Life of Me, The #14

I went back to the Reading Gym and tried to work on my scrapbook, but I couldn’t concentrate on anything. I was steaming mad. Mr. Rock didn’t notice because he was giving special attention to Chelsea Byrd. She’s a very shy girl and she’d been extra special nervous about having to present her autobiography to the class the next week. Mr. Rock was helping her review it.

As I sat there looking around the library, a million questions raced around in my brain. Why hadn’t Zoe come with me? Why was she crying? Why couldn’t she understand that her cousin was a cheater? Wait a minute . . . why was Luke Whitman blowing his nose on a piece of yellow construction paper?

A few minutes later, when the class was over, I dashed across the hall and waited for Zoe outside the gym. She was the first to come out, since the kids in the Tae Kwon Do class had to stay after to put the floor mats away.

“You made up that awful story about Nick just because you wanted Frankie to win.”

“I didn’t make anything up! Nick really did eat that Ding Dong,” I said. “And he did stick his tongue out at Frankie. I saw it with my own two eyes.”

“Oh, really, Hank? I didn’t see it. Ashley didn’t see it. Principal Love didn’t see it. Explain that.”

“Because you and Ashley were busy waving and saying hi and stuff,” I answered. “And Principal Love was keeping score.”

“I’m going inside to get my stuff now,” Zoe said. “When I come out, I’d like you not to be here.”

I had no chance to finish the sentence, because she turned and went into the library. I stood at the door, gathering my thoughts up, as much as I can ever gather my thoughts up, that is. Then I followed her in. She was already talking with Chelsea Byrd.

“You’ll do fine,” I heard her saying to Chelsea. “Everyone gets nervous, but we’re all here to support you.”

I ran out into the hall and stopped Frankie and Ashley as they were coming out of the gym.

“Frankie, you’ve got to help me,” I said. “Zoe thinks I made up the thing about the Ding Dong. You’ve got to tell her it’s true.”

“Tae Kwon Do is not about winning and losing,” Frankie said. “McKelty knows what he did. He’s got to deal with that.”

“Listen, Zip, the one thing I’ve learned about sports is that you get all kinds of calls. Some are good calls. Some are bad calls. And the deal is, you can’t complain about them or you just look like a chump. So let’s forget about this, okay?”

“No, not okay. Listen, Frankie . . . I need you to tell Zoe that I wasn’t making this up. She thinks I’m lying about it.”

“You have to admit, Zip, you’re getting a little confused about what’s true and what isn’t these days. Like the deal with not telling your dad about Reading Gym. Come on, dude. You should tell him.”

“Yeah, but you do, and lying to him isn’t going to make it any easier.”

“Did you see the Ding Dong?” I asked her. “Even a little tiny piece of it? One or two crumbs, maybe?”

As Ashley hurried to catch up with Frankie, I just stood there fuming. To make matters worse, Nick the Tick picked that very moment to walk out of the gym.

“You got no proof, Sherlock. So it looks like I’m the winner and you and your pal are the losers.”

Call me immature, but I actually growled at McKelty. I didn’t plan to do it, but it just sort of fell out of my mouth before I could stop it. A real growl, like a lion or a tiger.

“Yeah, like you scare me,” McKelty laughed as he walked off. “So long, Zipper Boy.”

As if to prove that the day couldn’t have gotten any worse, Principal Love grabbed me on his way out and asked me to help him carry his stuff back to his office. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zoe leaving the library with Chelsea. But me, I was stuck squeaking down the hall next to Principal Love, toting his gym bag in one hand and his snowman scarf in the other.

Now if that’s not a terrible way to end a terrible day, I don’t know what is.