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His father sighed. “No, you weren’t with Mom every single second. Can we please talk about this later? I’m trying to watch the news.”
“Well, when I came back,” said Marvin, “did I look different?”
“What?”
“Okay,” said Marvin. “Like three days after I was born. Did I look exactly the same as the day I was born?”
“I don’t remember. Probably not. Babies change quickly.”
“What did I look like when I was born?”
“You looked like a baby. All babies look pretty much the same. Now, please, Marvin. I want to watch this.”
The doorbell rang.
Marvin heard his grandparents enter.
His father got up. “C’mon, Mar,” he said.
But now Marvin was watching TV.
The King of Shampoon was on the news. The King had wavy red hair underneath his gold crown.
“I don’t know if my son is alive or dead,” said the King.
Except he spoke with a strange accent. So it sounded like “I don’t know eef my son ees alive or dead.”
The King’s face filled the TV screen. He spoke. “Robert, if you’re listening out there, please call me. Return to your rightful place on the throne. We need you. Your kingdom awaits you.”
Except it sounded like “Vee need you. Your kingdom avaits you.”
The newsman came on. “If you think you may know someone who is Prince Robert, you should—”
The television shut off.
Mr. Redpost put down the remote-control switch. “Let’s not keep Grandma and Grandpa waiting,” he said.
Marvin’s grandparents were making a big fuss over Linzy.
“You’re so pretty, Linzy,” said his grandmother. “You look more and more like your mother every day. And Jacob, you are the spitting image of your father.”
“Who do I look like, Grandma?” asked Marvin.
His grandmother smiled at him. “You look like—” She stopped and thought a moment. “You look like both your parents,” she said.
But Marvin knew she was just saying that. She really meant he didn’t look like either of them.
He knew whom he looked like. He had just seen his face on television.
He looked like the King of Shampoon.
4
Marvin Redpost Is Dead
“Are you really the Lost Prince of Shampoon?” Judy Jasper asked Marvin as he walked into class.
“What?” asked Marvin. “Uh … I don’t think so,” he muttered.
