As the Princesses strutted past my locker, I watched the other students cowering before Missy and the B’s. It was like the Patrol had some kind of “loser radar”—from all the way down the hall, they could zero in on loners, nerds, and kids with less money than them. I even saw teachers duck into their classrooms to avoid the princessy sneers.
I closed the door to my locker and made my way toward class… and saw Rhonda come around the corner before Missy spotted her.
Missy was giggling at something Bethany had said, and she wasn’t watching where she was going. She slammed right into Rhonda, who went down on her butt like a sack of Jell-O dressed in saddle shoes. Rhonda’s armful of books scattered everywhere. Her three-ring binder opened, and papers rained down like a ticker-tape parade.
“Watch it, Chubby!” Missy snapped.
The other girls laughed.
“Yeah, are you blind?” Brittany asked. “Oh, wait—I just noticed your clothes. I guess you are!” The Princesses kept on walking.
And what did I do?
I kept on walking too. Of course.
Hey, I’ve got enough problems already. I’ve got a bet to win! Besides, I’ll never make friends at this school if I go around helping people like Rhonda.