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“Oh man, I can’t believe this! My friends won’t believe this! Whoknewthat Jamal Jenkins came to places like the Science Museum?! Can I have your autograph?”
Jamal smiled at the kid. “Do you have a pen or something I can write with? Something you want me to sign?”
Cassie could tell the kid was thinking it over. His eyes lit up and Cassie could tell he had come up with an idea. The kid ran over to the Segway station a few feet in front of him and asked the employee manning the station a question. The employee’s eyebrows raised in a look of skepticism, but her eyes went wide and she looked their way. Saying something to the kid, she pulled a Sharpie out of her pocket and grabbed a piece of paper off the stand next to her. The kid came running in a sprint their way.
“Ok, I got a marker and some paper,” the kid said. “Can you sign this for the lady over there? She wants an autograph, too.”
Jamal smiled. “Sure. But what am I signing for you?”
The kid grinned. “My shirt.”
“Are you sure your momma is going to be ok with that?” Jamal asked with a laugh.
“Oh, yeah. I already texted her. She told me to have you sign it but I could never wear it again. She said she was gonna put it in a frame.”
Laughing again, Jamal signed the piece of paper for the woman manning the Segway station before bending down to place his signature on the kid’s shirt, right next to his face.
“Thanks so much, Jamal! This is awesome. Before I go, would you mind taking a selfie with me?”
“Absolutely.”
The kid jumped on top of the bench next to where they were standing, pulling his phone out of his pocket. Jamal put his arm around the kid’s shoulder, who held his phone up in the air and clicked the picture. Jumping off the bench, the kid held up his hand for a fist bump. “I’m so glad you’re not a jerk, Jamal. Sometimes that happens with famous people, ya know.”
“That I do know, kid. Thanks for coming and talking to me.”
“No problem!” the kid said before running off. “This is the best day of my life!”
“Does this happen very often?” Cassie leaned down to ask JJ.
“All the time,” JJ said with a shrug. “I used to get frustrated about it, but then I thought about what I would do if I saw Jenny Finch somewhere. Then I got it. I would act crazy, too.”
“Who’s Jenny Finch?” Cassie asked.
“Oh, man, Cassie. It’s pretty sad how little you know about sports. She’s only thebestsoftball pitcher that ever lived. There’s a video on YouTube where she pitched to somemajor leagueplayers and they couldn’t even hit her. They struck out every time! We’ve got to get you to go to the softball world series this summer. It’s at Hall of Fame stadium right across the road.”
“Sounds like a plan, JJ,” Cassie said. The duo turned to ask Jamal if he was ready to get in line for the Segway. A group of people surrounded him, asking for autographs and pictures.
“Will this take a long time?” Cassie asked.
“Probably,” JJ replied.
“Wanna go get in line for the Segway?”
JJ smiled. “Yep. I wanna see how bad you are at it!”
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After about fifteen minutes of signing papers, shirts, hats and anything else people could think of, as well as taking about a million pictures, the group around him had dispersed and Jamal looked around for Cassie and JJ. He saw them both boarding two Segways.
“Hey, you two! I thought you were gonna wait for me!” Jamal jogged up to the Segway track.
“You’re too slow, daddy-o!” JJ called. “Now you just hafta watch usride!”
JJ took off around the track, weaving her in and out of the cones placed on the floor and riding over the bumps that reminded Jamal of speed bumps seen in parking lots.
“You got this, kid! You’re a natural!”
JJ held her left arm above her head and fist-pumped in a sign that she heard his praise. Smiling, Jamal turned to watch Cassie on her Segway. Jamal couldn’t hold back his laugh. His daughter had made weaving through the cones look easy. Cassie, however, had managed to knock all of them down and was currently trying to pass over the speed bumps. Finally, the worker in charge of supervising the people using the Segways took Cassie’s handlebars in his fist to lead her over the speed bumps and around the track.
