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“Yes?”
    â€œI feel it’s only fair to let you know that if you don’tget this extra credit, you will be in danger of failing my class.”
    â€œFailing?”
    â€œYes.” He licks his finger and turns a page in his grade book, looking for my name. How gross, licking his finger like that. I make a mental note to wash my hands every time he hands a paper back to me. Who knows what kind of germs I’ve been exposed to.
    â€œHow is that possible?” I knew things were bad, but I had no idea I was in danger of failing the class.
    â€œWell, the midterm counts for thirty percent of your grade.”
    â€œBut we haven’t had our midterm yet.”
    â€œWell, if you don’t do this extra credit, you would need to get at least a B on the midterm to make sure you pull up the rest of your grade. And if you do not achieve at least a B on the midterm, you will fail the class. And then, Miss Williams, I will be seeing you again next year.”
    Oh. My. God. Next year? With Mr. Jacobi? There’s no way I’m going to get less than a B on the midterm. I don’t care if I have to study for, like, a month straight. Of course, I don’t have Brandon to help me anymore. But still. Another whole year with Mr. Jacobi? I can’t think of anything worse than that.
    And do I really want to risk it? Just because I’m afraid of Madison Baker?
    I sigh. “I’ll be there this afternoon,” I say.
    â€œGreat,” Mr. Jacobi says, and then he gives me a satisfied smile. “I’m looking forward to it.”
    Ugh.

Chapter
4
    Why is it that when you have something fun to do after school, like going shopping, the day seems to drag on forever? And when you have something you’re dreading, the minutes seem like seconds and the hours seem like minutes? Before I know it, the day is over and it’s time to gather in the lobby to head over to the elementary school.
    Stoneridge Elementary is only a couple of blocks away from the middle school. It’s a brand-new building that was built the year after I graduated from elementary school. Which is really unfair when you think about it. Also, why did they build a new elementary school? Everyone knows that little kids don’t care about things like what their schoollooks like. They’re just happy to actually be in school.
    Anyway, whoever it is who’s in charge of these things (the principal?) has apparently decided that in an effort to save money, we’re going to be walking over to the elementary school instead of taking a bus.
    This fact is making Mr. Jacobi very angry.
    â€œApparently, saving money is more important to some people than student safety,” he grumbles as he does a head count. “And now it’s up to me to make sure none of you get hit by a car.”
    He glares at the group of us, like he just knows someone is going to be stupid enough to get hit by a car. Not that I can blame him. I glance over at Jason Fields, who’s running around the lobby with his hands outstretched, pretending to be an airplane circling in for a landing.
    I can’t believe they think it’s okay for him to go and tutor elementary school students. I mean, look at him. He’s obviously like an elementary school student himself. He’s been doing that same move since second grade.
    Mr. Jacobi checks us all off on a list, and then we move through the door and out into the fall day.
    The air is colder than I expected, and I reach into my pockets to pull out my purple-and-lavender-striped gloves. My fingers instantly warm up, but a little shiver runs through my body anyway.
    Wearing the gloves reminds me of a couple weeksago, when Brandon, Kyle, Ellie, and I all went ice-skating together. It was one of the first times that I felt like Brandon and I were a real couple.
    But that was before. Before everything turned into a huge mess, before Brandon broke up with me, before the three of them started