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said, reaching out for my arm, “you’re shaking.”
    I could feel the sting of moisture behind my eyes and tried to blink it away. I was seeing things. Something was wrong with me, and I really didn’t want my friends to think that I had totally lost it. At least Lisa and Colin wouldn’t make fun of me—well, Colin might, but only until he realized I was serious; then he’d want to help. Since I had no idea what was going on with me, help was exactly what I needed. I cleared my throat.
    â€œHey, Dean. See any more imaginary rats?” There was no mistaking that sniveling voice: Eric Feldman, aka spoiled-rich-kid-who-buys-his-friends, aka douchebag extraordinaire, aka… well, you get the idea.
    I turned slowly and watched Eric and his posse plow their way through the crowded hall. Students slowed and looked between me and Eric as though we were engaged in some invisible game of tennis. I sighed. I’d known Eric since he moved to Abbotsford in third grade. He had been a jerk even back then. Colin tricked him into eating yellow snow one winter and ever since we’d been at the top of his list of people to bully.
    Colin stepped forward. “He thought he saw one, but it turned out to be your mom. I’m sure you can see how he confused the two.”
    Laughter erupted from the students who had stopped to watch, and their voices caught the attention of even more people until it seemed the entire school, or at least the entire ninth grade, was watching us.
    Eric took a quick step forward but skidded to a stop when Colin clenched his fists and took a step of his own. Eric wasn’t a tough kid. Actually, he was pretty much the definition of prissy . He even walked around on his toes most of the time, but that was probably because he was a bit smaller than the other kids in our class. Colin and I—even Lisa for that matter—could probably take him in a fight. Eric’s best friend, Rodney Palmer, however, was a different story. Rodney was a Neanderthal goon who would frighten even a grown-up. Today, however, Rodney wasn’t at school… Actually, he hadn’t been in school for three days―a fact that had clearly slipped Eric’s mind. Rumors had been circulating that Rodney had been picked up for shoplifting, which sounded pretty believable. Considering the type of thug he was, if there were rumors that Rodney was on the run after killing a cop, most everyone would have believed that too.
    Rodney’s absence, combined with a general distaste for Eric, spurred Colin’s confidence. He seemed ready for a fight. Eric wasn’t.
    The crowd fell silent as Eric and Colin squared off against each other. Colin had a crooked smile and looked far too pleased. Eric, on the other hand, kept glancing over his shoulder at the gathering masses while he bit nervously on his lower lip.
    â€œGet ‘em, Colin!” someone shouted from the crowd. Another shout followed, then another, and before long, the whole crowd was egging the fight on. Some of the shouts were in support of Eric—who was looking more nervous by the second—but most were for Colin. No surprise there: Colin was one of those kids who was pretty much friends with everyone. This was good for me too, since that meant when he was around no one was looking at me.
    I smiled. Colin was about to come through again. Eric Feldman getting his butt kicked was just the thing to make everyone forget about the whole rat debacle. I thought it was going to happen too, until the first buzzer sounded over the PA system and Mr. Shepherd came charging down the hall and commanded us all to class.
    Lisa grabbed me by the shoulder. “We’ll meet you here before lunch,” she said as the crowd dispersed.
    Second period was social studies, and it would have been the best place to sit and think about what was wrong with me. My teacher, Mr. Webber, was hands down the oldest teacher in the school. He had a