“He owns other clothes,” said Marvin. “The moving van probably got lost. So he has to wear the same clothes every day, until the moving van gets here.”
Joe was sitting all by himself, way down at the end of the table.
“How come you’re always sticking up for him?” asked Nick.
“I don’t always stick up for him,” said Marvin.
“Yes, you do!” said Casey. “When I told you he kissed the flagpole, you said he was being patriotic.”
“Do you like him?” asked Judy. “Is he your friend?”
“He’s stupid,” said Stuart.
“Maybe he knows things we don’t know,” said Marvin. “Maybe he knows some really fun games that we’ve never heard of. Just like he’s never heard of wall-ball.”
“He’s never even heard of baseball,” said Casey, and everybody except Marvin laughed.
“He’s a door key,” said Nick.
“Just because he’s not from here?” said Marvin. “If you went to Chicago, the kids there might think you were a double door key!”
“That’s why I’m not going to Chicago,” said Nick.
Judy Jasper had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a bag of Cheetos. Marvin watched as she opened up her sandwich. She carefully placed the Cheetos, one at a time, on top of the peanut butter. The Cheetos fit together like tiles on a bathroom floor.
Stuart had a bag of potato chips. He crumbled the potato chips in his fist and dropped the crumbs into his carton of milk.
“Admit it, Marvin,” said Judy. “Joe is just plain weird.” She placed the bread with the jelly back on top of the peanut butter and Cheetos.
“He does some pretty strange things,” Stuart agreed.
Judy bit into her peanut butter, Cheetos, and jelly sandwich. Stuart drank his potato chip and milk mixture.
“I guess,” said Marvin.
6
The Flagpole
After school, Nick and Stuart had to stay inside while Mrs. North talked to them about running in the hallways.
Marvin waited outside. He saw Joe come out of the building and walk down the stairs.
“Hi, Joe,” Marvin said.
Joe smiled. “Hi, Marvin.”
“So, how’s it going?” asked Marvin.
Joe shrugged.
“I guess it’s hard being new,” said Marvin.
“I guess,” said Joe.
Marvin thought about asking Joe if he wanted to come with him to Stuart’s house. But he was afraid what Nick or Stuart would say. “Well, maybe it will get better next week. You won’t be new anymore.”
Joe smiled. “Maybe.”
Nick and Stuart came running out of the school building. “We’re free!” Nick shouted as he leaped down the stairs.
They stopped short when they noticed that Marvin was talking to Joe.
“C’mon, let’s go,” said Stuart.
“Where are you going?” asked Joe.
“My house,” said Stuart.
Marvin decided to take a chance. “You want to come with us?” he asked.
“Um, I don’t know,” said Joe. He looked at Stuart.
“You better not,” Stuart said. “See, we have to give my dog a bath.”
“That’s right,” said Nick. “We have to bathe Fluffy. Fluffy is a real mean dog. He might bite you.”
“Dogs like me,” said Joe.
“It’s my parents’ rule,” explained Stuart. “If Fluffy bites another person, we could get sued for a million dollars! Isn’t that right, Marvin?”
Marvin didn’t know what to say. He didn’t want to lie to Joe, but he also didn’t want to betray Nick and Stuart. Besides, if he told Joe the truth, that they really didn’t have to bathe Fluffy, it would hurt Joe’s feelings.
“And you might get your clothes wet and dirty,” said Nick. “You don’t want to ruin your only clothes, do you?”
He glanced at Stuart and smiled.
Joe shrugged.
“Well, maybe another time,” said Marvin.
“Okay,” said Joe.
Marvin felt terrible. “See you Monday,” he said.
“See you,” said Joe.
As they walked away, Stuart said, “I can’t believe you asked the Door Key to come home with us.”
“I was just trying to be nice,” said Marvin.
“Well, you shouldn’t just think about yourself,” said Nick. “That’s selfish. You should think about other people’s feelings, too.”
Marvin stopped walking. “You’re right,” he said. He turned around and headed back to the school.
He found Joe standing by the flagpole.
Actually, it looked like Joe was kissing the flagpole.
Maybe Casey Happleton wasn’t crazy.
“What are you doing?” Marvin asked.
Joe turned and looked at Marvin. “I was pressing my face against the flagpole.”
“Why?” asked Marvin.
“I like the way the cool metal feels when it squashes my nose.”
“You weren’t kissing the flagpole?” asked Marvin.
“No,” said Joe.
Casey Happleton was crazy!
“I decided not to help Stuart and Nick bathe Fluffy,” said Marvin. “Do you want to come over to my house?”
Joe smiled and said, “Sure!”
7
Jell-O
“Fluffy wouldn’t bite me,” Joe said as they walked to Marvin’s house. “I’ve been all over the—well, I’ve been lots of places. And I’ve never met a dog who didn’t like me. People don’t always like me. But their dogs always do.”
“Do you have to move around a lot?” asked Marvin.
Joe nodded.
“I guess it’s hard to make new friends all the time.”
“I don’t know what I do wrong,” Joe said. “I try to be like the other kids. But somehow they always know I’m different.”
Marvin didn’t know what to say.
“It’s not all bad,” Joe said. “It’s fun to get to see all kinds of strange and interesting places.”
Marvin never thought that his hometown was strange or interesting.
They came to Marvin’s house. There was a fence around his house. The fence was white, except for one red post next to the gate.
“Red post,” said Joe. “That’s your last name!”
“That’s right!” Marvin said, a little surprised that Joe had figured it out. Usually, he had to explain it to his friends. “My dad paints the post once a year.”
“Cool,” said Joe.
“My mom says she’s glad she didn’t marry someone whose last name was Purplehouse,” said Marvin.
“Why?” asked Joe.
“I don’t know,” said Marvin. “I think it would be cool to live in a purple house.”
“Me, too,” said Joe. “Back where I come from, the houses are a lot more colorful than they are here—stripes and polka dots.”
“Polka-dot houses?” asked Marvin.
“Sure,” said Joe. “Usually, each dot is a different color.”
“Boy, I’d like to go to Chicago sometime,” said Marvin.
They went inside Marvin’s dull gray house.
“Hi, Marvin!” Linzy shouted from the kitchen. She was sitting at the table, eating something out of a bowl.
Marvin set his backpack on the counter. “That’s my sister, Linzy,” he said. “She’s five.”
Joe walked to the table. “How do you do, Linzy?” he said. “My name is Joe Normal.” He held out his hand.
Linzy giggled and shook his hand.
“What’s that red stuff?” asked Joe.
“Jell-O,” said Linzy.
Joe stared at it. “What is it?”
“Strawberry,” said Linzy.
Joe couldn’t take his eyes off of it. “Is it a solid or a liquid?”
“It’s Jell-O,” said Linzy.
“He’s from Chicago,” Marvin explained. “I guess they don’t eat much Jell-O there.”
&
nbsp; “Can I touch it?” asked Joe.
“Sure,” said Linzy.
Joe poked his finger into Linzy’s Jell-O. “What holds it together?” he asked.
Linzy thought it over. “It’s sticky,” she explained. “It sticks to itself.”
“You want some?” said Marvin.
“I don’t know,” said Joe.
“It’s good. You’ll like it,” said Linzy.
Marvin opened the refrigerator. He removed a large flat dish filled with strawberry Jell-O. Then he got a small bowl from the cabinet and served some Jell-O to Joe.
Joe sat down next to Linzy. He stared at his Jell-O. He scooped some up on his spoon and watched it jiggle. “It’s weird,” he said. “I can cut through it with my spoon, like water. But it doesn’t fall apart.”
“That’s because it’s sticky,” said Linzy.
Joe put some in his mouth. He swished it around and swallowed. “This is delicious!” he exclaimed.
“Told you,” said Linzy.
Joe finished his bowl of Jell-O, then ate a second bowlful, and then a third.
“I like Joe,” Linzy said to Marvin, while Joe slurped his Jell-O. “He’s not like Nick and Stuart. They’re weird.”
8
Wizzle-fish
“Do you want to call your parents and let them know you’re here?” Marvin asked.
“I already told them,” said Joe.
Marvin tried to figure out when he could have done that. They’d been together since the flagpole.
The front door opened, and Jacob came home, along with his friend Nate. Marvin was suddenly afraid that Joe might say something that would embarrass him.
Jacob and Nate went to middle school. Marvin admired his older brother. He thought all of his brother’s friends were cool, but Nate was the coolest. Usually, Jacob and Nate were nice to Marvin, but sometimes they treated him like he was a stupid little kid.
“Hey, Mar,” said Jacob as he tossed his backpack onto a chair.
“Hi,” said Marvin. “C’mon, Joe. Let’s go up to my room.” He wanted to get out of there fast, before Joe said something weird.
“What are you guys doing?” asked Nate.
“Nothing,” said Marvin.
“You want to play wizzle-fish?” asked Joe.
Marvin felt himself redden. “They don’t want to play,” he said. Jacob and Nate never played with Marvin and his friends.
“How do you play?” asked Linzy.
“Everybody needs two wizzles,” said Joe. “But you probably don’t have any wizzles.”
“No, we don’t,” said Marvin.
“Paper plates might work,” said Joe.
“We have paper plates,” said Linzy. “Left over from my birthday, don’t we, Jacob?”
“Sure,” said Jacob. He went to the pantry and got a small stack of paper plates. “They even have fish on them,” he said.
The plates were blue and green and filled with brightly colored fish.
“How do you play?” asked Nate.
Marvin couldn’t believe it.
“Here, I’ll show you,” said Joe.
They went in the backyard to play.
Everyone got two paper plates. They had to try to walk from one end of the yard to the other, stepping only on their plates. It was hard. Marvin had to step on the plate in front of him while he picked up the plate behind him. Then he would toss that plate in front of him and step on it as he picked up the plate he stepped off of.
He was surprised by how much fun it was. Even more surprising, Jacob and Nate had fun, too.
“Why is it called ‘wizzle-fish’?” asked Nate.
“Lake Wizzle is a real lake,” Joe explained. “Big, flat fish swim around, right at the surface. People try to walk all the way across the lake, stepping only on the wizzle-fish.”
“Really?” asked Jacob. “No way!”
“I’d like to try that,” said Nate.
“It’s dangerous,” said Joe. “Sharks swim underneath the wizzle-fish at the bottom of the lake. So if you fall off the wizzle-fish, the sharks will get you.”
“Cool,” said Jacob.
“And wizzle-fish aren’t like paper plates,” said Joe. “They move around and wiggle, and are slimy and slippery.”
“Have you ever stepped on a real wizzle-fish?” asked Linzy.
“Lots of times,” said Joe. “But I always stay close to the shore. The sharks are in the middle of the lake.”
“What does it feel like to step on a fish?” Linzy asked.
“It tickles a little bit,” said Joe.
“You’re making this up,” said Jacob. “He’s making this up, isn’t he, Marvin?”
Marvin wasn’t sure. Although as far as he knew, sharks didn’t live in lakes. Sharks lived only in salt water.
“Where is Lake Wizzle?” asked Nate.
Joe looked up at the sky and said, “Chicago.”
Jacob nudged Marvin with his elbow and said, “Your friend Joe is cool. Not like those other two dorks you hang out with.”
9
How People Eat Pizza
in Chicago
Marvin invited Joe to spend the night.
“Were you born in Chicago, Joe?” Marvin’s mother asked him as they sat down for dinner.
“Yes, Nancy,” said Joe. “Where were you born?”
For a moment, Marvin’s mother didn’t answer. Her name was Nancy, but Marvin’s other friends always called her Mrs. Redpost. “Richmond, Virginia,” she said.
“Where were you born, Dennis?” asked Joe.
“New Jersey,” said Marvin’s father.
They had pizza and salad for dinner. Since he was a guest, Joe was served first.
Joe used his knife and fork, and cut his pizza into little pieces.
Marvin didn’t want Joe to feel weird, so he cut his pizza into tiny pieces, too.
Marvin had warned his parents that the other kids at school made fun of Joe for being different. So when Marvin’s mother saw Joe and Marvin cutting their pizza, she did the same.
Marvin’s father started to pick up his piece of pizza with his hand. Mrs. Redpost cleared her throat, then said, “Use your fork and knife, dear.” Then she cut Linzy’s piece of pizza for her. Marvin was glad that Jacob was having dinner at Nate’s house. Jacob might not think Joe was cool if he saw him eating pizza. There was no way Jacob would eat pizza with a knife and fork. Jacob sometimes ate two pieces at a time, one in each hand.
“What do your parents do, Joe?” asked Marvin’s father.
“Um, just normal things, Dennis,” said Joe.
“No, I mean, what kind of work? Did you move here because of their jobs?”
“Sort of,” said Joe. “They have a lot of meetings in Washington, D.C. But they were told the schools were better here in Maryland. That’s why I’m here.”
“What kind of meetings?” asked Marvin’s mother.
“I’m not supposed to talk about it,” said Joe. “It’s top-secret.”
“Oh, I see,” said Marvin’s mother.
Marvin saw his parents stare at Joe. He knew they were wondering if Joe was telling the truth.
After they finished the pizza—which took a lot longer than usual—Marvin’s mother asked what they wanted for dessert. “We’ve got cookies, ice cream, Jell-O …”
Marvin knew what Joe wanted. “We’ll have Jell-O,” he said.
Marvin’s mother went to the refrigerator. “That’s strange,” she said. “It’s all gone.”
“Joe ate it all,” said Linzy.
“Can you make more?” asked Marvin.
“That’s okay,” said Joe. “You don’t have to.”
“Joe really likes Jell-O,” said Linzy. “He’d never had it before.”
“They don’t have Jell-O in Chicago,” said Marvin.
“Oh, I see,” said Mrs. Redpost. She stared at Joe for a moment. “Well, I can make some more, but it won’t be ready until tomorrow.”
“Can I help?” asked J
oe. “I want to study how you make it.”
“Sure, Joe. I’ll show you how.”
She began by boiling water. “Would you like some cookies for now?” she asked.
“Yes, please,” said Marvin.
Linzy said she wanted four cookies.
“How about you, Joe?” asked Marvin’s mother.
“No thank you, Nancy. I’ll just have a cup of coffee.”
10
Floortime
Joe was stirring the yellow Jell-O mixture in a pan on the stove.
“Do you want to call your parents?” Marvin’s mother asked him.
“I already did,” said Joe.
Marvin didn’t know when Joe could have done that.
“If you think Jell-O is good, you should try pudding,” said Linzy.
“I feel bad that I haven’t even talked to your mother,” said Mrs. Redpost.
“She wanted to talk to you, too, Nancy. But she’s in a very important meeting with the president.”
“Oh, I see,” said Marvin’s mother.
Marvin knew his mother didn’t quite believe everything Joe said. He wasn’t sure he did, either.
“Is there someone at your house who can bring your things over?” his mother asked. “You don’t have pajamas, a toothbrush, or a change of clothes for tomorrow.”
“I just wear the same clothes every day,” Joe said. “I sleep in them, too.”
“Oh, I see.”
“It’s true,” Marvin said, sticking up for his friend. “He’s worn the same clothes every day for a week.”
“And I always take my toothbrush with me wherever I go,” Joe said. He reached into the front pocket of his baggy pants and pulled out a toothbrush.
Marvin’s father asked Marvin to help him take the futon up to Marvin’s room.
The futon was in the family room. When Nick or Stuart spent the night, they slept on that.
“You don’t have to,” said Joe. “I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“The futon is very comfortable,” Marvin’s father assured him. “Just like a bed.”