Mistakes Were Made

Timmy’s dreams are dashed when he and his mother move into a one-bedroom apartment in a high rise. Timmy has a pull-out bed in the den, and his office is now the apartment hallway next to the garbage chute.

Timmy imagines that the Segway is hidden deep within the earth, beyond a maze and behind vicious guard dogs. He starts sending mail to Corrina Corrina, with the address “where evil resides” (143), but none of the mail makes it to its destination. Timmy tries to buy a laptop so he can email her instead, but he doesn’t have the $1,200 needed to buy one. He asks his mom for it, but she just assumes he must not be thinking clearly. Timmy’s next option is to head to the library, which is run by a librarian nicknamed “Flo.”

Flo is a strict librarian who always has a scowl on his face, but he and Timmy have an understanding, so Flo lets Timmy use the computers for longer than would normally be allowed. When Flo sees Timmy trying to make a website for his business, he steps in to help but ends up writing the headline as “TIMMY FAILURE IS A FAILURE” (150) instead of “isn’t.”

Timmy isn’t pleased, but he doesn’t want to complain. He notes that Flo’s nickname was given because of patrons’ fear of disobeying his rules. Flo is also rumored to read books about “how to kill things” (151), one of which is apparently titled, “The Complete Works of Emily Dickinson” (151). Timmy doesn’t think Emily Dickinson looks like a killer, but he knows looks can be deceiving.

Timmy sees a flyer for Corrina Corrina’s detective agency that advertises her services as “superior.” He takes this as a personal insult and starts sending her emails with fake cases in the hope that they will waste her time and resources.

Rollo misses group test day because he is sick, so Corrina Corrina takes over answering for the group. She gets all the questions right, but Timmy changes the answers before the test is graded, giving everyone in the group a zero. Mr. Crocus seems to have given up on teaching and just sits at his desk, staring at his hula doll all day.

Timmy’s mother brings her new boyfriend, Crispin Flavius, home for dinner one night. Timmy can’t help pointing out Crispin’s one earring, his “soul patch,” his raisin-eating habit, and the fact that he wears a bowling shirt with an upturned collar.

When Crispin tells Timmy he shouldn’t wear a hat to the dinner table, Timmy jumps on the table and tells Crispin to shut his mouth. Timmy’s mom sends him to his room, but Timmy goes to Rollo’s house instead. When Rollo finds out about the failed test, he isn’t happy with Timmy.

Timmy tries to apologize to Rollo by giving him a poster of Timmy. Rollo is beginning to lose patience with Timmy’s antics. He tells Timmy that Molly hides her shoes on purpose because she has a crush on Timmy and wants him around. Timmy finds this ridiculous and dismisses the idea, laughing it off.

Rollo tells Timmy to leave, explaining that he has to return Corrina Corrina’s backpack to her. He goes to the bathroom, giving Timmy a chance to search through the bag. He finds Corrina Corrina’s detective log and takes it.

Timmy takes the detective log to the library to read it. Inside, he finds several entries, mainly about Corrina Corrina’s life at home. She regularly mentions how often her father is gone for work and that she misses spending time with him; she is usually left with her nanny or in her room alone. Corrina Corrina also mentions not getting paid for a case she solved with almost no effort.

The last entry refers to Timmy and how he failed the group test for everyone, but it refers to him as “the weird kid in our group” (175). The entry suggests that Corrina Corrina actually doesn’t know about Timmy’s business or even know his name. In the illustration, Timmy’s sticky notes on the log indicate that he doesn’t understand this implication or what the other entries imply. Instead, he thinks that Corrina Corrina must have planted the diary as some sort of distraction.

Molly shows up at Timmy’s apartment window at night and starts throwing rocks at his window. When Timmy tells her to leave, she throws a dirt clump, breaking his window. She insists that they should practice the play. She tries to get Timmy’s attention by claiming her shoes are gone again, though she is just hiding them behind her back.

Timmy’s mother hears the commotion and comes into his room. She sees the broken window, but Molly is already gone, so Timmy’s mom thinks he’s the one who broke it. She also tells Timmy that Rollo revealed there is no school play. Timmy makes the mistake of inviting his mother to come to the play tomorrow, which will be held in Molly’s yard. Timmy’s mom happily accepts the invitation, and Timmy immediately regrets it.

Timmy wants to infiltrate Corrina Corrina’s agency with Total, but he’s stuck in the car with Crispin Flavius. Crispin lectures Timmy about growing up, letting go of his pretend games, and being more responsible. Timmy jumps out of the car at a stop sign and runs, and Crispin can’t find him anywhere. Timmy walks away with Total, hand in hand.

Timmy doesn’t know the answer to any questions on his history tests, so he just puts “Chang” for everything because he knows that’s the world’s most common last name.

Timmy lies in bed as his mom begins reading another polar bear story. Timmy’s mom tells him that she doesn’t approve of Crispin trying to lecture Timmy and lets him know that it’s okay to have an imaginary friend. She also asks Timmy if he wants to go to the seafood restaurant after the play tomorrow, and Timmy agrees.

It’s the day of the play, and Timmy and Molly are practicing. Molly keeps trying to insert a hugging scene, and Timmy keeps rejecting her. The play is short and simple and involves a man trying to buy a Segway from a woman. The Segway is really just an empty box that says “Segway” on it. Timmy’s mom shows up unexpectedly, and Timmy realizes with regret that he wrote the wrong time on her ticket. There is nowhere to sit and no other guests, so Timmy calls Rollo and tells him he has to come now, or Timmy will find a way to sabotage all of Rollo’s tests from now on. Rollo angrily hangs up, and then Flo the librarian shows up.

The play doesn’t last long because Molly forgets her lines and decides to just hug Timmy instead. They roll down the driveway, Molly refusing to let go. Rollo shows up with Corrina Corrina, which only makes the situation worse for Timmy. When Molly’s cat jumps on Rollo, he panics and runs into the shed, which locks behind him. Meanwhile, Timmy is crushed by the Segway box, and his mother gets in the car and drives away.

When Timmy’s mom receives a notice from the school indicating that Timmy’s grades are too low for him to advance to the next grade, her patience runs out. She tells Timmy he can no longer play detective or have an imaginary friend. With great sadness, Timmy takes Total to the zoo to say goodbye.

Timmy and Total stand at the zoo entrance. Timmy hugs Total tightly, knowing he will miss him dearly.