CURRENT ISSUE 05/27/03 Front Page Weekly Features Ain't That America? To-Do List News from Travistan Musing with Mitch Moth's Diary Globetrotting with Push Riding Shotgun with Adventure Info Archives Crap Shop Who's at Fault? Contact Us! Aye, mateys! Get you some Daily Probe booty!	Geeky Kid With Pool Suddenly Popular SOUTH BEND, Ind. (DPI) No more teachers, no more books. The school year has ended and along with it come endless hours of free time for the nation's schoolchildren. But for Marvin Rollins, soon-to-be seventh-grader at Rockne Middle School, the summer has brought with it an unexpected surprise: popularity. "I'm not really sure what has happened," Marvin acknowledged as he passed out towels to a couple of eighth graders he's never met. "Ever since classes ended, people just want to be around me. I think they're really responding to the 'Have a great summer, let's stay in touch' I wrote in their yearbook." In early April, while Marvin was still focusing on science projects and online role-playing games, his parents installed a 20-by-40-foot above-ground pool with a diving board and slide. Coincidentally, Marvin now finds himself at the center of attention. "No one seems to tease me like they did last summer at the public pool," he said. "My mom still makes me stay in the shallow end and wear my T-shirt while I swim, but the guys don't seem to hold my head under water nearly as long as they used to." When his new friends were asked what they find most appealing about the "Marvinator," as he likes to be called, the answers were diverse and heartfelt. "Who?" asked a seemingly puzzled Jennifer Penton. "Oh, the kid with the pool? Yeah, when it gets above 85 degrees, it's a lot easier to ignore that creepy way he stares at me." Gary Wheeler, former nemesis of Marvin and chief provider of wedgies, said he sees Marvin as a more complete and well-rounded person. "Melvin ain't so bad any more," said Gary as he looked through the Rollins refrigerator. "'Cause even if the weather's bad, he's got an Xbox and a big-screen TV." So whether the girls love the way Marvin's pasty white skin looks in his Harry Potter swimsuit, or the boys love the way Marvin's 16-year old sister looks in her bikini, or the way Marvin feels the need to tell everyone the atomic weight of chlorine, it seems certain that Marvin's popularity is here to stay. At least until Labor Day. (Reported by Buddy Fisher)
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