Dunces Anonymous (13 page)
“That's okay.” Josh looked over at Wilmot, who was hunkered silently in his chair. “Wilmot and I can practice together, right, Wil?”
Wilmot looked up. “Yeah.”
The word fell from his lips like a lead weight.
“Hey, Wil, what's wrong?” said Josh.
“Oh, never mind. You'll think it's stupid.”
“Come on, Wil,” Magnolia urged him. “You can tell us. You're part of the club now.”
“Yeah,” added Wang, “you're one of us!”
“You guys are going to laugh.” Wilmot hung his head. “But I don't really like chess. What I really want to do isâ¦is play electric guitar.”
“Electric guitar!” Wang exclaimed.
“That's not stupid. That's awesome!” said Magnolia.
“It doesn't matter anyway.” Wilmot sighed. “My dad'll never let me.”
“Your dad?” Magnolia swung her feet down from the armrest and planted them on the floor. “We can't let your dad stand in your way.”
“We can't? But⦔
Wang brandished his bulrush. “What we need is a cunning plan,” he announced.
“A cunning plan?” Wilmot looked at Josh. Sweat was starting to break out on his forehead.
Josh walked over to the armchair and put his hand on Wilmot's shoulder.
“Don't worry, Wil,” he said. “Just leave everything to Dunces Anonymous.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
F
irst and foremost, I would like to thank my writing colleague Mark Baker, who gave me the idea for this book and came up with the title. Without him,
Dunces Anonymous
would not exist. I am grateful to Mark and the other members of my writing groupâ Noreen Violetta, Connie Topper, Rachel Eugster, Michelle Jodoin and Deborah Jacksonâfor their feedback throughout the writing process. Their input helped me to turn an awkward and unfinished first draft into something presentable. Immense thanks are due to my editor, Sarah Harvey, who helped me to wrestle down some difficult issues of plot and point of view. Her editorial advice greatly improved the manuscript.
As always, I would like to thank my loving and supportive family. Thanks to my father Jim for renovating an old laundry room in the basement so that I could have a writing room; to my mother Ann for literary enthusiasm and encouragement; to my sister Bobbi for inspiring me not to give up on crazy dreams; to my brother Charles for saying the manuscript was great and anyone who didn't want to publish it had no taste in literature; and to my brother-in-law Kit for all his work on my website. Deep and abiding thanks go out to my husband Mark for his love and support. I would also like to acknowledge my daughters Zoey and Molly, who always know how to make me smile and who served as models for the character Garland in this book.
KATE JAIMET developed an early taste for madcap plotlines due to childhood exposure to the novels of P.G. Wodehouse. Kate studied literature at the University of Toronto and has a degree in journalism from Ryerson University. Now a reporter at the
Ottawa Citizen
, Kate spends much of her time trying to keep one step ahead of her two young daughters. Visit her website at
www.katejaimet.com.