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“And you want her to be ruler of the world?” somebody asked. Several people laughed.
“No, you should vote for Coo, Ginny’s favorite stuffed animal. See, since I don’t own any stuffed animals, Ginny gave me Coo. I told her I didn’t want her favorite, you know, ’cause it’s just for a stupid assignment.”
The class erupted in laughter and Armpit realized that he probably shouldn’t have called it a stupid assignment in front of Coach Simmons. He pressed on. “But Ginny said I had to take Coo. She said none of her others were as strong or as brave as Coo. Well, even though Ginny is only ten years old and has cerebral palsy and weighs less than sixty pounds, she’s the strongest and bravest person I know. So if Coo could do that for Ginny, imagine what Coo could do for the world. So vote for Coo. Thanks.”
He made his way back to his seat without looking at anyone. He had no idea if anything he’d said made any sense. At least it was over.
He was the first one out the door when the bell rang.
“Theodore,” came a voice from behind him, and then Tatiana’s hand was on his arm.
“I thought your speech was really sweet.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t have any stuffed animals, so I had to borrow one.”
She smiled her crooked smile. “You were really nervous, weren’t you?”
“Sort of, yeah.”
“I could tell. Don’t worry. You did a really good job. I’m going to vote for Coo.”
He smiled. “Thanks. I mean, it doesn’t matter to me, but it would make Ginny really happy if Coo won.”
“Can I see it?”
“Sure.” He handed the stuffed animal to Tatiana.
“What exactly is a coo?”
Armpit laughed. “I don’t know, some kind of bunny-person-thingy.”
Tatiana hugged Coo. “It feels so soft. I like the way you said Coo will give you courage, comfort, and strength.”
He didn’t correct her.
“Armpit! Hey, Armpit!”
X-Ray came breezing down the hall. “Armpit! I thought I’d never find you.”
He greeted Tatiana with a “hey,” then pulled a wad of money out of his pocket and started counting it. “Twenty, forty, sixty, eighty, one hundred.” He handed Armpit a hundred dollars but wasn’t finished yet.
“Twenty, forty, sixty, eighty, two hundred.”
He was still not finished.
“Twenty, forty, sixty . . .”
Tatiana was no longer smiling. “I better go,” she said, handing Coo back to Armpit.
“Uh, see you later,” Armpit said to her, but she didn’t turn around as she quickly walked away.
X-Ray counted out another hundred dollars. In total, X-Ray gave him five hundred and thirty dollars.
Armpit could hardly believe it. He had gotten practically all his money back. It was money he’d thought he’d never see again. “Was it the guys in the Suburban?”
“Those clowns? Hell no! A lady called me this morning. Wanted four tickets for her kid’s birthday. The whole thing took twenty minutes. See, that’s the way you do business. Not some jokers stringing you along like you’re a yo-yo.”
Armpit felt bad for having doubted X-Ray. “Wait a second,” he said. “Four tickets should be five hundred and forty.”
