THE REAL CHAPTER 1 Starting Over Do you ever wish you could start a bad day over I’ve decided my day actually begins the exact moment we leave our house and walk to school Now I just need something to cheer me up so I think of that dog with its belly full of pepperoni because dogs always make things better It makes me smile and I can tell it’s working If Mister’s bad mood is my fault then I have to help him out of his funk too It’s the least I can do I offer to 10
carry Mister’s family tree project because I guess you could say it’s my fault that it’s a soggy mess One of the paper branches breaks off and I’m desperately trying to hide it from him so he doesn’t get more upset Fortunately Mister hasn’t noticed yet because he’s trying to kick a lucky rainbow marble like a tiny soccer ball all the way to school Technically it’s my lucky rainbow marble but after the trouble I caused him this morning I’m letting him play with it My nonno gave me the marble before he died which is why it’s special He told me it’s called an onion skin because it has so many colorful lines that look like an onion cut in half Nonno said this marble reminded him of me since it has so many beautiful layers and no two are alike He told me there was a marble for every person out there MARBLE ONION 11
Nonno collected marbles his whole life and he used to give me one whenever we visited When Nonno died last year my nonna gave me his whole collection to look after because her new apartment doesn't have space I'm not sure we even have space since there are marbles all over our house But I think my mum secretly likes having them around because they remind her of her dad and she really misses him BUSINESS IDEAS GOOD ENOUGH TO EAT trapdoor plate to hide gross breakfast could hide kale too chocolate straw that turns regular milk into chocolate milk ice cube tray shaped like letters so we can put words in our orange juice catapult fork that sends food scraps to your dog across the room cup that never spills even if someone hits it with a marble 12
Hey Wednesday Mister finally speaks Yes I answer You should sell plates with trapdoors that can hide gross breakfast Good idea I tell him Then I write it down on my clipboard where I keep all my best business ideas And we even come up with a few more We might be onto something I’ll ask my best friend Charlie what he thinks of our ideas when I see him in class since he’s getting a ride today after staying with his dad for the weekend When I look up at Mister to smile he isn’t smiling back because he has discovered his broken tree My family tree is even more ruined Mister cries I try to think of something I can say to help Then I remember what Nonna always tells us Worrying gives small things a big shadow I tell him You can fix it when you get to school Mister doesnʼt look convinced Some things canʼt be fixed Wednesday he exclaims Then he kicks the marble ahead of him and stomps after it When we’re finally on school grounds he tries a bunch of times to get it over the curb in front of the main door He 13
