youâll have to come up with something different. I canât have dozens of bad Christmases on my conscience.â
I nodded. âThatâs okay, weâllââ
âDo it on our own, then,â Brooke said, crossing her arms.
âWe will?â I asked.
âYes, and weâll show you that youâre wrong.â She pointed at Mary Patrick, who responded with a raised eyebrow. âHeck, maybe weâll start our own paper!â exclaimed Brooke.
âWhoa!â I held up both hands.
âOkay, maybe not that,â she agreed. âBut weâll give gift advice, and kids will love it!â Brooke hammered her fist into her palm.
Mary Patrick didnât back down. âDo whatever you want, as long as you donât bring thepaper into it.â Without waiting for an answer, she stormed off in one direction while Brooke stormed off in the other.
â. . . doesnât think I can do it. Iâll show her,â Brooke muttered to herself.
âAre you sure going up against Mary Patrick is such a good idea?â I asked, following Brooke to our corner of the room.
âSheâs always acting like she knows whatâs best for this paper.â Brooke dropped into her chair. âSomeone needs to prove her wrong.â
Heather and V joined us with the dayâs collection of advice requests to sort through.
Brooke picked one up and grinned triumphantly. âHa! See? People are already asking for gift advice. In your face, Mary Patrick!â She patted herself on the back. âGood job, me.â
Heather and Vanessa exchanged an amused look.
âDid we miss something?â asked Heather.
âWeâre going to war with Mary Patrick,â I explained.
âNot actual war, right?â V asked, wrinkling her nose. âBecause camo is last season.â
âItâs not war,â Brooke said, pulling out her notebook. âWar implies two sides are fighting.â
Heather nodded. âGlad weâre notââ
âThis will be annihilation!â Brooke gave a slightly insane cackle.
âTaking this too far,â Heather finished with a frown. âWhy are we going to war exactly?â
Brooke was scribbling a mile a minute on her paper. âMary Patrick didnât like the idea of us giving gift advice because she thinks weâll do a bad job. Weâre going to prove her wrong. And since she wonât let us affiliate ourselves with the paper, weâll have to advertise in Locker 411.â
She turned her notebook so the rest of us could read it.
Need a gift for your grandma?
Need a present for your parent?
Your esteemed advice columnists Brooke, Heather, Tim, and Vanessa can help!
Drop a note in the advice box to tell us who youâre shopping for, and weâll do the rest!
âNot bad,â said Heather, âbut if weâre not allowed to mention the paper, we probably shouldnât mention weâre advice columnists. Or use the advice box.â
âGood catch!â Brooke crossed out your esteemed advice columnists and changed the advice box to Locker 411 . âV, will you make this look prettier?â She ripped out the page and handed it over.
The warning bell rang, and students began trickling into the classroom.
âOkay,â said Brooke. âI know Mary Patrickâs being a pain, but I really do need to know whereyou guys are on this weekâs advice.â
âFinished,â I said, handing over a sheet of notebook paper.
âMe too,â Heather said, searching through her binder.
âHereâs mine,â said Vanessa. She pushed a paper across the desk while she finished coloring in the flyer.
âAw, man!â Brooke collected them all. âIâm the last one again.â
Her phone buzzed and rattled on the table. She frowned at the screen. âI got a new email from . . . I donât know who.â
She held up the phone so we could all