If she heard me, she didn’t respond. I looked up at her in shock just as Mr. Ball fired the pistol to start the race. Instead of waiting around for Josh to trample me, I took off running. I ran like my life depended on it, which it probably did. I ran faster than I ever had before. My panicked, maniacal, fear-driven run was so fast that I escaped Josh and dusted all the competition, including Chicken Legs McGraw.
At the other side of the hundred yards, I was still running on instinct, like a rabbit escaping a fox, and I didn’t really understand why I was met by a white ribbon hitting me in the chest, and why Mr. Feebletop was raising my hand into the air, and why Mr. Ball was yelling, “Blue wins!” and why Mrs. Lutzkraut was pulling out clumps of hair, and why every blue-clad student was encircling me and cheering. I had won field day without even knowing it.
Chapter 25
I OVERHEAR A PLOT
As the crowd swarmed around me, Rishi came running up and shook me by the shoulders. “You did it, Rodney! I knew you would!” Mr. Feebletop was clapping. Jessica was smiling. The noise was deafening. I was being turned, grabbed, and patted. Lost in the crazed excitement, I spun around with a dumb smile on my face.
“Oh boy,” I mumbled, smile fading. I had turned right into Josh.
Then he smiled. An actual big grin. Wow, could this really be? It seemed that even he was excited about my great run. Before I knew it he stuck out his hand to shake mine. This was super. I reached out and shook it—and a bear trap snapped shut on my fingers. I looked down and saw it was actually Josh’s hand . . . crushing mine.
He pulled me in close. “I’ll get you alone sooner or later,” he whispered, “and when I do . . . you’re dead.” He leaned back, clicked his smile back on, and letting go of my poor, throbbing hand disappeared into the crowd. I didn’t know how much longer I could keep up the fake Superman thing, but I really didn’t have a choice at this point.
“That was nice of him to congratulate you,” Greg said from behind me.
“Yeah, real nice,” I choked, walking off.
Before I got too far Jessica met me. “That was the most incredible run I’ve ever seen. I really can’t believe some of the things you do.” She smiled at me.
That makes two of us, I thought.
“You know,” she added more shyly, “next Friday is the big end-of-year dance.”
I decided to make use of my hero status while it lasted. “Jessica, I know I’ll see you there, but can I take you to the dance, like officially?”
“Officially?” she smiled. “Do you mean like a date?”
Luckily my face was still red from the hundred-yard dash. She couldn’t see me blush as I answered, “Yes, a date.”
“Okay. You can pick me up around seven. Rodney, are you listening?”
Mrs. Lutzkraut was staring at me and shaking her fist in the air. Suddenly Mr. Feebletop called out to her. “Ah, the raised fist of triumph!” She jumped like a little kid caught doing something wrong. I turned back in time to see Kayla dragging Jessica off somewhere, but it didn’t matter. I had asked Jessica to the dance and she had actually said yes.
I was consumed by mixed emotions. Things were awesome with Jessica, and my usual group of friends loved me all the more. On the other hand, my worst enemies were more fired up than ever. There were two weeks left till the end of the year, and they’d be dangerous weeks. I’d have to be extra-careful and keep my eyes wide open.
I took my first precautions on Monday morning, standing in front of the class. Making sure I had plenty of witnesses, I announced, “I am now handing in my book report. It is on Stormbreaker, by Anthony Horowitz.” I laid it down on Mrs. Lutzkraut’s desk.
“Do you think you could hand in your assignment without comment?” Despite her little zinger, I couldn’t risk any more missing assignments and walked straight back to my desk. I noticed her eyeing the report in a strange way. Then she looked up at me, smiled, and stated, “This is going to be a glorious week. Can’t you just feel it?” I felt something, all right. Shivers down my spine! My mind raced, trying to figure out what she had in store for me.
Concern about Mrs. Lutzkraut’s next move swept through my brain the rest of the morning. Even later when we walked down to lunch I kept my eye on her, ready for anything. Arriving at the cafeteria, I sat down with the boys and got ready to eat, until I realized I had forgotten my lunch. It was in the last place I wanted to return alone.
“Where’s your lunch?” Slim asked. He usually finished anything left by the rest of us and was probably wondering about my dessert.
“I forgot it in the classroom.”
“Well, go get it!”
“I’m not really hungry,” I lied, my stomach growling.
“Hey, Mrs. Canasta! Can Rodney get his lunch from class?” Slim called to the aide who had replaced Long Nose. She was very nice and rushed over.
“Absolutely. Rodney, go get it.” I didn’t want to go. Long Nose would have told me no. For once I missed her nastiness.
“Go on, go on,” Slim prodded.
Reluctantly, I walked out and continued down the hall. Maybe Mrs. Lutzkraut wouldn’t be there. I walked extra-quietly and when I got to the room, I peered in through the open door. The classroom was empty. Quickly, I darted to the closet, rifled through my backpack, and grabbed the lunch.
“This has been an excellent little talk, Joshua,” a voice sounded by the classroom door. Frightened, I moved farther into the closet. “You understand what to do?”
“Yeah,” Josh answered.
“Excellent. Now get back to the cafeteria.”
Josh walked away, but Mrs. Lutzkraut walked in and sat down behind her desk. I shuddered to think what the two of them had been talking about. It also occurred to me I was stuck in the closet. Maybe if I just hid for a minute she’d . . .
“Who’s back there? I can see your arm!” Her voice boomed out across the classroom. I had no choice but to stick my head out. She stood up from her desk, and I noticed that weird twitch return to her face. “I should have known it was you. How much did you hear?”
“Hear? I, uh, just got, uh . . .”
“Being that you are a perpetual liar, one would imagine you would be better at it.” She was now walking toward me. Instinctively, I inched toward the door. “It’s really no matter, though. It will be an evening to remember, don’t you agree?”
What was she talking about? She definitely thought I had heard more than I did. “Uh, yeah, an evening to remember,” I repeated, still inching away.
“Well?” she asked.
“Umm, well what?”
“Ummm, aren’t you going to go eat your lunch?”
“Yes, right away.” And with that I bolted out of class, more confused and worried than ever.
That afternoon I tried desperately to figure out what she had in store for me. My friends were no help whatsoever. When I tried to explain that Mrs. Lutzkraut was plotting something evil, they laughed and told me I read too many scary books. I didn’t say anything, but the truth is that I don’t ever read scary books. I have enough fears in the real world to keep me busy. Like having a crazy lady plotting against me. Or was she? Maybe this whole thing with Mrs. Lutzkraut was in my mind.
Wanting to be alone to sort things out, I left my carefree, happy friends at the bus stop and took the “long cut” back home. After a few blocks I felt the now-familiar presence of a car creeping along a few paces behind me. My mouth ran dry and I couldn’t breathe. Maybe I was imagining it. I gave a quick glance over my shoulder—and saw a red car. Not daring to wait and see who or what was driving, I took off. The car picked up speed behind me. This was it. I was alone this time—and running for my life.
I cut left across a front yard and around the side of a house. I didn’t slow down in the backyard but just kept running right past a lady gardening who barely managed a hey! before I flipped myself over her chain-link fence. I took off across the green grass of someone else’s backyard and slipped on a pile of dog doo, but
didn’t even have time to say yuck. I blitzed out into the front yard and angled out into the road, where I stood panting, looking all around me.
Down the block, at the cross street, I thought I saw the hood of the red car sticking out slightly from behind a hedge. I was still catching my breath when the car suddenly lurched forward and turned in my direction.
It was enough to get me moving again. As I ran through some woods that eventually led to the back of my house, I realized that everything had gone too far. Someone was going to get hurt—and that someone was me. My friends didn’t believe it when I told them what Mrs. Lutzkraut was doing. They assumed I was making up a story and being silly, but this couldn’t continue. I had to tell my parents. At least they would believe me.
Close to my house, I sat down on an old stump to catch my breath. Knowing I was about to get help from my mom and dad, I felt the first sense of relief in weeks. After a minute or two I got up and finished the walk through the woods. I was almost smiling as I strode in through the back door. “Hey Mom! Where are you? I need to talk to you!”
“I’m right in here, honey. Come see who just popped over.” Was it Rishi? Aunt Evelyn? I rushed in.
“Hello, Rodney,” said a familiar voice. My blood ran cold. Sitting there in my father’s chair was Mrs. Lutzkraut.
Chapter 26
THE BIG DANCE
“Can you believe who’s paying us a visit?” My mom smiled, holding a pair of teacups in her hands. A scream tried to escape my mouth but I locked my lips together. After gingerly exhaling a deep breath, I attempted a response.
“Ahh.” I couldn’t say any more.
“Sit down, Rodney. Mrs. Lutzkraut was just talking to me about the school year. Don’t look so panicked. We’re discussing good things. Mrs. Lutzkraut, you were saying . . .”
“Yes, Mrs. Rathbone. You know I think the world of your son, and I am so thankful that he moved here this year and joined my class.” My mom beamed. I almost puked. “Parents need to hear good news, too, you know. And that really is why I’m here. You need to know just how impressed I’ve been with your son.”
“Rodney, isn’t that nice of Mrs. Lutzkraut? Could you imagine having a nicer teacher?”
“Ahh.”
“It’s okay, Mrs. Rathbone. I don’t like to put students on the spot. Oh, one more thing. You may know there’s a dance this Friday night.”
My head was spinning, but when she mentioned the dance my intestines twisted. That’s what she had meant when I’d overheard her say, “an evening to remember. . .” It was the one thing I had been looking forward to most and now my big night with Jessica would be ruined.
My mom said, “Yes, I read about the dance in the PTA bulletin.”
“Well, I know how shy Rodney can be . . .”
What???
“. . . and boys his age will make any excuse to get out of a dance, but I really believe going to this dance will do wonders for his socialization.” Then she turned and addressed me directly. “Rodney, we will all be so disappointed if you choose not to attend.”
“Mrs. Lutzkraut,” my mom began, “I just want to thank you for this year. Rodney has done a great job adjusting to his new town and school, and I can see it’s because of you and your hard work.”
Was this all really happening?
“No other teacher I know would take time from her busy schedule to make a personal stop and discuss a student’s well-being.”
My well-being? The lady was busy planning my execution.
“It’s my pleasure,” Mrs. Lutzkraut replied, setting down the teacup and rising to shake my mom’s hand. “You never described how lovely your home was, Rodney. Oh, and don’t forget the dance Friday night. We’ll be waiting for you.” She turned her head so my mom couldn’t see and gave me a little wink.
We walked to the door. All of a sudden the red car pulled up. “Here’s my ride now,” Mrs. Lutzkraut announced. “My friend and I so enjoy driving on these late spring days. I’ll see you tomorrow, Rodney.” The door closed and I watched her walk down the steps.
“Oh Rodney, you are truly blessed to have such a wonderful teacher,” my mom said, walking into the kitchen.
“Mom, the woman’s crazy! She . . .”
“Rodney, Mrs. Lutzkraut is one of those special teachers. She may be demanding, but she’s the type that can change a student’s life forever. Now go wash up for dinner.” Well, she was right about that. I had no doubt she’d be changing my life. I just hoped I’d be around to see how it turned out.
I wish I could tell you more about the days leading up to the dance, but all week I was fixated on the doom surrounding Friday night. Jessica got more excited as it got closer, and I fought to act the same, only my dream-come-true had become a nightmare. By the time Friday rolled around, any excitement I felt about Jessica was squashed by the occasional evil grins from Josh and Toby and Mrs. Lutzkraut. The three were in cahoots, and tonight was the night.
That afternoon, I found myself at home, looking in the mirror and thinking over my problems. My brown eyes staring back at me were red and frightened. I was angry with myself. Why are you such a chicken? I asked my reflection.
Duh, my reflection seemed to answer, Josh is going to kill you tonight. Stay home and do something else. Read a book. You can even have a tea party with your sister and her dolls. Just don’t go to that dance.
My reflection seemed to make sense, and my sister would sure love it. But then I got mad at the guy in the mirror. Didn’t he realize Jessica was going to be at the dance and just waiting to . . . ?
You can’t kiss a girl if you’re dead, my reflection answered. He had a point. But then again, if I didn’t go tonight I’d have to face Josh eventually anyway, and what could Mrs. Lutzkraut really do? There’d be lots of other adults around. Besides, the best-looking, coolest girl in the grade was waiting to be my date. Maybe I was tougher than I gave myself credit for. I took a long hard look at my reflection, exhaled, and finally, after weighing all the options, turned my back on the mirror. I strolled confidently out of the bathroom and down the hall to the top of the steps. “Penny!” I yelled. “Count me in for tea. Just don’t sit me next to Mrs. Puffdoodle!”
“Yay!” Penny cheered from the den.
My mom, however, stepped out of her room and gave me a funny look. “Rodney, what are you doing? You need to be getting ready for the dance tonight.”
“Mom, I don’t think I’m going. I’m not feeling that great.”
She smiled and took me by the shoulder. “I think I know what this is about.”
“You do?” I asked, shocked.
“Yes, honey, I know you’re worried about dancing. Mrs. Lutzkraut warned me you would probably be embarrassed to dance. Well, it’s nothing to worry about. You’ll do great. Now come into the bathroom and let me fix your hair. Your father will drop you and Jessica off and then come back at the end to drive everyone home.”
“But Mom, I don’t think I want to . . .”
“But Mom nothing. I have the perfect shirt for you. These jeans will look the best. Hmm, no, maybe these khakis, no, the jeans. Okay, shoes. You can’t wear sneakers. Here, put on your black dress shoes. . . .”
I looked down at the shoes she was referring to. They were black, dressy, and supershiny. I could see my face reflected in the gleaming surface. I looked disgusted. “Mom, I’m not wearing those. You bought them for Mrs. Geller’s son’s wedding.”
“So, they’re perfect. . . .”
“No, they’re too hard and slippery, and I’ll be the only one wearing shoes like those. I’ll look like a fool,” I whined.
“Nonsense, now let’s see about . . .”
I tried to argue, but when my mom is focused on a task, there’s no stopping her. She had me dressed, pressed, wiped, and tucked before I could blink. As my dad and I pulled out of the driveway, I looked back and saw my mom waving happily. My sister, walking with her teapot, wasn’t smiling.
The dance was in the Baber gym. The
parents had decorated it with streamers and balloons. A DJ had set up a booth at the far end. As Jessica and I entered, the DJ’s big speakers were already blaring the most recent hit song. Jessica joined the girls dancing down in front as I quickly looked around. No sign of Josh or Toby. Maybe they weren’t coming. That made sense. A dance didn’t really seem like their kind of thing. A huge weight lifted off my shoulders. Even though Mrs. Lutzkraut was there, talking to Mr. Feebletop and Ms. Dearing, she didn’t seem very interested in me. I decided to join my friends.
Dave was still on crutches. Perfect prey. Sure enough, Kayla walked by and asked, “Wanna dance, Dave?” She giggled, then dragged my hopping friend into the middle of the girls, who all thought a boy on crutches was great and danced around him.
“Nice shoes.” Slim laughed, looking down at my feet.
Rishi added an, “Oh man, check those things out.”
I didn’t respond. My mind had drifted elsewhere. It wasn’t Josh or Toby or Mrs. Lutzkraut that had grabbed my attention. It was a girl who looked better than ever. Her blond hair glided in the air as she walked my way. When she came up to me and grabbed my hand, I thought I might die. “You ready to dance?” Jessica asked.
I nodded, feeling good all over. Looking back at my two gawking friends, I winked. “Must be the shoes.”
We strolled into the crowd and began dancing. I felt a little silly at first, especially with the lights reflecting off my goofy shoes, but after a few minutes Jessica was the only one on my mind. She had on a blue dress that matched her eyes, and once or twice her hair blew past my face. I could feel it graze my cheek and I could smell her shampoo.
We looked at each other through the flashing colored lights and laughing crowd. She came closer and said, “Let’s get some soda.”
How to Beat the Bully Without Really Trying Page 15