Ava XOX Read Free Page B

right?”
    â€œRight.”
    â€œYou can do it, Pip!” I said, because Pip really has come out of the shell she used to be all scrunched up inside.
    Then again, it was still hard to picture Pip talking in front of such a big group.
    â€œIt’s not just me. It’s Tanya.” Pip lowered her voice as if she didn’t even want to say what she was about to say. “We were talking about height and weight, and she…she…told me she wears size XXXL.”
    I waited. Pip is not the kind of person who judges people on their appearance. She doesn’t even judge books by their covers.
    Pip pushed her art book toward me. “Look.”
    I looked, and it was open to the Botero paintings. Well, it turns out that Botero has a very particular style. Someone could probably walk right into a museum and say, “I bet Botero painted that!” He paints all his subjects larger than life. There was a big round king, and a big round princess, and a big round dancer, and a big round bullfighter. Suddenly I understood the problema . Botero paints big people, and Tanya is…not small.
    â€œOh,” I said.
    â€œI just hope no one says anything,” Pip said. “Tanya’s pretty insecure. One of her cousins makes fun of her.”
    â€œThat’s terrible,” I said.
    Pip showed me the poster that they’d finished drawing and coloring. They’d done a really good job copying the Mona Lisa . But it was not the Mona Lisa that Leonardo da Vinci painted hundreds of years ago. It was a Mona Lisa that Botero painted much more recently.
    Oh, I’ll just come out and say it. Botero’s Mona Lisa is… chubby . Instead of an oval, her face is a circle. Her cheeks and chin and neck are big, and her eyes and nose and mouth are small.
    We were both quiet, and I got an idea. “Pip, I could make Tanya a valentine, an anonymous one.”
    â€œLike from a secret admirer?”
    â€œNot lovey-dovey, just nice. And unsigned. Maybe it would boost her confidence?”
    â€œI don’t think it’s that easy. But sure, if you want.” Pip went back to her homework, and I made a heart-shaped valentine for Tanya that I’m going to sneak into her locker tomorrow. It says:
    Happy Valentine’s Day to a very sweet person!
    I decorated it with red balloons and red lollipops—though I’m not sure you can tell which are which.
    AVA, MORE ALTRUISTIC THAN ARTISTIC ( ALTRUISTIC MEANS WANTING TO HELP)

2/12
MORNING, STILL IN BED
    DEAR DIARY,
    I dreamed I made a valentine for Chuck but was too embarrassed to give it to him.
    Question one: Do boys ever dream about girls?
    Question two: Do I wish Chuck were my valentine?
    Since you are my diary and no one else will ever read this, I guess I will admit that I think I do.
    Okay, yes, I do.
    I do.
    I do like Chuck.
    Wait, all those “I do’s” make it sound like we’re getting married!!
    All I mean is that I realize that when I think about Chuck, I keep thinking about him. He doesn’t just cross my mind; he finds a chair and sits right down!
    And usually that’s okay, because thinking about him makes me smile. Lately, though, it makes me frown.
    Is he telling Kelli jokes and making her laugh? Does he think about her as much as I think about him?
    AVA :-(

2/12
FIFTH PERIOD, IN THE LIBRARY
    DEAR DIARY,
    After homeroom, I went to the bathroom and was about to come out of the stall when I recognized Kelli’s and Zara’s voices. Kelli said, “Isn’t Chuck soooo cute? Do you think he’s the tallest boy in fifth grade?”
    Zara said, “Maybe. Or maybe tied with Jamal?”
    â€œI can’t wait for my party!” Kelli said. “Should I invite the whole grade?”
    Zara said, “If your parents will let you, why not?”
    â€œOh, there are a few kids I could do without!” She laughed, and I wondered who she meant. Did she mean me ? I don’t like her, but