by AJ Stern
“I know that sometimes you think you know as much as adults.”
I looked up at my dad. That sounded exactly right.
“But even adults follow the rules. And you didn’t follow the rules. When people tell you not to touch something, then everyone, adults included, respect that and they do not touch that something.”
“Rules are there for a reason,” my mom said. “And when you go against the rules you get yourself into trouble.”
That was true, too. This was the second time in two months I got into trouble by breaking the same rule.
“For the next two nights, there will be no TV watching. Instead, we’re going to let you use that time to think of a way to make things better,” my dad said.
“And, no playdates with Elliott next week,” my mom told me.
My eyes almost fell off my face. “Why?”
“So you’ll have more time to think about what it means to break the rules,” my dad said.
That night, when I was lying in bed trying to fix the entire world, more things leaked into my brain creases. When I was in the radio station and everyone was banging against the glass, they were not doing it to show excitement. They were trying to stop me. I thought they were being like umpires and telling me I was getting a home run and that Mr. Sanders was out. But they were just trying to tell me that I was saying the wrong thing to the entire planet of the world.
That’s when I got out of bed and clicked my dad’s briefcase open. I took out my résumé, and very carefully put it in the garbage.
CHAPTER 12
The next morning, I woke up with the worst butterflies. I had to face my entire class AND Mrs. P. I still didn’t know exactly how I would make things better. But when I saw the headline of the newspaper, I felt a machillion percent relieved.
FRANKLY, FRANK WON, ANYWAY!
This was a very good sign. I looked at the picture of our new mayor and, frankly, he looked very happy. Like he just remembered it was his birthday! Everything was all fixed! What a big relief.
When I sat down for breakfast, the first thing my dad asked me was, “Do you have any ideas for how you’re going to make things better?”
“But Frank Meloy won!” I said. “Everything is all fixed.”
“Frank Meloy’s winning doesn’t erase the fact that you broke the rules.”
“It doesn’t?” That didn’t seem fair. They just looked at me like I should know the answer.
My mother drove me to school in silence. I trudged up the stairs to my classroom feeling like I was about to take a thousandteen tests at one time.
Mrs. P. gave two long claps followed by three short ones and we all sat down and paid attention. Elliott passed me a note.
Are you in trouble? it asked.
“Class, we need to have a very serious discussion about yesterday’s antics.”
Yes, I wrote back.
“We are all going to compose a letter to Mr. Sanders to apologize for what happened yesterday.”
“I think Frannie should be the one to write it,” Elizabeth said.
I frowned. Note-writing was one thing, but writing long letters was hard and also boring.
“We are all going to write it, but Frannie is going to come to the front of the class and lead us through it. Frannie, will you come here, please?”
I walked to the front of the class. I did not like being the center of attention when I was not saving the day.
“We want to tell Mr. Sanders the lessons we learned from yesterday. Can you tell me what those lessons are?” Mrs. P. asked. This was not a trick question.
“To keep your hands to yourself?” I answered.
“Good,” Mrs. Pellington said as she wrote the answer on the board. “What else?”
“To pay attention?”
“Very good. What else?”
“Don’t wander off or take matters into your own hands?”
“Excellent.”
I beamed, very proud that she said “excellent.” That’s when I started to understand how to make things better. I had to show that I knew that what I did was wrong. I was going to ask Mrs. P. if I could deliver this letter to Mr. Sanders myself.
CHAPTER 13
The very next morning was Saturday. At breakfast, I told my parents what I wanted to do. Before I knew it, my mom was on the telephone making a thousandteen calls and before I knew it again, we were in the family car driving to the new mayor’s house. There were a lot of photographers waiting on his lawn and when my mom and I walked up the path, they looked at us but didn’t take any pictures. My mother rang the bell and I started to get butterflies, and this time I also felt moths! I had to remember to tell Elliott about this fact.
A woman opened the door.
“Can I help you?” she asked us.
“Yes, I called this morning. Mrs. Frankly B. Miller would like to apologize to Mr. Meloy,” my mother said to the lady. Then the lady smiled at my mom and looked at me with a wink.
“Certainly,” she said. “I’ll be right back.” Then she shut the door and I looked at my mom and we waited and waited.
Finally, the door opened and there was the actual future mayor of Chester himself. I heard the flashes of the photographers in the background. The mayor held up his hand to them and they stopped! His hand was like a magic wand! Then he reached out his other hand to my mother and with the smallest smirk (I’m really smart about small smirks) said, “Mrs. Frankly B. Miller. I didn’t think I’d ever have the pleasure.”
My mom shook his hand and said, “Mr. Meloy, congratulations. My name is Anna Miller. This here,” she pointed to me, “is Mrs. Frankly B. Miller.” And that’s when the mayor’s small smirk turned into a very big, beaming smile.
“Well, I’ll be.” Then he looked at my mother and winked. “You’re very young-looking to be a Mrs.,” he said.
“I’m not really a Mrs.,” I said, because I wasn’t sure if he was joking. “I’m just a kid.”
“Indeed, you are.”
Then my mom nudged me and said, “Don’t you have something to say to Mr. Meloy, Frankly?”
“Yes. Mr. Meloy, I wanted to say that I am a millionteen sorry for any trouble I caused you. It’s my whole entire fault. I’m really sorry that I almost ruined your big election.”
“Well, I appreciate your apology and I accept it. Would you care to have your picture taken with me for the newspaper?”
“Yes, very, very, very much,” I said. Then he took my hand and I followed him onto his front lawn.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he said to the photographers, “I’d like you to meet Mrs. Frankly B. Miller!” That’s when all the photographers burst into little laughs and some people even clapped. Then there were lots and lots of flashes. The almost-mayor of Chester stooped down, put his arm around my shoulder, and smiled for a machillion pictures. At the very end of the pictures, I turned to him and asked him the most important question of the world.
“Mr. Meloy?”
“Yes, Frankly?”
“Can I send you my résumé?”
He laughed and patted me on the head.
“Frankly, I’d like nothing more,” he said. It was the best day of my entire worldwide life.
When we got back in the car, I looked at my mom and she asked, “Ready?”
“Ready,” I said. Time for stop number two.
Mr. Sanders opened his own door and seemed happier to see me than I ever would have imagined. I gave him the letter from my class and apologized to him. And guess what! He also accepted my apology! Then he invited us inside his house for some tea and cookies.
His house didn’t have any assistants or radio stations. And even though it only had one office, it was still very nice.
My mom and I sat at the kitchen table with Mr. Sanders. He told me that yesterday he was very upset by what I did, but that when he thought about it more, he realized I was a very special kid. He said he was very impressed that I wanted a job. Then he told me that I reminded him of his own self
at my age. I wasn’t sure this was good because I’m a girl and he’s a boy, but my mom told me later it was a compliment. I’m not so smart about compliments.
Then Elizabeth came downstairs and we all talked and laughed. We decided that Tuesday was a very good name and that when I was eighteen, maybe I could have Tuesday’s job! This was the most excited I’d been since I got my picture taken just a little while ago.
CHAPTER 14
When I opened my bedroom door the next morning, there was a newspaper on the other side waiting for me. On the very front page of the Chester Times was a picture of me hugging the mayor! I picked it up and ran downstairs. I could barely believe my own eyes. A HAPPY ENDING FOR FRANK & FRANKLY was the headline! I would never ever throw this newspaper away.
I spent that entire Sunday smiling. I didn’t think I could ever get any happier.
But I was wrong.
That night, my dad and mom came into my bedroom. My dad had something behind his back, but I couldn’t see it.
“We’re very proud of you,” my dad said.
“Apologizing is hard to do, and you handled it just like a pro,” said my mom.
“Thank you,” I said.
“We thought you might like this,” my dad said as he pulled out a present from behind his back and gave it to me. I opened it excitedly. And when I looked at it, I gasped the biggest gulp of air imaginable. It was a picture frame and inside the frame was the picture of me and the mayor from the newspaper. I put it on the nightstand next to my bed where I could look at it forever.
“We’re very proud of you,” my mom said, as she turned out my lights and closed my bedroom door almost all the way shut but not entirely. I lay in bed filled with so much pride-itity that I had done something that was actually grown-up.
Even though I still felt grumpy about not having a playdate with Elliott for one entire week, I felt like a real grown-up. I did all the right things. I knew I did, too, because I was going to sleep with no moths or butterflies.
But before I fell asleep, I remembered the most important thing. I got out of bed and walked over to my garbage can. My résumé was lying at the bottom and I pulled it out and put it next to my bed. Tomorrow morning, my mom said she’d take me to the post office. I was going to put my résumé in a professional envelope and send it to the mayor. He probably needed someone like me in his office.
THE END
