By the time lunch was over, ten people had given me their phones:
Eliza
Ricky
Tiffany (an Elizette)
Amber (an Elizette)
Hannah
Jake
Phil
Celia
Becca
Jackie
The last two joined in when I was leaving lunch and I saw Becca, Jackie, and Sammie—my bandmates—sitting at a table by the juice machines.
I happened to walk by them—on purpose, of course.
“Hey, what’s this about you giving up your phone for a week?” Becca shouted.
“Oh, that,” I said. “It’s no big deal. Just something I’m doing with Eliza.”
Sammie snorted. “Eliza?” I kind of knew she would react that way. Sammie had never been a huge fan of Eliza’s. Probably because Eliza had called her “Peggy” all through third grade—short for “Peggy Penguin”—because Sammie happened to walk with her feet pointed out a little bit.
Girls have long memories when it comes to insults like that.
“Yup,” I said. “It’s just something we decided during gym, to see if we could do it, you know? And now a bunch of other kids are doing it, too.”
Becca stopped chewing. “Hold on a second. You told me you were giving up texting. Now all of a sudden you’re giving up your whole phone for a week? And so are a bunch of other kids?” She looked at me like she thought I was up to something. “What’s this about?”
Eliza came up behind me. “It’s not about anything,” she said. “We just don’t want our brains to die. Is that so wrong?”
“Absolutely not,” Jackie said, trying not to laugh. “Brains should definitely not die.”
Becca stood up. “Well, I’m always up for something new and different,” she said, putting her phone on the table. “Take it,” she said to me. I took it and put it in my backpack.
Jackie and Sammie looked at each other. I could tell neither one wanted to give up their phones, but there’s that moment in every middle school kid’s life where they worry if they don’t go along with what everyone else is doing, they’re going to be left behind forever.
“What the hey,” Jackie said, handing me her phone, but Sammie hesitated.
“My mom is supposed to text me what time she’s picking me up after school,” Sammie said.
“There are a ton of kids who still have their phones,” Eliza said. “Just use one of theirs.”
“Oh, right,” Sammie said, a little embarrassed that the girl who was worried about her brain dying had an idea that she hadn’t thought of. She handed me her phone.
“Thanks, Peggy Penguin,” Eliza said.
Sammie grabbed her phone back. “Forget it, you little blond twerp.”
Eliza walked away, smiling. Sammie sat there, seething.
Old habits die hard, I guess.