Read Online A Brand-New Me! by Henry Winkler - Free Book Online Page B

both.”
    She popped up from her chair and attempted to give Emily a hug, but Katherine threw a big-time hiss in her direction, so I got the hug instead. Then she turned to my dad, who was twirling the tip of his red mechanical pencil, making the lead go in and out. That was a good sign, because he does that mechanical pencil thing when he’s thinking.
    â€œWe’re raising good kids, Stanley,” my mom said to him. “Emily made a really good point. How about if we let Hank audition? Then we’ll see what happens.”
    The pencil lead went in and out. I started counting how many times. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Just before eight, he said yes.

CHAPTER 18
    Mr. Rock and I got busy preparing for the audition. We met every day after school in the music room, and this time, there was no instrument cleaning involved. He would throw out subjects, and I would make up monologues. One day he told me to be a bottle of mustard being squirted on a hot dog. Another day he told me to be a baby kangaroo that fell out of his mom’s pouch. He encouraged me to let my mind be free and to say whatever came to me.
    If I made a mistake or couldn’t think of anything, I felt embarrassed, but he explained that if you stumble, you have to stand right back up and keep moving forward. He said that one of the secrets of good acting is trial and error, which means that you only learn by making mistakes. Boy, try telling that to Ms. Adolf. To her, making a mistake is like the end of the world. She’s got that red pencil sharpened and ready to write the word FAIL at the drop of a hat.
    We practiced every day that week, and by the time Friday came, I had told about a thousand stories. I was as ready as I was ever going to be, except for one thing. I was nervous about the audition. And not just your garden variety nervous. This kind of nervous started at my toes and ended up at my hair roots.
    â€œWhat’s with you, man?” Frankie asked as we walked home from school on Friday. “You’ve called me Theodore three times today. What’s up with that?”
    â€œI guess this audition tomorrow has taken up most of my brain. I don’t have room for names anymore.”
    â€œI have a great idea,” Ashley said. “You could use some relaxation before tomorrow. Frankie and I are taking you bowling this evening.”
    â€œWe are?” Frankie said.
    â€œYes, we are.” Ashley stopped for a minute and looked in the window of the drug store on the corner. I saw her glancing at an American flag pin that was made up of red, silver, and blue rhinestones. “Look at all those rhinestones,” she said. “I could make a whole school of dolphins on my sneakers with those.”
    â€œI thought we were talking about bowling here, Ashweena,” Frankie said. “How’d rhinestones come up?”
    â€œRhinestones, Frankie, are a great addition to any conversation,” Ashley answered.
    Frankie and I gave each other a look. The one thing you can’t do with Ashley is insult her rhinestoning ability, which is actually pretty artistic.
    â€œI think bowling sounds like a great idea,” I said. “I’ll call Papa Pete as soon as I get upstairs. I bet he would love to take us to McKelty’s.”
    When I called and asked him, Papa Pete was in seventh heaven. The only thing he loves more than bowling is us kids, and when you put the two of them together, the guy is happier than a bug in a rug.
    After dinner, he picked us up at my apartment. Before we left, I saw him open the refrigerator and put a plastic container inside.
    â€œWhat’s that?” I asked him.
    â€œYou’ll see, Hankie. First things first.”
    We met Ashley and Frankie down in the lobby and all walked up Amsterdam Avenue to McKelty’s Roll ’N’ Bowl. When we pushed open the leather doors and went inside, the first sound we heard was the clatter of bowling balls