A Flying Birthday Cake?
Louis Sachar
Joe Normal stood at the front of the room,
next to Mrs. North.…
He looked just like a normal third grader.
“Where are you from, Joe?” asked Mrs. North.
“Um … Earth,” said Joe. “Just like you.”
Mrs. North laughed. “Good answer,” she said. “But really, what city?”
“City?” asked Joe.
Marvin could tell Joe was nervous. He knew he’d be nervous, too, if he had to move someplace and go to a new school.
The Marvin Redpost series by Louis Sachar
Marvin Redpost #1 Kidnapped at Birth?
Marvin Redpost #2 Why Pick on Me?
Marvin Redpost #3 Is He a Girl?
Marvin Redpost #4 Alone in His Teacher’s House
Marvin Redpost #5 Class President
Marvin Redpost #6 A Flying Birthday Cake?
Marvin Redpost #7 Super Fast, Out of Control!
Marvin Redpost #8 A Magic Crystal?
More books by Louis Sachar!
The Boy Who Lost His Face
Dogs Don’t Tell Jokes
Holes
Stanley Yelnats’ Survival Guide to Camp Green Lake
There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom
Text copyright © 1999 by Louis Sachar.
Illustrations copyright © 1999 by Amy Wummer.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of
Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.
www.randomhouse.com/kids
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sachar, Louis, 1954– Marvin Redpost : a flying birthday cake? / by Louis Sachar.
p. cm. A stepping stone book
SUMMARY: Two days after Marvin sees a glowing green thing that looks like a flying birthday cake in the night sky, his third-grade class is joined by a mysterious new boy with peculiar behavior.
eISBN: 978-0-307-80573-7
[1. Extraterrestrial beings—Fiction. 2. Schools—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.S1l85Maog 1999 [Fic]—dc2l 98-7204
Random House, Inc. New York, Toronto, London, Sydney, Auckland
RANDOM HOUSE and the colophon are registered trademarks and A STEPPING STONE BOOK and the colophon are trademarks of Random House, Inc.
v3.1
To Rachael and Sam
Contents
Cover
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
1. Seven Minutes After Midnight
2. A Very Normal Third Grader
3. Wall-ball
4. The Door Key
5. George Who?
6. The Flagpole
7. Jell-O
8. Wizzle-fish
9. How People Eat Pizza in Chicago
10. Floortime
11. Vanished
12. Wizzle-what?
13. At Least
About the Author
1
Seven Minutes
After Midnight
It was green.
Marvin stared up at it. He didn’t know what it was. He was lying on his back, in a sleeping bag, in Nick Tuffle’s backyard.
It glowed as it moved across the night sky.
Nick and Stuart were in sleeping bags beside him. They were asleep.
Today was Nick’s birthday. Or maybe that was yesterday. Marvin didn’t know if it was after midnight yet.
Seven kids had come to Nick’s party, although only Stuart and Marvin got to sleep over.
But Marvin couldn’t sleep. He had eaten too much cake. He had drunk too much punch. The ground was too hard.
He heard a low humming noise. The glowing green thing hovered directly above him. He felt the ground shake beneath him.
He wondered if he was dreaming. It had to be a dream. Maybe he really had fallen asleep and didn’t know it.
There was a bright flash, then the thing zoomed away. Marvin could no longer see it, hear it, or feel it.
Marvin couldn’t fall asleep after that. He stayed up all night, staring at the sky.
At least, he thought he stayed up all night. In the morning, he woke up, so he must have fallen asleep sometime. Maybe he was really asleep the whole time.
He remembered that Nick’s birthday cake was covered with green icing.
He must have been dreaming, he decided. Now that he thought about it, the green thing had looked like a flying birthday cake. The candles made it glow …
2
A Very Normal Third Grader
Nick’s birthday party was on Saturday. On Monday, a new kid came to Marvin’s school.
Mrs. North introduced him to the class. “Everybody, this is Joe Normal.”
Joe Normal stood at the front of the room, next to Mrs. North. He wore baggy pants, untied sneakers, a Mickey Mouse T-shirt, and a Dallas Cowboys cap.
He looked just like a normal third grader.
“Where are you from, Joe?” asked Mrs. North.
“Uh … Earth,” said Joe. “Just like you.”
Mrs. North laughed. “Good answer,” she said. “But really, what city?”
“City?” asked Joe.
Marvin could tell Joe was nervous. He knew he’d be nervous, too, if he had to move someplace and go to a new school.
“Uh, Chicago,” Joe said. “Located on the southwest shore of Lake Michigan, it’s the largest city in Illinois.”
“What a show-off!” whispered Casey Happleton, the girl who sat next to Marvin.
“Chicago is a beautiful city,” said Mrs. North. “I’m surprised you’re a Cowboys fan, Joe. I would have guessed you’d like the Bears.”
Joe bit his lip and shrugged.
Marvin was surprised Mrs. North knew so much about football.
“Well, it’s nice to have you with us,” said Mrs. North. “I think you’ll like it here.”
“Thank you,” said Joe. “You seem like a good teacher. I want to learn as much as I can.”
Nick groaned loudly.
Mrs. North gave Nick the Look. Then she turned back to Joe and said, “I like your attitude, Joe. Why don’t I put you next to Nick? Maybe some of your good attitude will rub off on him.”
Nick groaned again.
Nick sat several desks away from Marvin. He turned toward Marvin and whispered something to him, but Marvin couldn’t get what he said. It might have been “What a jerk!” or “What a nerd!” He knew it was “What a something!”
Joe sat down next to Nick.
“We’ve been studying mammals,” Mrs. North told Joe. “Who can name a kind of mammal?”
Marvin raised his hand, but Mrs. North called on Casey.
“Bears,” said Casey.
That was what Marvin was going to say. He lowered his hand.
Mrs. North continued to call on other children.
“Lions,” said Clarence.
“Rabbits,” said Heather.
“Humans,” said Stuart.
Mrs. North liked that answer. “Very good, Stuart. People are mammals, too. How about you, Joe?”
“Uh, sure, I’m a mammal,” said Joe.
Mrs. North smiled. “No, I mean, can you name another kind of mammal?”
“Oh,” said Joe. “Um … Oh, I know! What’s that one? It’s big and fat and has a really long nose …”
“You mean an elephant?” said Nick, beside him.
“That’s it!” exclaimed Joe. “I couldn’t remember what they were called. Thanks.”
“Duh,” said Nick.
“That’s not
nice, Nick,” said Mrs. North. “I’m sure there are times you’ve forgotten a word.”
“I’ve never forgotten elephant,” said Nick.
“Well, uh, there aren’t a lot of elephants in Chicago,” Joe explained.
“Like there are here?” said Nick.
Marvin felt bad for Joe. He knew what it was like to forget a word. Once he couldn’t think of the word parade.
Mrs. North reminded the class that there would be a test on Wednesday. She asked if anybody had any questions.
Joe raised his hand.
Mrs. North smiled at him. “Yes, Joe?”
“How much does the human brain weigh?”
Mrs. North thought a long time, then said, “That won’t be on the test.”
3
Wall-ball
A plain concrete wall stood right in the middle of the playground. It wasn’t attached to anything.
Sometimes, Marvin wondered who built it, and why. But he didn’t complain. Wall-ball was his favorite game.
At recess, he got on line to play.
“I can’t believe I have to sit next to Joe!” Nick complained.
“Duh, what’s an elephant?” asked Stuart. Then he and Nick cracked up.
“Joe was just nervous because he’s new here,” said Marvin.
“Duh, how much does my brain weigh?” asked Nick.
Stuart laughed.
“His brain doesn’t weigh anything,” said Warren, who was in line in front of Stuart. “Because he doesn’t have one!”
Marvin looked around to make sure Joe wasn’t able to hear them. He saw Joe standing all by himself, on the edge of the blacktop. He looked lost. “Save my place,” Marvin said.
He walked over to Joe. “Hi. I’m Marvin.”
Joe smiled. “Hello, Marvin. I’m Joe. How do you do?” He held out his hand for Marvin to shake.
“Uh, fine,” said Marvin. He shook Joe’s hand.
Kids in Chicago were obviously more polite than they were here.
“You want to play wall-ball?” Marvin asked.
“I don’t know how,” said Joe.
“It’s easy,” said Marvin. “C’mon.”
He led Joe to the wall.
Kenny and Stuart were now playing, and Nick was first in line. Marvin and Joe got on line behind him, and in front of Travis.
“Hey!” said Travis.
“I was here,” said Marvin. “Nick saved our places, didn’t you, Nick?”
Nick looked at Marvin, then glared at Joe, then looked back at Marvin. “Yeah, I guess,” he said.
Marvin knew what he was thinking. He had saved Marvin’s place, not Joe’s.
Stuart beat Kenny, and now it was Nick’s turn.
Nick rubbed his hands together as he stepped onto the court. “I’m going to kill you, Stuart!” he said.
“Not if I kill you first,” said Stuart.
“They’re good friends,” Marvin assured Joe.
Stuart served. He bounced the big red ball on the ground, then hit it hard with both hands. The ball hit the ground, then the wall, then the ground.
Nick hit it. The ball hit the ground, the wall, then the ground.
“You get how it’s played?” Marvin asked.
“I think so,” said Joe.
They watched each boy hit it several more times. Then Nick hit his “world-famous cross-court slam,” and Stuart was finished.
“Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the mighty Nick Tuffle has done it again,” Nick proudly announced. “There is nobody on this planet who can return Nick Tuffle’s world-famous cross-court slam!”
“Who’s he talking to?” asked Joe.
“The people watching on television at home,” said Marvin.
Nick beat Marvin, too, and then it was Joe’s turn. “You can do it,” Marvin encouraged. He patted Joe on the back as Joe stepped into the court.
Nick served.
Joe hit it back.
Nick hit a long, high bouncer.
Joe jumped up and hit it back.
Nick hit a baby bouncer.
Joe raced forward and got to it before it bounced twice. He was a very fast runner.
Marvin found himself rooting for Joe, even though Nick was one of his best friends.
Nick smashed the return, but Joe ran backward and got to that one, too. He hit the ball off the wall and back to Nick.
Nick was way over on one side of the court when the ball came to him. He was in perfect position. He smashed his world-famous cross-court slam.
Joe raced to it and hit it back.
Nick was still way over on one side of the court. He couldn’t get back to the center in time. The ball bounced past him. Joe won.
When the bell rang, Marvin, Nick, and Stuart headed back to class together.
“I hate Joe,” Nick said.
“You’re just mad because he beat you at wall-ball,” said Stuart.
“I am not,” said Nick. “Besides, I would have beaten him, but I wore out my hand beating you and Marvin.”
Joe caught up to them, out of breath and smiling. “That was fun!” he exclaimed.
“You ever play wall-ball before?” asked Stuart.
“No, that was my first time.”
“Well, no wonder!” Nick exclaimed. “Beginner’s luck!”
4
The Door Key
On Tuesday, Joe wore the same clothes he had worn on Monday: Mickey Mouse T-shirt, baggy pants, untied sneakers. But there was one difference. He wore a Chicago Bears cap instead of a Dallas Cowboys cap.
“Good morning, Mrs. North,” he said. “I hope I learn a lot today.” Then he took his seat next to Nick.
Marvin could practically see the hate coming out of Nick’s eyes.
“His name should be Joe Weird, not Joe Normal,” said Casey Happleton.
“He’s just new here, that’s all,” said Marvin. “You’d probably seem weird, too, if you had to move to Chicago.”
“He likes to kiss the flagpole!” said Casey.
Marvin wondered if she was making that up.
“I saw him do it,” said Casey. “He just walked right up to it and kissed it!”
“Well, maybe that’s what they do in Chicago,” said Marvin. “Instead of saying the pledge, they kiss the flagpole. He was probably just being patriotic.”
“Your name should be Marvin Stupid,” said Casey.
Later, at recess, Joe asked Marvin if they were going to play wall-ball again.
“No!” said Nick, before Marvin could answer.
“Why not?” asked Joe.
“Because it’s Tuesday,” said Nick. “You can’t play wall-ball on Tuesday, can you, Marvin?”
Marvin didn’t know what to say.
Just then, two girls from his class, Gina and Heather, came running toward them. They seemed very excited about something.
“Hey, Joe!” said Gina. “Do you know what this is?” She was holding some kind of key.
“It’s what you are!” said Heather.
Joe smiled.
“What is it?” asked Gina.
“A key?” said Joe.
“What kind of key?” asked Heather.
Joe didn’t know. Neither did Marvin.
“It’s a door key,” said Gina.
“That’s what you are!” Heather exclaimed. “Dorky!”
The two girls laughed.
Nick and Stuart laughed, too. “Dorky!” Nick repeated.
“Don’t you get it?” asked Gina. “Door key, dorky?”
Joe didn’t say anything.
“He doesn’t even get it,” said Heather.
Joe walked away. He got it.
“Good. Now that he’s gone, let’s play wall-ball,” said Nick.
“C’mon, Marvin,” said Stuart, grabbing him by the arm.
Marvin played wall-ball, but he didn’t have any fun. He knew Joe was watching.
5
George Who?
“Why don’t you invite Joe to come over this weekend?” sugg
ested Marvin’s mother. “He could spend the night.”
Two days had passed since Gina and Heather told Joe he was a door key. Now everybody called him that.
Marvin lay in bed. When his mother came in to wish him a good night, he told her about Joe. He didn’t tell her everything. He just said he felt bad, because there was a new kid at school and everyone picked on him.
“I try to be nice to him,” said Marvin. “I think he knows that.”
Marvin knew what it was like to be picked on. Earlier in the year, everyone had picked on him.
He remembered how bad he felt. It was probably even worse for Joe, he thought, since Joe just moved here from far away.
He wanted to be Joe’s friend. But he was afraid that everyone would pick on him again. And then if Joe moved back to Chicago, Marvin would be friendless.
“I’m afraid if I’m nice to Joe, then the kids will be mean to me, too,” he said.
“Maybe if you’re nice to Joe, the other kids will be nice to Joe, too,” said his mother. She kissed him good night.
On Friday, Mrs. North asked Joe to tell her something about George Washington.
“Who?” asked Joe.
“You, Joe,” said Mrs. North.
“I mean, who’d you want to know about?”
“George Washington.”
“I don’t think I know him.”
The class cracked up.
“How about Abraham Lincoln?” asked Warren. “Do you know him?”
“I don’t think so,” Joe said. “Does he go to this school?”
Everyone laughed some more.
Mrs. North had to remind the class not to laugh at their classmates. “We go to school to learn. If we already knew everything, then we wouldn’t have to go to school.”
Marvin didn’t laugh. Maybe in Chicago they didn’t teach about presidents until the fourth grade.
Joe was still wearing his baggy pants and Mickey Mouse T-shirt. He’d worn the same clothes all week.
“I wonder why he never changes his clothes,” Judy said at lunch. “Do you think those are the only clothes he owns?”
She was sitting next to Casey Happleton. Marvin, Nick, and Stuart sat across from them.
