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inspiration.”
    “If you don’t mind my asking—what did she do that was so inspiring?”
    “I’m always surprised how few students know about the woman after whom their school
is named,” Miss Aubin says. “Marie Gérin-Lajoie was one of Quebec’s first feminists.
In 1922, she led a protest for women’s suffrage, which means the right to vote. Did
you know, Eric, that Quebec was the very last province in Canada to grant women the
right to vote?”
    “No, I had no idea.”
    “And that didn’t happen until 1940. It was a long, slow battle, but Marie Gérin-Lajoie
never gave up the fight.”
    Now I look into the eyes of the woman in the portrait too. She does look determined.
“What do you think she’d say about the dress code?” I can’t resist asking Miss Aubin.
    I half expect Miss Aubin to turn to see whether Germinato’s door is open, but she
doesn’t. “She’d say the dress code was ridiculous.” Miss Aubin does not even bother
lowering her voice.
    Once again I find myself feeling like I can confide in Miss Aubin.
    “I went to Daisy’s house yesterday,” I tell her. “The Fungs want to move her to a
stricter school. Do you think there’s any way to stop them?”
    When Miss Aubin answers, I get the feeling she is also speaking to the woman in the
portrait. “There is always a way. It’s just a matter of finding it.”

Chapter Fourteen
    “Is it just me—or does it smell like O’Donovan in here?” Phil says when we walk into
Rory’s gym.
    The gym is in the basement of an industrial building. A middle-aged man is lifting
hand weights in front of a mirrored wall. Sweat dribbles down his neck.
    Rory is spotting some guy on a bench press. The guy grunts as he lifts a giant dumbbell
into the air. When he drops the dumbbell into its holder and turns his head to the
side, I realize the guy is Theo.
    Theo mops the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand. “Hey,” he says to Rory,
“look who’s here.”
    Martie is doing push-ups at the back of the gym.
    Rory shows us where the locker room is so we can change. “Don’t look so worried,”
he tells Phil. “We’ll start you with five-pound weights.” Then he looks over at me.
“Maybe the two-point-fives.”
    Theo is friendlier than I’d expected. “Don’t worry about how much weight you’re lifting,”
he says. “What counts is your form.” He demonstrates a set of curls with the five-pound
dumbbells. “You want to exhale while you’re lifting. Like this…”
    Martie joins us, adjusting his shoulders to give us a better view of his biceps. I catch my reflection in the mirror. I can’t help noticing how scrawny I look. I
wonder how many push-ups it would take for me to look like Martie.
    “Speaking of form,” Martie says, “how’s your friend Daisy doing?” Martie licks his
lips, which makes Rory and Theo burst into laughter.
    I guess they expect Phil and me to laugh along with them, but I’m not in a laughing
mood. Don’t they see they’re being jerks?
    Phil answers Martie. “Eric went to Daisy’s house after school yesterday. Her parents
want to transfer her out of Lajoie.” Maybe Phil is nervous. He can’t stop babbling.
“Eric said her mom thinks she needs a stricter environment. I bet you anything they’ll
send her to Queen of the Mountain. The principal there makes the Germinator look
like Mother Teresa…”
    Martie flexes his forearm. “We can’t let a girl that hot be transferred out. We gave
her butt a perfect sco—”
    That’s the moment I decide I’ve had enough. “Don’t talk about Daisy like that!” I
snap.
    Even Phil looks surprised—and slightly worried. “Martie was kidding, weren’t you,
Martie?” Phil says.
    “Yeah sure, I was kidding,” Martie says, though I don’t believe him. “I didn’t mean
to tease you about your girlfriend, little guy.”
    Now I know Martie is looking for a fight. Why else would he call me little guy ? If
this gets physical, I don’t stand a chance. But