Maré de Azar

Life had taken a turn for the worse, a real losing streak, ever since my best friend, Rowley Jefferson, found himself a girlfriend, Abigail. Suddenly, I was on my own, navigating the treacherous hallways of middle school, carrying my own books, and having to scout for dog poop on the way to school all by myself. It was a lonely existence, especially at lunch, where the usual games like French Fry Friday felt hollow without Rowley across from me. My mom, in her well-meaning but ultimately unhelpful way, kept telling me to "branch out" and make new friends, but she clearly had no idea what it was like out there.

Desperate to fill the void, I decided to take drastic measures and try to "mold" someone into the perfect sidekick. My sights fell upon Fregley, our strange neighbor. I figured I could train him to do all the things Rowley used to, like being my personal dog poop radar and playing Five-Second Rule at the lunch table. I even tried to get him to be my comic relief, hoping his bizarre antics would somehow rub off as popularity on me. But, as often happens with my brilliant schemes, it backfired spectacularly. Fregley's weirdness, particularly his ability to "chew" with his belly button, made him unexpectedly popular, leaving me even more on the sidelines.

My luck continued its downward spiral. One day, while digging around in Rodrick's room, I stumbled upon an old Magic 8 Ball. Feeling utterly out of control, I decided to surrender my decisions to its mystical guidance. From then on, every choice, big or small, was left to a shake of the plastic orb. It led to some questionable outcomes, like trying to cheat on a test by asking the 8 Ball for answers, which, naturally, got me into trouble with the principal. He even warned me about summer school if my grades didn't improve. This threat, more than anything, spurred me to actually buckle down and work, especially on my science fair project, which I considered buying on the school's black market before deciding against it.

Easter brought with it the usual chaos of my mom's extended family descending upon our house. Meemaw, a relative known for her backyard egg hunts, became a central topic. A strange discrepancy in old family photos surfaced: Meemaw was wearing a diamond ring in one picture while hiding objects in eggs, but it was missing in a later one. My mom became convinced the ring was hidden in one of the plastic eggs, and the hunt for the missing heirloom became a frantic, family-wide obsession, leading to arguments and accusations.

During this time, while hiding from my mom's insistence that I go outside and socialize, I stumbled upon her stash of parenting books and, more importantly, a collection of identical stuffed monkeys. A flashback hit me, reminding me of losing my beloved toy as a kid and then miraculously finding another on my dresser, leading me to believe my mom had backup toys for everything. This discovery, along with what I learned about "reverse psychology" from her books, gave me an idea. I used it to convince my parents I wasn't ready for a phone, which, of course, resulted in them giving me my mom's old one. It was a short-lived victory, however, as the phone quickly met its demise in the toilet.

My reliance on the Magic 8 Ball started to show its limitations, and eventually, I chucked it into my grandmother's yard. Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, a piece of news broke: Rowley and Abigail had split up. It took a couple of days, but the possibility of things returning to normal, of having my best friend back, began to glimmer. I even considered retrieving the Magic 8 Ball, but then I spotted the plastic egg with Meemaw's diamond ring. Worried about the inevitable family squabble, I hid it in my mom's closet. In that moment, I realized some decisions you just have to make on your own. My luck, it seemed, wasn't something to be left to chance or a plastic toy. With newfound resolve, I reached out to Rowley, and slowly but surely, our friendship began to mend, bringing a much-needed end to my hard-luck streak.