A Year in the Life of a Complete and Total Genius by Stacey Matson Page A

so-called accidents, this reporter interviewed Mr. Fringali, gym teacher and junior team football coach.
    When asked about the suspicious nature of the fall, Mr. Fringali said that there is always a risk of unbalance in the human pyramid, but that the squad had practiced the move often. “It’s not the girls’ fault,” said Fringali. “They work very hard and are devastated by the severity of Katy’s accident.”
    When pressed for more details about the weight distribution of the pyramid, Fringali would not comment, stating that the question was “rude” and “uncalled for.” The only thing this reporter thinks is rude is the blatant cover-up of information from the school. Clearly there is something going on behind the scenes with this group of girls, and no one is talking about what it is. Maybe there is a broken mirror in their locker room, or perhaps an unlucky rabbit’s foot being carried around. One thing is for certain: this reporter will get to the bottom of this unlucky pyramid. The people want to know!
    Hiya, Arthur,
    An interesting take on the football celebration assembly! You must read a lot of detective novels! However, the thing is, I’m not too comfortable focusing on conspiracy theories surrounding the cheerleading squad. I’ve asked Robbie to add to your article with some of his photos and great captions from the rest of the celebration, and we’ll use the first part of your article in the feature. Don’t worry though; you and Robbie will be sharing the byline on the article. Unless, of course, you want to stay undercover and use a pen name, in case the Feds are watching…
    Mr. E.
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    Peer Tutoring Program—Progress Report
    Session: January 21st
    Worked On: Shakespeare
    Since we didnt have anything to work on, Artie and I practissed the fight senes in the play for the odditions for Romeo and Juliet next week.
    â€”Robbie
    â€œWisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.” In case you were wondering, that’s a quote from Romeo and Juliet .
    â€”Arthur
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    Assignment: Interview About Me
    Some of the best characters can be ourselves, so this assignment isn’t even that much work for you! I would like you to interview someone who is close to you about a great subject: you! Please use at least five of the questions we brainstormed in class, and write out their answers using the same format as the last assignment. Of course, please avoid putting your friends or family in an awkward position by asking difficult or negative questions.
    Due: January 25
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    January 23rd
    Dear RJ,
    I need to confess something. I don’t have a story. I have a lot of story beginnings. I even have a few story endings, but I can’t get them to make a whole story.
    I don’t know what to do! I know I can do it. In elementary school, my teachers all said my stories were great. They said that I’m super creative, and that I would definitely be a famous author one day. So by now I should be able to write the best things ever, but I can’t. Teachers shouldn’t be allowed to tell you that you’re great at something. It just makes life harder.
    The stupid thing is that I know I can do it, I just don’t know where to start. And then something comes up in life and I get stuck thinking about that. Like today. Today would have been my parents’ anniversary, so I was thinking about how my mom always sent me to Nicole’s house, and my parents would go out somewhere fancy for dinner that I wouldn’t like, like a seafood place or something like that. Instead, Dad is sitting on the couch watching TV and ignoring the phone that keeps ringing. I answered it once and it was Luke’s mom calling to talk to him, but he only talked to her for a second before he said he was going to call her right back. And he never did. I called Luke though, and we talked for an hour. He