by Lin Oliver
“Are your parents strict?”
“No, it wasn’t my parents. It was the school. They wouldn’t let him play unless he maintained a C average. He almost missed the whole season.”
“What’d he do?”
“He brought his grades up. Easy peasy.”
“That’s good. I’ll bet he studied really hard.”
“Not really. He got a little help.”
“You mean, like a tutor?”
Sean laughed. “That would be the hard way, Charlie. I already told you it was easy peasy.”
I didn’t understand what he was talking about, but I didn’t want to look like a total idiot. We were almost at homeroom, which is in Room Thirteen, at the end of the hall in the main building. As we passed by an open door, Sean nodded at it with his head.
“In there,” he said. “That’s what saved Clark.”
“That’s just the teachers’ lounge,” I said. “Nothing happens in there except at lunch when the teachers eat salads out of plastic containers.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Sean smiled. “That room also happens to contain the humongous printer. The really fast one that spits out, like, two hundred pages a minute.”
“And why would I care about that?”
“Check it out, Charlie. It’s the place where the teachers print out their tests. And I happen to know that once they’re printed, they keep them in file cabinets in the closet.”
“Good for them,” I said. “That sounds like a great system.”
“What I’m saying,” Sean said cautiously, looking me square in the eye, “is that if someone were motivated, they could easily sneak in there when the teachers are all in class and no one is inside and get a copy of a test.”
Sean locked his eyes onto mine as if we were sharing a big secret.
“Is that what your brother did?” I asked.
“No way.”
Wow, I was relieved to hear that. Stealing a copy of a test was big-time cheating, and I was glad to know Sean’s brother hadn’t done that.
“His friends did it for him,” Sean whispered as we headed into homeroom.
“They stole a test for him?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“They borrowed it, Charlie. And don’t look so shocked. He learned the material by himself; he just had a little help beforehand.”
We were already inside Ms. Hamel’s class when Sean put his hand on my shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
“Lauren could use a little help,” he whispered. “If you’re really her friend, you’d help her.”
“You mean steal a test?” I whispered.
“Borrow,” he answered. “The word is borrow.”
The bell rang as I staggered over to my desk and tried to make my face look normal. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. Ms. Hamel launched into a long explanation about parent permission slips for the upcoming field trip to the art museum, but I didn’t hear a word she said. There was only one word that spun around and around in my head.
Borrow.
Chapter 4
“Hey, Charlie,” the General called as I headed to my locker before lunch. “Wait up. I’ll walk with you.”
He slammed his locker shut, slung his camouflage backpack over his shoulder, and hurried over to me. Everyone was racing by to get to the cafeteria first. Thursday is taco day, and you want to get there before they run out of the shredded chicken. Ryan always says that what they call shredded beef is really yak meat, which is his charming way of saying that it doesn’t taste like any meat you can recognize. That’s why everyone races for the chicken.
“So, you having an okay morning?” the General asked as we darted in between people and navigated over to my locker. I didn’t answer, just concentrated on dialing the combination. I was still feeling uncomfortable about my conversation with Sean that morning, and it seemed strange that now the General was seeking me out. It wasn’t like him to be so curious about how my morning was going, and I felt like something was up.
It didn’t take me long to find out I was right. As I stuck my head inside my locker to fish out my gym clothes, he leaned in close.
“Sean tells me he talked to you,” he began.
“That’s not unusual. We’re in homeroom together. And math, too.”
“You know what I mean, Charliekins. About the teachers’ lounge thing. We all need to pitch in to help Lauren out. You wouldn’t want her to miss Ben’s party because of you, would you?”
“Because of me?” I pulled my head out of my locker and just stared at him. “I didn’t do anything to get her grounded.”
“Of course you didn’t. But you can do something to help. I mean, she’s your best friend . . . or at least she will be when she realizes what you did to get her out of a bad situation.”
“I don’t steal, Dwayne.” I thought using his real name would emphasize the point. But before he could answer, Brooke came out of the girls’ bathroom and bolted over to us.
“So are you on board, Charlie?” she whispered. “We’re all so grateful to you.” What was going on? Were they all in on this?
“Do you guys know what you’re asking me to do?” I asked. “It’s not right. And it’s dangerous, too. What if I get caught?”
“You won’t,” the General said. “We have it all planned. Tomorrow in history, sixth period, Brooke and Sean and I will ask Mr. Newhart a ton of questions about the test. You’ll get a bathroom pass. All you have to do is tiptoe into the teachers’ lounge, poke your nose in the door to make sure no one’s there, and presto! You go in, you get it, you leave. You’re quick and you’re light on your feet. Just open up the file.”
“Mr. Newhart’s is the third drawer down,” Brooke added. “I watched him this morning and saw him putting a stack of papers in there.”
“Then you just reach in, pull out the unit test on Egypt, stick it under your shirt, and you’re done,” the General said, snapping his fingers. “Easy peasy.”
“That seems to be the phrase of the day,” I commented.
“You’re totally safe,” Brooke said. “We’ll protect you.”
“But it’s cheating,” I protested.
“You can call it that,” the General answered. “You could also call it being a real friend who would do anything to help out another friend in trouble.”
“Isn’t that the kind of friend you want to be to us?” Brooke added. “One we know we can count on? One that shares everything, even our deepest, darkest secrets?”
“Does Lauren know about this?” I asked.
“We want to surprise her,” Brooke said. “She’s going to be so blown away, Charlie. She already loves you, but after this, you’ll be a friend for life. Remember, this stays with us. You promise never to tell?”
I didn’t answer.
“Charlie, you promise?” she repeated.
I nodded. I owed it to them to keep it a secret. They were my friends, and, right or wrong, I didn’t want to get them in trouble. I slammed my locker closed as tears began to sting the corners of my eyes. I felt trapped.
“I have to think about this, guys,” I said. “You go on, I’ll meet you at the table.”
Brooke gave me a hug.
“Remember, not a soul,” she said. “Not even you-know-who coming down the hall.”
She and the General left, and I turned around to see who she was referring to. It was Sammie, heading to lunch with Alicia and Sara and a kid named Will Lee, a very short sixth-grader. What was wrong with Sammie? I mean, if she wanted to hang out with Alicia and Sara, that was fine, her choice. But going to lunch with a sixth-grader who looked like he could be in the third grade? That was social suicide.
“What’s wrong?” Sammie said the minute she saw me.
“Nothing. Why do you
think something’s wrong?”
“Um, because you’re my twin. Because I’ve been with you every day of my life. Because I know you as well as I know myself. Because I’ve seen that expression on your face before. Because when you’re upset you frown and that freckle over your eyebrow squinches up and gets really close to your nose. Want me to go on?”
“I think it’s so great how well you guys know each other,” Sara said. “I wish I had a sister.”
“I have a sister,” Will piped up, “and she’s a wicked pain in the neck. All she ever talks about is how good her grades are. If she gets an A instead of an A-plus, it’s a flipping catastrophe.” And then he did an impression of her wailing and moaning and clutching her heart. Alicia and Sara cracked up, and I had to admit, it was pretty funny.
“Hey,” I said on a sudden impulse. “Is it okay if I eat with you guys today?”
Sammie looked surprised.
“What about your table?” she said. “Won’t they look down on you slumming around with us nerds?”
“People need a shot of nerdiness every now and then,” I joked. The truth was, I didn’t want to sit at my table with all the SF2s. I didn’t know who was in on the plan to steal the test and who wasn’t. I didn’t want to have to face any of them. It was just too much pressure.
Sammie’s friends were no pressure at all. They were all so accepting, I could just sit there and be any old way I wanted to be. Of course, they were plenty strange, not the kind of kids I’d want to hang with every day. But I had a lot to think about, and I didn’t need the pressure of wondering if I was being cool enough for my group. As we walked along the hall toward the lunch area, Sammie took her place beside me. I loved walking next to her. We were always perfectly in sync. Like my dad says, we’re two halves of the same circle.
“You want to tell me what it is?” she said softly.
Yes, I did. I wanted to tell her everything, to tell her how the whole group was counting on me to do something I knew in my heart was wrong. But I had made a promise, and I keep my promises.
“I can’t, it’s a secret.”
“Since when do we have secrets from each other?”
“Since today.” Wow, that was a sad thing to admit. The SF2 secret had now officially come between me and my sister.
We stepped out of the building, and the sun hit me in the face. The morning fog had burned off, and it was another perfect California beach day . . . sunny and clear with a salty tang in the sea air. It took my eyes a second to adjust to the bright light, and in that second, something wonderful happened. I bumped smack into Spencer Ballard. I mean, a full-body bump.
“Just the person I was looking for,” he said, picking up my English notebook, which had dropped to the ground. I prayed that it hadn’t flipped open to the page where I had written his name in pink and green markers and drawn a pink heart all around it.
“Hey, Sammie, nice to see you, too,” he added, giving her a mini fist-bump.
Sammie got a little flustered and actually reached up to tuck her messy hair behind her ears. We both think Spencer is the cutest guy in seventh grade. There are a lot of boys in her Truth Tellers group, but there isn’t one who has a dimple like Spencer’s.
“Listen, Charlie, we’ll be heading off now,” Sammie said. “Come find us at our table if you want.” I knew what she was doing, and it was so sweet of her. She didn’t want to be in the way if Spencer decided to say whatever it is you say when you really like a girl.
Spencer and I watched her and her friends walk away and then stood there awkwardly for a long minute. It was awkward for me, anyway.
“Why were you looking for me?” I asked him finally.
“I was thinking maybe you’d sit with me at lunch,” he said. “I have something I want to talk to you about.”
The minute I heard those words, I realized what this was about. My heart sank. I bet Sean and the General and Brooke had told him to find me, have lunch with me, and convince me to steal the test. They knew I liked Spencer, and they were using him as their secret weapon. That was low.
“Let’s go sit on the grass,” he suggested. “I have two granola bars. If you’re good, I’ll let you have one.”
We walked over to a patch of grass under the palm trees. Usually, the grass area is unofficially reserved for eighth-graders, but it was pretty empty today.
“Most of the eighth-graders are at Lincoln,” Spencer explained. “They’re having an exhibition soccer match. Lots of kids went.”
“Sammie and I are going there tomorrow,” I said, “to play an exhibition match with the girls’ tennis team.”
“Maybe I’ll come watch you guys. If that’s okay with you.”
I wanted to jump up and down and do the splits, but instead, I just shrugged and said, “Sure. Whatever.”
He pulled two chocolate chip granola bars from his backpack and flipped me one. He whistled as I reached out and caught it.
“Nice reflexes,” he said.
We unwrapped our granola bars and each took a bite. When I couldn’t stand the silence anymore, I spoke up.
“I know what you want to talk about,” I said.
“You do?”
I nodded. “The thing with Lauren, right?”
“You mean that her dad is going to ground her, and she’s going to miss Ben’s bar mitzvah? It sucks, but why would I want to talk about that with you?”
“Because of the test thing.”
“What test thing?”
I looked at him closely, checking for signs that he was faking. But he was busy chomping down the rest of his granola bar and seemed completely unaware of what I was referring to.
“What test thing?” he repeated, his eyes searching mine to figure out what I was saying. Those were innocent eyes, and I could tell from the look on his face that Spencer wasn’t in on the plan. So what were we doing here on the grass? What did he want to talk to me about?
“It’s nothing,” I lied. “I’m just going to help Lauren study for the history test, that’s all.”
“Good,” he said. “She could use the help. I love Lauren, but studying hard isn’t her thing. She’s not like you. You’ve got everything going for you—you’re good at school and you’re pretty, too. Not to mention that you can smack a tennis ball like a pro.”
He laughed and then put the granola bar down. I saw him wipe his hand on his jeans. Then he reached out and put his hand on top of mine.
“What I wanted to say, Charlie, is that I’m really glad you’re becoming part of the group,” he said without even a trace of embarrassment. “It’s great hanging out with you. I’d like to spend more time with you.”
Everything faded into the distance . . . Lauren, the test, the teachers’ lounge, the conversation with Brooke and the General. The only thing that I was aware of was this moment on the grass, with Spencer’s hand on top of mine.
“Are you coming to the game tomorrow night?” he asked.
“I’d like to,” I said, trying to make my voice not shake with excitement.
“We all sit together,” he said, his dimple popping up from the folds of his cheek. “It’s really fun. And then we go out for pizza afterward. It’d be great if you could hang with me. Is that cool with you, Charlie?”
It took everything I had not to scream.
As I sat there with the sun beating down on the back of my neck, my head was swimming and my heart was fluttering. I didn’t know what was right or wrong, up or down, true or false, on or off. I only knew one thing for sure: This was the most wonderful moment of my entire life.
Chapter 5
“I already feel like I’m in prison,” Lauren groaned, “and I haven’t even been grounded yet.”
We were sitting on the Sporty Forty deck after school that day, soaking our feet in the Jacuzzi. Laur
en’s mom had come to the beach for her daily two-mile jog, and Lauren came along to hang out with me. Sammie says that Lauren hangs out at the club after school because she’s hoping Ryan will notice her, but that’s not true. She’s coming to be with me. As far as I’m concerned, there’s a touch of jealousy in Sammie’s constant criticism of Lauren.
“You don’t know for sure you’re going to get grounded,” I told Lauren, trying to be reassuring. “You have to think positive. Believe that you’re going to ace that test. I could help you study now if you want.”
Lauren shook her head. “I just want to hang out now. Besides, we both know it would take a miracle for me to pass.”
“Miracles happen. Who knows? The answers to the test could drop out of the sky and land in your lap.”
Lauren gave me a funny look.
“That’s a weird thing to say,” she commented. “You’ve been drinking too much diet root beer. I think it’s rotting your brain.”
In fact, it was a weird thing to say if you didn’t know that the group was talking about getting her the test in advance. I wished I was like Lauren and didn’t know a thing about that plan. I had been thinking about it all afternoon. That is, when I wasn’t thinking about Spencer Ballard’s dimple and his hand that made my hand smell a little like chocolate chips.
I wiggled my toes in the Jacuzzi, putting my feet right in front of a strong jet of water. I let the stream of water pound them until they tingled. That felt great—in thirty seconds, my feet suddenly felt rested and relaxed. I wished the rest of me felt that way. I had been having an ongoing debate with myself all afternoon and my head was spinning from it. I wanted to be a good friend and help Lauren out, that was for sure. But every time I thought of stealing that test, my conscience spoke up and said, You know better, Charlie Diamond. That debate was giving me a giant headache. I wish they had Jacuzzis for your brain.
“Ready or not, here we come,” Sammie yelled from inside the house. With a bang, the screen door flew open and out she came, pushing GoGo in her wheelchair. That maniac actually spun her around on the back wheels a few times before they came to a stop next to the Jacuzzi. We all laughed—except Lauren.