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I will become a journalist and write for the New York Times and win a Pulitzer Prize. And then certain people will realize how dumb they were not to fall in love with me when they had the chance.
    Newspaper was somewhat interesting, in a way. The faculty advisor is Mr. McKinley. There’s a rumor he used to be a priest. I could see immediately why he might not have been too successful in a comforting kind of role.
    “Who are you?” he bellowed when I walked in.
    I didn’t know. My brain had melted in the heat of his voice.
    He stepped closer and yelled again, “Who are you?”
    Luckily it came to me: “Charlie.”
    “Charlie?” he yelled. “I have a brother named Charlie. You don’t look anything like him.”
    “Thank you,” I sputtered.
    He laughed. Loud and long, like I’d genuinely cracked him up. He pounded me on the back with his meaty hand. “Good. I like you, Charlie. You here to be a reporter?”
    I shrugged. I had no earthly idea what I was doing there.
    “Good. Work the City News beat,” Mr. McKinley boomed. “We need a City News reporter. Right?”
    I nodded, though of course I had no idea if they needed a City News reporter. He steered me past Kevin and some other kids sitting at the table, toward a girl at a computer in the back of the room.
    “Penelope!” he shouted.
    The girl looked up. She had crooked bangs and glasses and looked annoyed.
    “Here’s your City News staff. Her name is Charles. Put her to work!”
    He turned to face the room and bellowed, “What is the most important element of a free society?”
    “A free press,” everybody answered in unison.
    This club was obviously nuts. I considered a quick escape, but then Kevin smiled briefly at me before going back to what he was working on. I reminded myself that it did not matter to me at all if he smiled at me, and also that the most important something of a free society is a free press. I resolved not to even glance over at Kevin for at least the next five minutes. I checked the clock.
    Penelope sighed. “There’s hardly any city news. You can cover the Board of Ed. Okay?”
    I had no idea what that meant. “Okay,” I said.
    “Do you know what that means?”
    “Of course,” I said. “But, well, sort of, no.”
    She rolled her eyes. “You go to the Board of Ed meetings. First Wednesday of every month, seven P.M . You take notes and write them up for a story. Be accurate, be brief. Got it?”
    “Sure.”
    “I’m applying early to Yale,” she added. “Where do you want to go?”
    “Home,” I said.
    “What?”
    “Nothing,” I said. “I’m not . . . I’m just a freshman.”
    “Gunning for editor in chief, huh?”
    I shrugged. No, actually, I am only here because I have a crush on the boy I just fixed up with my best friend. I have no ambition in life beyond restraining myself from looking at him for another 4.5 minutes.
    “Yeah, well, ed in chief is a lot better than City News editor on your applications, obviously.” She sighed again. “I have other stuff, though, volunteer work, maybe a shot at valedictorian, and I fence. You don’t fence, do you?”
    “Like swords, or like picket?”
    “What?”
    “Nothing. No. I don’t fence.”
    Sigh. “Get your stories in early and I’ll rewrite them for you.” Sigh. “I have five AP classes this year and the SATs coming up. I have to retake them, try for 2400. But don’t try to scoop me—anything interesting comes up, it’s mine. Got it?”
    “Okay,” I said. She had no idea how little she had to fear from me and my journalistic ambition.
    I spent the rest of the afternoon just sitting at the table doing my homework, trying not to attract either Penelope’s or Mr. McKinley’s attention. It worked. Nobody noticed me at all. Not even anybody with dark blue eyes. Not until later that night when he truly couldn’t miss me.

nine
    “I THOUGHT YOU hated afterschool,” Tess said. She’s been trying to get me to do drama or dance or chorus with her