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I let him know exactly what I thought of that idea by slugging him in the arm. And I really don't care that it was his birthday, either. One thing I will say, though. I used to be mad at Mom for getting me a journal that looked too girly. But after seeing Rowley's diary, I'm not so mad anymore.

Lately, Rowley has been TOTALLY riding me. He reads the same comic books I read, drinks the same kind of soda I drink, you name it. Mom says I should be "flattered," but to be honest with you, it's totally creeping me out. A couple days ago, I did an experiment to see just how far Rowley would go. I rolled up one of my pant legs and tied a bandanna around my ankle and went to school that way. Sure enough, the next day Rowley came to school wearing the same exact thing. And that's how I ended up in Vice Principal Roy's

office for the second time in a week. Monday I thought I was totally in the clear for the Invisible Chirag thing. But, boy, was I wrong. Tonight, Mom got a call from Chirag's DAD. Mr. Gupta told Mom all about the prank we were playing on his son, and how I was the ringleader. When Mom questioned me, I told her I didn't even know what Chirag's dad was talking about.

Then Mom marched me up to Rowley's house to hear what HE had to say. Luckily, I was prepared for this kind of thing. I had already drilled Rowley on what to do if we ever got busted, and that if we both just denied everything, we'd be OK. But the second Mom started asking Rowley questions, he broke down.

So after our visit to Rowley's house, Mom drove me over to Chirag's to apologize. And let me tell you, that wasn't a whole lot of fun. Mr. Gupta didn't seem too impressed with my apology, but believe it or not, Chirag was actually pretty cool about it. After I apologized, Chirag invited me inside to play video games. I think he was so relieved to finally have one of his classmates talking to him again that he just decided to forgive me for the whole incident. So I guess I forgive him, too.

Tuesday Even though Chirag let me off the hook last night, Mom wasn't done with me yet. She wasn't really that mad about the joke or how I treated Chirag. She was just mad that I LIED about it. So Mom told me she'll ground me for a month if she catches me lying again. And that means I better watch my step, because Mom's not gonna forget what she said. When it comes to my screw ups, Mom has a memory like an elephant.