Monday, October 27th. Evening

When I got home, I didn't tell my mom about Grandmere's plans for the wedding. My mom was in the bathroom. She was feeling sick because she was pregnant.

Mr Gianini was in the apartment. It was nearly time for my TV interview with Beverly Bellerieve. He switched on the TV, and we watched it together. The interview was horrible! It went like this:

A man's voice spoke at the beginning of the show. He was the announcer.

VOICE: It is Monday, the 27th of October. On Twenty-Four/Seven tonight is Beverly Bellerieve's interview with America's Princess.. .MiaRenaldo!

A picture of me and Beverly Bellerieve came on the TV. We were in the penthouse suite of the Plaza Hotel. Beverly looked at the TV camera and spoke.

BEVERLY: This is the amazing story of an ordinary teenage girl. She lives in New York City with her mom, Helen Thermopolis. Helen Thermopolis is an artist. A month ago, Mia was a normal teenager. Her life was filled with ordinary teenage things—things like homework and friends. Then one day, everything changed.

Then Beverly turned to me and started asking questions. BEVERLY: Mia, please tell us about that day. The day when your life changed completely. ME: We... I.. .was here at the Plaza with my dad. He told me

two pieces of amazing news. First he said, "I am the Prince of

Genovia." Then he said, "You are the Princess of Genovia

and my heir. When I die, you'll

become the ruler of Genovia."

BEVERLY: How did you feel

about that news?

ME: I was really upset. Me! A

princess! I didn't want anyone

at school to know. I didn't want

to be a freak like my friend Tina

Hakim Baba. Tina's life is strange and lonely. Her father

owns an oil company and he's very rich. Tina's parents worry

about her safety. A bodyguard goes everywhere with her. He

even comes to school. But that's what has happened to me

too. I have a bodyguard. I'm a freak too, a huge freak.

BEVERLY: Oh, Mia, I can't believe that. Aren't you popular at

school?

ME: No, I'm not. I'm not popular at all. Only the jocks—the

boys who are very good at sport—are popular in my school.

And the cheerleaders—the girls who shout and cheer while

the jocks play—are popular too. But the popular people

aren't my friends. I never get invited to their parties. Those

are the really cool parties. Everyone drinks beer. And

everyone makes out.. .er.. .kisses.

BEVERLY: Your grandmother—the Dowager Princess of

Genovia—is helping you, isn't she? She's showing you how

to be a princess.

ME: Oh, yes. She's giving me princess classes after school.

BEVERLY: Mia, you had some exciting news recently.

ME: Oh. Yes. I'm very excited. I've always wanted to be a big

sister. But my mom and her boyfriend won't have a big

wedding...

At that moment, my mom came out of the bathroom. She looked at the TV. She heard what I was saying on the film. Her mouth opened in shock. I had told the whole of America her private business!

We watched the rest of the TV show. As we watched, I became more and more embarrassed.

The interview ended like this:

BEVERLY: Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldo isn't a jock, or a cheerleader. But she is a very unusual girl. She's a modern princess. She is America's princess. Mia has the same problems as all American teenagers. But one day, she will rule a country. And next year, Mia will be a big sister. Twenty-Four/Seven is the show that heard Mia's exciting news first. Mia's mother, Helen Thermopolis, is expecting a baby in July. The father of Helen's baby is Frank Gianini— Mia's Algebra teacher at Albert Einstein High School. Frank and Helen will be having a small, quiet wedding.

Mom and Mr Gianini were nice to me. They weren't mad. But they were upset.

The phone rang. It was Lilly. My best friend was mad.

"You called us freaks," she said angrily. "What did you mean?"

"Lilly, I didn't call you a freak," I said.

"You said, 'Only jocks and cheerleaders are popular at my school.'" Lilly replied. "You said, 'I don't go around with the popular kids.' All your friends are unpopular. That's what you mean, isn't it? Your friends aren't cool. They're weird— they're freaks."

Then she hung up the phone.

A few seconds later, the phone rang again. It was my friend

Shameeka.

"Mia," she said. "I invited you to my party. Do you remember?" "Yes," I replied.

"Well, my dad won't let me have a party now," said Shameeka. "My dad said, 'Now parents of students at Albert Einstein know the truth. Mia Thermopolis has told us what happens at teenage parties in this area. Students have sex and drink beer at their parties. You can't have your party.'" "Oh, Shameeka," I said. "I am so sorry." Shameeka hung up the phone. The phone rang again. It was Tina Hakim Baba. Immediately, I apologized to her. "I'm sorry, Tina," I said.

"Why are you sorry?" asked Tina happily. "You said my name on TV!"

"Er.. .1 know." I had also called Tina a freak. "I can't believe it!" she said. "It was so cool! It's the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me."

"You.. .you aren't mad at me?" I said. "Did your dad see the interview too?"

"Yes," said Tina. "He's very pleased. Now everyone knows about my bodyguard, Wahim. He protects me everywhere I go."

Tina hung up. The phone rang for

the fourth time. It was Grandmere.

"Well," she said. "That was terrible, wasn't it?"

"I'm sorry, Grandmere," I said. "I didn't mean to say bad things about my school."

But Grandmere wasn't talking about my high school.

"That Bellerieve woman didn't show any pictures of

Genovia," she said. "We need more tourists to come to our country."

"Maybe I'll have to go to another school now," I said.

But Grandmere wasn't listening to me. Suddenly, she hung up the phone.

"Mia," my mom said. "The interview wasn't that bad. You told the truth about the jocks and the cheerleaders."

I went into my room and switched on my computer. I'd received a message from Michael Moscovitz. We had this chatroom conversation:

CracKing: Hi. I just saw you on TV. You were very good. FtLouie: It was terrible. CracKing: Well, you told the truth.

FtLouie: But Mom and Mr Gianini are upset. And Lilly and Shameeka are mad at me now.

CracKing: Don't worry about Lilly. She's jealous because more people watched your interview than her TV show. What are you doing on Saturday night?

I read the last line of his message again. Was Michael Moscovitz asking me out ON A DATE? FtLouie: I don't know. Why?

CracKing: Well, Saturday is the day after Halloween. I'm going to a movie theater with some friends. We' re going to see the ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW. It's a really funny movie. Everyone is going to celebrate Halloween. We'll all wear scary costumes and crazy makeup. Do you want to come?

OK. Michael wasn't asking me out alone with him. But it will be nice to go out with him, and his friends. Then I remembered my mom's wedding.

FtLouie: Can I give you my answer later? Maybe I'm doing something with my family on Saturday night. I'll speak to you later. CracKing: Sure. OK.

Surprise Visitors

Tuesday, October 27th. Algebraclass

This morning, Principal Gupta—the head of Albert

Einstein High School—asked me to come to her office.

"Are you very unhappy here at Albert Einstein?" she said. She looked worried. "Last night, in your TV interview, you said, 'I'm not popular.' But everyone in the school knows who you are."

"They know me because I'm a princess," I replied. "My story was printed in newspapers and magazines. Before that, very few people wanted to know me."

"You must join one of the school clubs," said Principal Gupta. "Then you'll meet more students. You'll have more friends."

"Principal Gupta," I said, "I don't have time for clubs. I don't have any time for myself after school finishes. Every afternoon, I have an extra Algebra class, and then I have a princess class with my grandmother. In the evenings, I do my homework."

Principal Gupta doesn't understand!

Late morning

Lilly's boyfriend, Boris Pelkowski, told me a secret about Lilly. She is secretly writing a book about our school.

I can't believe it. Why does Lilly only tell Boris her secrets? Why doesn't she tell me? Lilly and I have been best friends since elementary school. I tell Lilly everything. Well,

almost everything. She didn't know about my mom and Mr Gianini's wedding, and their baby. She doesn't know about my feelings for her brother. And she doesn't know about my secret admirer. But I tell her nearly everything else.

Afternoon

Kenny, my partner in Biology class, spoke to me after class today.

"Are you doing anything on Saturday night?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," I replied. "Maybe I'll be eating dinner with my family."

"Well, I'm going to see a movie—the Rocky Horror Picture Show—with some friends from the Computer Club," he said. "Will you come too?"

"Is Michael Moscovitz one of your friends?" I asked.

"Yes," said Kenny.

Date: 2015-12-18; view: 1640