“Yeah,” Lara said. “We’ve probably read tons of different books.” She threw a strange, confused look at Grace. “Anyway, so, what homework do you have, Grace, besides Hatchet?”
Grace took a deep breath. “Um . . . Hatchet, and a couple of pages of math,” she said. “I guess it isn’t that bad. It’s way more than in fifth grade, though.” She picked up a carrot and put it in her mouth, but she wasn’t hungry anymore. She just felt sad.
“Tell me about it,” Greg moaned. “Fifth grade was a breeze compared to this.”
“Not as fun, though,” Andrew said. “This year’s off to a great start!”
“Totally,” Lara replied. She smiled reassuringly at Grace. “I bet we’ll all get the hang of it before we know it though, right, Grace?”
“I hope so!” Grace said, smiling back at her new friend.
“Okay, kids, let’s regroup,” Mrs. West, the drama club leader said from her perch onstage. “Let’s try it from Eliza’s entrance . . . and this time, Grace, will you please play Eliza, and Andrew, Mr. Higgins?”
Grace scrambled to her feet, snatching up the carrots as she stood. After shoving the baggie into her backpack, she marched to the stage and climbed the few stairs on stage left. “What page are we on?” she asked Mrs. West.
Later, walking home, Grace tried to figure out why Animal Farm was such a touchy subject for her. She knew she was smart; she just had trouble reading. But it hurt to know that her friends were all doing just fine, while she was struggling to read a book that Greg had finished in fifth grade.
It was hard. To Grace, reading anything was hard. It took a lot of concentration and effort to even get through a few pages. For the past few nights, she’d been staying up far past her bedtime, curled under her blanket with a flashlight and her copy of Hatchet, and she was already a little behind in class. She sighed, and kicked a pebble on the sidewalk in front of her. “Sometimes I’m so stupid,” she said aloud.
But she knew she wasn’t stupid. She just had a hard time concentrating on reading, that was all. Still, she knew it was going to take a lot more late nights to finish Hatchet. And there was bound to be way more homework in her future. For the first time she almost regretted her decision to join the drama club. Almost.
Grace scurried up the stairs to her room, threw her backpack on the ground, and turned on her computer. She immediately went to her camp’s blog. Alex’s entry about soccer tryouts on Tuesday had sparked a long conversation that included almost all of the girls—everyone, in fact, except for Chelsea, had left encouraging messages for Alex.
Grace knew that her camp friends would understand what she was going through. After all, when they’d found out about her summer reading, they had formed a book club to help. But even after she read through all of their entries and responses to one another, she logged off and turned the computer off without writing a word.
Picking her backpack up off the floor, she dug through the papers and books inside, finally drawing out her copy of Hatchet. She sighed, crawled into her bed, and opened to the page that she’d bookmarked that day in study hall. She was on page thirteen.
An hour later, when she heard the front door slam and her dad’s footsteps on the stairs, she was only on page twenty. Her dad poked his head into her room without knocking and Grace put her finger in the book to keep her place. “Hi, honey,” he said. “How was school?”
“Pretty good,” Grace said.
“Did you go to the library afterward? I called here a couple of hours ago to see if you wanted me to pick up anything for you at Chung’s Chinese, but there wasn’t an answer.”
“Yeah, I’m working on this book,” Grace said, holding up Hatchet for her dad to see.
Her father walked farther into the room and took the book from her, putting his own finger in where Grace’s had been. “Wow, Hatchet, huh?” he said. “Looks like one I’d like.”
“It is, Dad,” Grace said. “It’s about this boy who gets stranded in the wilderness.”
“Sounds great, Grace.” He handed the book back to her. “Why don’t you take a break and come down for dinner? I got you some sweet-and-sour chicken. Figured that would be okay.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Grace said. “But I’m not hungry right now. Is it okay if I come and eat later?”
“Of course, sweetie,” he said. “Enjoy your book!” He turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him. And Grace, who was starving, went back to her reading, determined to get through another couple of pages before going downstairs to her Chinese food.
Natalie> FRIDAY
Posted by: Natalie
Subject: school social TONIGHT!
hey, everyone! this will be a short posting because I have to get ready to go to our back-to-school social and hannah’s coming by in about half an hour (barely enough time for me to get dressed!). i’m so excited—i’ve never been to a dance like this before. i’m wearing a brand-new outfit! an awesome denim mini and a really cute pink top that has little rhinestones on it, plus some new boots. anyway, just wanted to tell you all to have a GREAT WEEKEND! luv, nat
Posted by: Jenna
Re: school social TONIGHT!
Have a great time, Nat! I’m jealous . . . I’m stuck at my dad’s again. Guess what we’re having for dinner? That’s right . . . takeout. xo Jenna
Posted by: Alyssa
Re: school social TONIGHT!
Aw, Jenna . . . well, at least it’s takeout, and not, like, brussels sprouts, right? ;)
Have fun, Nat! You probably won’t get this till later, so I hope you’re having a great time . . . Alyssa
Posted by: Karen
Subject: Thank goodness
Hello everyone. I haven’t written yet and I wanted to say hello. It’s been busy here and it’s strange to be in a new school after five years in elementary. I guess you guys all know how I’m feeling. (Except Brynn . . . lucky!) My favorite class this year is English, so far anyway. There’s a lot of homework, but it’s interesting. And I’m going to join the yearbook, I think.
Time for some good old-fashioned movie-and-popcorn night. Have a good weekend.
Your friend,
Karen
Natalie tapped her foot impatiently and crossed her arms. She was standing outside her apartment building, waiting for Hannah to arrive. Hannah, who was always on time, was already ten minutes late, and if she didn’t show up soon, they were going to be late to the social! “Come on, Han . . .” Natalie muttered to herself. She looked uptown, then turned to look downtown, hoping to spot her friend’s trademark cornrows, but Hannah was nowhere to be seen.
After she waited five minutes more, Natalie turned with a frustrated sigh to go back into her building and try calling Hannah’s house. Just then, there was a tap on her shoulder. “Nat, I’m so sorry,” Hannah said, out of breath. “There was all kinds of traffic, and the cab went the wrong way—”
“It’s okay, Hannah,” Natalie said. “But we’d better get going. The dance already started!”
“I wish you wouldn’t call it that,” Hannah grumbled as the girls walked down the street to the corner, where they’d catch a cab.
“That’s what it is, though,” Natalie said. “I mean, it’s a social or whatever, true. But there will be dancing. Therefore, it is a dance.”
“Yeah, but it makes it sound so formal,” Hannah said. “Like people are bringing dates or something.” She looked away, and then walked to the curb and raised her arm into the air. Almost immediately, a yellow cab pulled up next to the girls. Hannah opened the back door and slid across the leather seat. As Natalie got in next to her, Hannah told the cab driver the address of their school.
Moments later, they pulled up in front of the building. Excited, Natalie paid the driver and the girls hopped out and ran up to the front door, where their friends Erin and Kaitlyn were waiting. “Hey, guys!” Natalie said.
“Hey!” Kaitlyn said. “Natalie, Kyle’s here . . . he’s already inside!”
“Awesome,
” Natalie replied. “Let’s go in! Is there any food? I’m starving . . .”
“There’s pizza and stuff,” Erin said, pulling the heavy door open and holding it so that the other three girls could pass by her and go in.
“I’m hungry too,” Hannah said. “I had the worst cab ride on the way to Natalie’s.” She filled the girls in as they walked through the front hallway of the school and into the gymnasium. Once just inside the gym doors, they all paused: Half the gym was packed with kids dancing and eating, and half the room had been set up so that people could play basketball.
“Sweet, I want to shoot hoops!” Erin said.
Natalie laughed, looking at her friend, who was wearing boots with high heels and a cute red skirt. “In that outfit?” she asked teasingly.
“Sure, why not?” Erin replied nonchalantly. She swung her hair behind her shoulder. “Well . . . I have some sneakers in my locker,” she added, smiling.
“I’m going to grab some pizza. Anybody want me to get them a slice?” Hannah asked.
“I’m going to go dance,” Kaitlyn said. “Matt’s already here.” She smiled slyly. Matt, Nat knew, was the guy Kaitlyn had had a crush on since fourth grade.
“Have fun!” Natalie told her. “I’d love a slice of pizza, Han . . . I’ll grab seats for us over there,” she said, pointing toward the far end of the gym, where a few tables had been set up. Hannah nodded agreeably and headed toward the pizza, and Natalie started walking across the gym to the tables, looking for familiar faces as she crossed the squeaky wood floor. She smiled as she spotted Kyle, playing basketball with a couple of his friends. He noticed Natalie as she walked, and waved at her with a big grin on his face. They hadn’t had much of a chance to talk yet at school, despite Natalie’s best efforts. It was a much bigger school than she was used to, and the dance would be the first time she saw many of her friends.
Natalie waved back and headed over to say hello.
“Hey, Kyle!” she said, grinning. “How’s the game going?”
“Pretty good,” he said, scooping up the basketball and walking over to her. “I’m winning.”
“You’re totally not winning,” one of his friends said teasingly.
“Whatever,” Kyle replied. “Hey, Nat, can I come talk to you in a little while?”
Natalie’s stomach filled with butterflies. “Of course!” she replied. “I’d better go find Hannah now.”
“See you later,” Kyle said, smiling.
Natalie scanned the room for her friend and finally saw Hannah sitting alone at a table across the gymnasium. As Nat walked across the room to Hannah, she took in all the noise—the music playing, sneakers squeaking, basketballs punching the floor, laughter, and talking. And Kyle was going to come by and talk to her! She couldn’t get over how lucky she was feeling.
She sat down across from Hannah. “Where were you?” Hannah asked quietly.
“Just saying hi to Kyle,” Natalie said.
“Oh. I thought you weren’t coming over, or something.” Hannah gestured to one of the plates sitting on the table, holding a big slice of pizza. “Anyway, they only had broccoli or mushroom, so I got you the mushroom. I couldn’t remember if you liked them or not, but I figured you’d rather pick off mushrooms than broccoli. They’re easier to pull out in one piece.”
“I love mushrooms. Thanks, Hannah!” Natalie said, reaching for one of the plates. The pizza looked good—big slices of classic New York thin-crust pizza. It was covered with mushrooms, and just greasy enough that the paper plate below it was slightly orange. “Yum . . . this looks delicious!” she added. She raised the pizza to her mouth for a huge bite.
The music playing in the gym was loud and fast, a hip-hop song Natalie didn’t know. “What is this song?” she asked Hannah.
“Oh, it was huge this summer,” Hannah said excitedly. “It’s Usher’s latest single.”
“What’s it called?” Natalie asked.
“Um . . . I actually don’t know,” Hannah said, laughing. “I was in Europe, remember? If it ever played on the radio there, the DJ said the title in a different language.”
Natalie laughed. “Well, I like it,” she said.
“Me too,” Hannah said cheerfully.
“Me too,” a boy’s voice added. Natalie swung around and saw Kyle standing there. “It’s called ‘Confessions.’ It actually came out last year.”
“Oh,” Hannah said, her voice suddenly much colder.
What’s up with that? Natalie thought. She decided to ignore the change in Hannah’s tone, hoping that Kyle didn’t notice it. “Hey, Kyle!” she exclaimed. “Are you having a good time?”
“For sure,” Kyle said, shoving his hands in his pockets. He looked at Hannah and smiled. “I just beat Matt in a game of Horse. Plus I’ve had, like, twelve pieces of pizza.”
“Cool,” Hannah said sarcastically.
Kyle looked a little hurt, so Natalie hastily added, “How many letters did you win by?”
“Oh, two,” Kyle said proudly. “S and E.”
“Nice!” Nat said. She looked at Hannah, who seemed upset for some reason. “That’s good, right, Hannah?” she prompted.
“Yeah, awesome,” Hannah replied flatly.
The music changed from the Usher song to a slower, more romantic song. “Hey, um, Natalie . . . do you want to dance?” Kyle asked shyly.
Surprised, Natalie looked up at him. “Sure!” she said. She stood up, those butterflies floating through her stomach again, and they walked together to the dance floor, where Kyle tentatively put his arms around her waist, and she put her hands on his shoulders. They swayed back and forth to the rhythm of the song, and Nat could feel her heart pounding. She hadn’t been this excited and nervous since the last time she saw Simon—back at camp! Would boys always have this effect on her?
As the song drew to a close, though, Natalie caught sight of Hannah, sitting all alone at the table, looking miserable. The song ended, and Natalie said, “I think I’m gonna go back and sit with Hannah. Would you mind grabbing me another slice of pizza? Vegetarian, if they have any.”
“No prob,” Kyle said. He smiled and took off toward the food, and Natalie walked back to where Hannah sat dejectedly.
“Hannah, are you okay?” Natalie asked softly.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Hannah replied.
“What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” Hannah admitted. She paused for a moment, looking around the crowded room. “I guess it’s the boyfriend thing.”
“What do you mean?” Natalie asked, surprised.
“Well . . .” Hannah paused. “I thought you were coming to the dance to hang out with me.”
“I am hanging out with you!” Natalie exclaimed. She was quiet for a minute. “But . . . I mean, I only see Kyle for a few minutes during school, and I was excited to see him tonight, too.”
“I guess it’s true that when girls get boyfriends, they stop wanting to see their best friends,” Hannah said sadly.
The butterflies that had been swimming in Nat’s stomach suddenly disappeared, turning into confusion. “Hannah, he’s not my boyfriend,” Natalie replied. “And anyway, I was only dancing with him for one song.”
“Well, whatever. He will be. Him and Simon, too. And I’ll be sitting alone at a table like a loser,” Hannah replied angrily, looking down at her pizza.
Natalie didn’t say anything for a moment. “Hannah, you’re being silly,” she said gently. Suddenly, a paper plate with a slice of mushroom pizza on it was placed onto the table in front of her, and she whipped around to see Kyle standing there, looking equally as hurt as Hannah.
“Who’s Simon?” he asked in a low, angry voice, before spinning around and walking away, through the dancing couples and toward the basketball hoops.
Natalie’s heart sank as she watched Kyle walk away. She only felt worse when she turned and saw the dejected look on Hannah’s face. “Nat, I’m really sorry. I think I’m just going to go home,” Hannah said sadly.
“But we’ve only been here for, like, twenty minutes!” Natalie said. Not to mention, you totally just scared away the boy I like! But she knew she couldn’t say that out loud. Not with Hannah feeling so sensitive. Talk about a lose-lose situation, she thought, frustrated.
“Yeah, I know. I’m just really tired. I guess I’m not used to being back in school yet,” Hannah replied. She stood up, not looking Natalie in the eye. “Bye,” she said.
“Bye, Hannah,” Natalie said sadly. She looked around the crowded gym. Erin was playing basketball—even in a skirt, she was making tons of baskets—and Kaitlyn was dancing with Matt. Suddenly Natalie didn’t feel like being at the dance either. She looked at her plate of pizza and even though she’d been starving when they arrived at the dance, she couldn’t imagine eating another bite. She stood up, walked across the gym and through the front hallway of the school, pushed open the heavy front door, and stood outside, scanning the street for a cab.
As she walked toward the curb to hail a cab, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
“Wait up, Natalie,” Kyle said. He looked down at his feet. “Tell me the truth. Do you have another boyfriend?”
Natalie felt very confused. Why was this so hard? “I don’t have any boyfriend, Kyle,” she said. Technically, at least, it was the truth.
“Okay,” Kyle said, smiling tentatively. “I just wanted to make sure. Because . . . well . . .”
A cab stopped at the corner and Kyle escorted Natalie into it. Just like that, all thoughts of Simon—and Hannah—were gone. The butterflies were back. As the cab whizzed toward her building, Natalie realized that Kyle had never finished his sentence. But that was just fine. He didn’t have to.
chapter FOUR
Jenna> SUNDAY
Jenna slammed shut the passenger door of her dad’s car and started to trudge up the sidewalk to her mom’s house. Adam and Stephanie lagged behind, carrying their bags and shouting good-byes to their father as he pulled out of the driveway.
TTYL Page 4