Mr. Business and Life in the Middle

By B.K. Fulton

Middle school is complicated, especially when you're the new kid. BK finds himself in a new school, trying to make friends and find things that make him happy. Should he choose the tech club or basketball? Video games or the science fair? And what about that kid who seems like a bully? It's a lot to figure out, but BK will handle his business an

• Language: English
• Publisher: Owl Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Oct 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781949929751

B.K. Fulton

BK Fulton is an award-winning author, filmmaker, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. BK was awarded a Computerworld Smithsonian International Technology Laureates Medal and his influential writings on technology are permanently archived at the Smithsonian Institute. He lives in Virginia with his wife, Jackie, where they raised twin boys. His series, Mr. Business, tells the story of his life growing up.

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Mr. Business and Life in the Middle

B.K. Fulton

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Copyright © 2021 by BK Fulton

ISBN (paperback) : 978-1-949929-73-7

ISBN (hardcover) : 978-1-949929-74-4

ISBN (ebook) : 978-1-949929-75-1

Library of Congress Control Number: In Progress

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Owl Publishing, LLC.

Published by Owl Publishing, LLC. by arrangement with Soulidifly Productions.

www.owlpublishinghouse.com

www.soulidifly.com

Cover by Rachel Loughlin

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Dedication

Thank you for choosing Mr. Business. This series is dedicated to all the kids out there who work smart and try their best every day at home and at school. The series is also dedicated to all the caring adults who help our young people to be excellent. Each day is a gift.

What we do with that gift is our gift back to the planet. You are excellent by design.

Sincerely,

B.K. Fulton

Chapter 1

It’s time to wake up, Brian, BK’s mom shook him gently. On any normal day, BK would already be awake and heading down to breakfast, dressed in his signature snazzy slacks, polo shirt, and favorite blue sweater vest. Sometimes he even borrowed one of his Dad’s ties, for added effect.

But today was not just any normal day.

You don’t want to be late for your first day of fifth grade at your new school! His mom’s cheeks glowed as she smiled, encouragingly.

BK slowly blinked his eyes open and stretched his arms and legs. Then, he sighed and buried himself further into his blankets.

BK’s family had just moved from Holbeck, Virginia to a larger town called Westport News. BK liked his old neighborhood. He had grown up in Holbeck and knew all the kids in his class and the fun places to hang out. What kind of name is Westport News, anyway? BK thought to himself. It sounded like the name of an old television channel his mom might watch, one that only showed black-and-white cartoons on Saturday mornings and holidays.

Still, they had been one of the only Black families in their neighborhood and the elementary school that BK attended didn’t have many students who looked like BK. BK’s parents decided to move so the whole family could live in a more diverse neighborhood.

Before they moved, BK’s parents told him that there would be plenty of other kids who looked like him at his new school and that their new neighborhood was home to many different families, from lots of different cultures. His parents seemed excited for the move, but Brian could not help but worry whether the kids in his new school would like him.

Just because the other students looked like him didn’t mean they were like him. BK had always been a little different.

BK rolled over and stretched again. A poster of Bruno Mars smiled down at him from his wall. Across the room, he had tacked another of Luther Vandross, dressed in a suit and tie and looking all-business. If BK had to guess, he’d say none of the kids at his new school would even know who Luther Vandross was. BK was the only person he knew, except for his parents, who loved to listen to the old-time singer’s soulful music.

Do I have to go? BK asked, hopelessly. He already knew the answer.

Brian, of course you have to go to school! his mother sighed, using the name everybody still called him. BK was tired of being Brian, but he had not yet figured out who he did want to be. In his head, he called himself BK—short for his full name, Brian Keith. Or, sometimes, he just called himself Keith.

Your dad and I have to go to school, too, so up and at ‘em, his mom said.

BK’s parents were both teachers and his mom was starting her first day at a new school too, as a third grade teacher at another local elementary. Why can’t Mom teach at my new school? BK thought to himself. At least then I’d know someone.

But did he really want his mom looking over his shoulder as he ate lunch in the cafeteria, played basketball during gym class, and tried to make new friends? On second thought, probably not.

His mom noticed BK frowning.

Brian, it’s just school, she said. You like school. Don’t worry, you’ll have fun. She leaned down to give BK a pat on his shoulder.

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But seriously Brian, let’s go. Mom was using her means-business voice. It was time to get moving.

All right, BK sighed, pulling himself out of bed and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He had a small pit in his stomach, but he would just have to find the courage to go to school anyway. Plus, he knew that his parents would never let him stay home. As teachers, they knew more than anybody how important education was.

The bus will be here in fifteen minutes, BK’s mom said, walking out his bedroom door and into the bright light of the hallway. At his doorway, she turned around and gave BK a smile.

Who knows, maybe your grandmom will come over tonight and make her special pineapple cake to celebrate your first day of school! she said, cheerfully.

Grandmom’s pineapple cake? That was BK’s favorite! His grandmom made the best pineapple cakes in the whole world. They were always sweet and sticky. BK thought grandmom’s cakes tasted just like home—if home had a taste. Would his new home in Westport News have a different taste than his old home, in Holbeck? Either way, BK hoped grandmom’s cake tasted exactly the same. Some things are already prefect just the way they are.

BK usually visited his grandparents every Sunday after going to church with his parents. But Grandmom only made pineapple cake for special occasions. If today ended with a syrupy slice of grandmom’s famous pineapple cake, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad after all. The nerves in BK’s stomach began to calm down, just a little. At least he had one thing to be excited about in the day ahead.

Scanning his closet, BK decided if there were ever a day to feel his absolute best, it was today. Piling his Black Panther-themed pajamas in a bundle on the floor, he changed into red and white checkered pants, a t-shirt with his lucky number seven splashed across the front, and his favorite navy blue hat with flaps on the side. Although he was still nervous to start his first day at his school, BK hoped wearing his favorite outfit would bring him good luck.

BK walked into the kitchen, wishing it smelled like the bacon, French toast, and cheesy scrambled eggs his Dad cooked every Sunday morning. Weekdays meant cold cereal with a banana sliced over the top if BK bothered to slice one.

Pulling out a chair at the kitchen table, BK hadn’t sat down before Mom called to him.

Brian Keith don’t forget your glasses! she reminded.

BK slowly pulled his glasses out of the pocket of his checkered pants and groaned. "Don’t call me Brian, Mom! Please!"

BK didn’t like when anyone called him Brian, but it was the absolute worst when Mom called him Brian Keith. Usually, it meant that he was in trouble.

I like BK better, he said, sliding his large, square glasses onto his face. Call me BK, Mom. BK is cool.

BK’s mom frowned at the banana she was slicing on the kitchen counter, then turned around and gave Brian a look.

I named you Brian and I plan to call you by your name, she said, raising an eyebrow.

BK’s parents had named him after some old actor his mom loved when she was young, named Brian Keith. He tried to watch some of the movies the old Brian Keith starred in, once, but they were practically ancient—filmed in the sixties and seventies! BK wished that his parents had thought to name him after someone cool. At least he could think of a few cool Keiths, like the R&B rapper Keith Sweat or the football player Brandon Keith. Brandon Keith could run the 40-yard dash in 4.98 seconds. And he was huge!

How about Keith? he tried again. Even Keith is better than Brian.

Mom shook her head. BK sighed.

Okay, Mom, he said.

Once BK poured himself a bowl of cereal crisps, Mom slid a few slices of banana on top. Then, his dad came into the kitchen, pushing BK’s sister Anna, in her wheelchair.

Anna was seven years older than BK and had been diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder called Rett syndrome. This meant that Anna was like a three-year-old stuck in a teenager’s body. Since Anna could not have adventures in the same way BK could, BK liked to tell her stories about what he did all day, while he helped take care of her. In the afternoons, after school, as BK helped her take off her shoes or eat a snack, he would tell her about all the things he saw and the people he met that day.

The family dog, Rusty, came