I collapse in my bus seat, pissed. I zip open my pack and yank out my chemistry notebook.
Amu.
It’s not a hard concept. An atomic mass unit is one and a half times the mass of a carbon atom that contains six protons and six neutrons. No big deal. But the reason I didn’t know that when Mr. Clegg asked is I can’t possibly study everything every night. So I pick and choose and hope the things I don’t study get covered during tutorial in AVID class. Two weeks in and I’m still trying to catch up. So studying is like putting out brush fires or playing Whac-A-Mole.
Last night I whacked the wrong mole. So today, when Clegg asks me the question, I tell him I don’t know. Yeah, it hurts my pride a bit. I’ll admit that. But it doesn’t kill me.
What kills me is Clegg’s I told you so headshake as he ticks a mark in his grade book.
And those kids. The ones who rolled their eyes when they saw me walking into their exclusive, smart-kid classes on my first day. I know what they’re thinking. And I can’t let it go.
I try, but I can’t.
The bus rolls past shabby Pac Highway used-car lots and junkyards and a voice from deep inside me says, Don’t let it go, T. Do. Not. Let. It. Go. Channel it. Focus your anger and show those snobs what you can do.
There’s a chemistry quiz in two days. I’m studying with Caleb for it. I’m studying till I know the material backward, forward, and upside down.
The bus stops. I hop off and there’s a buzz in my pocket.
WED OCT 01 3:13 P.M.
Wendy: How’s school going?
T: Chuggin away
Wendy: What are you reading?
T: Dante’s inferno
Wendy: I’ve never read it.
Wendy: But I’ve heard it’s hell.
T: Wah wah nice try but
please leave the comedy to …
T: The divine
T: See what I did there?
Wendy: Wah, wah, right back
atcha.
Wendy: What else?
T: Chem quiz Friday
Wendy: Gonna ace it?
T: U-Dub, Wendy. U-Dub