Philip and the Loser (9781619501522) Read Free Page B

we can make up a game
like
Kleebis, you know. Kleebis forever,
woo hoo.
Kleebis forever,
woo
hoo.”
    “
Leon,”
screamed Emery.
“No
woo hoo
ing. It’s against the rules, and I
don’t want to hear it. And no Kleebis.
And no
singing!”
    Under his breath Leon muttered,
“Kleebis forever,
woo hoo,”
while Philip and
Emery walked ahead of him to school.
    It was one of Mr. Sagsman’s days, and
when he greeted the class, he immediately asked the children to
pass up the essays he’d assigned about brotherhood. Philip worried
about his essay. In it he complained that he only had a little
sister and sister hood was ruining his
life. He didn’t think Mr. Sagsman would like this example,
though.
    “ Okay, kids, last night you had to find
some illustration of brotherhood in your own life.” He glanced
through the class’s essays as he spoke. He lifted his eyes for a
moment and looked straight at Philip. Philip turned red and melted
down in his seat. Philip watched Mr. Sagsman’s lips puff out as he
exhaled a big sigh. He put the papers down on the teacher’s
desk.
    “ I have a new assignment for you, a
long-term assignment. I want you to plan some kind of activity, an
activity that displays the principles of brotherhood, something to
show me you understand what brotherhood really means. We’ll go over
last night’s papers now one by one.” He looked at Philip. “At least
most of them, so you can get an idea of what I’m talking about and
what I’m looking for. Then you’ll have a week to come up with your
project, and the project must be completed by the following Monday.
That gives you two full weekends.”
    Philip knew Mr. Sagsman would ignore his
paper. His paper was stupid, and he knew it. He didn’t know why he
wrote such silly stuff, but he felt tired and didn’t want to do the
essay at all after playing in the park with Emery. Plus, he had
other homework to do and writing needed too much concentration. So
Philip settled in and listened to what his classmates had written
until the bell sent Mr. Sagsman to his next class.
    Later, on the way home from school, Philip
waited for Leon to turn off toward his house, and when he did,
Philip asked Emery, “Want to go to the park again?”
    “ I can’t. I told you. I’m in trouble. I
have to stay in.”
    “ Can you go to Mrs. Moriarty’s?” Mrs.
Moriarty was Philip’s favorite neighbor. She was an older woman who
lived alone and liked visits from Philip and the other children in
the neighborhood. She always had dishes of candy out—M & Ms,
tiny Hershey Bars, miniature Milky Ways—and she didn’t complain one
bit when Philip took all he wanted.
    “ No, I gotta go right home and nobody
over.”
    “ Oh, well. At least Leon went
home.”
    “ That’s ’cause his family’s coming to
my house for dinner tonight, and he’s got to do his homework this
afternoon. I have to spend the whole
night
with him.”
    “ Oh,” said Philip sympathetically.
“Well, see you tomorrow.”
    Emery grunted a quick goodbye, and Philip
crossed the street and headed toward Mrs. Moriarty’s. He knocked on
her door and called through the screen.
    “ You home, Mrs. M.?”
    “ In here, Philip.”
    Philip entered and found Mrs. Moriarty
sitting at her dining room table, sewing.
    Philip slid onto a dining chair. “What are
you doing?”
    “ I’m sewing borders on these doilies
for my woman’s club.”
    Philip turned to look into the living room.
“They’re the things you stick on the arms of your chairs,
right?”
    “ Right.” Mrs. Moriarty looked up at him
and smiled. “There’s some candy on the coffee table. Go and see
what you like.”
    Philip didn’t hesitate. This time he found a
bowl full of tiny Tootsie Rolls and a second bigger bowl full of
miniature, foil-wrapped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Philip took a
handful of each. He thought a minute and put two Tootsie Rolls
back. He didn’t want Mrs. M. to think he was a greedy pig. He sat
back down at the