Prologue


Harold Lowe was a 10-year-old boy that had sandy blonde hair. He went to Eastview Middle School.


Harold also does Karate, Choir, Baseball and he plays the piano. He is very over scheduled.


He was very kind and had a best friend named Juan. He loved to hangout with Harold. Harold and Juan weren’t the most popular in the school. But, they were just average. Harold also had another best friend named Hannah. Harold, Juan and Hannah have been best friends sense Kindergarten. Harold always manages to be nice to everyone. He was even nice to his mean math teacher. He was even nice to the principal, Mr. Clayton. He kicks kids for no reason. The nurse gives kids shots for no reason. So he doesn’t have the best life.


He is ready for almost anything except for this. Just in a blink of an eye.








































Chapter 1



The Letter





Mr. Lowe (Harold’s dad) got a letter in the mail. Harold had gotten the mail for Mr. Lowe and saw all the regular things; bills, invites, advertisements. But today he had a letter from his office, Maine Enterprise. It was a business letter. It read:












January 31
Brett LaRosa
CEO, Houston Enterprises
5151 W. Long Blvd.


Mr. Charles Lowe:

We have decided to move our headquarters to Denver, Colorado. We suggest that you move to Denver or you work at a different office. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
From:








Brett LaRosa





Brett LaRosa



“Dad what’s the matter?” asked Harold.


“I don’t want to talk about it right now.” commented Mr. Lowe. “Now go do your chores.”


“ Yes sir.” groaned Harold. “Hey dad what was that letter about anyway?”

“None of your business.” said Mr. Lowe. With that Harold was off in a flash.


Harold was up in his room. He was cleaning his floor when his dad wanted to talk.


“Hey dad.” said Harold. “What’s up?”


“Son I need to talk to you about something.” said Mr. Lowe.


“Sure Dad.” said Harold. “ Anything.”


“You know that letter I got.” Mr. Lowe pronounced.


“Yeah.” said Harold.


“I’m sorry to break it to you this way….” he paused. “We have to move to Denver, Colorado.”

“Nice joke, Dad.” joked Harold. “What did it really say.”


“Well...it said that the office is moving to Denver, Colorado.” said Mr. Lowe.


“No, no, no.” complained Harold. “ This can’t be true. I just can’t leave Juan and Hannah. Well I won’t miss school…but Dad.”


“ No buts in this house.” said Mr. Lowe. “ We are moving to Colorado if you like it or not. So pack up your things. Like clothes but leave two pairs for tomorrow and the next day because we are moving in two days so say goodbye to your friends at school tomorrow. We are leaving on Saturday.”


“I Hate Moving.” is the only thing he wrote in his journal that day, other than a picture of an angry face.





































Chapter 2




Moving Day



Early Saturday morning the movers rang the doorbell. Harold looked at his alarm clock. It was 7:00 a.m.


“Ugh.” groaned Harold.


Harold got up and slowly moved to the bathroom. He took a shower and went downstairs. His dad was dressed in his normal work clothes; suit, tie and jeans.


“Go pack up.” said Mr. Lowe looking right at Harold.


Harold went up to his room and gathered all his things. Harold packed up his Wii, Nintendo DS, and his laptop. Harold got his cell phone and got his IPOD. He packed up his clothes and they were on the road.


Mr. Lowe and Harold went on a plane from Maine to Georgia-4 hours. A plane from Georgia to Colorado took 2 ½ hours.


They rented a car until their car was shipped in a tow truck and their things in the moving truck.


They drove into a neighborhood called Governor’s Ranch. They moved onto a street called S. Everett St.


Harold met a kid named Cole who was the same age as him. He also met Brenda Croft and Elock Alsop. They are some of Cole’s best friends. He also met Sam Ryckman, Cole’s other best friend.


On Monday Harold walked to school with Cole. They were in the same class. All of Cole’s friends, Cole and Harold ate lunch together. They were excited when they got home. They played Wii at Harold’s house for 3 hours and did all the homework they had.


On Tuesday they had a great lunch-Domino’s Pizza. Math was really hard on Tuesday. Wednesday Harold started Karate back up at a school called Dojo of Japan. His master was Master Cho Ming.





Friday was near and Harold was as busy as a bee. He had Karate three times a week, and piano once a week. It was February and next week was Valentine’s Day and Harold liked a girl named Hannah. He knew his old best friend was named Hannah but Hannah in his school was cute. Well that’s what he thought.


Harold was practicing karate when Mr. Lowe came into Harold’s room.


“Hey dad,” said Harold. “How was work?’’


“It was O.K.,” said Mr. Lowe. “It’s weird being in a new place.”


“I know what you mean,” commented Harold thinking about school.


“I think life is pretty hard right now,” said Mr. Lowe.




Harold, Cole, Sam, Elock and Brenda were all at school the next day.


“Last’s night homework was so hard,” said Brenda.


“Yeah it was.” commented Elock.


Brenda went into Math with Elock, Cole, Sam, and Harold. Harold went into school and was ready to learn.


Harold went home and played Guitar Hero 3. His dad came in and wanted to talk.
































Chapter 3




Surprise!


There is one thing I forgot to tell you in Chapter 1. Harold has never had a pet.


“Harold,” Mr. Lowe said. “ I have a surprise for you.”


A brown and black spotted dog flung his floppy ears into the room.


“Dad…I don’t know what to say.” said Harold. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”


“What are going to name him.” asked Mr. Lowe.


Harold thought for a moment. “How about…Max.” said Harold.

“Perfect.” said Mr. Lowe.


On Monday Harold went back to school.



“Hey Harold!” yelled Elock. “ Over here!”


“Harold guess what Friday is,” said Brenda.


“What?” groaned Harold. Last night Harold had barely gotten any sleep.


“Valentine’s Day!” said Cole.


Harold’s eyes grew bigger just like the smile on his face. “Was it really Valentine’s Day on Friday?” he thought to himself.




















Chapter 4




Letters from Juan and Harold


It was February 13th (two days until Valentine’s Day!) Harold got a letter in the mail. It was from Juan. He opened it.



























February 10
Dear Harold,


What’s up? Today we got a new math teacher. He is such a drag. There is this new cute girl in science class.


So I know I’m doing snail mail, but come on . We can be pen pals.
Write me back,

Juan Ramero

P.S. Thanks for giving me your new address.





“New address? Probably Dad.” said Harold to himself.


He decided to write him back.



















February 13
Dear Juan,


School’s great here. I have so many new friends. Their names are Brenda, Cole, Elock, Sam and I got a dog! His name is Max.


Today I went over to Brenda’s house and she has Guitar Hero 3, too! We played Co-op Career. We got Slash and Jimi Hendricks!

Sweet,

Harold Patrick Lowe
P.S. Hey is your pet rat, Ralph, doing O.K.




February 14
Dear Harold,


Hey. Today I got Guitar Hero 3!


Jon Bunttons is a new kid in class. He is very nice and he wants to be my friend!

Juan Ramero

P.S. Ralph is doing great.







































Chapter 5



Valentine’s Day


Today was Valentine’s Day. It was finally here!


Harold went to school with a heaping bag of white and pink Valentine‘s Day cards.. He passed them out to the class. Then, they had the Valentine’s Day party.


He quickly dug through his box and found Hannah’s card. He read it with an open heart.


Dear Harold,

Happy Valentine‘s Day

Love, Hannah Nason


This warmed Harold’s heart.


“Harold.” said a voice.



Harold looked up for his card to see Hannah was standing right in front of him.


“Hey Hannah.” said Harold.


“Harold, I was wondering if you could be my….lab partner?” said Hannah.


Harold’s face was bright red.


“ Harold….are you O.K?” said Hannah.


“Yeah, I’m alright.” said Harold. “ And I will be your lab partner.”


“ O.K.” said Hannah.


Hannah ran over to her friends and they were looking over at Harold. Harold didn’t know if they were looking at him because they thought he was cute or if they thought he was weird.









Chapter 6



More letters From Juan and Harold.


Harold got the mail as usual and he had gotten a letter from Juan.


















February 16
Dear Harold,


How’s your day? Valentine’s Day at school was great. Do you want to keep doing snail mail?





Juan Ramero




















February 18
Dear Juan,


I like a girl named Hannah. I think she likes me.

From,
Harold Patrick Lowe


P.S. I wouldn’t like to send e-mail because it is fun signing your name.

















February 21
Hey,


Tomorrow I get braces. L What a drag. Well you know almost every kid has to have braces. I’m going to get pink and white.

Your friend,
Juan Ramero




February 23



Juan,


Dude, I know what it’s like. Remember when I had braces last year. At least I got them off before I met Hannah. Well not the Hannah our friend but the Hannah at my new school.

Your Friend,
Harold Patrick Lowe

P.S. Today Max left Dad a little present on his bed.





































Chapter 7





Fredrick


“Hey Harold, wait up!” yelled Fredrick.


Fredrick was about the dorkiest kid in the fifth grade.


“Fredrick go away.” said Harold in an annoyed tone.


“So I hear that you’re from Maine.” said Fredrick.


“Yeah so.” said Harold.


“I was from Maine.” said Fredrick.


Harold’s face went pink.


“You were from Maine.” said Harold. “What school did you go to?”


“East Ridge Way Elementary.” said Fredrick.


“I went to Eastview Elementary School.” said Harold.


They had just gotten to school.


“Bye Fredrick.” said Harold.


“Bye Harold, buddy.” said Fredrick.


“I’m not your buddy.” said Harold.


“O.K.” said Fredrick in a confused voice.


“Harold.” said Sam. “Sup, I saw you talking to Fredrick over there.”


“Yeah he just started talking to me.” said Harold.


“Oh really.” said Cole.


“I see.” said Brenda.


“What.” said Elock.


“Well I was just find my answer…of the science question.” said Brenda.


“We were talking about how Fredrick, and how he started randomly talking to Harold.” said Sam.


“Oh.” said Brenda.


Chapter 8


The Championship


It was April 15 and Harold and his baseball team, the Rebels, were against the Dakota Ridge Bulldogs.


It was 4-1. The Bulldogs were winning and Harold was up to bat. The bases were loaded. There were 3 balls and 2 strikes.


Harold’s grip on the bat strengthened as the ball flew in.


Harold’s bat hit the ball and went far into the outfield. By the time the ball hit the ground Harold was already rounding second. Harold started running fast. He had to get home to win the game.


“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” yelled the third base coach as Harold ran by.


By this time Harold was running as fast as he could. The ball was coming in from the pitcher. Harold slid.


“SAFE!”


“YEAHHHHHHHHHHHH!” yelled the whole team.


The whole team ran out and tackled him.



They lifted Harold up on their shoulders.


“Harold, Harold, Harold, Harold.”


Harold was so happy.


The whole team went to Dairy Queen to celebrate. Harold was so happy until he got there.


“Hi Harold.” said Fredrick with a stupid tone.


“What’s Fredrick doing here?” said Harold under his breath.


Fredrick was talking to Harold’s teammates and with a surprise they were laughing.


“Then Harold said, Your from Maine!” mimicked Fredrick.


“Dude this kid is so funny.” said one of his teammates Raphael.


“Hey Harold.” said Mr. Lowe. “ Let’s go.”

“O.K. Dad. I think we should go, too.” said Harold. “Bye Fredrick. Bye team, see you next year.”


“Bye Harold.” said one.


“Bye see you next year,” said Raphael.














































Chapter 9



Karate Tournament


“ You ready to go to the Karate Tournament.” said Mr. Lowe.


“I’ll be down in a second,” said Harold.


It was May 1st. May 1st was the day of the big Karate Tournament. Harold was so excited to go to the Karate Tournament.


Harold’s sandy blonde flickered as he walked outside. The warm air blew in his face and his shirt blew in the wind.


Harold was watching his dad drive when he saw Brenda in her car. He had told Brenda about the tournament but he didn’t know she would come.


When they got there Harold asked Brenda, “What are you doing here?”


She replied, “ I came to watch your tournament.”


Harold did a traditional form. He got 1st place.


When he got home he had a message on his cell.


It was from Juan:


“Hey Harold. I was just wondering how you were doing? Sorry I haven’t been writing you lately. I’ve just been busy with homework and things like that, you know.
How are you? Call me back”.


“I’ve got to call Juan back,” said Harold. Harold dialed his number.


“Hello.” said Juan as he answered the phone.


“Hey you called?” said Harold.


“Oh yeah.” said Juan. “ I just wanted to tell you I got the new game, Racing in Space and Norway.”


“No way! That doesn’t come out for another week,” said Harold.


Harold started pacing around the room.


“See you.” said Juan.


“Bye.” said Harold.


Harold ran off and went downstairs.


Chapter 10

A New Kid in Town



Today was the last day of school. Harold was so glad that he would be able to go to the local pool like almost everyday.


There was 1 minute left until summer. Harold was so excited. He was going to the pool right after school with Brenda, Elock, Cole and Sam.


Harold had just gotten his report card. He’d gotten A’s in Science, Math, Gym, Music, Social Studies, History and he got an A- in Art.


Everyone counted down “10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1.” BRINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGG!


The whole class cheered with joy.


Harold ran home as fast as he could. He whipped on a bathing suit and rode his bike to the pool.


Brenda, Sam, Elock, Cole and Hannah were already there. They all played games like Marco Polo.


They all ate ice cream, had snacks and soda. They were tired and worn out. They had been swimming for more than 3 hours.


Harold got home and listened to his Ipod and he played the piano.


They next morning Harold woke up and went downstairs. His dad had already made breakfast.


“Dad you made breakfast,” said Harold in a surprised tone.


“Yeah.” said Mr. Lowe. “Don’t I always?”


“ Actually Dad I usually have cereal.” said Harold.


“Oh yeah.” commented Mr. Lowe.


“ You even gave Max food and water!” said Harold.


Harold dialed Sam and Cole and Brenda and Elock’s numbers and told them to come over.


Once they got there they all played Wii for an hour. Then they played on the computer for a half hour.


Then they went to the pool. They spent their time swimming as the cool water rushed through their hair.


Then Harold saw a kid he had never seen before. Harold went over to meet him. Harold thought the must be new here.


“Hi my name is Harold,” said Harold.


“Hi, um I’m…Charles.” The boy said.


“ Do you want to be friends?” asked Harold.


“Sure.” said Charles.


“Do you want to meet my other friends.”


“O.K.” said Charles.


Harold summoned Brenda, Elock, Cole and Sam.


“This is Sam, Elock, Cole and Brenda,” said Harold.


“Hi.” said Sam, Elock, Cole and Brenda.


“Now that we’re all friends, let’s go swimming.” said Harold.


“Yeah to the pool.” said everyone except Harold.


All and all Harold was happy.


Harold knew that no ones life is perfect. Harold also knew that he might like Colorado after all.














Chapter 11


First Kiss


Now that Harold and Charles were friends they hung out a lot.


One day in July, Harold and Charles went to the movies. They saw Hannah there.


“Hi Hannah.” said Harold.


“Who’s she?” asked Charles.


“She was a girl in my 5th grade class,” said Harold.


“Oh.” said Charles.


They all (Hannah, Harold, Charles and Hannah’s friend Lavender) went to see the same movie. They decided to sit together.


So during the movie Hannah turned to Harold.


“Harold I have to tell you something.” said Hannah.


“O.K.” said Harold.


“It’s hard to say this but…I’ve always liked you,” said Hannah blushing.



“I’ve always liked you too,” said Harold.


Then Hannah had a decision to make. Hannah kissed Harold on the check.


Harold was stunned.


“Oh I’m sorry,” said Hannah.


“No I sort of enjoyed it,” said Harold.


And Harold had to agree. This was the best day of his life.