Happy Kid! (25 page)

“Some people think that a person can be
too
right,” I suggested.

“And that's their excuse for not doing the right thing? Ha! They're just scared. They're scared people will treat them the way they treat me whenever I have to do something like reporting Mr. Borden's mistake by myself because they won't. But you know what? They really like that I do those things for them. It means they don't have to do them. Oh, it's always the same. They laugh and make jokes about me, maybe they stop talking to me for a while, but then they get over it and everything is back to normal.”

“Ah, Melissa, maybe when the other kids laugh and make jokes about you, it's not just because you're right,” I suggested. Helpfully.

“What else could it be?”

I had an idea. Or maybe I just heard something screaming Melissa's name.

I pulled
Happy Kid!
out of my backpack and handed it to her. “Here. You really should read this.”

Melissa sneered. “I don't need a stupid self-help book.”

“Oh, believe me, Melissa, you do. I showed you how it works,” I said as I forced
Happy Kid!
into her hands. “Let it fall open and read whatever you find there.”

Melissa hardly had to do anything. The book practically popped open as soon as she touched it. We both looked down to see what it had to say.