Frazzled by Booki Vivat

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 1

7/18/16 12:51 PM

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 2

7/18/16 12:51 PM

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 3

7/18/16 12:51 PM

Frazzled: Everyday Disasters and Impending Doom Copyright © 2016 by Vissra Vivatnamongkon All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address HarperCollins Children’s Books, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007. www.harpercollinschildrens.com Library of Congress Control Number: 2016936039 ISBN 978-0-06-239879-6 Typography by Carla Weise 16 17 18 19 20 CG/RRDH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

❖ First Edition

Pg iv: Hi res art placed

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 4

7/18/16 12:51 PM

To all my readers who are facing the Middles in one form or another— survival is all about staying true.

Pg v: Hi res art placed

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 5

7/18/16 12:51 PM

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 6

7/18/16 12:51 PM

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 7

7/18/16 12:51 PM

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 8

7/18/16 12:51 PM

Now that I ’m going into middle school, my whole life is about to begin.

That ’s what Mom told me yesterday. But I didn ’ t know what she meant and I ’m pretty sure she didn ’ t either.

1

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 1

7/18/16 12:51 PM

Sometimes parents say things because they sound good, even if they aren ’ t true. Like whenever we talk about school, Mom always tells me the same thing over and over again—

—as as if saying it will somehow make it more true.

Adults are not helpful at all.

2

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 2

7/18/16 12:51 PM

They just don ’ t get it. I guess for most of them, middle school was about a MIL L ION years ago.

Maybe they forgot all the bad stuff— and there is definitely a LOT of bad stuff.

If you ask me, the worst part about middle school is the fact that it is

SCHOOL. 3

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 3

7/18/16 12:51 PM

Nothing good ever happens in the Middles.

Consider:

ars, y, lot s of w it c ri t c le e o N hing. le plague t o h w t a h t an d

Good-bye, personal space.

Trust me. I know from experience— — it ’s TERRIBL E.

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 4

7/18/16 12:51 PM

The middle is the worst place you could possibly be, and since middle school is the middle of all Middles . . .

5

Pg 5: Period added to art as requested

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 5

7/18/16 12:51 PM

I ’ ve probably warned everyone I know about the Middles, but no one takes me seriously— not even my own family!

We are NOTHING alike.

Sometimes it feels like we are living in two VERY different worlds.

6

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 6

7/18/16 12:51 PM

At the head of the family, there ’s

Everyone says we look exactly the same, but I don ’ t see the resemblance at all.

Pg 5: Period added to art as requested

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 7

7/18/16 12:51 PM

is the youngest— fun, bubbly, and annoyingly adorable.

Clara smiles all the time and says cute things at exactly the right moment. Adults LOVE her, so she can pretty much get away with anything.

She is constantly using this to her advantage.

8

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 8

7/18/16 12:51 PM

is the oldest.

He ’s kind of a legend.

THE Peter Wu— good at everything, and I mean E V E RY T HING.

9

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 9

7/18/16 12:51 PM

My archnemeses,

from next door.

, treasurer of the

homeowners ’ association and neighborhood snitch. •

Even the demon squirrel

,

that terrorizes 10

Canyon Vista Park.

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 10

7/18/16 12:51 PM

It ’s like they are all part of the same club.

Between Clara and Peter, I ’m always just that kid left in the middle. I guess that ’s why I ’m keeping a record of my life.

Someday, after I ’ ve done lots of ultraimpressive and exceptional things, people will look back and think,

For now, I just have to figure out exactly what those ultra-impressive, exceptional things will be.

11

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 11

7/18/16 12:51 PM

Oh, but first I have to survive middle school and my crazy dreams.

12

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 12

7/18/16 12:51 PM

13

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 13

7/18/16 12:51 PM

My dream was an obvious sign of things to come, but when I told everybody about it at dinner the other night, they acted like it was no big deal!

Well, except Clara, who was too busy making a mountain out of her rice to pay attention.

14

FrazzledHC txt des7_CC15_0601.indd 14

8/8/16 3:26 PM

Peter thought I was being dramatic and Mom just blamed it on late-night snacking.

My family doesn ’ t get me at all.

15

FrazzledHC txt des7_CC15_0601.indd 15

8/8/16 3:26 PM

When we were younger and Peter wanted to be extra mean, he would tell me that I was actually an AL IE N, and one day, they would send me back to outer space.

The first time he said it, I cried hysterically for an hour.

Mom was so mad that she grounded him for a week! It was great.

16

Pg 16: Hi res art placed

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 16

7/18/16 12:51 PM

17

Pg 17: Folio added

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 17

7/18/16 12:51 PM

For the most part, though, Peter never gets into trouble. He practically parents himself.

Clara is starting kindergarten, so there isn ’ t much to worry about there. I guess you can only do so much to prepare a six-year-old for finger painting and naptime.

Mom is so used to not having to worry about them that she doesn ’ t worry about me either!

She just isn ’ t a worrier. She always thinks things will work out for the best.

18

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 18

7/18/16 12:51 PM

Worrying just doesn ’ t seem to run in the Wu family. Maybe I really AM an alien.

I worry more than anyone I know and maybe more than anyone in the

Now that I ’m going into the Middles, how can I not?

19

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 19

7/18/16 12:51 PM

As if to rub in the fact that summer was

basically over, I got a package from my new school.

The mailman had to deliver it personally because it didn ’ t even fit in the mailbox.

20

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 20

7/18/16 12:51 PM

When he handed it to me, I could ’ ve sworn he gave me a look that said:

( If only that was an option.)

It was the official Pointdexter Middle School Welcome Packet.

But it didn ’ t make me feel welcome at all.

21

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 21

7/18/16 12:51 PM

Inside, there were long lists of school supplies and never-ending instructions on how to prepare for class and a million rules and expectations and WAY too much information.

It was more reading than I ’ d done all summer!

22

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 22

7/18/16 12:51 PM

Seeing that welcome packet sent Mom into crazy back-to-school mode. The smell of new erasers and sharpened pencils must have gotten to her. When we were out shopping, she started prancing down the aisles and gushing over backpacks.

Backpacks, of all things!

We left the store with at least three years ’ worth of wide-ruled paper, every kind of notebook you could possibly imagine, and an assortment of embarrassing cartoon animal folders that I would never ever use in public.

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 23

7/18/16 12:51 PM

It wasn ’ t just my mom either. When I talked to my best friends, Maxine and Logan, they said their parents were acting really weird too.

Logan ’s mom made him pose and take pictures in front of the house in his first-day-ofschool outfit. The first day of school wasn ’ t even for another week!

Maxine ’s dad brought out his yearbooks from the seventies and made her look through embarrassing old pictures of him with bellbottoms and big hair.

24

Pg 24: Comma added to art

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 24

7/18/16 12:51 PM

I didn ’ t know how any of that was supposed to make us feel better about starting school.

25

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 25

7/18/16 12:51 PM

At least we were in it together. With Maxine and Logan around, the Middles wouldn ’ t be as bad.

The three of us have known each other for a long, long time—since kindergarten, which was basically forever ago.

26

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 26

7/18/16 12:51 PM

It all started when Miss Wilson separated us from the class at lunch.

We were forced to sit at a special peanut allergy table for the whole year.

We ’ ve been best friends ever since.

27

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 27

7/18/16 12:51 PM

Logan Sinclair is the smartest person I know and probably the smartest kid in our grade, but he doesn ’t care about stuff like that. He thinks class is boring, so he only pays attention when he feels like it. He usually does his homework, but he always forgets to turn it in.

I don ’ t understand how his mind works most of the time, but I know for a fact that Logan Sinclair is a He ’s the kind of genius that no one knows about until the day he wakes up, decides he wants to take over the world, and then does it.

I guess when that happens, being his best friend won ’ t hurt.

28

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 28

7/18/16 12:51 PM

Maxine Barry could probably take over the world one day too. She has this amazing superpower: when she wants something to happen, she makes it happen.

Maxine knows everything. According to her, choosing what to wear on the first day of school is the most important thing.

She knows stuff like this because her mom gets her subscriptions to Seventeen and Teen

Vogue. My mom just brings home old copies of

The Economist.

No wonder I ’m

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 29

7/18/16 12:51 PM

Besides Logan and Maxine, the ONL Y good thing about Pointdexter Middle School is that it ’s right around the corner from my favorite place in the whole world—

You can smell the freshly baked pastries from the school parking lot!

There is no one there named Antonia.

I don ’ t think Antonia even exists. The bakery is owned by this old Hungarian man named Istvan who reminds me of a walrus but is nice and doesn ’ t smell like dead fish.

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 30

7/18/16 12:51 PM

My friends and I go to Antonia ’s so much that Istvan considers us his “ regulars. ” Plus, if we ’re there around closing time, he lets us take home as many leftover pastries as we can carry.

Istvan is the best. When I told him I was starting middle school soon, he made a face and just said, He doesn ’ t usually say much, but when he does, he always speaks the truth. Sometimes I think he is the only truly honest adult.

Like one time I wanted a double fudge chocolate chip cookie, but Istvan wrinkled his nose and shook his head a little, so I chose a buttered pretzel covered in homemade cinnamon sugar instead—it was amazing.

31

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 31

7/18/16 12:51 PM

Not all adults are that honest. On the way home from back-to-school shopping, Mom made a surprise stop at Antonia ’s and offered to buy me a pastry.

But, turns out, the pastry was a TR AP!

32

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 32

7/18/16 12:51 PM

She buttered me up with baked goods and then ambushed me with SCHOOL TAL K!

Specifically, E L EC T IVE S. In middle school, everyone has to choose an elective class. There are a zillion different classes to choose from, which sounds like a good thing but is actually just another trap.

33

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 33

7/18/16 12:51 PM

THIS IS DE F INITE L Y A TR AP.

34

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 34

7/18/16 12:51 PM

The worst part is that choosing your elective feels like a declaration, a way of saying to everyone—

That ’s fine for most people, but I don ’ t HAVE a Thing. I didn ’ t know I needed one until now!

35

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 35

7/18/16 12:51 PM

Maxine has known her Thing for years.

She ’s wanted to be an actress since third grade.

When the boy playing James in our class play got stage fright, Maxine swooped in to claim the lead. No surprise— surprise—she surprise —she was a hit!

I, on the other hand, was cast as Mrs. Ladybug, a role I conveniently won by being the only kid in class with a red shirt and a pair of antennae. I wasn ’ t very good. It was the end of my stage career, but for Maxine, it was the moment she found her Thing.

Choosing drama as her elective was a no-brainer.

36

Pg 36: Folio centered

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 36

7/18/16 12:52 PM

Even Logan has a Thing. He has always been good at games—so good that he doesn ’ t bother just playing to win anymore.

That ’s not interesting enough.

Instead, he ’s started figuring out the games themselves, picking them apart and understanding how it all comes together. Card games, board games, strategy games, you name it. Lately, it ’s been computer games.

When he tries to explain them, he uses words that sound like they belong in some distant, high-tech future world. If I didn ’t know Logan was a genius, I might think he was a

The second he heard there was a coding elective class that taught you how to program your own computer game, he was sold. I won ’ t be surprised if, by the end of the year, Logan has gained control of the whole internet and all of cyberspace.

37

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 37

7/18/16 12:52 PM

School was starting in a few days and I was the only one without an elective!

38

Pg 38: Hyphen added to art

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 38

7/18/16 12:52 PM

Logan and Maxine came over to help me choose, but none of them seemed like a good idea.

39

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 39

7/18/16 12:52 PM

We went around in circles for HOUR S and couldn ’ t agree on a single one!

Luckily, Mom brought out a plate of mini pizza bagels fresh from the oven. Nothing helps you forget your worries like pizza sauce and melted cheese on toasted teeny-tiny bagels.

The truth is, choosing an elective kind of reminded me of the time Mom bought a piñata for my fifth birthday party. People say it ’s easy because you can cheat and see through the blindfold, but they must be lying because I couldn ’ t see a thing!

40

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 40

7/18/16 12:52 PM

Everyone just sat there, watching and waiting. Talk about pressure! I stood there swinging and swinging and swinging, but couldn ’ t hit it! They all just laughed until finally one kid jumped up, grabbed the stick, and smashed the piñata open . . . just like that!

I didn ’ t even get any candy because I was still blindfolded!

It was the worst feeling EVER, and facing the Middles without a Thing of my own seemed just as bad.

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 41

7/18/16 12:52 PM

The night before school started, I couldn ’ t sleep! In a few hours, I would officially be in MIDDL E SCHOOL and there ’ d be

My body was physically refusing to accept it!

42

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 42

7/18/16 12:52 PM

Things got even worse when Peter came into my room to tell me I should go to sleep—as if I didn ’ t know that already.

Peter has a way of always getting into my business. He likes to point out things I ’m doing wrong or tell me what to do or make me feel crazy.

Sometimes it feels like we will never understand each other.

We ’re just TOO different.

43

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 43

7/18/16 12:52 PM

Peter lives in a world where everything always works out for the best.

44

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 44

7/18/16 12:52 PM

45

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 45

7/18/16 12:52 PM

That night, all I could think about were the potential disasters waiting for me in middle school.

I bet if Peter had this problem, he wouldn ’ t be able to sleep either.

46

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 46

7/18/16 12:52 PM

47

FrazzledHC txt des6_CC15_0601.indd 47

7/18/16 12:52 PM