Rodrick Rules Read Free Page A

friend.
    [Image: A cartoon of two boys talking and a girl looking at them.] "Rowley here
    just go back from south Dakota!
    South America!
    Whatever!"

    Saturday
    Dad has been taking me to the mall every Saturday for the past few weeks. At first,
    I thought it was because he wanted to spend more time with me. But then I realized
    he's just making sure he's out of the house for Rodrick's band practices, which I can
    totally understand.
    Rodrick and his heavy-metal band practice in the basement on weekends.
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    The lead singer of the band is this guy named Bill Walter, and me and Dad bumped
    into Bill on the way out the door today.
    [Image: A cartoon of a guitarist greeting the man and his son.] "Mornin' Mr.
    Heffley!"
    Bill doesn't have a job, and he still lives with his parents, even though he's
    thirty-five years old.
    I'm pretty sure Dad's worst fear is that Rodrick is going to see Bill as some kind of
    role model, and that Rodrick will want to follow in Bill's footsteps.
    So whenever Dad sees Bill, it just puts him in a bad mood for the rest of the day.
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    The reason Rodrick invited Bill to be in his band was because Bill got voted "Most
    Likely to Be a Rock Star" when HE was in high school.
    Most Likely to Be a Rock Star

    [Image: A picture of two people.] "Bill Walter
    Anna Wrentham"
    That hasn't really worked out for Bill yet. And I think I heard Anna Wrentham is in
    prison.
    Anyway, me and Dad went to the mall for a few hours today, but when we got
    back, Rodrick's band practice wasn't over yet. You could hear the guitars and
    drums from a block away, and there were a bunch of random teenagers hanging out
    in our driveway.
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    I guess they must have heard the music coming out of the basement and got drawn
    to it, sort of like how moths get drawn to a light.
    When Dad saw all those teenagers in the driveway, he TOTALLY freaked out.
    [Image: A cartoon of four boys in the driveway and a boy in a truck.]
    Dad ran inside to call the cops, but Mom stopped him before he could dial 911.
    Mom said those teenagers weren't doing any harm, and that they were just
    "appreciating" Rodrick's music. But I don't even know how she could say that with
    a straight face. And if you ever heard Rodrick's band, you'd know what I mean.
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    Dad couldn't relax with all those teenagers out in our driveway.

    [Image: A cartoon of a person peeping out of the window to look at the two boys
    talking.]
    So Dad went upstairs and got his boom box. Then he put in a classical music CD
    and let it play. And you would not BELIEVE how quickly the driveway cleared
    out after that.
    [Image: A cartoon of a man playing music from the window and three children
    walking away.]
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    Dad was pretty proud of himself for thinking up that one. But Mom accused him of
    getting rid of Rodrick's "fans" on purpose.
    [Image: A cartoon of a man and a waman talking as the music plays on.] "What? I
    can't enjoy my music, too?"
    Sunday
    Today, on the car ride to church, I was making faces at Manny, trying to get him to
    laugh. I made this one face that made Manny laugh so hard that apple juice came
    out of his nose.
    [Image: A cartoon of a boy making faces at the small child and making him laugh.]
    "Bwah Ha Ha!"
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    But then Mom said:

    [Image: A cartoon of the two children in the back of the car and their mother
    driving.] "You could have killed him!"
    Well, once Mom put that thought in Manny's head, it was all over.
    [Image: A cartoon of a boy looking at the crying child.]
    See? This is the reason I keep my distance from Manny. Every time I try to have a
    little fun with him, I end up regretting it.
    I remember when I was younger, and Mom and Dad told me I was getting a little
    brother. I was REALLY excited.
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    After all those years of getting pushed around by Rodrick, I was definitely ready to
    move up a notch on the totem pole.
    [Image: Cartoons of a boy kicking the small child.] "Yaah!
    Yaah!"
    But Mom and Dad have always been SUPER protective of Manny, and they