Mallory and the Mystery Diary Chapters 6-10
Chapter 6
This chapter wasn’t very eventful. Mallory had her first session with Buddy today. It didn’t go very well. Buddy was not very enthusiastic about his tutoring. I don’t really blame him very much. I never looked forward to my math tutoring sessions, either. Well, I did one time because my tutor was cute, but he was a grown man and I was a kid and not as delusional as Stacey, so I knew nothing was ever going to happen. I also liked that tutoring center because my dad let me get ice cream when he came to pick me up. I can hear Dawn complaining from here.
Anyway, Mallory tries to use flashcards and to get Buddy to sound the words out, but he isn’t doing a good job. He basically takes his time getting his materials and starting his work, but Mallory doesn’t say anything. I feel really awkward telling people what to do, so I probably would have sat there like an idiot before ten before timidly asking Buddy to do something and then dropping the matter when he didn’t respond. So the first tutoring session is a bust. Mallory is a bit discouraged, but she isn’t giving up yet. She figures there has to be a better way to tutor Buddy. I heard about this professor at my college who taught math using poker. I would have been interested in learning math in that case, but I never had him. I don’t suppose it would have mattered. I cannot keep a straight face when I lie, so there is no way in hell I can bluff.
I’m pleasantly surprised that Mallory isn’t writing in the notebook that Buddy was such a brat and how she thought this was going to be so easy, but Buddy is such a bad student. She just figured that this method of teaching didn’t work out, so why not try something new.
Chapter 7
Mallory is trying to figure out a way to make reading fun for Buddy. She lists the reasons why she likes reading. She likes reading because it’s fun and it means something. Mallory figures that the stories in Buddy’s reader aren’t very fun. Yeah, some school books were boring as fuck and I dreaded going to class and having to discuss them. It’s fine if I was discussing a book I like, but if it’s a book I hate, I have no desire to spend an hour discussing symbolism. I always hated symbolism because I could never tell if the author was actually trying to symbolize something or if I was reading too far into it and the curtains were purple because the author’s favorite color was purple and that was it.
Mallory still isn’t sure how to get Buddy to read. Maybe you can try and figure out subject material that he’s interested in. When I recommend a book to someone, it’s usually because it has material that I think they’ll like. For example, my cousin likes books about people getting revenge because she can hold a grudge. So I’d recommend her a book where someone got revenge on her tormentors. I recommended some of the more realistic books I read to my mom because she isn’t into fantasy. That’s why I recommended she read the realistic books I like. I also like to say that, “Oh, you liked that TV or movie? Well, this book is really similar to it, so I think you might be interested in it.” Or if they enjoyed the movie or TV series that was based off the books I’d recommend they read the books.
Mallory reads some more of Sophie’s diary. She has a crush on a boy named Paul. She pines for him. Mallory thinks that’s gross and vows to never pine for a boy. Sophie and Paul hook up. Sophie’s mom is pregnant. Sophie is excited to have a new sibling. I’m reminded of the BSC. Granted, some people are perfectly reasonable when they find out there’s going to be a new baby and don’t resort to holding the mother hostage and then killing her so they can raise the baby themselves like I’m sure the BSC is going to do. I’ve seen shows where someone kills the mother and raises the baby as their own. I’m sure the BSC will end up doing that. Or they’ll be on those TV shows where the teenagers think being a teen mom will be so easy and cool and they’re screwing three guys at a time to get pregnant. Then they have to look after babies and completely fall apart. I can just see Mallory watching those shows and being like, “Thank god I got away from them.”
Sophie’s grandfather, Grandpa Hickman, is upset that his daughter is pregnant because she has to be on bed rest. I guess she has a high risk pregnancy. He’s also mad at Jared for impregnating the mom. Mallory skips to October to see what happened. I do that sometimes. If there’s a character I hate, I skip to the end of the book to see if they died. Or I check to see if the couple I was rooting for hooked up. Or there are times when the book is really boring but I want to know how it ends, so I just look that part up. Sophie’s mom died two days after giving birth. Then a portrait of Sophie’s mom disappeared from Hickman’s house. Hickman thought Jared stole it because he never liked Jared. Jared was poor and had been arrested for stealing. He also had a bad reputation. Hickman didn’t like him because he thought he was a gold digger. Everyone in town believed that Jared was the thief and shunned Sophie and her father and brother.
Hickman wrote Sophie’s family out of his will. He also stopped giving them money. Jared tried to get work, but Hickman is a respected member of the society and Jared is not, so he’s not having too much luck finding a job. Sophie is understandably furious. She loves her dad and her dad had always been kind to her, so she doesn’t think he’d steal. She also thinks it’s unfair for her father to be accused of stealing and have his life ruined just because he has a bad reputation. Yeah, there isn’t actually any proof that Jared stole the painting. Granted, I probably would have suspected Jared myself, but I’d have felt uncomfortable writing someone out of my will and making sure he didn’t get work unless I had concrete proof. I mean, their father not being able to get work would screw over a twelve year old girl and a baby. I doubted they had anything to do with the theft.
Sophie’s last entry says that if her father’s name isn’t cleared, she and her father will come back as ghosts because their spirits won’t be able to rest. I’ve read books about that. Mallory is like, “Oh shit, I gotta call Stacey and tell her she bought a haunted house!” Personally, I think Sophie is being melodramatic because she’s a preteen. I was prone to melodrama as a preteen. But when I was Mallory’s age (and maybe even now) I totally would have been like, “Oh my gosh, Stacey’s house is haunted. This is so scary and exciting.” I totally would have been afraid of going to Stacey’s house in case I saw a ghost, but at the same time I’d have been really excited.
Mallory tells Vanessa about the painting. They think Stacey’s house is haunted because there have been a bunch of owners and Stacey’s mom was able to buy the house at a cheap price. I’m sure there is a non supernatural explanation, but these girls are eleven and nine. At that age I wouldn’t have been thinking about a logical explanation. I’d have been thinking, “Holy shit, Stacey’s house is haunted.” When I was eleven I thought that every time I felt cold it meant a ghost was near me. Then I realized I was sitting under the vent. There’s probably a mundane explanation about why Stacey’s house had a bunch of previous owners, but it’s just more fun to think that it’s because ghosts are around. There are times when I think there’s a mundane explanation, but thinking of a supernatural explanation is just more fun.
Vanessa thinks maybe Jared stole the portrait because he wanted a reminder of his wife. If he did steal the portrait, I could understand that. But then she points out that he’d have to keep the portrait hidden. So if he did steal the portrait, did he just hide it and take it out at night and look at it? Mallory wonders if Sophie ever cleared her father’s name. She thinks it’s really exciting that she might be living close to a haunted house and that there’s a century old mystery to solve. I’d have thought this was exciting as well. I’d have been like, “This is just like the books I read. This is so cool!”
Chapter 8
Kristy says that after Mallory told them about what she had read, she had ghosts and attics on the brain. So she decided to take Karen, David Michael, and Andrew to explore the attic since it was raining and yelling, “I’m Kristy Fucking Thomas, I demand it stop raining so that we can go outside and have a kiddie Olympics!” didn’t work. I have to say though, doesn’t Kristy live with Karen. Little Miss I think my neighbor is a witch so I’m going to throw water on her because I think she’ll melt like in Wizard of Oz? Doesn’t Karen talk all the time about Ben Brewer and how he haunts the third floor or wherever the hell he haunts? Karen talks about ghosts and shit all the time. I’m sure Kristy would have had ghosts and attics on her mind long before Mallory even mentioned the diary.
The kids are bored. They want to go outside, but it’s raining. Things are getting really desperate because they’ve already watched Sesame Street and Pee Wee’s Playhouse. You know Kristy must have been desperate because she actually allowed them to watch something that wasn’t I Love Lucy. She suggests that they should explore the attic and the kids act like she just suggested that they stay in room 1408 or the Overlook Hotel. Emily just wants another cookie. Emily is the smartest person in the room.
Karen is like, “Are you nuts? Ben Brewer lives up there.” They go upstairs and unfortunately Ben Brewer isn’t there so we don’t get to read about him scaring the shit out of Karen or Kristy.
Chapter 9
At the BSC meeting, Mallory asks Stacey if she’s heard anything unusual at her house. Stacey says she’s heard scratching, but her mom says that’s probably the wind or animals moving around. That does seem to be the most likely explanation, but thinking a ghost is around is much more fun and exciting. Kristy thinks that since nothing is going on at Stacey’s house means there’s no such thing as ghosts. Yeah, but you believe a seven year old when she says the attic is haunted and your neighbor is a witch.
Kristy suggests they try to look up stuff to see if Sophie really did clear her father’s name. The BSC wonders if Hickman could be Old Hickory. Apparently he was a major dick who haunts the graveyard because his nephew got him a tombstone despite his wishes. Dawn thinks that Jared may have been the Jared that’s supposed to haunt her house, but Mary Anne says that Jared disappeared and people would probably notice if she showed up and married the daughter of the richest man in town. Jessi thinks Sophie stole the painting, but Mallory thinks it’s unlikely. The BSC decides to try and solve the mystery. This probably would have been the most exciting thing to happen to me in a long time.
Chapter 10
Mallory has to tutor Buddy again. This time she brought Archie comics for him to read. My school library has BSC graphic novels. I'm going to have to check them out. Buddy gets really excited about that. I was reading this one book where the protagonist got to pick what the class was going to study in April for English class and he chose comic books. The teacher said that if it was written in English, then they could study it. He was going to let them study bumper stickers and slogans and had them study a script from the Terminator. Mallory worries that Buddy might not be allowed to read comics because some parents disapprove of them. Mallory says that her parents are cool with them reading comic books as long as they read books as well. First of all, I have a hard time believing that the Pikes pay any sort of attention to what their kids read. Second of all, aren’t they the ones who are basically all, “We’ll let our kids do whatever they want. Except for our oldest.”
I’m just having a really hard time believing that the Pikes encourage the kids to be well read, since they barely pay attention to them. Personally, I think people shouldn’t limit themselves to one genre or one series because there are so many good books out there. And there have been times when I wouldn’t have gotten into a series if I didn’t move out of my comfort zone. Hell, I would have just stuck to reading Little Sister and not read any of the regular BSC books until one day I just said, “Fuck it,” and read the regular series.
Mallory’s reasoning is that Buddy doesn’t think reading is fun. If she can show him material that he might like, he might branch out. Mallory had better hope that Buddy doesn’t turn out like Claudia and doesn’t limit himself to one series. I can understand having a favorite genre, but only reading one series? No, thank you. There are probably a bunch of mysteries that Claudia would enjoy if she just gave them a chance.
When I like a book, I usually see if the author has written anything else. Other times I’ll look up books similar to that one. For example, my library has a book about a school shooting that I wanted to read. Unfortunately the book got checked out, so I have to wait for it. But in the meantime I looked up the book in my school library catalog and searched for books that had school shooting as the subject. That’s how I got three books on school shootings to read in the meantime. My brother has asked me to recommend him books similar to books I recommended him before.
Buddy has an easier time reading the comics because he can look at the pictures or use context clues to figure out what a word means. He also reads better when he likes what he’s reading. Mallory tells Buddy he’s going to make his own comic now. Buddy wonders if Mallory is acting like a tutor because she isn’t being a bossy tyrant like Kristy. It’s nice to see Mallory succeeding at something and getting Buddy to read. It’s nice to see Mallory have her moment and for someone to become interested in reading. It always warms my heart when I tell people about the books I read and they’re interested in reading them as well.
Mallory and Buddy read each other’s comics. Buddy wants to show the comic to his mom, but Mallory says he misspelled the words and wouldn’t he like to show his mom a perfect comic? She says she’ll give him a minute of free time for each word he finds. Buddy sets to work and does a good job, so Mallory gives him extra free time.
Mallory tells Buddy they’re going to read a comic book and then make up their own ending. Buddy thinks this is really cool. That actually sounds like fun. I love this chapter. It’s just so nice to see Mallory get a chance to shine and to see Buddy become interested in reading.
This chapter wasn’t very eventful. Mallory had her first session with Buddy today. It didn’t go very well. Buddy was not very enthusiastic about his tutoring. I don’t really blame him very much. I never looked forward to my math tutoring sessions, either. Well, I did one time because my tutor was cute, but he was a grown man and I was a kid and not as delusional as Stacey, so I knew nothing was ever going to happen. I also liked that tutoring center because my dad let me get ice cream when he came to pick me up. I can hear Dawn complaining from here.
Anyway, Mallory tries to use flashcards and to get Buddy to sound the words out, but he isn’t doing a good job. He basically takes his time getting his materials and starting his work, but Mallory doesn’t say anything. I feel really awkward telling people what to do, so I probably would have sat there like an idiot before ten before timidly asking Buddy to do something and then dropping the matter when he didn’t respond. So the first tutoring session is a bust. Mallory is a bit discouraged, but she isn’t giving up yet. She figures there has to be a better way to tutor Buddy. I heard about this professor at my college who taught math using poker. I would have been interested in learning math in that case, but I never had him. I don’t suppose it would have mattered. I cannot keep a straight face when I lie, so there is no way in hell I can bluff.
I’m pleasantly surprised that Mallory isn’t writing in the notebook that Buddy was such a brat and how she thought this was going to be so easy, but Buddy is such a bad student. She just figured that this method of teaching didn’t work out, so why not try something new.
Chapter 7
Mallory is trying to figure out a way to make reading fun for Buddy. She lists the reasons why she likes reading. She likes reading because it’s fun and it means something. Mallory figures that the stories in Buddy’s reader aren’t very fun. Yeah, some school books were boring as fuck and I dreaded going to class and having to discuss them. It’s fine if I was discussing a book I like, but if it’s a book I hate, I have no desire to spend an hour discussing symbolism. I always hated symbolism because I could never tell if the author was actually trying to symbolize something or if I was reading too far into it and the curtains were purple because the author’s favorite color was purple and that was it.
Mallory still isn’t sure how to get Buddy to read. Maybe you can try and figure out subject material that he’s interested in. When I recommend a book to someone, it’s usually because it has material that I think they’ll like. For example, my cousin likes books about people getting revenge because she can hold a grudge. So I’d recommend her a book where someone got revenge on her tormentors. I recommended some of the more realistic books I read to my mom because she isn’t into fantasy. That’s why I recommended she read the realistic books I like. I also like to say that, “Oh, you liked that TV or movie? Well, this book is really similar to it, so I think you might be interested in it.” Or if they enjoyed the movie or TV series that was based off the books I’d recommend they read the books.
Mallory reads some more of Sophie’s diary. She has a crush on a boy named Paul. She pines for him. Mallory thinks that’s gross and vows to never pine for a boy. Sophie and Paul hook up. Sophie’s mom is pregnant. Sophie is excited to have a new sibling. I’m reminded of the BSC. Granted, some people are perfectly reasonable when they find out there’s going to be a new baby and don’t resort to holding the mother hostage and then killing her so they can raise the baby themselves like I’m sure the BSC is going to do. I’ve seen shows where someone kills the mother and raises the baby as their own. I’m sure the BSC will end up doing that. Or they’ll be on those TV shows where the teenagers think being a teen mom will be so easy and cool and they’re screwing three guys at a time to get pregnant. Then they have to look after babies and completely fall apart. I can just see Mallory watching those shows and being like, “Thank god I got away from them.”
Sophie’s grandfather, Grandpa Hickman, is upset that his daughter is pregnant because she has to be on bed rest. I guess she has a high risk pregnancy. He’s also mad at Jared for impregnating the mom. Mallory skips to October to see what happened. I do that sometimes. If there’s a character I hate, I skip to the end of the book to see if they died. Or I check to see if the couple I was rooting for hooked up. Or there are times when the book is really boring but I want to know how it ends, so I just look that part up. Sophie’s mom died two days after giving birth. Then a portrait of Sophie’s mom disappeared from Hickman’s house. Hickman thought Jared stole it because he never liked Jared. Jared was poor and had been arrested for stealing. He also had a bad reputation. Hickman didn’t like him because he thought he was a gold digger. Everyone in town believed that Jared was the thief and shunned Sophie and her father and brother.
Hickman wrote Sophie’s family out of his will. He also stopped giving them money. Jared tried to get work, but Hickman is a respected member of the society and Jared is not, so he’s not having too much luck finding a job. Sophie is understandably furious. She loves her dad and her dad had always been kind to her, so she doesn’t think he’d steal. She also thinks it’s unfair for her father to be accused of stealing and have his life ruined just because he has a bad reputation. Yeah, there isn’t actually any proof that Jared stole the painting. Granted, I probably would have suspected Jared myself, but I’d have felt uncomfortable writing someone out of my will and making sure he didn’t get work unless I had concrete proof. I mean, their father not being able to get work would screw over a twelve year old girl and a baby. I doubted they had anything to do with the theft.
Sophie’s last entry says that if her father’s name isn’t cleared, she and her father will come back as ghosts because their spirits won’t be able to rest. I’ve read books about that. Mallory is like, “Oh shit, I gotta call Stacey and tell her she bought a haunted house!” Personally, I think Sophie is being melodramatic because she’s a preteen. I was prone to melodrama as a preteen. But when I was Mallory’s age (and maybe even now) I totally would have been like, “Oh my gosh, Stacey’s house is haunted. This is so scary and exciting.” I totally would have been afraid of going to Stacey’s house in case I saw a ghost, but at the same time I’d have been really excited.
Mallory tells Vanessa about the painting. They think Stacey’s house is haunted because there have been a bunch of owners and Stacey’s mom was able to buy the house at a cheap price. I’m sure there is a non supernatural explanation, but these girls are eleven and nine. At that age I wouldn’t have been thinking about a logical explanation. I’d have been thinking, “Holy shit, Stacey’s house is haunted.” When I was eleven I thought that every time I felt cold it meant a ghost was near me. Then I realized I was sitting under the vent. There’s probably a mundane explanation about why Stacey’s house had a bunch of previous owners, but it’s just more fun to think that it’s because ghosts are around. There are times when I think there’s a mundane explanation, but thinking of a supernatural explanation is just more fun.
Vanessa thinks maybe Jared stole the portrait because he wanted a reminder of his wife. If he did steal the portrait, I could understand that. But then she points out that he’d have to keep the portrait hidden. So if he did steal the portrait, did he just hide it and take it out at night and look at it? Mallory wonders if Sophie ever cleared her father’s name. She thinks it’s really exciting that she might be living close to a haunted house and that there’s a century old mystery to solve. I’d have thought this was exciting as well. I’d have been like, “This is just like the books I read. This is so cool!”
Chapter 8
Kristy says that after Mallory told them about what she had read, she had ghosts and attics on the brain. So she decided to take Karen, David Michael, and Andrew to explore the attic since it was raining and yelling, “I’m Kristy Fucking Thomas, I demand it stop raining so that we can go outside and have a kiddie Olympics!” didn’t work. I have to say though, doesn’t Kristy live with Karen. Little Miss I think my neighbor is a witch so I’m going to throw water on her because I think she’ll melt like in Wizard of Oz? Doesn’t Karen talk all the time about Ben Brewer and how he haunts the third floor or wherever the hell he haunts? Karen talks about ghosts and shit all the time. I’m sure Kristy would have had ghosts and attics on her mind long before Mallory even mentioned the diary.
The kids are bored. They want to go outside, but it’s raining. Things are getting really desperate because they’ve already watched Sesame Street and Pee Wee’s Playhouse. You know Kristy must have been desperate because she actually allowed them to watch something that wasn’t I Love Lucy. She suggests that they should explore the attic and the kids act like she just suggested that they stay in room 1408 or the Overlook Hotel. Emily just wants another cookie. Emily is the smartest person in the room.
Karen is like, “Are you nuts? Ben Brewer lives up there.” They go upstairs and unfortunately Ben Brewer isn’t there so we don’t get to read about him scaring the shit out of Karen or Kristy.
Chapter 9
At the BSC meeting, Mallory asks Stacey if she’s heard anything unusual at her house. Stacey says she’s heard scratching, but her mom says that’s probably the wind or animals moving around. That does seem to be the most likely explanation, but thinking a ghost is around is much more fun and exciting. Kristy thinks that since nothing is going on at Stacey’s house means there’s no such thing as ghosts. Yeah, but you believe a seven year old when she says the attic is haunted and your neighbor is a witch.
Kristy suggests they try to look up stuff to see if Sophie really did clear her father’s name. The BSC wonders if Hickman could be Old Hickory. Apparently he was a major dick who haunts the graveyard because his nephew got him a tombstone despite his wishes. Dawn thinks that Jared may have been the Jared that’s supposed to haunt her house, but Mary Anne says that Jared disappeared and people would probably notice if she showed up and married the daughter of the richest man in town. Jessi thinks Sophie stole the painting, but Mallory thinks it’s unlikely. The BSC decides to try and solve the mystery. This probably would have been the most exciting thing to happen to me in a long time.
Chapter 10
Mallory has to tutor Buddy again. This time she brought Archie comics for him to read. My school library has BSC graphic novels. I'm going to have to check them out. Buddy gets really excited about that. I was reading this one book where the protagonist got to pick what the class was going to study in April for English class and he chose comic books. The teacher said that if it was written in English, then they could study it. He was going to let them study bumper stickers and slogans and had them study a script from the Terminator. Mallory worries that Buddy might not be allowed to read comics because some parents disapprove of them. Mallory says that her parents are cool with them reading comic books as long as they read books as well. First of all, I have a hard time believing that the Pikes pay any sort of attention to what their kids read. Second of all, aren’t they the ones who are basically all, “We’ll let our kids do whatever they want. Except for our oldest.”
I’m just having a really hard time believing that the Pikes encourage the kids to be well read, since they barely pay attention to them. Personally, I think people shouldn’t limit themselves to one genre or one series because there are so many good books out there. And there have been times when I wouldn’t have gotten into a series if I didn’t move out of my comfort zone. Hell, I would have just stuck to reading Little Sister and not read any of the regular BSC books until one day I just said, “Fuck it,” and read the regular series.
Mallory’s reasoning is that Buddy doesn’t think reading is fun. If she can show him material that he might like, he might branch out. Mallory had better hope that Buddy doesn’t turn out like Claudia and doesn’t limit himself to one series. I can understand having a favorite genre, but only reading one series? No, thank you. There are probably a bunch of mysteries that Claudia would enjoy if she just gave them a chance.
When I like a book, I usually see if the author has written anything else. Other times I’ll look up books similar to that one. For example, my library has a book about a school shooting that I wanted to read. Unfortunately the book got checked out, so I have to wait for it. But in the meantime I looked up the book in my school library catalog and searched for books that had school shooting as the subject. That’s how I got three books on school shootings to read in the meantime. My brother has asked me to recommend him books similar to books I recommended him before.
Buddy has an easier time reading the comics because he can look at the pictures or use context clues to figure out what a word means. He also reads better when he likes what he’s reading. Mallory tells Buddy he’s going to make his own comic now. Buddy wonders if Mallory is acting like a tutor because she isn’t being a bossy tyrant like Kristy. It’s nice to see Mallory succeeding at something and getting Buddy to read. It’s nice to see Mallory have her moment and for someone to become interested in reading. It always warms my heart when I tell people about the books I read and they’re interested in reading them as well.
Mallory and Buddy read each other’s comics. Buddy wants to show the comic to his mom, but Mallory says he misspelled the words and wouldn’t he like to show his mom a perfect comic? She says she’ll give him a minute of free time for each word he finds. Buddy sets to work and does a good job, so Mallory gives him extra free time.
Mallory tells Buddy they’re going to read a comic book and then make up their own ending. Buddy thinks this is really cool. That actually sounds like fun. I love this chapter. It’s just so nice to see Mallory get a chance to shine and to see Buddy become interested in reading.