Read Revenge Of A Band Geek Gone Bad for Free Online Page B

have no life."
    I didn't answer, figuring she'd get hers when Jiminy was released.
    "Well, you know what I did?"  Kathy was saying.  Maya rolled her eyes at me.  "I went to this awesome party with my boyfriend.  He came down from college just to see me.  But you wouldn't know about that, would you Mel, since no boy has ever liked you."
    Okay, this was quickly getting old.  By now I was itching for Josh to do whatever "diversion" he was planning.  Then, as if I’d summoned him with my great mental powers, Josh swooped over to the flutes and stood right by Kathy.  "Hey, Kath," he said, smiling at her. 
    She made a face.  "What do you want, Josh?  Or did me spilling soda on you not give you the message?"
    Josh shrugged.  "I just wanted to congratulate you on getting first chair is all.   You deserve it."
    That made Kathy smile.  "I know, right?  I've worked so hard to get it."
    "Oh, really?   Well, uh, what exactly did you do?"  Of course, Kathy, who loves to talk about herself, began to ramble on about how gifted her private teacher thought she was.  As she spoke, Josh raised an eyebrow and subtly nodded at the box, signaling me to let Jiminy out.  But when I reached for him, the roach was gone.  I surreptitiously held up the box to show him.  Josh's eyes widened in alarm.
    "Oh, uh, well, Kathy, it was nice talkin ' to you," Josh said.  "Congrats again on being such a perfect specimen of a human."   I stifled a laugh as Kathy looked at him, puzzled.  I then set about dealing with Operation Cockroach.
    After a quick scan of the band room, I saw Jiminy scuttling toward the oboes.  That was only a few feet away from me, so I leaned over to grab him ( Ewwww !).  But just then, Mr. Francis arrived, looking as crotchety as ever.  He adjusted his maroon pants and orange shirt and held up what was sure to be the first of many batons he'd use that day.
    "I hope you all had a restful weekend because I'm going to work you like dogs!" he growled.  "I was extremely disappointed in your auditions the other day..."  He gave me a pointed look.  "But now that that's over, I'm going to fix that.  So be prepared to drill, drill and drill.  By the time I'm finished with you, your instruments are going to be permanently welded to your bodies and you're going to be breathing notes!"  A drop of sweat plunked down on his podium, signaling the end of his tirade.  He held up his baton to begin.
    I still had a roach to catch.  By now, he'd moved from the oboes to the clarinets.  Josh caught my eye and mouthed, "Did you get him?"  I mouthed back, "Nope."  He mimed banging his trumpet against his head.  Ken gave Josh a funny look, so Josh sat up straight, pretending that nothing had happened.
    For the next 20 minutes, I kept an eye on Jiminy.  The little guy sure seemed to like exploring the band room.  After scurrying past the clarinets, he crept behind Mr. Francis's podium; he then climbed up the wall, right near the poster that said, "Scale Model," and had a drawing of musical notes in a heap.  “Are you okay?” Maya whispered to me as I squirmed around.  I prayed that she wouldn’t notice the bug.  “I’m fine!” I lied.  Mr. Francis glared at us and we shut up.
    "That's not how Annie is supposed to sound," he bellowed at the trombones.  "You're supposed to sound like an orphan, who's cold and lonely and misses her mommy!  You guys sound like you're ready to go to the circus!  I want SORROW!  And DESPERATION!  I WANNA HEAR YOU ALL CRYING FOR YOUR MOMMIES, DAMMIT!"
    The trombone players cringed at the attack.  Jiminy fell back onto the floor.  Now I at least had a chance to grab him.  I turned a little in my seat and caught Josh's eye, then pointed to the ground.  He motioned with his hands to act now.  Jiminy again scuttled away, but did move closer to the flutes.
    "Kowalski, do you have a problem?"  Mr. Francis cut in, as he noticed Josh waving at me.  "Is it your goal to interrupt every