The Best of Iggy

The narrator explains that this chapter focuses on the second type of mistakes outlined in Chapter 1: things people wish they hadn’t done quite as much of. These are actions that were never a good idea “but wouldn’t have been bad if we hadn’t gone too far” (41). Typically, after school Iggy hangs out with his friends Diego, Aidan, and Arch, or he has soccer practice. However, one day, Iggy’s mom has a meeting, so his sister Maribel and her friend Haley are supposed to walk him home and “watch” him until Laurel gets back. Iggy doesn’t like the idea of his sister having authority over him and decides he won’t let them boss him around.

In reality, Maribel and Haley aren’t trying to be bossy, and when Iggy says he wants to play his video game MonsterTrack, they don’t stop him, even though he’s not supposed to play for more than one hour a day. Maribel and Haley are busy talking, and Iggy feels neglected. He shouts, “You call that watching me? […] I could be dead for all you know!” (43). He storms to the bathroom, slams the door, and locks it. To vent his frustration, he flushes the toilet repeatedly, puts shampoo in it, and then proceeds to make a mess with his dad’s shaving cream and his mom’s makeup, drawing fake wrinkles and blood on himself.