Fat Albert: The Movie Novel

by Tbd

• ISBN13: 9780060773182
• ISBN10: 0060773189
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-10-20
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

Bill Cosby's hilarious cartoon characters are back! Join them on their exciting adventure in the real world! Doris isn't happy. She doesn't have many friends, and she doesn't fit in at school. But when Fat Albert and his friends jump out of her TV set one afternoon, she's pretty sure her problems just got a lot worse. Now she's saddled with a group of clueless former cartoon characters who have somehow made it into the real world. And they refuse to leave until they've solved her problems! Luckily, Fat Albert knows a thing or two about problem-solving. He might just be able to help Doris, if he can survive long enough outside of his cartoon world.

Excerpts

Fat Albert: The Movie Novel

Chapter One

Doris and Lauri

At sixteen, Doris was one year younger than her "sister," Lauri. And although they weren’t biological sisters (Lauri was Doris’s foster sister), the two teenagers were often mistaken for real sisters. Doris was always surprised when this would happen, because she thought that Lauri was so much cuter and more popular than she was. Doris wished it was as easy for her to make friends as it was for Lauri.

Even so, Lauri idolized Doris. From the moment Lauri moved in with the Robertson family, Doris welcomed her and treated her as if she had been there her whole life. Lauri was so thankful that she had not only gained parents, but also a sister who soon became her best friend. Lauri realized that Doris was a special person, and often wondered why Doris didn’t realize it as well. Lately, Lauri had made it her mission to get Doris out of her shell and more involved with life. So far, though, she wasn’t sure how well it was working.

One afternoon when the bell signaled the end of fifth period, the students of Ardsley High School in North Philadelphia poured into the hallways, dawdling, talking, or just plain goofing. But Doris didn’t have time for any of that. She hurried out of her classroom and up a staircase as Lauri tried to catch up with her.

"Doris, wait up!" Lauri called as she followed Doris up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. But over the din of the students’ chatter, Doris didn’t hear her, and by the time Lauri caught up with her, Doris had already started rotating the tumbler of the combination lock on her locker.

"Some of the kids are stopping for ice cream before practice today. Why don’t you come with us?" Lauri asked.

Doris knew that Lauri was just trying to be nice. "I’d like to, but I forgot my track shoes. I have to go home and get them. Thanks anyhow."

Before Lauri could try and persuade her to come, Heather and Becky, the two most popular girls in school, passed by on their way to class.

"Hey, Lauri. Are we gonna see you tonight?" asked Heather.

"Yeah, sure," Lauri said.

"Awesome," chirped the two girls in unison.

"We’ll see you later then," said Becky as she and Heather scooted off, neither of them even acknowledging Doris.

As Lauri started to open her own locker, she could see the hurt look on Doris’s face. "You’re going with me to that party tonight."

"Oh, I don’t think so, Lauri."

"Come on, Doris . . ."

"Look, I appreciate it, but you don’t have to drag me along."

"Drag you along? Doris . . ."

"Really, it’s okay. No big deal," she said.

"Doris, what’s up with you? Why are you behaving like such a loser?"

Doris didn’t answer. As she closed her locker, Lauri struggled to open hers.

"Need some help with that, baby?" said the smooth-talking Reggie Jenkins. Lauri turned to see him standing there with his sidekick, Arthur.

"No, I’m fine," said Lauri firmly. "And don’t call me ‘baby’."

Reggie laughed at her fire. That’s one of the many things he liked about Lauri. And, like most girls he’d gone after, he figured it would be just a matter of time before she came around. "Guess what?" he said, "Heather’s having a big party tonight."

"Duh!" said Lauri. "Tell me something I don’t already know."

Reggie forced a smile. "Okay, how about this . . . I was thinking you could go with me."

"That’s your problem, Reggie," Lauri said. "You get into trouble when you start thinking."

Arthur laughed at this, but quickly stopped when Reggie scowled at him.Then Lauri pushed past him, hurrying to get to her next class on time. Doris wanted to leave, too, but Reggie blocked her path. He was much taller than she was, and looked down on her with a sarcastic smirk.

"I bet you’d go with me tonight, huh, Doris?"

Even though she knew Reggie was playing her, Doris didn’t know how to answer. "I wasn’t invited," she said. And then, as she ran off down the hallway, she heard Reggie and Arthur having a big laugh at her expense.

As Doris hurried out of the school, she did everything she could to keep her composure until she got home. She knew that her mother would be at work, and since her father was out of town on business, the house would be perfectly quiet and she’d be able to spend a little time alone before she had to head back to school.

At least, that’s what she thought.

Fat Albert: The Movie Novel. Copyright © by Mike Milligan. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

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Excerpted from Fat Albert: The Movie Novel by Mike Milligan
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.