Worse Than Weird
Page 17
“Thank you.” His voice is barely a whisper. And I’m sure he’s wondering all kinds of things, like whether they can get Isabel to go, and whether she’ll stay, and whether she’ll have good days again. But those are all unknowns. All he can do is plan the program, run it, and see what happens. There’s always troubleshooting in computer programs. It’s really just like living. Energies change, as Hank and Coral would say.
Joey takes a big inhale, then reaches down to dust off his combat boots. “Thank you, Mac,” he says once more.
“Actually, I should be thanking you.”
Joey eyes me.
“For making me a better friend,” I say. It’s really true. And I’m going to keep working at it . . . being a better friend to everyone . . . Willa. Brie. Joey.
“You know, even though the food cart hunt is over, maybe we can still hang out this summer. Maybe we can team up on a different project.”
Joey leans on the backrest and tilts his head, like he’s calculating all my past actions, adding them up to see if he can believe me.
“I’m serious,” I say. “Hey, let me show you something.” I pull out my new laptop and set it on Joey’s lap. “Coho gave it to me, and this.” I pull out the Python manual.
Joey opens the laptop and touches the keys exactly like I had. “He just gave it to you?”
“He’s following a fork on his path.”
Joey squints at me. “What?”
I elbow him lightly. “Things aren’t always rational around my house.”
“Yeah. Goat yoga’s kind of a strange path.” He laughs and elbows me back. “Wait until that gets around.”
“Too late. The goats went back. Had the wrong frequencies.”
He lifts an eyebrow. “Weird.”
“Don’t I know it.”
Joey rubs his palms on his thighs. “Thanks for helping me with the hunt, Mac, but you don’t have to keep helping me.”
His words sting, and I look away from him and focus my eyes on the smoothness of my laptop, rebooting my thoughts. “I just figured that community projects are your thing, and computer programming is kind of mine. Between the two of us, there must be something cool we can do. Maybe we could see if the food carts are donating their leftover food to the shelters around the city. I could write an algorithm for which shelters like which carts.”
Joey squints at me like he’s still not sure of my ideas, or me.
“But we could also just help at some shelters, serving meals or collecting clothing. Maybe they need help at Laurie’s House.”
“That’s good.” Joey finally speaks. “I like it.”
“Me too,” I say.
Hippie Chick and Phantom Boy.
We make a pretty good team.
Author’s Note
Portland, Oregon, has been my hometown for the past thirty years, so it’s only fitting to set Mac’s story in this city known for its “weird.” Yes, there is an annual World Naked Bike Ride in the city in June, and yes, food carts and cart pods are everywhere. To my knowledge there is no treasure hunt like Mac and Joey participated in, but wouldn’t it be fun if there were? Portlanders, please forgive me for the creative liberties I took while writing this book. Many places I mention are real, and some no longer exist (goodbye Alder Street carts). Other places were changed or completely made-up. I take full responsibility for errors in bus lines, street names, and general landscape details. Let’s all continue to “Keep Portland Weird.”
On a serious note, I want to acknowledge the millions of people who are homeless across our city and nation. How communities decide to tackle this humanitarian issue will remain a great challenge. There are so many compassionate, hardworking organizations that are helping, and they are always seeking volunteers. Kids can help too. Donation drives, sack meal programs, hygiene kits, and assisting at food banks or shelters are all possibilities. The best piece of advice I can offer comes from Emily Coleman at Transition Projects in Portland. Emily says, “One of the easiest and most important things (a person) can do to impact the lives of people experiencing homelessness is just to acknowledge them; it can be a tremendously dehumanizing experience, and so many people are in the habit of looking the other way. A simple friendly greeting to our neighbors without homes can go a long way toward helping people feel seen, recognized, and cared for as a human being.”
So, make eye contact. Wave. Say hello. Smile.
There’s nothing weird about showing compassion.
Acknowledgments
I’ll start with a heartfelt thank-you to the incredible team at HarperCollins who assisted me in this exciting journey. Erica Sussman, my extraordinary editor, along with Louisa Currigan, encouraged me and pushed me to make Mac’s story stronger, and occasionally weirder. Copy editors Martha Schwartz and Jon Howard, thank you for your concentrated effort to correct my endless comma omissions and my formatting challenges. Tremendous gratitude goes to the jacket design duo of artist Nathan Hackett and designer Jenna Stempel-Lobell. Your attention to detail brought me to tears. To publicist Olivia Russo, I send you a warm thanks for your assistance with author bookings. To the wonderful sales team I had the pleasure of meeting—Kathy Faber, Johanna Schutter, Sabrina Abballe, and Andrea Pappenheimer—thank you all for championing children’s literature and getting our books into stores.
Ted Malawer, my awesome agent, I cannot thank you enough for steering me down the publication path (and guiding me at the forks) and for answering my occasional weird questions or referring them to others as needed.
Thank you to my husband, Steve, my loving partner in this life journey. Your support over these last three years has gone above and beyond as I’ve navigated two full-time jobs. DTHOOY!
Alli and Ryan, you fill my heart with your sibling duets, your joy, and your laughter. My eyes may glaze over when you discuss programming, and calculus, but on the inside, I’m glowing with pride at your intelligence and your work ethic and your desire to succeed. I love you both so much.
Hugs of immense gratitude go to my extended families, the Johnson-Walters-Welker-Lutt clans and the Little-Hansen-Divens-Hall clans. I love all of you. Stay weird.
Every writer needs her writing people, and I found mine years ago and do not plan to let them go. Sandy Grubb, Sarvinder Naberhaus, Suzanne Klein, Jill Van Den Eng, Diana Schaffter, Ann Green, and Kerry McGee, you are all amazing writers. Special thanks to Sandy and Kerry (and her daughter Natalie) for reading early drafts of Mac’s story. The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators earns my gratitude as well, particularly the Oregon Region. Thank you for helping children’s writers learn, grow, network, celebrate, and plan our futures. To my #Novel19 group, you awe me with your talent. I want to meet every one of you someday.
Teachers need their people too, and I belong to a staff filled with excellence at Jacob Wismer Elementary. Special gratitude goes to my third-grade teammates and support staff from the past five years for their endless patience while I shared my energies between teaching and writing: Patty, Catherine, Barb, Mary D, Kat, Stephanie M, Allison, Annette, Pamela, Hristina, Heidi C, Yvette, Lisa, Amy, Kathy, Charlene, and our super-sub, Susan.
To the hundreds of students I’ve had the pleasure to work with, you’ve all made me a better teacher and person. I believe in you. Work hard. Be kind. Go embrace your weird.
There are so many friends in my life from high school, college, and beyond who have supported me long before I became a published author. I treasure your kindness, your camaraderie, and your cheerleading. Special shout-outs to John, Melanie, Kirsten, Sheila, Dave, Heather, Mike, Leslie, and the entire Vo family. And to the most wonderful sister in world, Julie, thank you for being my forever best friend!
To my yoga community at Bikram Freemont Street, you are all beautiful in every way. We may not have goats, but we have plenty of “yoga bliss.”
I remain eternally grateful and blessed beyond words.
Cheers to all!
About the Author
Ph
oto by Constance Spurling
JODY J. LITTLE is an elementary school teacher who loves sharing her joy of books with her students. She lives in the beautifully weird city of Portland, Oregon, and wishes she could eat at food carts every day. She enjoys practicing yoga and would even be willing to try it with goats! She is also the author of Mostly the Honest Truth.
Visit her at www.jodyjlittle.com.
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
Books by Jody J. Little
Mostly the Honest Truth
Copyright
WORSE THAN WEIRD. Copyright © 2020 by Jody J. Little. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Cover art © 2020 by Nathan Hackett
Cover design by Jenna Stempel-Lobell
* * *
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019944932
Digital Edition MARCH 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-285253-3
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-285258-8
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2021222324PC/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
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