At recess, Minji and Carlos taught Lily how to play Kick and Cover.
Lily ran up to the ball and tried to kick it.
She missed. By a lot.
Kevin, Minji and Carlos laughed out loud.
And to their surprise, so did Lily!
“Try it again!” They urged her.
She tried to kick the ball again. But missed even worse than before.
The all laughed so hard, they fell. They hadn’t laughed that hard in a really, really long time.
*From Kevin the Complainer (publishing date coming soon)
Kevin thought for a few minutes.
Lily just smiled and shrugged.
In the silence that followed, Kevin felt calmer. Lily’s reaction (or, rather, lack of reaction) to his complaints gave him space to think.
She left a lot of space.
And he realized that he just might be wrong.
*From my next book, Kevin the Complainer
“Well, yeah. I’m right…and they are…wrong.”
Kevin felt something in his chameleon gut. It all felt untrue.
Lily just kept eating.
“OK, maybe they’re not completely at fault. Maybe I get hot-headed and too passionate.”
Lily continued to look into his eyes, listening to him.
There was no judgment, anger or fear in her eyes. She was listening to him, completely.
*From my next book, Kevin the Complainer
“Yeah! And I was just playing and being good, you know? That’s what makes it fun! They’re just mad because I was winning.” Kevin was burning with indignation.
“Is that so?”
“Yeah! And now they’re ignoring me. I bet they want me to apologize. But I won’t. I refuse. It’s a matter of principle.”
“Is that so?” Lily continued to eat her lunch.
“Yes! I am right. They are wrong. Period!” Kevin fumed.
“Hm. Is that so?” Lily popped a flower bud in her mouth.
Kevin stopped and looked at Lily.
*of my next book, Kevin the Complainer
At lunch, Lily was sitting by herself. Kevin looked over at Minji and Carlos. They were talking and laughing and ignoring him.
So Kevin sat next to Lily.
“Hello,” Lily said.
“Hello,” Kevin answered.
They chewed in silence.
*From my next book, Kevin the Complainer
Carlos and Minji continued to ignore Kevin. Day after day, Kevin remained silently hopeful, only to be crushed by dismissal bell.
One day, Ms. Meretta made an announcement.
“Class, we have a new student. Her name is Lily. Please introduce yourselves throughout the day and make her feel welcome.”
The new student walked to her desk and sat down.
*(From my next book, Kevin the Complainer)
The next day, Kevin was hoping Minji and Carlos would pretend yesterday never happened. But when he asked if they would play Kick and Cover at recess, they made excuses and said no.
They had never said “no” before.
*Book-in-progress, Kevin the Complainer
“Well, then I QUIT!” Kevin stormed off.
It was awkward at lunch. The three always ate lunch together.
Minji and Carlos were eating their lunch and Kevin had to sit by himself.
He was sorry, but couldn’t bring himself to go and apologize.
So he ate his cricket sandwich with jackfruit jelly and felt sorry for himself.
*From my next book, Kevin the Complainer
At last! Recess.
Minji kicked the ball and ran for cover. Carlos got the ball and kicked it toward Kevin. But Kevin couldn’t catch the ball, which meant he was “out.”
“Let’s start over! That was unfair!” Kevin cried out.
Minji and Carlos shot each other a look.
“You know very well everything was fair, Kevin.” Minji took the ball to continue the game.
“Yeah, you’re out,” Carlos added.
“Oh yeah?” Kevin asked.
“Yes,” The other two replied.
*My book-in-progress (Kevin the Complainer)
When I asked the 16-year-old daughter what she thought of this illustration, she said:
“It looks like the two cats are going to eat the chameleon.”
Ms. Meretta was teaching a new math lesson.
Kevin looked out the window. The storm subsided and the sun was out. He wished he could be outside, playing Kick and Cover.
“Kevin, pay attention. You need to learn this,” Ms. Meretta said.
Sighing heavily, Kevin muttered, “I knew this was going to be a bad day.”
*my second self-published children’s book – check out “Esther, Mia and the Stars“!
Kismet 