The Night I Flunked My Field Trip #5 by Henry Winkler Read Free Book Online

shiny brass rings.
    â€œHe’s beautiful,” Ashley whispered.
    â€œ She’s beautiful,” I corrected her. We had learned that you always refer to a ship as she, even though they’re not officially girls. Like you’d say, “The Queen Mary, she’s a fine ship, that she is.” I was surprised that Ashley hadn’t remembered that.
    â€œI’m not talking about the boat,” Ashley said. “I’m talking about him .”
    Ashley was staring at the busload of kids from PS 9. Actually, she was staring at one boy—a tall good-looking guy with a really thick head of blond hair. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
    â€œAshweena, what’s wrong with you?” Frankie said.
    â€œNothing.”
    â€œThen what are you staring at?”
    â€œCollin Sebastian Rich the Fourth,” she said.
    â€œDo you know that dude?” Frankie asked her.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œThen how do you know his name?” I said. We had never seen Ashley like this before.
    â€œHe went to soccer camp with me. He was MVP every day.”
    â€œSo the dude can kick. What’s the big deal?” Frankie said.
    â€œNo big deal,” Ashley said. “He’s just perfect, that’s all. He’s really smart too.”
    A girl I had never seen before came running up to Ashley. They looked at each other and screamed.
    â€œAshley!” squealed the girl. “I haven’t seen you since soccer camp!”
    â€œChelsea!” Ashley squealed right back. “Are you staying on the ship? This is so awesome!”
    They hugged each other and jumped up and down like baseball players who had just won the World Series.
    â€œCome meet my friends from my school,” Chelsea said.
    â€œIs he one of them?” Ashley asked, pointing to the guy with the big head of hair.
    â€œCollin?” said Chelsea. “He’s great. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
    Ashley turned to Frankie and me. “Do you mind, guys?”
    â€œGo right ahead,” I said.
    â€œYeah, Hank and I have knots to tie and sails to trim and important stuff like that. Don’t we, my man?” Frankie didn’t seem too happy.
    Ashley ran off with Chelsea. I could see her getting introduced to Collin. He seemed to be staring at Ashley’s rhinestone hat with a sea-blue rhinestone tall ship that she had made especially for our field trip. He was smiling and looked like he had just stepped out of one of those Teen People magazines that are on the coffee table in my orthodontist’s office.
    I stared at the guy for a long minute. I thought about what it would feel like to be him instead of me. I do that sometimes.
    If I were Collin Sebastian Rich the Fourth, I’d be really happy with my great head of blond hair that was perfectly cut.
    Okay, Hank. Yours is dark and pretty messy, but if you put enough mousse in it, it can look decent, at least for a while.
    I’d be tall and everyone would look up to me.
    Okay, Hank, so you’re a little on the short side. You’ll grow. Maybe.
    If I were Collin, I’d be a great soccer and football player. But I’d be really modest about it when I won the game every time.
    Don’t feel bad, Hank. You are definitely above average at archery.
    My closet would be filled with Gap clothes. Yup, it’d be Gap all the way.
    So what if the Zipzers don’t care where they shop? My dad always says clothes are good as long as they cover the body.
    Along with being great-looking and a great athlete, I’d be really smart in school.
    You have dyslexia, Hank, but you can get C’s if you focus, work hard, and, hey , even smart guys like Albert Einstein didn’t do well in math.
    Wait a minute. Can I be honest with you for a minute? As I stood there at South Street Seaport wondering what it would be like to be Collin Sebastian Rich the Fourth, I had only one thought.
    I’d give anything to be him.

CHAPTER 11
    BEFORE