Wilson Schlamme is an antagonist in the fifty-second book in the Goosebumps series, How I Learned to Fly. Wilson competes with Jack Johnson, the protagonist of the book, for the attention of Mia Montez, a girl that they both have feelings for.
History[]
Whenever Wilson is around Mia, he goes out of his way to impress her, often embarrassing or belittling Jack in the process.
One day, Wilson goes to Jack's house. Wilson wants to show off his new skates, but he accidentally sees Jack flying. Wilson carefully observes Jack hiding a book, placing it inside an old mattress in his garage. Wilson steals this book and teaches himself how to fly before putting it back. Later, Jack challenges Wilson to a race; Jack expects to fly above Wilson, leaving him shocked. However, Wilson begins flying as well, much to Jack's dismay.
Wilson, unlike Jack, doesn't want to keep his flight a secret. Wilson arranges for a flying race in front of the whole school. During the race, Wilson and Jack reveal that they can fly, gaining lots of attention. As their fame grows, Wilson gets his own show. Jack's father arranges a bigger race for Wilson and Jack, and Wilson gladly accepts the challenge. On the day of the race, when the race begins, Wilson takes off into the air. However, Jack doesn't, and exclaims that he's lost his ability to fly.
After Wilson's victory, he becomes increasingly more famous. His schedule is continuously filled with appearances that he has to make, so he never has time to hang out with any of his old friends.
General information[]
Personality[]
Wilson is highly competitive and occasionally mean-spirited towards Jack. Wilson belittles Jack in an attempt to gain the attention and affection of Mia. Wilson is an attention-seeker; when he gets a shot at fame, he takes it unquestioningly.
Wilson enjoys embarrassing Jack Johnson. He calls Jack "Jackie" simply because Jack dislikes the nickname.
Physical appearance[]
The book gives very little physical description of Wilson. He is said to have broad shoulders. Also, when he appears on television, Jack comment's on "his horrible Wilson grin."
Trivia[]
- The blurb on the back cover of How I Learned to Fly misspells Wilson's last name. In the book, his name is Schlamme, but it is spelled as "Schlame" on the back cover.
- The reader never gets to find out how Wilson feels about his ultimate fate. It's possible he loves public attention so much that he doesn't care about losing his old friends. However, it could be argued that Wilson achieved a Pyrrhic victory, outshining Jack at the cost of a normal life.