Fat, Fat Rose Marie
by Lisa Passen
Transcript
00:00Fat Fat Rosemarie Written and illustrated by Lisa Passon
00:10Dedicated to my brother Joe Rosemarie was the new girl in our class.
00:16Miss Bin our teacher introduced her to us one morning.
00:21Girls and boys, say hello to Rosemarie.
00:25She is a new student at Central Avenue Elementary School.
00:29Rosemarie smiled and said, hello.
00:33Rosemarie had the shiniest blonde hair and the biggest blue eyes I had ever seen.
00:38She was also... well.
00:42She was kind of...
00:44Fat Fat Rosemarie, sang Genevieve from the back row.
00:48All the kids around her laughed, just like when they laugh at my freckles and red hair.
00:54I didn't laugh at Rosemarie.
00:57Later in gym class, Rosemarie and I were standing alone waiting to be picked for dodgeball.
01:03I am usually the last girl to be picked for a team.
01:08Rosemarie whispered to me, I don't care what side I'm on, but I hope we're on the same
01:14team.
01:15What's your name?
01:17Claire I replied.
01:19Why don't we sit together at lunch Claire?
01:23Rosemarie and I sat at the last table in the cafeteria.
01:28She told me that she had a dog named Buttons.
01:30I told her that I didn't have a dog, but that I had a little brother named Harry.
01:36I asked Rosemarie to come over to my house to play after school.
01:41She said yes, but she would have to tell her mother first.
01:47Genevieve and her friends were giggling and pointing at us all during lunchtime.
01:52I never liked Genevieve much.
01:54That afternoon Rosemarie and I played dolls in my room.
01:59Then we colored.
02:01I told Rosemarie coloring was my favorite thing to do.
02:06Rosemarie said that her favorite thing to do was play movie stars.
02:10How do you play movie stars?
02:13I asked.
02:15Well she said with deep thought.
02:18We need some grown up clothes and some lipstick and a hairbrush to start with.
02:23I asked my mother and she let us use some of her old things.
02:28Playing movie stars really was a lot of fun.
02:32Im Gene Harlow and you're Rita Hayworth said Rosemarie posing in front of a full length
02:37mirror.
02:39Gene who?
02:40I asked my most perfect movie star expression.
02:44Doesn't he matter?
02:45She replied.
02:47Let's accept our Academy Awards.
02:50Soon it was time to say goodbye.
02:53I had had a lot of fun playing with Rosemarie.
02:57I liked her a lot and I thought she liked me.
03:01Usually it's hard for me to make friends.
03:04I get scared and don't talk much.
03:08But with Rosemarie I could talk and talk and talk.
03:12As Rosemarie walked away, I saw Genevieve and her friends down the street.
03:17Fat fat Rosemarie!
03:20Fattest girl I ever did see!
03:23They shouted.
03:25Rosemarie looked down at the ground and said nothing.
03:28I closed the door.
03:30After school the next day, I went to play at Rosemarie's house.
03:36This is my buttons, said Rosemarie, holding her dog.
03:40Hi Buttons I said quietly.
03:43Do you think he'll let me pet him?
03:46Of course you can pet Buttons, said Rosemarie's mom.
03:51He doesn't bite.
03:53You don't have to be afraid of him Claire.
03:57Rosemarie's mom was real nice.
03:59We worked on our math and studied our spelling.
04:03I was good at spelling, but I was not so good at math.
04:08Rosemarie was very very good at math and she helped me with my homework.
04:13See, said Rosemarie explaining with her pencil.
04:17It's not so hard, is it?
04:20And it wasn't so hard after all.
04:23We played catch with Buttons, and then Rosemarie showed me some tricks she had taught him.
04:29Speak.
04:31Roll over.
04:32Jump.
04:34Lie down.
04:36When it was time to go home, Rosemarie and I promised to play again tomorrow.
04:42That's how it was every day.
04:45Rosemarie and I would walk to school together and play at recess together and walk home
04:49together and do our homework together.
04:52I really liked being with Rosemarie.
04:55But every day Genevieve would call her fat fat Rosemarie.
05:00I didn't think that was very nice, but I didn't say anything.
05:05One morning Miss Bin announced that we would be going to a carnival for our class trip.
05:11Wow, exclaimed Rosemarie.
05:14That's going to be a lot of fun.
05:16It sure will.
05:18I said.
05:20Do they have a sideshow at the carnival, asked Genevieve.
05:24You know.
05:26Like with a fat lady.
05:28Miss Bin gave Genevieve a stern look.
05:31No Genevieve she replied.
05:34I do not believe they have a sideshow.
05:37Rosemarie and I looked forward to the carnival all week.
05:41When the city came, we sat together on the school bus.
05:45I want to go on the merry-go-round and the roller coaster.
05:50What do you want to go on?
05:53Rosemarie asked me.
05:54I want to go in the fun house.
05:57I said.
05:59The fun house is exciting, said Rosemarie.
06:03But it's dark and scary too, so we'll have to make sure we hold on to each other when
06:08we go.
06:10Our bus pooled into the carnival parking lot.
06:13It was wonderful.
06:15There were rides and games and balloons and booths selling hot dogs and cotton candy and
06:20music was playing.
06:22Miss Bin gave each of us a handful of tickets as we got off the bus and told us what time
06:28to be back by.
06:30Rosemarie took my hand and we ran over to the water gun burst the balloon game.
06:35I pulled the trigger while Rosemarie aimed, and we won.
06:39We picked a stuffed dinosaur as our prize and named him Boris.
06:44Next we went on the merry-go-round.
06:47I had a yellow horse with pale blue eyes, and Rosemarie had a violet horse that looked
06:52like it was singing.
06:54Boris is having fun, shouted Rosemarie, and we both laughed.
07:00We got in the line for the roller coaster.
07:04Genevieve was already there.
07:06She looked at us and made a face.
07:09Oh no, exclaimed Genevieve.
07:13It's fat, fat Rosemarie.
07:16She's going to get on this ride and break the ride, and we're all going to die.
07:20That was the silliest thing I'd ever heard.
07:23Nobody can get on any ride with Rosemarie, shouted Genevieve.
07:28Nobody!
07:30She's too fat, and she's got to go on the rides all by herself.
07:34Genevieve grabbed my arm.
07:36And that includes you, Claire.
07:39Nobody goes on any ride with Rosemarie.
07:42All the kids were staring at me.
07:44I felt real funny.
07:46I don't know why, but I started to walk away with Genevieve.
07:52As I did, Rosemarie handed me our stuffed dinosaur.
07:56You take care of Boris, Claire, she said.
08:00What was I doing?
08:01I hated Genevieve.
08:04But I walked away with her anyway.
08:07You sit right next to me on the roller coaster, Claire, gloated Genevieve as she stared at
08:12Rosemarie.
08:14I did.
08:15And Rosemarie sat alone.
08:18I went on the giant swing sitting next to Genevieve.
08:22And Rosemarie sat alone.
08:25What a pretty dinosaur you have, Claire, said Genevieve with a smirk.
08:30Can I play with him later?
08:32I said nothing.
08:35Then we got in line for the fun house.
08:38I thought of Rosemarie telling me how dark and scary the fun house was.
08:43She was ahead of me in line.
08:46She looked real sad.
08:48I held Boris tightly.
08:51Genevieve pointed and said, Look at old fat fat Rosemarie.
08:56Hi you're slim.
08:57She started to laugh.
09:00For a moment I just stared at Genevieve.
09:03And then I did something that I hoped my mother would not get too upset over.
09:09I took the double scoop French vanilla ice cream cone with chocolate sprinkles that Genevieve
09:14was licking out of her hand and stuck it in her face.
09:18You're not a nice person Genevieve!
09:20I shouted.
09:22Maybe I hadn't been a very nice person either.
09:26I ran over to Rosemarie just as she was getting in the car for the fun house.
09:31Can I go on this ride with you Rosemarie?
09:35I asked.
09:36I was a little afraid of what she might say to me.
09:41Rosemarie smiled and said, Sure.
09:44The fun house was scary, but so so much fun.
09:48Rosemarie and I went on the rest of the rides together.
09:52We even went on the merry-go-round two more times.
09:55It was truly a day to remember.
09:58And you know what?
10:00At school the next day, when Genevieve laughed and shouted, Fat fat Rosemarie, not all of
10:06the kids laughed along with her.
10:09Some of them even sat with us at lunch.
10:12And played with us at recess.
10:16Rosemarie and I made lots of friends after that week.
10:20But Rosemarie was always my best friend of all.
10:24The end.