10 October

10 October Everybody was having so much fun celebrating our silly holidays that we pretty much forgot all the old holidays we were missing. But it was only a matter of time until there was a silly holiday I didn't like. It happened on October 3—National Boyfriend Day.*

Now let me say one thing right here. I'm nobody's boyfriend. The guys tease me all the time and say Andrea is my girlfriend, but she isn't! Andrea is annoying. But the guys just won't stop. "Oooooh!" Ryan said, "It's National Boyfriend Day. A.J., you should get a present for your girlfriend, Andrea."

"When are you gonna get married?" asked Michael. They teased me all day long. It was even worse two days later. October 5 is Do Something Nice Day. "Doing nice things for people makes the world a better place," said Mrs. Roopy. "Today, I'd like each of you to say something nice to one of your classmates." I was determined NOT to say anything nice to Andrea or the guys would really let me have it. Mrs. Roopy wrote our names on slips of paper and put them in a box. She mixed them up and told us to pick out a slip and say something nice to that person. We had to go in alphabetical order. I was happy to go first. Chances are, I would pick Alexia. Or Emily. Or Ryan. Or Michael. Or Neil. Anybody but Andrea. I put my hand in the box. I pulled out a piece of paper. I looked at the paper. It had one name written on it: Andrea. NOOOOOOO! "Can I pick again?" I asked Mrs. Roopy. "I don't want to say something nice to Andrea."

"That's mean, Arlo!" said Andrea, who calls me by my real name because she knows I don't like it. "What's wrong with saying something nice to Andrea?" Mrs. Roopy asked me.

"Ryan and Michael are gonna tease me," I told her. Mrs. Roopy went over to Ryan and Michael. "Boys," she said seriously. "Do you promise not to tease A.J. if he says something nice to Andrea?" "We promise," said Ryan and Michael. "Good," said Mrs. Roopy. "Now A.J., say something you like about Andrea." Everybody was looking at me. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to say. I had to think fast. "I like... your curly brown hair," I said. "Thank you, Arlo," replied Andrea. "And I like that shirt you're wearing today." I looked over at Ryan and Michael. They didn't say a word. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" asked Mrs. Roopy. "See, this is what Do Something Nice Day is all about." A minute later, two notes landed on my desk. I opened them up. The first one said: "Oooooh! You like Andrea's hair. You must be in love!"

The second one said: "When are you gonna get married?" If those guys weren't my best friends, I would hate them.