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school!” Now part of me’s thinking that it’s a done deed. I’ve got detention with Vice Principal Caan for being late, and that’s that. But I run into the den anyway, switch into my school clothes, and yank a brush through my hair, because I’m thinking that maybe, just
maybe
I can make it.
    And I’ve got the couch thrown back together and my junk just about stuffed into my backpack when Hudson walks into the room. “I’ve got your lunch made and Jester’s out front warming up. Whenever you’re ready.”
    I stop stuffing. “You’re giving me a ride?”
    Hudson grins. “You bet.”
    Jester seems like a brand-new car because it’s so shiny it sparkles, but one look at it and you know it’s ancient. It’sbig with pointy taillights, whitewall tires, and a mammoth steering wheel. And it’s lavender. Hudson insists that it’s “sienna rose,” but believe me, it’s lavender.
    It was fun riding to school in Hudson’s car. Every time we came to a stoplight people would kind of look, or nudge the person they were with and point, and when we pulled into the school parking lot some kids came up to me and said, “Cool car!”
    So the day was off to a pretty good start, when who comes sneaking up behind me? Heather Acosta and a group of her friends. And what does Rude ‘n’ Red say? She says, “Who was that? Your
dad?
” Then she turns to her friends, and they all laugh like a pack of hyenas.
    I felt like telling her to go somewhere deep and toasty, but instead I turn and walk toward homeroom. Heather walks right behind me, though, mimicking the way I’m walking so her friends will keep on laughing.
    I try to ignore her, but I’m getting madder and madder and I really want to whip around and push her over. Then she comes up beside me and says, “Those shoes are just
divine
. Such a luscious green. Oh, do tell! Where did you get them?”
    I’m walking faster and faster, thinking I know my high-tops look stupid all sprayed green, but they’re my only shoes and I didn’t have time to wash them so what was I supposed to do? And I’m about to tell her to shut up when all of a sudden her eyes get really big and she starts to giggle. Then she backs off. Just like that.
    I look across the patio to see what Heather’s giggling about, and what I see is Amber Bellows coming at me likea line drive. And let me tell you, she is
mad
. I move aside because I don’t want to get in her way. I mean, I know Amber because she’s the head cheerleader and the eighth-grade president, but Amber doesn’t know me from the man in the moon, and I figured there was no way she could be mad at
me
.
    Boy, did I figure wrong. She comes right up to me with her nostrils flaring, whips that long brown hair out of her way, and says, “You stop bothering him, do you hear me? I’ve had enough of this! It’s not funny, and it’s not cute!”
    I point to myself and say, “Me? Stop bothering
who?
”
    She wobbles her head a little. “Yeah, right. Like you don’t know what I’m talking about.” Her neck pushes out so she looks like a vulture. “Jared. Remember Jared? The love of your life? The guy you would
die
for? The one who makes your little heart flutter?”
    By now the whole school is watching, and I’m feeling really embarrassed. I mean, Jared Salcido is cute, but he’s like someone from another planet to me, and he’s sure not someone I’d ever thought about long enough to make my heart flutter. On top of that, I’ve always thought that Amber and Jared were the perfect little preppy couple, so her little tirade had me completely confused.
    Finally, I manage to say, “Amber, I think you’ve got the wrong person.”
    She laughs and tosses her hair around some more. “You’re Sammy Keyes, aren’t you?”
    I nod real slow.
    “So stop calling him! You’re making a
fool
of yourself.” And she’s about to leave but she just can’t help herself:William Rose Junior High School’s Student of the Week for about six