Fifteen words. Far beyond her usual three. And then he’d say something, and she’d say, “See ya later,” and walk to her seat.
“Easy peasy,” she told herself. “You got this.”
But as soon as the bus turned the corner and came into view, Allie wasn’t so sure. Her hands felt clammy. She could feel sweat beading up on her forehead, and it was only fifty degrees outside.
The bus stopped in front of her and the doors opened, but Allie couldn’t move.
Mr. Steve drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Are you planning to join us today?”
All the kids on that side of the bus were staring at her through the windows. She forced herself to take the first step, but her heart was pounding, and every limb was shaking. She heard Zoe’s voice in her head, cheering her on. Say anything. You can do it!
She stopped at the landing, looked over at Marcus, and spit out, “Es jueves.”
Marcus looked surprised. And then confused. “What?”
Allie was pretty sure the sweat on her forehead was visible. “Nothing,” she blurted as she raced down the aisle and collapsed in her seat.
“What was that?” Zoe asked.
“I told him it was Thursday.” She felt another wave of heat wash over her. “In Spanish.”
Zoe started cracking up.
“Stop it. It’s not funny. I had this whole thing worked out to say, but I totally panicked. What is wrong with me?”
The bus started moving.
“Look on the bright side!” Zoe said. “You finally spoke more than two words to him.”
“No, I didn’t. I said ‘Es jueves.’ I literally said two words to him, they were just two different words. And they were in Spanish!”
Zoe couldn’t stop laughing. “Why Spanish?” she asked with her hand over her mouth.
“I don’t know. I have a Spanish test today and I was up late studying. I guess it was just some weird subconscious thing.”
“Aw, but a cute weird subconscious thing.” Zoe patted her leg. “I call that progress. Frankly, I don’t know why you’re so nervous. I mean, just because his hair is always shiny and he looks like a model for a shampoo ad—”
“Not helping.”
“And because of those arms. Man, all those years of baseball have been really good to that boy.”
Allie had to admit, his arms were really nice.
“He’s got a good jawline. And that smile . . . with that little dimple.” Zoe touched her finger to the right side of her mouth. Allie swatted at her arm. “Oh, come on, you know you’re a sucker for that dimple.”
“Please stop,” she begged.
“Too bad you don’t have Spanish with Marcus and me. You could stare at that dimple for a solid fifty minutes a day.” And then Zoe got quiet. Too quiet.
Uh-oh, Allie thought.
Suddenly, Zoe twisted toward Allie and grabbed her arms with both hands. “That’s it! I’ve got it.”
Allie was afraid to ask. “What have you got?”
“A Marcus Plan.” Zoe scooted over and tipped her head low. “Check it out . . . Yesterday, we took this practice test for our big verbal exam next Tuesday, and between you and me . . .” Zoe looked around to be sure no one could hear her. “Marcus didn’t do so great.”
“And you’re telling me this because?”
“Tu hablas español.”
“Yeah, right,” Allie said. “I don’t speak Spanish any more than you do!”
“Sure, you do. You’re in Spanish Two. Marcus and I are in Spanish One. Which means you’re better at it than we are. You’ve taken all those tests before. I bet you still have all your notes.”
Allie pictured the stack of notebooks on the shelf in her bedroom. She always saved her notes. “You never know when you might need them again.”
“So . . . you can tutor him.”
“Ha!” Allie said. “That’s funny. Yeah, no way.”
“Come on, it’s a great idea.”
“What am I supposed to do, walk up and offer to tutor him?”
“Of course not. That’s where Princess Peach comes in,” Zoe said, smiling and nodding. “You know how you said you can’t talk to Marcus because you’re always too shy? But Princess Peach isn’t too shy. She’s bold. She’s confident.”
“She’s an animated character in a video game. She drives a race car in a ball gown.”
“And, she can talk to Marcus anonymously, online, after she auctions off tutoring sessions in Swap’d.”
Allie stared at her. “That’s crazy.”
“I know, right? Crazy and fun and per-fect.”
“It’s not perfect. It’s . . .” Allie stopped short of saying stupid. And then, ridiculous. And finally, terrifying. She settled on: “It’s not happening.”
“Come on, chicken. What could go wrong?”
“Everything!” Allie said, staring at Zoe wide-eyed. “What if he doesn’t bid? Or what if he does, and then someone else outbids him, and I’m stuck teaching Spanish to some other kid I don’t even know?”
“He’ll bid, I promise. I’ll talk it up to him. He’s in Maddie’s math class, so she can drop hints to him, too. And Emma can . . .” Zoe trailed off and then threw her arms in the air. “I don’t know, do something. It doesn’t matter right now. The point is that this idea is awesome. You’ll make some money and have an excuse to talk to him. It’s your Reuse Plan, your Courtney Plan, and your Marcus Plan, all in one!”
“How many seventh graders do you know who are going to spend their own money for some total random to tutor them?”
“Not a total random. Princess Peach. And if you’re in Swap’d, you’re a Mercer student. And I’m sure if he asks his parents for money for tutoring sessions they’re going to say yes. I mean, what parent wouldn’t?” Zoe was getting more excited with every passing second. “It’s perfect. Three days of online tutoring, totally anonymous. And then on Tuesday, when he gets an A on his test, you tell him, and you’re the hero.”
Allie didn’t want to be a hero. She just wanted to talk to him without her voice cracking and her legs shaking and her forehead sweating. She just wanted to have a normal conversation with him. But maybe Zoe was right. Since she couldn’t form a complete sentence in front of him, this was the next best thing. If she was anonymous, she had nothing to lose. If she sucked at tutoring and he failed his test, he’d never know who she was.
“It’ll be easy,” Zoe said.
“If it’s so easy, you tutor him.”
“I would, but dimples don’t do a thing for me.” She reached into her backpack, pulled out her notebook, and opened it to a blank page near the back. “Let’s write it up.”
The bell rang, and right on cue, the TV in the corner flicked on.
“Good morning, Mercer Middle School, and welcome to the KMMS morning report. I’m Maddie Ellerts.”
“And I’m Kyle Crane. We are excited to be with you on this cold January morning.”
“It is cold, isn’t it, Kyle? Makes me glad I have so many big, cozy sweaters.” Maddie looked away from Kyle and right at the screen. “Speaking of sweaters, there’s a really cute one today, perfect for all those fashionistas out there.”
Allie tried not to laugh. Clearly, Maddie had seen the post from CrabbyPatty.
Maddie was still talking, but Allie was too busy looking around the room. She glanced at Nick, aka Buh-Buy. At Evan, aka ScrubHub. At Cassidy, who went by RainbowDash, and at Connor, who went by 3DPea. She noticed Marcie looking at her and smiled when she pictured her avatar named FlipFlop. Kira caught her eye too. She went by ReginaPhalange. They were all looking around the room, just like Allie was, and when they met one another’s eyes, they each exchanged a grin, or a nod, or a small shrug—something that let the others know they were in on the joke; they all shared a secret.
But Allie knew a lot more about each one of them than they knew about her. She knew who had competed in the auctions the day before, who’d watched but never bid, who bid most aggressively, an
d who won. She knew each one of them wanted different kinds of things—Cassidy was into the slime, Connor was a sneakerhead, and Marcie was all about the candy. And she knew they all had one thing in common: They had money to spend.
Now she hoped they all had cash in their pockets and plans to deliver it to her locker before the end of fourth period. She didn’t know if she could stand the wait.
As soon as the lunch bell rang, she raced up the stairs and into the four-hundreds hall, sliding past people, sprinting for her locker.
Maddie, Emma, and Zoe were already waiting there.
“Finally!” Emma said.
“Where have you been?” Maddie asked.
“I had PE! I had to run from the gym.” She threw her arms around Maddie’s neck and squeezed her tight. “Nice KMMS broadcast, fashionista.”
“I am not letting CrabbyPatty take my business.”
“Helloooo! We’re all dying here.” Zoe pointed at Allie’s locker. “Open now. Hug later.”
Allie’s fingers were trembling as she dialed the combination—right, left, right again—and click, she pulled up on the latch and slowly opened the door. A bunch of folded bills fell out and landed on her shoe.
“Well, that’s fun,” Zoe said.
Allie unfolded the bills. She counted them. It was all there. She stuffed the wad of cash into her front jeans’ pocket.
“I still can’t believe I sold that shirt in just five minutes,” Maddie said.
“My kitchen is going to become a slime-making factory,” Emma said. “As soon as I get home from school, I’m going to make more fluffy slime. And crunchy slime. And slippery slime. And—”
“Need any help?” Zoe asked.
Emma’s eyes narrowed on her. “Why? Are you trying to get in on my profits?”
“I don’t need your slime profits, Emma.” Zoe brought her hands to her hips. “I went to the store after school yesterday and spent every cent I had on candy. I have five more bags in today’s auction. That, my friends, is called ‘reinvesting.’ ” She put air quotes around the word.
“Hey, this is all fascinating, but can we walk and talk?” Emma gestured toward the eight-hundreds building. “We have to get to Nathan’s locker.”
They all started walking. Allie stayed behind. She cleared her throat and said, “Not we. Just me.”
They all stopped and turned around.
“Why just you?” Maddie asked.
“Everyone’s anonymous,” Allie said matter-of-factly. “I can’t let you see who they are.”
“Oh, please.” Zoe popped her hip. “It’s not like we’re going to tell anyone.”
“This is the fun part!” Emma added. “We have to see who bought our stuff!”
“That’s the whole point of avatars,” Allie said. “No special treatment, remember? And that means no one gets to know anyone’s real identity except me.”
The three of them looked at each other.
“We just want to help,” Zoe said.
“Exactly,” Maddie echoed.
Emma pointed at Allie’s pocket. “Let us take the cash. We’ll divide it up and start distributing it while you monitor the pickups.”
“Really?” Allie asked.
“Really,” Emma said. She looked at Maddie and Zoe. “Right?” The two of them looked a little reluctant, but they nodded along.
“You guys are the best!” Allie handed Emma the wad of cash. And then she pulled a piece of paper from the side pocket of her backpack. “Here’s a list with everything you need: Avatar name, locker number, and how much they get.” And then she handed her a plastic bag filled with envelopes and a black Sharpie. “Fold the envelopes in half and slip them into the locker vents.”
“Got it,” Emma said.
“Go,” Zoe said.
Allie waved over her shoulder and took off running for the eight-hundreds building. She hid behind the chain-link fence that lined the student garden, and peered around the corner, staying still, quietly watching Nathan’s locker. He was right. She had a perfect view.
It didn’t take long before a girl with dark hair pulled into a tight pony tail arrived. Allie recognized her. Melissa Carstens. Sixth grader. RazzleDazzle. She spun the dial, lifted the latch, and then, before she opened it, she checked her surroundings, like she was doing something sneaky. In one quick series of movements, she reached inside, grabbed the giant bag of candy, slammed the door, and scurried away.
A guy came into view and stopped. He must have written the combination on his hand, because he consulted his left palm as he spun the dial right, left, right. He did the same thing Melissa had done, looking around to be sure he was alone before lifting the latch. And then he reached inside and returned holding the tub of blue fluffy slime. He closed the locker and took off.
A minute later, Jason Fullerton arrived. He’d gone to Allie’s elementary school and she’d known him since kindergarten. He played percussion in the band, and she remembered smiling to herself when she saw his avatar name: Cymbalic-Gesture. He opened the locker and took Chris’s watch.
The rest of the lunch break went the same way. Kids approached, often alone, but sometimes with a friend or two in tow, and dialed the combination. As they each took their items, Allie checked them off the list in the administration view. Twenty minutes later, Jessica Wilson stepped up and spun the dial. Jessica was an eighth grader. Allie had never met her before, but she knew who she was. Everyone knew who Jessica Wilson was.
“Hi, PonyGirl,” Allie said under her breath. She wished Maddie could see who’d bought her shirt. She would have been happy.
Jessica took the shirt, closed the door, and walked away.
Nathan’s locker was empty again.
Allie and Nathan were sitting side by side at their workstations, but they might as well have been in completely different worlds. Headphones on. Music blaring. Eyes glued to their screens. Fingers flying across their respective keyboards. Neither one of them even noticed Ms. Slade until she tapped the top of their monitors to get their attention.
Allie slid her headphones off and dropped them on her desk. Nathan draped his around the back of his neck.
“My, you two are so serious,” Ms. Slade said with a fake scowl. And then the corners of her mouth turned up. “Just checking in. How’s it going over here?”
“Fine,” they said at the exact same time.
“Great. Do you need any help?”
“Nope,” Allie said, feeling smug.
Ms. Slade slid her gaze over to Nathan. His mouth dropped open, like he was about to say something, but then he looked at Allie. “Nah, I’m good.”
Ms. Slade nodded. “Okay . . . How about your Hackathon applications? Need any help there?”
“All good,” Nathan said.
“Same here,” Allie added.
“Sounds good. I’ll let you get back to your projects.” Ms. Slade tapped their monitors again, and then walked to the next workstation.
Nathan leaned on Allie’s side of the desk. “You’re demoing Swap’d during your meet-and-greet next weekend, aren’t you?” Nathan asked.
That familiar pit formed in Allie’s stomach. “I don’t know.”
His eyebrows pinched together. “Why wouldn’t you? It’s everything they’re looking for. Speed. Collaboration. Swap’d is perfect.”
“I know it is. But that’s part of the problem.” She told him about her dilemma: Hackathon program, or Courtney and her CodeGirls. How could she use the game they’d built together to get into a program that would keep them apart?
“What about you?” Allie asked, changing the subject. “What are you going to demo? This?” She craned her neck, trying to see Nathan’s screen, and she almost got a good glimpse, but he was too fast. He grabbed his monitor with both hands, twisting it away from her.
“No peeking.”
“Come on, this is nuts. I’m not going to steal your idea or anything. Why won’t you tell me what you’re building?”
“Because I don’t w
ant to.”
“Because you don’t want to?”
His whole I’ve-got-a-secret thing was kind of funny at first, but now it was starting to get to her. The two of them had always been competitive, but in a good way. This time, it felt different. One-sided. She’d told him everything, first about her game, and now, about Courtney. She wasn’t keeping secrets from him. Why was he keeping them from her?
She was starting to wonder if all the success with Built had gone to his head. Or maybe he no longer saw her as his biggest competition.
Nathan just grunted.
“Well, I bet it doesn’t do this.” Allie pulled out a wad of cash from her pocket and fanned herself with it.
“No, it definitely doesn’t do that.” Nathan had a strange look on his face, but Allie couldn’t read it. “Hey, there’s something—”
Allie phone buzzed. “One sec,” she said, holding up a finger. She peeked at the screen.
Zoe
Where is it?!?
Allie knew exactly what she meant. She typed back quickly.
Allie
I’m working on it!
Post it! What are you waiting for?
An earthquake
DO IT!!!!!!
Allie was giggling to herself as she slipped her phone back into her jeans’ pocket. She turned back to Nathan. “Okay, you were saying?”
He shook his head. “Never mind.”
“Oh, come on! Tell me.”
“It’s nothing,” he said. And then he gestured back to his monitor. “Really. Forget it. I have to get back to work anyway.”
Allie considered pushing him but decided against it. If he didn’t consider her a competitor anymore, he’d wish he had. “Yeah, you definitely should. You better work day and night if you want to beat me on this one.”
“Got it.” Nathan tilted his head to one side, giving her a sarcastic grin and a thumbs-up. And then he pulled his headphones over his ears and went back to what he was doing. Soon, his fingers were flying across the keyboard again. He didn’t look back at her.
Allie went back to work, too. She didn’t have time to be upset about Nathan. She had an auction to set up. And there was still one more item to add.
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