at his throat again, because he started walking awayfrom me, backwards, as soon as I started walking towards him. Heonly stopped when Marcus ensured him that I wasn’t going to hurthim.Funmaker John, on the other hand, took his with a smile on hisface. It seems that yesterday’s confrontation had no lasting effect onhim. He even called out to me and held his hand up in a ‘high five’position as soon as I began approaching him. It was like yesterdayhad never even happened at all!When it came time for recess, the substitute informed me thatnot only was I forbidden to play T.J. League, but also that I had lostmy recess for three whole days! And not just recess, but lunch recess,too! Evidently, yelling at Funmaker John, and threatening Erick, hasSAMPLE

consequences. Needless to say, I am not having a good start to myday.I’ve decided that since getting my recess back is out of mycontrol, I will now focus on lunch time. If fact, I can’t wait to get intothe cafeteria! Why? Today is Sloppy Joe Day! It’s not only myfavorite school food, but also one of the only foods the cafeteriaserves, that no matter when you arrive, in the front of the line or theback, they are all the same. All that gooey, meaty, sloppiness. Justthinking about it makes me drool. Mmm. Sloppy Joes. If there is onething that can make this day better, it’s Sloppy Joes!I usually try to be extra nice to the cafeteria ladies on SloppyJoe day. I normally point out how nice they look or ask if they’vedone something to their hair. Seeing as how Sloppy Joes are onlyserved once a month, they almost never remember. A simplecompliment can mean an extra scoop of Sloppy Joe messiness! Thereis no way I am ever going to give up that chance!But just like at recess time, today was different. When it wasfinally my turn, I noticed that there were no Sloppy Joes.“Sorry T.J. I know how much you like Sloppy Joes,” Mrs.Sorroyan apologized. “But Mrs. Lankershaim twisted her ankle anddropped an entire tray of Sloppy Joe meat. We ran out ten minutesago.”I could tell by the sound of her voice and the disappointed lookon her face that she was truly sorry. Mrs. Sorroyan is the nicestSAMPLE

person you can ever meet. Somehow, she even makes Vegetarian Daybearable.“That’s okay Mrs. S,” I lied, as she handed me a bologna andcheese sandwich.“I’ll be sure to save you one next time,” she promised, handingme a chocolate bar that she had been hiding. You know. The oneswe’re selling for our school fundraiser. So, we can go to Sciencecamp. Yeah, one of those chocolate bars. See. I told you she’s thenicest.“Thanks,” I said, as she smiled at me.Once I got my fruit and vegetables, I hurried into the lunch area.I immediately saw Marcus waving at me from our usual spot.Luckily, his teacher’s name is Mr. Anderson.“Can you believe it?” I said, as more of a statement than aquestion. “Bologna and cheese. I don’t even like bologna!”I dropped my plate onto the table and sat down next to Marcus.“I know,” Marcus said, hiding something behind his back. “Isaw Mrs. Lankershaim drop the tray of Sloppy Joe meat.”“What are you hiding?” I asked, not in the mood for anysurprises.“Nothing,” he answered, with a mischievous look on his face.“Marcus,” I said, irritated. “It’s obvious that you’re hidingsomething.”SAMPLE

“It’s like I said. I saw Mrs. Lankershaim drop the tray of SloppyJoe meat.”“So?” I asked, beginning to lose my patience.“So, I decided to save you half of mine!” he announced,revealing what he had been hiding.“You’re awesome!” I shouted, as he handed me the other half ofhis Sloppy Joe.I immediately sank my teeth into that Sloppy Joe goodness,when once again, my day took a turn for the worst. At that exactmoment, a passing sea gull decided to share what he had eaten hoursbefore and it landed right on my Sloppy Joe. Some of it evensplattered into my eye!I coughed on the food in my mouth while running to the boys’restroom, so I could wash my eye out with water. A supervision aideshouted at me to slow down as I ran past her.See. I told you trouble always seems to find me.So, it should be no surprise to you that I lost my appetite andcouldn’t play at lunch recess anyway. Even though I’m supposed tobe sitting at a pole, I’ve decided to sit under the Big Tree, to ponderwhat I’ve done to deserve such a horrible day.It didn’t take long before Marcus approached me, asking me if Iwanted to play.“You sure you don’t want to play?” Marcus offered, trying tolift my spirits. “We can play capture the flag and cream the otherSAMPLE

team!”It sounds inviting, but I’m determined to stay on my dark cloud.Besides, I’ve lost my recess for three whole days. Although, I havebeen too embarrassed to tell the guys.“Okay. I’ll see you after school,” Marcus said, shrugging hisshoulders and running to join a game of soccer.Besides being an awesome friend, Marcus is an average fifthgrader. Who am I kidding? The only average thing about Marcus ishis height. He’s the smartest boy in his class. And possibly mine. He’sthe teacher’s pet. But in a good way. He knows everyone in the officeby their first name. But he still calls them Mr. and Mrs. out of respect.Not to mention, unlike me, he is good at every sport. He’s probablythe most athletic kid in our school. He’s tried to give me some tipsand pointers to help me get better, but even he can’t help someone aspathetically un-athletic as me.After school, Marcus was waiting for me at our usual meetingspot, at the end of the 600 wing. It was the building closest to the sideexit gate. He always beats me there since his class is room 603. Myclass is in the 800 wing, which is the farthest from the side exit gate.Luckily, mom finally trusts me enough to walk home. She stillpicks up my little sister, Xochitl, since she whines that she doesn’twant to walk home with me and Marcus. And I’m fine with that. Themore time away from her, the better.SAMPLE

I know it sounds mean, but she can be so annoying sometimes!She acts all nice and princess-y for everyone else, but when she’saround me, well that’s a whole different story. She could win anacting award for her ability to change character in an instant. If onlyyou knew her like I do. Trust me, you’d agree.“T.J., you doing anything tonight?” Marcus asked, as wewalked. His head looking down.“No. Why?” I answered.“Oh. Nothing special,” he said, as he kicked an aluminum can.“Then why ask?” I questioned. I hope I don’t sound tooirritated. I really am still on my dark cloud.“Well,” he began, then stayed silent for a few moments.“‘Well’ what?” I asked.“Well, I was wondering if you wanted to work on finishing yourgame,” he shared, as the can he was kicking bounced off the tire of acar we were passing by.“I don’t know,” I retreated.“Oh. Okay,” Marcus said, sounding disappointed. “Well, if youchange your mind, let me know.”Just then we arrived at Marcus’s house. I waived ‘good-bye’and decided to walk around the block to my house.If today was a normal day, which it is not, I would go toMarcus’s house to do my homework. His mother always has a snackready for us. Actually, we usually alternate houses every day. One daySAMPLE

we go to my house for homework and snacks. The next day we go tohis. Today, I just need a little bit more time to myself.“I thought you were going to Marcus’s house today,” my mothersaid, as she entered the living room, where I’ve decided to continuemy day on my dark cloud, laying in my dad’s recliner.“I was. But today has just been horrible! So, I decided I wantedto rest at home,” I answered, honestly.“In your favorite place, I see,” my mother observed. “AnythingI can help with?”“No,” was my short answer.Normally I would tell her how my day went, and she’d listenwithout interrupting. I love how she does that. Dad is alwaysinterrupting me and trying to tell me how to fix things or saying,‘toughen up’, or ‘men don’t cry,’ or some other unhelpful thing. Buttoday. Today I want to stay on my dark cloud a little bit longer.“Well, if you want a snack, your sister’s at Thalia’s house, soyou can have the trail mix I made.”Trail mix is one of my favorite snack foods. But even trail mixcan’t get me out of my foul mood right now. Besides, I’m too busyfocusing on Marcus’s invitation. Should I let him come over so wecan finish the details of my game? What do you think?While I thought about it, mom just stood there, waiting for myresponse. I know because I can see her out of my peripheral vision.She’s probably waiting for me to jump up and race to the kitchen.SAMPLE

After a few moments of silence, I saw her shake her head indisappointment and walk away.All of the frustration from earlier, and all of the energy it’s takento stay on my dark cloud, has tired me out. I think I’ll rest my eyesfor a few minutes, before starting on my homework, or asking Marcusto come over. Maybe then I’ll have a clearer head.◆ ◆ ◆I don’t know how long I had closed my eyes, but the next thingI knew, mom was gently shaking me awake.“T.J. T.J., wake up,” she said.“Huh? What?” I asked, trying to rub the sleep out of my eyes.“Marcus is at the back door. Do you want me to tell him you’resleeping?” mom asked.“Huh?” I groaned, as my eyes began to focus. I looked at theclock on the cable box. It was already five forty-five!“He’s asking if you wanted to eat dinner at his house. He saidhis mother made Sloppy Joes,” mom informed me.After everything that’s happened today, how can I say no toSloppy Joes? Marcus truly is the best friend a guy could ever have. Istood up, stretched a bit, and quickly headed for the back door.“Make sure not to stay too long, you still have homework todo!” mom called after me.“Don’t worry, I won’t,” I shouted, as I raced out the back door.SAMPLE

“I love you, too!” she yelled.SAMPLE

SAMPLE

8 Heroes and VillainsWhen I got to the kitchen, Marcus’s mother had already set thetable and his older brother, Daniel, was just finishing up hishomework. Luckily, we had a substitute teacher today and Mrs.Whiston had forgotten to make copies of our homework, so all wehave to do is our nightly reading for our reading log.“Don’t forget to wash your hands, Daniel,” his mother remindedhim, as he was putting his science book into his backpack.SAMPLE

“Hello, T.J.,” Marcus’s mother greeted me, as we entered thekitchen.She reminds me of a mother from a cartoon show. She is alwayssweet, and it seems like she’s always doing more than one thing atonce. Cooking and cleaning. Washing clothes and helping us withhomework. She’s a pretty neat lady.“I heard that your day didn’t go too well at school today,” shesaid, in a ‘is what I heard true?’ kind of voice.“Eh,” I replied, “I’ve had worse.”“Oh. So, I should skip the Sloppy Joes for dinner and make avegetarian dish instead?” she said, returning a can to the cupboardwith a smile.“No, no, no! Today was pretty bad. I just meant that I’ve hadsome pretty bad days in the past, too. And some were worse thantoday,” I tried my best at a save.“Oh, there you are,” she said, as Marcus finally came into thekitchen.“Sorry, I had to use the restroom,” he explained.“Go ahead and serve T.J.,” she instructed.It seems that dinner was already prepared and the can she putback was just a distraction to keep me from noticing. Besides being aneat lady, she can also be tricky. Kind of like my mom. I wonder ifthey practice ways to trick us while we’re at school.SAMPLE

Marcus took my plate from the table and began to prepare mySloppy Joe. I’ve never understood why, but whenever I’m at hishouse, Marcus’s mother makes him serve me. No matter how manytimes I’ve protested that I really am a big boy, despite my actual size,she always counters and says that I am a guest, and that in this houseguests are treated as royalty.I guess it’s a good thing that we can usually hear footsteps whensomeone is coming up the stairs, because she probably wouldn’t likeit when I help Marcus clean his room. I’m pretty sure kings andprinces have servants for that sort of thing. But I can’t stand a messyroom. Sometimes, while we’re doing homework, or just hanging out,I’ll automatically start picking things up and putting them wherethey’re supposed to be. Except dirty underwear. That’s just gross!◆ ◆ ◆When we finished our dinner, Marcus’s mother cleaned up, but Imade sure to take my plate and cup to the sink before she could finishchewing and order Marcus to do it.After thanking his mom for the delicious food and thoughtfulgesture, Marcus and I headed up to his room to finish working out allthe details of the game. Like I said yesterday, I have already come upwith most of the ideas in my head, Marcus just pretty much has tohelp me decide if the ideas are good or bad. Or, if I just need toSAMPLE

change them up a bit. Since I left my notes in my backpack, and that’sstill sitting next to my dad’s recliner, all I can do is explain it to him.Marcus decided to pull out some paper from his backpack andtook a pencil from his desk so we could write our thoughts down. AsI shared my ideas, he pointed out a flaw in my game and helped mefix it. As I continued to explain the rest of the game, he came up withan idea of his own. A really good idea. I am getting so excited.While we were in the middle of an idea, the phone rang,although neither of us heard it. I think we’re a bit too focused onfinishing the details of the game to notice anything right now.“Then you—,” Marcus was saying, when there was a knock athis bedroom door.“T.J., your mother just called. She said you still have homeworkto finish,” Marcus’ mother relayed.“But mom,” Marcus whined.“And if I’m not mistaken, you haven’t finished your spellingsentences. And you still have to take a shower,” his mother said, in a‘and that’s final’ sort of tone.“It’s okay Marcus,” I said, patting him on the back, “I’m inenough trouble already. If I don’t go home, who knows when we’llget to hang out again.”I picked up our notes and headed home.◆ ◆ ◆SAMPLE

“So, how was dinner?” mom asked, as I entered the kitchen. Shewas washing dishes and listening to merengue music.“Good,” I answered. “I’m just a bit tired.”“After all that hibernating you did this afternoon?” mom said,rinsing off the last plate and putting it in the dish rack.“Yeah. I feel a food coma coming on,” I said, patting mystomach and faking the best smile I could muster.Mom laughed.“Guess someone had a bit too much to eat, huh?” she remarked.“Maybe a little,” I answered.“Well, go ahead and jump in the shower as soon as your sistergets out,” she ordered.“Okay,” I said, exiting the kitchen.“And don’t forget to do your homework!” mom called after me,as I ran up the stairs.After I got out of the shower, I went straight to my room. A fewminutes later, there was a knock on my door.“Come in,” I said.“Don’t think you’re out of trouble just because I let you go toMarcus’s house,” Mom started. “His mother called when you didn’tshow up and wanted to make sure you were okay. Seems Marcus toldher about what happened at recess and lunch. It was his idea to makeSloppy Joes.”SAMPLE

Suddenly there was a thump on the wall. It distracted mom,which might have been a good thing.“Have you finished your homework?” mom asked, as sherefocused on me.“Not yet,” I answered.“Then get to it!” she ordered.“I only have to read for my reading log,” I explained.“No math or language arts?” mom asked.“No,” I said. “We had a substitute today, and Mrs. Whistonforgot to leave the homework for the sub.”“What about your spelling words?” mom reminded me.“Oh, yeah. I’ll write them five times each before I read,” I said.“Make it ten since you don’t have any other homework tonight,”mom ordered.“Okay,” I said, not too happily. I know better than to argueabout how many times I have to write my spelling words.Since I was diagnosed with a mild form of dyslexia last year, aspecial tutor at school, and mom, have been working with me torecognize letter combinations and sounds when reading and writingwords.You see, sometimes when I look at words on a paper or on theboard, the letters are all jumbled up or backwards. On a bad day, thewords on the page aren’t even a straight line! They look more like aSAMPLE

river full of letters and sometimes even took on the shape of the hills Idraw in my desert pictures.Luckily, mom has read this book from the library that showedher how to use underlines and over-lines to make me notice certainletter combinations. Like ‘th’ and ‘ch’. She would also use wavy andangled lines to help me with the sounds that vowel combinationsmake. Like ‘ou’ and ‘ai’ and stuff. She also puts boxes around lettersor dots on top of letters or under letters. It’s really helping me to readbetter.Not only is it helping me to read better, but it’s also helping meto write better, too! Now I use the lines and boxes and dots when I’mwriting, to make sure I spell words correctly. I was used to getting F’son my spelling tests, but now, with the help from my special tutor,and mom, I got a C+ on last week’s spelling test!When I finished writing my spelling words ten times each,reading for twenty minutes and writing in my reading log, I tried togo to sleep. ‘Tried’ being the key word. All I did was toss and turn.After what seemed like an hour or so, I decided to get out of bedand put my extra energy to some good use. I walked over to my deskand decided to add another block to a different comic I’m workingon.Batman is still battling the Joker, except Joker has just unveileda huge toy gorilla that causes anyone who has metal on, to beSAMPLE

instantly attracted to it. I designed it to look kind of like the one atChuck E. Cheese. You know. The one where you have to prove howstrong you are? That one.Anyway, Joker has designed his ‘toy’ to have a special ability.Once you’re magnetically attached, the gorilla closes its arms aroundyou and begins to squeeze tighter and tighter. Batman’s spine iscurrently being crushed as he thinks of a way to escape. I’m just notsure how he’s going to do that exactly. Maybe I’ve made this obstaclea bit too hard, this time.Concentrating on a solution must have exhausted my brain,because I woke up the next day at my desk. As I got up, a line ofdrool from my desk stretched all the way to my face. Aw man! Nowsome of my artwork is ruined!◆ ◆ ◆“So, this is how it works,” I said, to the guys and Sammy,before school started.It seems Marcus couldn’t wait to tell everyone that I hadfinished the details of the game. Luckily, he kept his promise to let mebe the one to introduce it to everyone.“T.J. got in trouble with mom!” Xochitl shouted, before I couldexplain the game to everyone.I was so excited that I didn’t even hear her sneak up! Wait. Howdid she know? It must have been her that made that thump sound onSAMPLE

the wall. She was probably listening through the wall!“Go away!” I said, angrily.“You can’t tell me what to do!” she screamed, causing peoplepassing by to look our way.“Stop screaming,” I ordered, “people are staring.”“So, what! If you weren’t so mean, I wouldn’t have to scream,”Xochitl said, stomping off towards the lower grade playground.“She gets on my nerves!” I said, clenching my fists.“Seems she’s got the ‘annoying sister’ part down,” Paul said.“Don’t forget the ‘tattle tale’ part, too,” I added.“So, are you going to tell us about the new game or what?”Justin asked, the look of excitement still on his face. Seemseverything that just happened didn’t even faze him.“Well,” I began, “as I was saying, before I was rudely,interrupted–.”Just then the morning bell rang. Guess I’ll have to tell the guyslater.◆ ◆ ◆“Remember, your final draft is due by next Thursday if youwant full credit,” Mrs. Whiston reminded us. “Every day after thatyour grade will drop by ten percent.”Seems all of those research papers she had us doing was justpractice for an even bigger research paper. This one had to be fiveSAMPLE

pages long! In total. Not front and back. If it was front and back, Iwould probably have died. I mean, come on. Can you imagine howmany drafts I would have to do to make sure all the spelling wascorrect?“Psst! T.J.!” Justin whispered from behind me.I pretended not to hear him. I know what he wants. He wantsme to tell him about my new game. And normally, I would tell him,too. Except Mrs. Whiston has already given us a final warning. Toomany kids have been talking during class and she is not in a verygood mood. I’ve already gotten in enough trouble for one week and Iam not about to add to my punishment.“Come on, T.J.!” he whisper shouted. “You don’t have to talk.Just write it down for me!”“Whose name should I add to the board now?” Mrs. Whistonasked. She already has seven up there. And like I said, I am not aboutto add my name to that list.I can feel Justin burning a hole in the back of my head with hiseyes. I can also imagine the face he’s probably making. It’s the sameone he always makes when he doesn’t get his way. But he’s just goingto have to wait like everyone else.◆ ◆ ◆“Come on, T.J.,” Paul was saying, as we walked towards theoffice, “you can tell us now. What’s your game called and what’s it allSAMPLE

about?”“I’m sorry guys,” I apologized. “I have a meeting with PrincipalMartinez.”“But you can still tell us before you get there!” Paul pleaded.“I’ve decided that I don’t want to get your hopes up in casePrincipal Martinez doesn’t approve the game,” I explained.“Aw. No fair,” Justin whined.“Sorry guys,” I said, as I opened the door to the office.“Not cool, T.J.,” Sammy said, “not cool at all.”I thought they were going to follow me in but instead theystayed outside. Peeking through the window. As if they are going tobe able to hear the meeting between Principal Martinez and me.“Good morning, T.J.,” Mr. Ellis greeted me. “Principal Martinezis finishing up an unexpected meeting. He’ll be right with you.”“Thank you,” I said, as I took a seat in the waiting area.I decided to look over my notes and the artwork I had preparedto make sure that I was truly ready for this meeting. Hmmm. It wasjust two days ago I sat in this very same chair. And I was scared andnervous beyond anything I had ever felt. And now here I sit. Just acouple of days later, without any fear or nerves whatsoever. Actually,I’m quite excited. Almost giddy. What a difference just a couple ofdays can make.“And don’t forget what we agreed upon,” Principal Martineztold a fourth grader. “I hope I don’t have to see you in my office anySAMPLE

time soon or there will definitely be consequences.”“Yes, sir,” the fourth grader responded, through sniffles, as hewalked past me.His eyes were red. From crying, I guess. I’m not sure what hedid, but I guess Principal Martinez had scolded him good. But thenagain, it also seems like he was getting a second chance. Just like Idid. I guess Principal Martinez was telling the truth when we spokethe other day. He is like Professor Xavier. He had given me a secondchance to make things right and it seems like he’s giving this kidanother chance, too.“Ah, T.J.” Principal Martinez said, with a completely differenttone in his voice, “I’ve been looking forward to our meeting. Comein!”I stood up from my chair and followed him into his office withmy notebook clutched to my chest.“Take a seat,” he said, as he motioned to a chair around thecircular table in front of his desk. “I wasn’t expecting to see you backso soon.”“Me neither,” I responded.“So, you’ve already finished the task I gave you?” he asked, aswe sat down.“Yes, sir,” I answered.“Guess those ‘problem solving skills’ and ‘real time responsesto real life situations’ came in handy,” he said, as he quoted me fromSAMPLE

our previous meeting.How did he remember the exact words that I had said? I barelyremembered what I said.“Yes, sir,” I responded, as I opened my notebook and removedsome artwork that Marcus and I had created yesterday.“So, this is it?” Principal Martinez asked.“Yup,” I said, with a bit of pride.“Looks interesting,” he said, carefully examining each diagram.“What’s it called and how does it work?”“Well, it’s called Heroes and Villains and it goes like this—.”SAMPLE

9 Two Whole Weeks?“Welcome back to Class Game Time!” Funmaker John said, asmy class lined up shoulder to shoulder.“Today, we are going to be learning how to play a new game,”he announced.The whole class began to cheer. Except for me. This was aboutto get really awkward. For me.SAMPLE

“But I’m not going to be the one to teach it to you,” heexplained.The class stopped cheering and gave Funmaker John a confusedlooked with their heads tilted to the side. It was weird. The entireclass tilted their head to the same side. What are the chances of thathappening?“Today, our new game will be led, by none other than our evercreative, T.J.!” he said, more like a sports announcer and less likeFunmaker John.Everyone’s tilted head stayed tilted, except now, they’re tilted inmy direction. Even Mrs. Whiston is looking up from her clipboard.And now my insides feel like they’re twisting up.“Over our next couple of meetings,” Funmaker John continued,as he motioned me to join him, “T.J. will be introducing a game thathe himself designed and created.”Now Justin and Sammy are quietly cheering and high fivingeach other. Guess they’re excited that they’ll finally get to find out thedetails of my game.“Now remember,” Funmaker John said, in a serious tone, “T.J.is going to be in charge. So, you are to give him your full attention.And respect him the same way you would respect me. Let me changethat. You are to treat him better than you would treat me.”He is not making this any easier. The more he talks, the morenervous I become. Maybe this whole having me come up with a gameSAMPLE

of my own wasn’t such a great idea. And me introduce it to the wholeschool? Why in the world did I agree to that! This is way harder thanhow I imagined it. There’s got to be an easier way to do this. Someway that would help me get rid of my nerves.“Come on, T.J.!” Justin shouted.“Yeah, T.J.!” Sammy joined in.Then, the whole class started to encourage me. I have to admit,it made me smile. Suddenly, I started to feel better.“What’s our mission today?” Sammy shouted, above the cheers.That’s it! I’ll get into character! T.J. might be afraid to speak infront of an entire class, but Batman would never be afraid. He isn’tafraid of anything. I took my superhero stance before I finally spoke.“Okay everyone. Here’s today’s mission.”◆ ◆ ◆Little did I know that after I introduced and taught my class howto play Heroes and Villains that I would have to do the same thing forevery other upper grade class. That meant that I had to miss lots ofclass. I know, I know. You’re probably saying things like, ‘lucky’ and‘I wish I were you.’ But trust me, it’s not as good as it sounds.Every time I missed class, I also missed what Mrs. Whiston wasteaching everyone else. That meant that I had to do lots of make upwork! Luckily, Sammy offered to help me during recess and lunchrecess, when I’m not performing Future Funmaker duties, as well asSAMPLE

after school. Guess it helps to have the smartest girl in our class as aclose friend.Although, it was a little awkward the first time she came overmy house after school. Xochitl started poking fun at us, saying thingslike, ‘Oooh,’ and ‘T.J.’s got a girlfriend’. If mom wasn’t home, Iwould have given her such a pounding. Sammy said to just ignoreher, but she doesn’t know that after she leaves, Xochitl gets evenworse. Especially when she starts singing ‘T.J. and Sammy sitting in atree’. I won’t go on. I’m pretty sure you know how the rest of thatsong goes.Luckily, it didn’t last forever, but still longer than I would haveliked. Due to the way Class Game Time is scheduled, it took two fullweeks before I finished teaching all the different classes my newgame. Some classes caught on quicker than others, but in general,they were all excited about my game.Some people even tried to play it at recess, but it was stillconsidered ‘wandering the field,’ since we hadn’t reached the officialstart date yet. Everyone kept asking me when we would be able toplay it at recess. I told them that Funmaker John said that everyonehad to learn it before we could play it. That way it was fair. I justhope that it works out in real life the way I imagined it. If not, insteadof the best game the school’s ever played, this may be the shortestlasting game in our school’s history.SAMPLE

10 Switching It Up“I froze you with my freeze ray!” said a fourth grader, as sheheld out her hands in front of her.“Nooo! Flame Thrower! Save me!” said a fifth grader, with herhands flailing in the air.“Fwoooosh!” said another fifth grader, as he sprayed his fire atthe frozen fourth grader.“Thanks!” said the now unfrozen fifth grader.SAMPLE

“Paralysis!” said a sixth grader, placing his hands on theshoulders of the two fifth graders.“We win!” said the fourth grader, jumping up and down withher hands in the air.“Awww!” whined the two fifth graders.So, it’s been two weeks since I’ve introduced my game to theschool and over half of the school plays it during recess and lunchrecess. So much so, that Funmaker John has stopped bringing outother games that people used to play.“T.J., this is the best game ever!” said the fourth grader, as sheraced toward the water fountain.“Yeah, T.J.! You should’ve been a Future Funmaker sooner!”said the sixth grader, as he followed close behind the fourth grader.“What other games are you going to come up with?” asked thefifth grader, as he passed by, running backwards.Everyone is enjoying my game! Well, almost everyone.“Hey guys,” I said to Justin, Paul, Sammy, and Marcus, whowere all sitting under a tree.“Hey,” Justin answered back, unenthusiastically.“I’m sorry, but Funmaker John says that we can’t loiter duringrecess,” I said, squatting down in front of the group.“Loiter?” Paul said, annoyed.“Yeah, we can’t just sit down during recess,” I explained, “wehave to be ‘engaged in an athletic activity.’”SAMPLE

“We’re discussing which ‘athletic activity’ we should join, sinceour favorite game has been taken over by half of the school,” Sammysaid, while using a stick to doodle in the dirt.“Come on guys,” I pleaded. “That’s not fair!”Justin stood up, which made me stand up.“You’re right!” he shouted in my face. “It isn’t fair!”“I was just trying to make sure that we would be able to playT.J. League anytime we wanted to, without getting hassled byFunmaker John!” I said, taking a few steps backward.“Well, congratulations!” Paul said, standing beside Justin. “Yousucceeded!”“So, then why are you guys so mad at me?” I asked, taking astep forward.“Because we can’t, play, T.J. League, anymore!” Marcus said,strongly, joining Justin and Paul.“But you said—.”“It’s called, ‘T.J. League’!” shouted Justin, interrupting me.“Aw, c’mon you guys!” I said, putting my hands on my hips andtaking a few steps in a circle.“You might want to pay attention to your game,” Sammy said,standing and pointing behind me, “seems like some people are gettinga little too serious.”As I turned around, I saw two fourth graders flailing their armsat each other, so I ran over to separate them. Just as I reached them,SAMPLE

Funmaker John blew his whistle, signaling the end of recess.“Down and done!” Funmaker John called out.“Down and done!” Future Funmakers echoed.Every student took a knee and placed their hands on top of theirhead. Every student except for Justin, Paul, Sammy, and Marcus, whohad only taken a knee.“Down and done, guys,” I said, as I jogged over to the guys.“We are down,” Sammy pointed out.“But you guys have to put your hands on top of your head,” Ireminded her.“And what’s that going to accomplish?” Justin asked, with somesass in his voice.“Come on guys,” Paul said, as he put his hands on top of hishead, “that was a rule before T.J. betrayed us.”“Betrayed!” I shouted.Funmaker John blew his whistle again, signaling for everyoneto walk to line up.“Walking feet!” Funmaker John called out.“Walking feet!” Future Funmakers repeated.“Walking feet! Walking feet! Squawk!” Justin mimicked, like aparrot, as he walked to his line.Paul and Sammy joined in the mimicry while Marcus walked ashort distance behind them. I gave Justin a dirty look as he lookedback to stick his tongue out at me.SAMPLE

As everyone lined up, some Future Funmakers made sure thatall the game equipment was returned to their proper places. Erick andI were in charge of making sure that lines were straight and quiet.“Shoes!” Erick shouted.“Behind shoes!” students in line responded, as they quicklystraightened up their lines by putting their shoes directly behind theshoes of the person in front of them.“Arms!” I shouted.“Length apart!” students in line responded as they placed theirright hand on the shoulder of the person in front of them to spacethemselves equally, then dropping them when they were done.Since there were no teachers visible in the hallway on their wayto retrieve their classes, Erick and I led the students in a chant.Usually, we would say it in our inside voices, followed by our outsidevoices and finish it up with our whisper voices.“Flight and speed!” Erick shouted.“Flight and speed!” the students echoed.“Stealth indeed!” I shouted.“Stealth indeed!” they responded.“American pride!” Erick shouted.“American pride!” the students replied.“Lasso of Truth and webs to fly!” I shouted.“Lasso of Truth and webs to fly!” they called out.SAMPLE

“We protect and serve all living things!” Erick shouted louderthan before.“We protect and serve all living things!” they copied in volume.“The T.J. League reigns supreme!” I finished louder than Erick.“The T.J. League reigns supreme!” the students cried out withfists in the air.Erick and I walked up and down the lines as students did theirbest to stand up straight and look straight ahead. Anyone out of line,not paying attention, or talking, was sent to the back of the line.Students quickly adjusted their feet and the spaces in front of them ifthis happened in their line.In no time, teachers were walking slowly down the hallway,laughing at something none of us had heard. After taking theirstudents back to their classrooms, Erick and I began walking downthe hallway towards our own classrooms.“T.J.,” Funmaker John called to me. Erick and I turned aroundto face Funmaker John.“Just T.J.,” Funmaker John specified.“Yes?” I responded, as Erick continued walking.“I’ve gotta hand it to you, T.J. Your game seems to be asuccess!” he said, enthusiastically.“I guess,” I said, shyly, staring at the ground.“Don’t be so modest,” Funmaker John said, as he placed hishand under my chin, to raise my head so that we were making eyeSAMPLE

contact. “I’ll admit, when Principal Martinez first approached mewith the idea about adding you to the Future Funmakers, I had myreservations.”“Reservations?” I said, not knowing what he meant. I mean, I’mpretty sure he’s not talking about calling a restaurant to save us a tablefor dinner.“Doubts,” Funmaker John clarified, “I had my doubts.”I gave Funmaker John a ‘what are you talking about?’ look.“Don’t get me wrong. I mean, before that, you had only givenme trouble. You know,” he said, pointing at his butt, “been a pain inmy gluteus maximus.”Is he talking French or something? I have no idea what he issaying. He must have seen the confusion on my face because hefollowed it up quickly.“Butt,” he said, with a smile, “you were a pain in my butt.”“You were the one who came in and changed everything we everknew!” I said, passionately. “How was I supposed to react!”“Trust me,” he started, “I know how you feel. This isn’t the firstschool I’ve been assigned to.”“Wha—.” I started.“The Recess Revitalization Foundation is a national program,”he explained. “Principals and school districts hire us to make recessmore structured and to help students handle situations without theSAMPLE

assistance of a supervision aide or an adult. In other words, to helpyou think for yourselves.”“But I already know how to think for myself,” I assured him.“I hadn’t noticed,” Funmaker John said, sarcastically.We both laughed at his sarcasm. I never thought I’d do that.Laugh with Funmaker John.“I have to admit,” I said, more seriously, “being a FutureFunmaker isn’t as bad as I thought it would be.”“Seems like you’ve learned the reasoning behind the secondrule of the Recess Revitalization Foundation,” Funmaker Johncommented.“‘Try a game that’s not the same,’” I said, matter of factly.“And rule number three,” he continued.“Don’t shun my fun,” I continued.“Yeah,” he said. “Guess it’s a good thing you’ve got a smartprincipal.”“Yeah,” I agreed.“Who knows,” Funmaker John said, more excitedly, “you mighteven be selected to be Future Funmaker of the Month!”Future Funmaker of the Month was voted on by all FutureFunmakers. If there was a tie, Funmaker John was the deciding vote.“Really?” I asked, truly interested.“Hey,” he began, “if there’s anything I’ve learned from thisexperience, it’s that anything can happen!”SAMPLE

This last comment made me chuckle.“Well, I better let you go before you get in trouble with yourteacher,” Funmaker John said, holding his right hand up.“Okay,” I responded, jumping to give him a high five before Ihurried back towards my classroom. “See you later!”SAMPLE

11 Can We TalkAs I was walking home with Marcus, in silence, I realizedsomething. My mom had been right. She warned me that thingswould not be the same. That I wouldn’t be able to play T.J. Leaguewith my friends. She also suggested that Funmaker John wasn’t asbad as I had made him out to be. Dang! How is it that moms are sosmart?◆ ◆ ◆SAMPLE

After dinner and a shower, I stealthily approached my motherwho was in the living room patching a hole in a pair of my pants. I satdown next to her and laid my head on the edge of her leg. This causedher to raise my pants high enough for me to use her leg as a pillow.After adjusting myself and getting comfortable, she lowered my pantsback down so that they were covering my face. Instead of taking abreak, she just continued to sew. I shifted my body left and right andeven returned to my original position, but she just kept on sewing. Ishifted again, and again I received no response.“Mooom!” I whined.Mom stopped sewing, lifted the pants off my face and gave mea surprised look.“Oh, T.J., when did you get here?” she asked, feigning surprise.“Mooom!” I said, annoyed.“What?” she asked, with an equal amount of annoyance in hervoice.“My life is over,” I pouted.“That’s a bit dramatic,” she pointed out, “even for you. Wouldyou care to elaborate?”“No,” I continued to pout.Mom took my response, lowered my pants over my face, andbegan to sew again. I shifted my body again, and again mom ignoredit.“Mooom!” I whined, same as before.SAMPLE

Mom stopped sewing and lifted the pants off my face again.“Oh, are you still there?” she asked, feigning surprise again.“Mooom!” I said, more annoyed this time.“What?” she answered.“Didn’t you hear me?” I asked.“Yes,” she said.“And!” I said, staring straight into her eyes.“And you said you didn’t want to elaborate,” she reminded me.I crossed my arms and wrinkled my eyebrows, not breaking eyecontact.“Still don’t?” mom asked. “Okay.”With that said, she ignored me and continued to sew. Which isreally getting annoying.“Okay, fine!” I caved.Mom placed my pants beside her and gave me her full attention.“Remember how Principal Martinez made me a FutureFunmaker?” I asked.“Yes,” mom responded.“And remember how he made me come up with a new game forthe school?” I continued.“Yes,” she said.“Well, everyone loves my game,” I told her.“Then why don’t you sound happy?” she asked.“Because everyone loves my game!” I said loudly.SAMPLE

I was so loud that Mom closed her eyes and covered her ears. Iknow what that means. That means I’m yelling at her when it’s nother fault. I placed my hands on top of hers and gently pulled themaway from her ears.“Everyone loves my game,” I repeated, correcting my volume.“Everyone except my friends.”“Oh,” she said, in an understanding tone.“Right!” I said in a ‘you get it, right?’ voice.After my last statement, mom began to gently shuffle my hair. Idon’t know why, but that always seems to comfort me. Maybe that’swhy dogs and cats like it so much when we scratch their head.“And why do you think it is that your friends don’t like yournew game?” she asked.“I don’t know!” I answered. “I mean, we get to play T.J. Leagueevery day!”“‘We?’” mom asked.“The whole school!” I said, almost yelling at her.“‘The whole school?’” she asked, in a calm voice, whichsubconsciously made me lower mine.“No,” I answered, “not the whole school.”“I don’t understand,” she said, although I think she alreadyknew what I meant.“I don’t get to play,” I explained.“I see,” she continued, in a calm voice.SAMPLE

“You do?” I asked, truly confused.“Yes,” she said.“So, what should I do, then?” I wondered.“I’m not sure that telling you what to do is going to help,” sheanswered.“But isn’t that what mothers are for?” I asked, “telling kids whatto do?”Mom stopped shuffling my hair, put her hands on both sides ofmy head and made sure we were making eye contact beforeresponding.“Don’t forget the cooking and the cleaning and the Ubering andthe shoe finding and the embarrassing and the tickling,” momreminded me, as she removed her hands from the sides of my headand began to run her fingers up and down the sides of my ribcageinstead.“Mooom!” I shouted, between giggles.“What?” she asked, as she stopped. “You left some things out.”To keep her from tickling me more, I sat up.“You know what I meant,” I said, covering my ribcage withcrossed arms, just in case.“Did I?” mom asked, as she held her chin in her hand andstaring off into space.“Mooom!” I said, truly annoyed.SAMPLE

“Do you want me to tell you the truth?” she asked, making herway back to earth where our conversation was still taking place, “ordo you want me to tell you what you want to hear?”I hate it when she does that. She knows what I want. She knowsthat I want to hear something that will make me feel better. Sheknows that she can easily make it all better. She knows the exactwords I want to hear – ‘everything’s going to be okay.’ Why does shehave to make things so difficult?“The truth, I guess. But be nice about it,” I paused, “please?”“Well,” she began, “since you said ‘please.’”Mom and I talked for about fifteen minutes, sometimes getting alittle heated, sometimes speaking so softly that only a mouse wouldbe able to hear what we were saying. In the end, we both had smileson our faces as we hugged it out.SAMPLE

12 PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE AGAIN“Good morning, Principal Martinez,” I said, as I entered hisoffice before school started.“Good morning, T.J. Take a seat,” he greeted.“Thank you for meeting with me,” I said, as I placed mybackpack on the floor beside my seat.“Mrs. Kelley said you had something important to tell me,”Principal Martinez explained, as we shook hands.“Yes,” I responded.SAMPLE

“Very well. Tell away,” he said, as we both sat down.“I’ve been thinking,” I started, “about the new game I madeup.”“Heroes and Villains? Yes. I hear it’s the hit of the playground!”he said excitedly, with a large smile on his face.“True as that may be,” I said, “there’s just one thing wrong withit.”“A flaw?” Principal Martinez inquired.“You could call it that,” I confirmed.“Okay,” he said, placing his chin on his folded hands, focusinghis full attention on my face.“You see—how do I put this?” I said, as I looked around theroom trying to find the right words, “it’s a great game and all.”“Yes?” Principal Martinez said, shifting in his seat.“And lots of people are enjoying it,” I continued, still trying tofind those words.“Mmhmm,” he said.“But—how do I put this,” I thought aloud.“Feel free to speak your mind,” Principal Martinez offered, ashe sat back leisurely in his chair and making a sweeping motion withhis hand. “I find that helps me get my thoughts out easier.”“Okay,” I said, “I’ll try.”I took a couple of moments to gather my thoughts and then tooka deep breath before I spoke.SAMPLE

“I’ll just start at the beginning,” I said.“Sounds good,” Principal Martinez responded, once againplacing his chin on his hands.“When I first came up with the T.J. League,” I began, “it was agame intended to make me and my friends closer as a group.”“I like that,” Principal Martinez commented.“And we did, too,” I continued, “you know, get closer. Eversince last year, when Sammy brought that comic book to school—.”“Comic book?” Principal Martinez interrupted.Oops! For a second there, I forgot that we weren’t supposed tobring comic books to school!“Did I say comic book?” I asked, nervously.“Yes, you did,” Principal Martinez answered, “but that’s in thepast. Please continue.”I took a sigh of relief. Sammy would never forgive me if shefound out that I accidentally ratted her out.“Well, after we started the T.J. League, we allowed anyone whowanted to join, the chance to play,” I explained.“That’s rather kind of you guys,” Principal Martinez praised.“But of course, some kids moved away, and others stoppedplaying because they wanted to be in charge. But everyone knowsthat I’m in charge,” I said strongly, “I mean, it’s called T.J. League.”Principal Martinez didn’t comment. He merely nodded his headup and down.SAMPLE

“No matter what happened, the original members of the T.J.League remained the same,” I clarified. “Every time we played, I hadto come up with a new scenario for us to overcome and each time wegrew closer and closer and got better and better at coming up withways to overcome my challenge.”“That’s quite ingenious,” Principal Martinez observed.“Thank you,” I said. “But once I became a Future Funmaker,and introduced Heroes and Villains to the school, that all stopped.And it completely undid everything we had worked so hard tocreate.”“What do you mean?” Principal Martinez asked.“Well, now that I can’t play with my friends, we’ve actuallygrown farther and farther apart.”“Really?” he remarked.“Yes,” I said. “It didn’t start right away. At first the guys likedthat they got to play T.J. League every day.”“Heroes and Villains,” Principal Martinez corrected me.“Huh?”“Heroes and Villains. You said T.J. League, but I think youmeant Heroes and Villains,” he explained his correction.“Oh, yeah. Heroes and Villains,” I agreed. “Well, at first theguys were happy that they weren’t getting in trouble for ‘wanderingthe field’ like they were before. They were happy that they could playthe game that they loved!”SAMPLE

“That’s nice,” he commented.“But that didn’t last very long. After four or five days of askingme to play with them, they realized that it just wasn’t possible,” I saidgloomily. “Although I am the one that came up with the game, I nowhave new responsibilities that prevent me from playing it with myfriends. They’ve actually started to resent me for it!”“Well, that isn’t fair,” Principal Martinez said, firmly.“Actually,” I paused for a moment, “it is.”“I don’t understand,” he said, sitting back in his chair andplacing his hands on the armrests of his chair.I was too ashamed to look him in the eye, so I stared at my feetbefore speaking. I decided to use my ‘if I talk too loudly, someonemight hear me,’ almost whisper voice.“You see, if I had just listened to my friends when they weretrying to calm me down after we got in trouble for playing T.J.League, I would never have gotten in trouble,” I explained, my voicegrowing stronger. “I would never have ended up in your office. Iwould never have been asked to come up with a new game for theschool. And I would never have been made a Future Funmaker.”“Ah,” he said, as he sat up straight and placed his folded handson the table. “Now I understand.”“But I think I’ve come up with a solution that will allow me tostay a Future Funmaker and allow me to play T.J. League with myfriends,” I shared.SAMPLE

“T.J. League or Heroes and Villains?” Principal Martinez asked.“T.J. League,” I said, confidently with a smirk.Principal Martinez once again leaned back in his chair andstroked his chin, “go on.”SAMPLE

13 BACK TO NORMAL (SORTA) So, mom was right of course. Again. After the meeting withPrincipal Martinez, followed up by a meeting with Funmaker John, Iwas able to work out a way that I could be a Future Funmaker but stillbe able to play T.J. League with my friends. It took a little convincingon my part, but they finally gave in to my proposition.“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” I shouted.“I did it guys!” Paul shouted back. “I got inside the bunker justin time and stopped the President from destroying all Americanmilitary bases!”SAMPLE

“But how did you stop him in time?” Sammy asked, stillfighting invisible attackers. “I thought that the Secretary of Defenseand the Secretary of State had to be in the bunker to overrideOperation Full Control?”“Actually, they just had to be there to input their secret codes intime,” Paul explained. “I was able to enter their codes for them justbefore time ran out!”“Mwah ha ha ha ha!” Funmaker John cackled, from behind us.“You think that you’ve defeated me?”“Dr. Dreamo!” I yelled.Erick, Justin, Marcus, Paul, and Sammy joined me as I took mysuperhero stance.“Yes! It is I, the evil Dr. Dreamo!” Funmaker John announced.“Give it up, Dr. Dreamo!” Erick commanded, “You’re finished!We’ve thwarted your plan to destroy all American military bases!”“Yeah!” the rest of the T.J. League chimed in.“Mwah ha ha ha ha!” Funmaker John continued to taunt. “Youthought that was my final act? That was just a distraction I created tokeep you from finding out my real plan!”“What?” Marcus asked.“While you guys were busy trying to stop the President of theUnited States, I was entering the dreams of every other superhero andconvincing them that you’ve turned to the dark side and are now mysidekicks!” he explained. “Mwah ha ha ha ha!”SAMPLE

“What!” Justin said, in disbelief.“No way!” I said, just as confused as Justin.“What are we going to do?” Sammy asked.“I have an idea!” Marcus said, motioning for us to huddletogether.“What is it!” Paul said, excitedly.“Yeah! Spit it out!” Erick whisper shouted.“Batman! Don’t you—.”Before Marcus was able to finish his sentence, Funmaker John’sphone alarm went off, signaling that recess would be starting soon.“Aw man!” Justin whined.“Sorry, guys,” Funmaker John apologized. “Guess we’ll have tofinish this another time.”In case you haven’t figured it out, I got the rest of the T.J.League to join the Future Funmakers. That made Funmaker Johnhappy since some Future Funmakers have moved away and othershave been put on probation, or have been dropped from the programcompletely, due to low class participation and too many missedhomework assignments.“Come on Sammy,” Marcus encouraged, “we’re running Switchtoday. Help me with the cones, please.”“All right!” Sammy exclaimed, “my favorite RecessRevitalization Foundation game.”“Justin,” Paul called, “help me with these hula hoops, please.”SAMPLE

“Oh, yeah!” Justin called back, “we’re in charge of Hula HoopTag!”“T.J.,” Erick said to me, with his hands on my shoulders, “Idon’t know how you convinced Principal Martinez to let us play T.J.League before recess begins or how you even came up with that idea,but I can’t wait till we can play T.J. League again!”“All right guys,” Funmaker John called out, “Let’s remember tobe fair and fun!”“Then it’s down and done!” we responded.We set up all the necessary playground equipment for the firstround of recess. Then I shouted out.“T.J. League, front and center!”Erick, Justin, Marcus, Paul, and Sammy all ran towards me andassembled in our meeting huddle.“Okay, guys, remember the rules of the playground,” I directed.“Tattle tales don’t prevail!” Sammy cried out.“Try a game that’s not the same!” Justin continued.“Don’t shun my fun!” Erick finished.“Right!” I praised. “It’s our job as Future Funmakers to makesure that recess runs safely and smoothly.”“Yeah!” Marcus chimed.“And as T.J. League members,” I continued, “it’s our job toprotect the people from evildoers who want to ruin recess!”“Yeah!” Paul agreed.SAMPLE

I put my hand out in the center of our huddle and all the T.J.League members placed their hands on top of it. Next, we shouted themost important combination of words we knew as we raised ourhands to the sky.“We protect and serve all living things! The T.J. League reignssupreme!”SAMPLE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR"Mr. Angel" Ramirez"Mr. Angel" has been writing stories since hiselementary school days, and after MUCHencouragement from students, friends, andfamily, has decided to publish some of them forothers to enjoy. When he isn't writing, he can befound leading the Blueprint Youth Ministry atCalvary Chapel Into The Light, spending timewith his niece and nephews, or enjoying hisfavorite food: cookies!SAMPLE

BOOKS BY THIS AUTHORT.J.'S Adventures - The Vociferous VillainThe T.J. League is enjoying being Future Funmakers and have successfullyaccomplished every mission that T.J.'s mind has been able to come up with,but their newest mission is from a new source: Principal Martinez. At first,the mission seems like it will be the easiest the League has ever accepted,but 'what kind of mission would it be if it didn't have a certain level ofdifficulty?' Parental Guidance: Visits Topic of Physical AbuseT.J.'S Adventures - The Nighttime NemesisT.J.'s scary bedtime story has been read by the entire fifth grade and theoutcome is probably not what Mr. Anderson or Mrs. Whiston were thinkingof when they assigned this free write. Bad dreams. Angry parents. Stuff likethat. And now something new has come to light. What ever will T.J. donow? Parental Guidance: Visits Topic of Bed WettingT.J.'S Adventures - Objective: Protect & ServeIt's been raining for days now, making recess a bit different for the T.J.League, Funmaker John and the rest of the students at T.J.'s school. Andguess what? Today starts off just the same. But now the electricity is out,the Internet is down and the T.J. League is stuck in the MPR with all theSAMPLE

first graders. There's no way things can't get any worse. Parental Guidance: Visits Topic of a School LockdownT.J.'S Adventures - Operation Superhero SupportIt's almost Christmas, and the T.J. League, like everyone else, is preparingfor all the fun things that the season brings. Until Sammy noticessomething, that is. But it could be nothing. But then again, maybe it'ssomething. T.J. can't remember the last time Sammy was wrong. But thenagain, there's a first for everything. Right? Parental Guidance: Visits Topic of Women and Children's SheltersT.J.'S Adventures - Someone Superhero StrongThe T.J. League is battling the evil Dr. Dreamo and his lackeys when anewcomer joins the battle. The T.J. League has never seen him before or themysterious green fog that emits from his feet. Before they can figure outwhat effect it has on its enemies, T.J. has abandoned his team, changedallegiances and captured his own team - for the bad guys! Will the T.J.League be able to escape their imprisonment without their fearless leader?Has T.J. switched sides for good? Justin doesn't understand what's going onand is reaching his limit for confusion! Parental Guidance: Visits Topic of HospitalsSAMPLE