To Teddy,

  Welcome to the family!

  XOXOXO

  Lots of love,

  A.K.

  TITLE PAGE

  DEDICATION

  CHAPTER 1: Boppin’ to Breakfast

  CHAPTER 2: The Contest

  CHAPTER 3: Recess Rehearsal

  CHAPTER 4: Rehearsal Part Two

  CHAPTER 5: Secret Spies

  CHAPTER 6: Teamwork

  CHAPTER 7: Sweet Moves

  CHAPTER 8: And the Winner Is …

  FREDDY’S FUN PAGES

  START YOUR OWN BAND!

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  OTHER STORIES BY ABBY KLEIN

  ALSO AVAILABLE

  COPYRIGHT

  I have a problem. A really, really big problem. My favorite band, the Beat Boys, is having a contest. You have to make a music video of their newest song. If they like your video the best, then you win free tickets to their next concert, and you get to meet the band! I really want to win, but I’m not a very good dancer.

  Let me tell you about it.

  “Freddy!” my mom called from downstairs. “Where are you?”

  I didn’t answer. I was too busy watching a video on my mom’s phone.

  “Freddy!” she called again. “Get down here right now! You’re going to be late for school.”

  I still didn’t answer.

  “Freddy! I know you can hear your mother,” said my dad. “Do I have to come up there and get you? Because if I do, there will be a consequence!”

  A consequence. I didn’t want that. “No! No! I’m coming!” I yelled back. “Be there in a minute!”

  I bounded down the stairs with the phone in my hand and bebopped into the kitchen.

  “Ha! Ha! Ha!” said my sister, Suzie, pointing and laughing at me.

  I ignored her.

  “Ha! Ha! Ha! That is the funniest thing I’ve ever seen,” she continued.

  “Freddy,” said my mom. “What are you doing with my phone?”

  I just stared at the screen.

  “Freddy, give me that phone,” she said, and yanked it out of my hand.

  “Awwww. I was just getting to the best part.”

  “Well, you’re so busy watching that video that I think you forgot something.”

  “You forgot something, all right,” Suzie said, and burst out laughing again.

  “What is your problem?” I said to Suzie. “You are so annoying.”

  “Are you planning on going to school today?” asked Suzie.

  “Of course I’m planning on going to school,” I answered. “That’s a stupid question.”

  “Really?” said Suzie, snickering.

  “Yes, really.”

  “Like that?” said Suzie.

  “Like what?”

  “In your tightie whities shark underwear?”

  I looked down at my legs. I didn’t have any pants on! I guess I was so focused on the video that I forgot to put on my pants.

  “Oops,” I said, blushing.

  “I think you need to run back upstairs and put some pants on,” said my dad.

  “Yeah, that would probably be a good idea,” I said.

  “Or you could go like that,” said Suzie. “I would love to see you get on the bus in your underwear.”

  “I’m sure you would,” I said.

  I ran out of the kitchen and raced up the stairs into my bedroom. I grabbed a pair of pants out of my drawer and threw them on. Then I bounded back down the stairs two at a time and skidded into the kitchen.

  “Whoa! Slow down there,” said my dad. “You’re going to slip in your socks.”

  I sat down and picked up the phone that my mom had left on the table.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” said my mom.

  “I just want to finish watching this video,” I said.

  “You don’t have time for videos,” said my mom. “You have to eat your breakfast.”

  “I can watch and eat at the same time,” I said, shoveling a spoonful of cereal into my mouth.

  “Freddy,” said my mom in her warning voice.

  “Really, I can do both,” I mumbled with a mouth full of cereal. Some milk sprayed out while I was talking.

  “Eeeewwww! Eeeewwww!” Suzie cried, waving her hands in the air.

  “What?” my dad asked.

  “Freddy just spit milk in my face.”

  I swallowed what was in my mouth. “I did not.”

  “Yes, you did. I can feel it on my cheek. It’s disgusting,” said Suzie, wiping her face with a napkin.

  “Freddy, how many times have I told you not to talk with your mouth full?” my mom asked.

  “You are so gross when you eat,” said Suzie. “You’re like a pig.”

  “Suzie, that’s not very nice to say,” said my mom.

  “Well, he is,” said Suzie. “He’s always got food coming out of his mouth.”

  “All right. Enough.” My dad put down his coffee mug. “Freddy, give me that phone.”

  I looked at him. “But, Dad …”

  “No buts,” said my dad. “Give that to me now.”

  I handed him the phone.

  “You know the rules. You’re not allowed to bring this to meals.”

  “I know. I know,” I said. “It’s just that I wanted to see the new Beat Boys video, Rock It, before I got on the bus this morning because I know everyone will be talking about it.”

  “Did you just say the new Beat Boys video?” said Suzie.

  “Yep.”

  “I didn’t know it came out!”

  “It just came out this morning,” I said.

  “No way!” said Suzie. “I had no idea. Can I watch it, Dad, please?”

  “What did I just say? No watching videos at the breakfast table.”

  “But I’ll be the only one who hasn’t seen it. Can I just watch it for two minutes?” Suzie begged.

  “No means no,” said my dad. “You’ll just have to watch it when you get home from school.”

  “I can’t believe you got to see it, Freddy,” said Suzie. “I totally forgot that it was coming out today.”

  “Well, you’d both better hurry up and finish your cereal,” said my mom. “The bus will be here any minute.”

  I shoveled a few more spoonfuls of cereal into my mouth and washed it down with some orange juice.

  “Is the video good?” asked Suzie.

  “Good? It’s better than good,” I said. “It’s awesome!”

  “Really?” said Suzie.

  I nodded. “I think it might be the best one yet!” I jumped out of my chair and did a few hip-hop moves.

  “Freddy, stop dancing,” said my mom. “Come over here for a minute. Your hair is a mess.”

  “I already brushed it.”

  “With what? Your fingers?”

  “That is some of the worst bed head I’ve ever seen,” my dad said, laughing.

  I bounced over to my mom, and she tried to slick down a few unruly strands of hair with some water.

  Just then the bus squealed to a stop outside our house.

  “Well, that will have to do,” said my mom. “You two had better run.”

  “Bye! See you after school,” I called as I grabbed my backpack and bopped out the door.

  I jumped on the bus and sang softly to myself as I made my way down the aisle to sit with my best friends, Robbie and Josh. “‘Rock it. Yeah, yeah, I said rock it.’”

  Max stuck his arm out into the aisle so I couldn’t get past him. “What is that awful noise?” said Max. “It sounds like a sick cat.”

  I stopped singing and stared straight ahead. I didn’t dare turn to look at the biggest bully in the whole second grade.

  “Freddy was singing,” said Jessie.

  “Singing?” said Max. “You call that singing? Ha!”

  “Yes, he was singing the new Beat Boys song, ‘Rock It,’ and I think it sounded pretty good,” said Jessie.

  I smiled at Jessie.

  “Oh! Oh! I love that song!” said Chloe, jumping up out of her seat.

  “No one asked you,” said Max.

  Chloe ignored Max and started singing loudly, “‘Rock it. Yeah, yeah, I said rock it all night.’”

  “Hey, Max!” yelled the bus driver. “Move your arm so Freddy can go sit down. I’m waiting.”

  Max glared at me and dropped his arm. I quickly went to sit down next to my friends.

  Chloe kept singing “‘Rock it, rock it,’” at the top of her lungs. Then she spun around and pumped her fists in the air.

  Max plugged his ears. “Make her stop!” he shouted.

  “Chloe, I am also waiting for you,” said the bus driver. “Everyone needs to be seated before I can start driving again.”

  “But I’m not done showing everyone my dance moves,” said Chloe.

  “You can finish at school,” said the bus driver. “Right now I have other kids to pick up, and you’re making us late.”

  Chloe stuck out her lower lip in a big pout and plopped down in her seat. “Sorry, guys. I’ll have to show you the rest at school. I know the whole dance.”

  “No one cares,” said Max. “You are such a show-off.”

  “No I’m not!” said Chloe.

  “Yes you are!”

  “No I’m not!”

  Josh leaned over and whispered in my ear, “These two are unbelievable.”

  I nodded my head. “It’s been like this since kindergarten.”

  �

��My mom says I am the best dancer,” said Chloe.

  “Of course she does,” Robbie whispered.

  “Your mom is crazy,” said Max, making the cuckoo sign by the side of his head.

  “No she’s not!” Chloe whined, stamping her foot.

  “Cuckoo. Cuckoo,” Max repeated.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Chloe. “She says I am such a good dancer that I am going to win the Beat Boys contest.”

  Max got silent and stared at Chloe.

  “Uh-oh!” I said to my friends. “What is he about to do?” I held my breath.

  To my surprise, Max didn’t do anything. He just asked, “Did you just say, ‘Beat Boys contest’?”

  Chloe nodded. “Yes, I did.”

  “What Beat Boys contest?” said Max.

  “Are you kidding me?” I said to Josh and Robbie. “Everyone knows about the contest.”

  “The Beat Boys contest that I’m going to win,” Chloe said, smiling and pointing to herself.

  “What contest?” Max shouted.

  “Max, please keep your voice down,” said the bus driver. “No yelling on the bus.”

  “What contest?” Max repeated.

  “The Beat Boys are having a music video contest,” said Jessie. “You have to make your own music video of their new song, ‘Rock It,’ and if they think it’s the best one, then you get free tickets to their next concert, and you get to meet the band.”

  Max’s mouth dropped open. “No way!” he said.

  “Yes way!” Chloe squealed. “And I’m going to win! I’m the best dancer out of everyone!”

  “Stop bragging so much,” said Jessie. “No one likes a bragger.”

  “I’m not bragging. I’m just telling you what my mom said.”

  “Of course she’s going to say that,” said Jessie. “Parents always tell their kids that they’re the best. My mom always tells me that I am the best soccer player, but that doesn’t mean that I am.”

  I leaned over and whispered to Jessie, “You really are the best soccer player.”

  Jessie smiled. “Thanks, Freddy.”

  “Besides,” said Max, “do you know how many kids are going to enter that contest? Like, a million!”

  “It is a really cool contest,” said Josh. “I think the three of us should enter.”

  “You’re crazy,” I said.

  “Yeah,” said Robbie. “Really crazy.”

  “Why?” asked Josh.

  “Didn’t you just hear what Max said? Everyone on the planet is going to want to enter this contest.”

  “So? We have as good a chance as anyone.”

  “No, we don’t,” said Robbie.

  “Why not?” said Josh.

  “Because you have to sing,” I said.

  “And dance,” said Robbie.

  “You just heard Max say I sounded like a sick cat.”

  “Why do you pay attention to anything he says?” said Josh. “He’s always saying nasty things just to be mean. Besides, you don’t have to really sing. You just have to lip-synch.”

  “Still, I can’t dance.”

  “Robbie can dance,” said Josh. “I’ve heard he’s really good at hip-hop.”

  “Well, I don’t know if I’d say I was really good,” said Robbie.

  “We can help each other,” said Josh. “That’s what friends are for!”

  “I don’t know,” I said, hesitating.

  “Come on, guys!” said Josh. “What do you have to lose?”

  I shrugged my shoulders.

  “Come on! Take a chance,” said Josh. “You can’t win if you don’t even try.”

  “He does have a point,” Robbie said.

  I nodded. “But we’ll have to practice a lot!”

  “We can practice at recess and after school,” said Josh. “We have a whole week to submit the video. That gives us a lot of time to practice.”

  Robbie turned to me. “I’ll do it if you’ll do it.”

  “All right! Let’s do it!” I said.

  We all high-fived each other as the bus pulled up at school.

  We got off and started walking down to our classrooms.

  “See you guys at recess for our first rehearsal!” Robbie called as he disappeared down the hall.

  “We’ll be there with our dancing shoes on!” Josh called after him.

  At recess, Josh and I waited for Robbie by our special meeting place. When he came out the door to the playground, we yelled, “Hey, Robbie, hurry up!”

  Robbie came running up to join us by the big tree. “Sorry I’m late, guys. I was helping Miss Smith collect the math papers.”

  “That’s okay,” I said. “We just got out here, too, because we had to finish taking our spelling test.”

  “So let’s start practicing our dance moves,” said Josh.

  “I’m going to need a lot of help with that!” I said, laughing.

  “I’m sure you’re not as bad as you think,” said Josh.

  “Just wait,” said Robbie. “You may change your mind after you watch Freddy do a few moves.”

  “Hey, now, I’m not that bad, am I?”

  Robbie laughed. “I’m just teasing you.”

  “Did you guys watch the video this morning?” asked Josh.

  “YES! I think I watched it, like, three and a half times,” I said.

  “Three and a half?” Josh said, looking confused.

  “I was in the middle of watching it for a fourth time when my mom took the phone away from me.”

  “Why did she take it away?”

  “I accidentally spit cereal in Suzie’s face,” I said.

  “How do you accidentally spit cereal in your sister’s face?” said Josh.

  “I bet I know how,” said Robbie. “Freddy was probably talking with his mouth full. It’s one of his bad habits.”

  “Yep. That’s exactly what happened,” I said.

  “You need to learn to say it, not spray it,” Josh said.

  “Ha! ‘Say it, don’t spray it!’ Suzie says that to me all the time. I guess they say that in California, too!”

  “Yeah, they do,” said Josh, laughing. “So, Robbie, what about you? Did you watch the video?”

  “Yes, but I only got to see it once because Kimberly was hogging our laptop.”

  “Boy, I’m glad I have a younger sister,” said Josh. “Older sisters sound like a nightmare.”

  “Sometimes they’re really great, but sometimes they can be a real pain,” I said.

  “You can say that again.” Robbie laughed.

  “Okay, guys, anyone have any ideas about how we should start?” asked Josh.

  “Why don’t you start like this,” Chloe interrupted. “Just watch me.”

  “Where did she come from?” I whispered to Robbie.

  “I don’t know,” Robbie whispered back. “It’s like she popped up out of nowhere!”

  Chloe started dancing and shaking her hips, her red curls bouncing around her head.

  I covered my mouth with my hand so she wouldn’t see me laughing.

  “She really is cuckoo,” said Robbie.

  Josh stopped her. “Thanks, but I don’t think we need your help.”

  “But I’m such a good dancer,” said Chloe. “I know all the moves.”

  “Good, then you can make your own video,” said Josh.

  “Fine. You’ll be sorry because mine will be way better than yours,” Chloe bragged, and then she skipped away.

  “I think she’s from another planet,” said Robbie.

  We all laughed.

  “Robbie, what do you think we should do first?” said Josh.

  “Hmmm, let’s see,” said Robbie. “Let’s try this. Step to the right, clap. Step to the left, clap. Step, step, jump, and clap.”

  “That doesn’t seem too hard,” said Josh. “What do you think, Freddy?”

  “I think I can do that,” I said.

  “One, two, three, go,” said Robbie. “Right, clap, left, clap …”

  I started dancing and bumped into Robbie.

  “Freddy, what are you doing?”

  “Going to the right.”

  “You’re supposed to go to the right first and then to the left. Watch me for a minute.”

  I watched Robbie carefully and counted the beat in my head.

  “Do you think you’re ready to try it again?” asked Robbie.

  I nodded.

  “Okay, let’s try it again. One, two, three, go.”

 

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