This is Waterford Grammar School. It's located in a small town in Maine. My name is Ryan Donnelly and I'm about to start Grade 7. My favorite subjects are Gym, English, History, and Recess. I know recess isn't a subject but I love shooting hoops with my friends during our 15 minute breaks. I have cruised through most of my courses as a student but this year would be different. I knew I'd always struggle with math. But I never knew that science was gonna give me so much trouble.

GRADE SEVEN SCIENCE

WITH MR. HATTIE

Mr. Hattie was one of the most popular teachers at my school. He was young, energetic, and very funny. Everybody looked forward to his classes. This year he would be my Science teacher. Things went well during the first week but soon I found myself getting bored and frustrated. As I copied down notes from the blackboard, I found myself starting to doodle. It began with some pictures of animals and buildings. Then I would start doodling pictures of my classmates. I was falling behind in class and should've asked for help. But instead I kept doodling and that's when I created him......MOLDY MARVIN.

Moldy Marvin? I have no idea where that name came from but it suited my latest doodle. He was pretty easy to draw actually. He was bald with a bit of hair on both sides of his head. He had no eyes, a triangle-shaped nose, and only one facial expression. I'm not good at drawing people as you'll see later on. Usually one eye is bigger than the other or the doodle's head is misshapen. Even though he wasn't much to look at, there was something about this weird little man that endeared him to me. Little did I know that Moldy Marvin would have quite a few thoughts of his own to share.

GRADE SEVEN SCIENCE

WITH MR. HATTIE

SCIENCE TEST THIS MONDAY!

For the past few weeks we had been learning about the Earth's crust. You know, erosion, geological activity, and all that other boring stuff. It was Thursday afternoon and Mr. Hattie's class was the last one of the day. While he discussed Geological resource extraction and its impact, I continued to doodle away. I wasn't really listening. Instead I was planning my weekend. I was going to sleep in, eat Pop Tarts, and hang out with my friends. And then Mr. Hattie ruined my plans with one simple announcement. "Okay class, this Monday we'll be having our first test of the year. It will cover everything we've learned about the Earth's crust."

On Friday, Mr. Hattie reviewed the past couple of units that we had studied in Science class. I took some notes but was basically off in La La Land most of the time. "So that's about it everyone. Study hard and I'll see you on Monday." I had already packed up my things and was ready to go before Mr. Hattie had completed his review. How hard could the test be? There will probably be some true or false, multiple choice, and other questions I could guess at. I'd probably glance at my notes the night before. That's how I usually studied. I wanted to enjoy the weekend and memorizing facts about geology is not my idea of good time.

On the way to the bus I ran into my friends Will and Noel. "Hey boys, you wanna play some football on Saturday?" "No can do" Will responded. "That Science test is gonna be brutal." "Count me out as well dude. I'm going to be spending the weekend buried in my books" Noel added. "Nerds!" I jokingly shouted. "Alright, catch you dudes on Monday I guess." "You know, you really should spend the weekend studying" a muffled voice called out to me. But nobody was around. It was probably somebody pulling a prank on me.

I sat alone on the bus and popped in my ear buds for the ride home. It had been a long week and I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. I decided to close my eyes and take a bit of a power nap when I heard someone repeatedly clearning their throat. Again I looked around but couldn't locate the source of the noises. "Open your knapsack!" the same voice cried out. Tired of all the tricks being played on me, I opened up my school bag and took out my notebook. "Open it up!" "What?" "Just do it!" "Who are you talking to Ryan?" the girl in front of me asked. "Oh, nobody. I was, uh, singing along to my music" I nervously responded.

"Hey there!"

When I got home, I ran upstairs to put away my knapsack. Out of curiosity I took the notebook out of the bag and opened it up. There was nobody in there and I didn't hear any voices. Just as I thought. My mind was playing tricks on me." I flipped through my science notes before deciding that I wasn't going to bother with them until Sunday night. "Don't you have any intelletual curiosity Ryan?" "Good one Jospeh!" I jested thinking it was my older brother. Around that time I heard a car pull up in the driveway. I looked out the window and saw my brother being dropped off by one of his friends. "Open the book Ryan. We need to talk."

"It's me, Moldy Marvin. Still not crazy about that name by the way." "W-w-what do you want?" I nervously asked the doodle. "Don't you ever think about big things like how the universe was created? Will humans ever be able to live forever? And will Jennifer Aniston ever find love again?" "Hey, I do well in my other subjects. If I stink at science so be it. Not like I'm going to be a scientist when I grow up." "The wonderful part about learning is keeping an open mind. Even if it doesn't interest you, studying helps build many strong qualities that will help you grow as a person." "Meh" I casually replied.

I put the book back into my knapsack and threw it under my bed. I headed downstairs for dinner and then watched some TV. After brushing my teeth, I quietly crept back into my room. Thankfully I didn't hear any voices this time. Imagine, a talking doodle? How absurd! I climbed under the covers and started planning my weekend. I was going to spend Saturday tossing the football around whether my friends joined me or not. The next morning I raced outside to enjoy some exercise. But the entire time I was out there I felt as though I was being watched. Not by my parents or brother. I think it was Moldy Marvin. I didn't see him but I could sense his presence.