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nickname (a t least I d idn’t call her “Mrs. Fat Neck”). “I don’t know my number . I’m sure you could look up my records? Maybe? Please? ”
    W ith several clicks of the mouse, she had my records pulled up on her computer screen. She took the phone, dialed the number, and then handed it back to me .
    “Hello?” My gramma sounded like she had just woken up. She must have gone back to sleep after Lori and I got on the bus.
    “ Hey, Gramma , I— ” I almost said , “ wet myself,” forgetting that that wasn’ t what I had actually done. It’s funny how when you hear a lie over and over again, you begin to believe it even if you know it’s not the truth. “—I need you to bring me a change of clothes.”
    “Why?”
    “My pants are wet…I fell down a well.”
    “You what? ! ” There seemed to be genuine fear in her voice.
    “I — ” I was going to repeat the truth, but then decided that maybe going along with everyone’s assumptions was probably going to be the best course of action. “I had an accident. I didn’t make it to the bathroom.”
    “How old are you, Amanda?” She didn’t give me time to answer. “Old enough to ask to use the restroom!”
    “Well, I… . ”
    Gramma save d me the chore of lying again by saying, “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” And then she added, “You’re going straight to you r room when you get home .”
     
    Chapter 7
    Gramma came and went, and I went back to class. Before I could sit down, however, I had to clean up the puddle that was on and under the chair. The day had started out relatively well, so it was really a shame that it had gone so wrong.
    There was a closet containing cleaning supplies at the front of the classroom. I got out some paper towels and Lysol. If there was a bright side to this at all, it was that Mr. Hatch was still talking about fishing, still talking about how his son, who he now described as “an eight-year-old lad,” also wrestled a fish out of the jaws of a shark. I could easily tune him out while not missing a thing.
    I could hear the other kids whispering and snickering as I wiped up the enormous puddle. The fact that they were still convinced I had wet my pants made me wonder how big they thought my bladder was. Come on, guys, use your heads.
    Just as I was finishing up, a wailing siren went off, accompanied by bright red flashes that seemed to be coming from the fluorescent lights.
    This was followed by an announcement over the PA system. “Attention, we have an emergency situation. Lock all of your doors.” Mr. Hatch did exactly that. Most peculiarly, he glanced back at me with an awful look as he did so, as if whatever was going on was because of me.
    “What’s going on?” I asked Audrey, who I assumed had an idea because she wasn’t panicking. She looked at me just as Mr. Hatch had, as if I were the cause of the turmoil. “What? Come on, tell me.”
    It wasn’t Audrey who told me. It was Joey, who came up behind me and wrestle d me to the ground. “Why did your dad have to interfere? Why? ”
    I grunted as I tried to get up. Joey was much stronger than I was and able to hold me to the ground. “Let me up, Joey.”
    “No. You did this.”
    My only defense was ignorance because I really had no idea what he was talking about. He didn’t believe me, stating the idea that I didn’t know what was happening was “ludicrous in the extreme.”
    The red lights flashed as the wailing grew louder. And then, after reaching what seemed to be a peak, the alarm and lights ceased.
    Mr. Hatch ordered everyone to return quietly to their seats. “What was that about?” I asked. My shoulders were sore from Joey pinning me to the floor.
    “Quiet,” Mr. Hatch snapped. The rest of the kids looked at me, all of them wearing a measure of disgust on their face.
    Then another announcement over the PA: “ The threat has been neutralized .” And that was all. No explanation over what had h appened, but I thought I heard a