Chapter 1: Ted Savono Is in Town!
All I needed to do was make some money. Easy, right? I thought so too. But what was supposed to be my summer dream job turned into a summer NIGHTMARE.
The Monster Madness Convention was in town all weekend, and I really needed to go. Like, really-really.
“Sure,” my mom said. “But you’ll have to come up with the money.”
I thought for a moment and then foolishly asked, “Why?”
“To buy a ticket, of course,” she said flatly.
My jaw dropped to the floor. Tickets were thirty-five dollars! Where was I supposed to come up with that kind of money?
“Get a job, Alex.” My dad must have read my mind. “It’ll teach you responsibility.”
“Can’t I learn responsibility after the convention?” I asked.
“No,” they both said at the same time. They’d been rehearsing this response, I could tell.
“Then could I get a raise in my allowance?” I asked.
“No,” they both said again.
“Fine.” I had no choice.
I mean, Ted Savono was at the convention. TED! SAVONO! He’s the star of my all-time favorite scary movies. If I missed him when he was in town, I would never—I mean, never ever—forgive myself. Ever.
My friend Ronnie was in the same boat. His parents and my parents are best friends, so I know they came up with this sinister plan together. They’re probably still laughing about it right now. (Like, “BWAHAHA! Those kids’ll never raise enough money! NEVVVVVVVVER! BWAHAHA!”)
We didn’t even know where to start looking for jobs.
“Maybe mowing lawns?” I asked Ronnie as we walked through our neighborhood.
“Alex, you know I’m allergic to plants. My eyes seal shut, and I can’t breathe,” Ronnie moaned, scratching at his face.
“So what’s the problem?” I joked.
“Very funny,” he said and then added, “What about a lemonade stand?”
Gross, I thought. No one ever stops at those.
“I tried that once, and all I got was sunburned and covered in bugs,” I told him.
We were about to give up on seeing Ted Savono—TED! SAVONO!—and getting our action figures signed. But then . . . we turned the corner and saw our neighbors, the Clambakers.
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Adapted from Finding Yorgy, by Benjamin Harper, ©️ by Capstone. Reprinted with permission.
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Do the narrator and Ronnie feel the same way about how to make money to buy tickets?
Yes, they both have the same idea for how to make money.
No, the narrator is not a character in the story, but Ronnie has several ideas.
No, the narrator and Ronnie cannot agree on how to raise the money.
No, Ronnie does not to buy tickets, but the narrator does.