Chapter Ten

I avoid Maggie on the bus ride to school and watch out for her in the halls. She must be watching out for me, too, because I don’t see her. The best part of the morning is when I see Chewie in science class. I rush to class early and give the note to Mr. Hart.

“Cuddles?” he says, raising his eyebrows as he reads the permission note with Mom’s one-week trial-period proclamation. I hold my breath, hoping he won’t change his mind. He walks over to Chewie’s cage. “You hear that, Cuddles?” he asks. “You’d better behave for a week, at least.”

Chewie sits on her hind paws, puts her front paws on the cage, and sniffs Mr. Hart’s fingers. Her little nose and whiskers wiggle. She is so cute. Mr. Hart turns to me. “Your mom is coming today, right?”

“Yes,” I say.

“I’ll have two of my eighth-period students take Cuddles here down to the office after school.”

“Thank you!” I say. I open the top of the cage and pet Chewie. It’s hard to think of her as Cuddles.

“Now, be sure to make an appointment with Dr. MacKenzie,” Mr. Hart says. “Cuddles is six months old already, so it’s time to have her spayed.”

“Okay, I’ll make an appointment,” I say. But I don’t say I’ll make it with Dr. MacKenzie.

The morning goes by quickly, and at lunch I tell Sunita that Mom is picking Josh and me up after school. “And Chewie, too,” I say.

“That’s great,” Sunita says. “I’ve got to be quick at lunch today. Hope you don’t mind finishing up alone. I promised Brenna, another Vet Volunteer, that I’d help her get ready for her Save Our Streams meeting on Thursday.”

“Sure, that’s fine,” I say.

“And remember to come to the library at lunchtime on Thursday. Brenna is going to be speaking at both lunch periods about Stream Cleanup Day. Everyone is helping out.”

“Okay,” I say. “Sounds fun.”

“Great,” Sunita says, packing up her lunch. “I’ll see you in gym later today. Don’t forget we’re on Tuesday-Thursday block scheduling this afternoon.”

“Right,” I say. “See you later.”

It’s hard sitting there alone for the rest of lunch, and even worse when I remember that Maggie has the same block gym schedule as Sunita and me. The overcooked cafeteria spaghetti suddenly feels like a big lump in my belly. I see Josh back at his locker right after my math class.

“I’m worried, Josh. I’m going to be in the same gym class as Maggie,” I tell him. “What if it’s dodgeball? You know how much I hate dodgeball. What if Maggie throws the ball at me?”

Josh grabs his books. “I’m sure it won’t be dodgeball, and even if it is, Maggie can’t be that bad,” he says.

“You have no idea what it’s like when someone hates you,” I say. “You should have seen the way she looked at me in the hall yesterday. Can you walk to the office with me and help me convince them I need to transfer into a different gym class?”

“No,” Josh says. “Just deal with it, Jules. Stay on the other side of the gym. Give Maggie plenty of space until things cool down. But eventually you might try talking to her and, you know, being friendly.”

“Some help you are.”

“Look,” Josh says, “after seeing David and those kittens at Dr. Mac’s yesterday, I want to hang out with the Vet Volunteers. The office is right down the street, and David and Sunita are really nice. Plus, Dr. Mac seems great, too. So if you want to keep avoiding Maggie, fine. But I’m not going to let you stop me from making friends or doing cool stuff.”

“But, Josh—”

He slams his locker shut. “It’s your problem, Jules, not mine,” he says. “I have to get to class. I’ll see you at the end of the day to get Chewie.”

“Cuddles,” I say.

“Right, Cuddles.” Josh walks away, down the hall.

Josh usually knows how to make me feel better, but today he makes me feel worse.

Luckily, as soon as Josh leaves, I see Sunita walking toward me. I’m happy to see her. I know it hasn’t even been two days, but I feel like Sunita and I could be friends.

“Hi, Jules!” she calls out as she waves to me. “Come on, I’ll show you the best way to get to the gym.”

Ugh. It’s not just Maggie I’m worried about. I hate gym. It’s the only subject in school I don’t do well in. I’m not athletic at all, and I’d much rather be reading a book than running around the track out of breath. But off we go to the gymnasium, where Sunita shows me to the locker room so we can put away our book bags and get changed.

“What do you think we’ll be doing in class today?” I ask Sunita.

I guess I must sound anxious because she smiles and says, “Don’t worry, I’m not great in gym, either. It’s not too bad here. Before spring break, we were doing a unit on basketball skills. Dribbling, shooting, layups. It wasn’t too hard.”

Basketball. Great. The perfect sport for a short, uncoordinated seventh-grader. We walk into the gym, and Sunita introduces me to the teacher, Ms. Donnelly, who puts me into a line based on my last name. As she takes attendance, I look around. The gym is huge, with hardwood floors and championship banners in the rafters. There are volleyball nets tucked into a corner and racks of basketballs toward the front.

And then there’s Maggie. She’s sitting two rows away from me, twirling a basketball on her finger and chatting with a male teacher. He’s wearing a jacket that says COACH WILLIAMS on the back.

“Okay, kids!” Ms. Donnelly yells. “I hope you all got a chance to practice your layups over the break. We’ve already reviewed the rules of basketball, so we’re going to get to the exciting part: playing the game. Coach Williams from the girls’ basketball team is here to observe and give tips.”

Coach Williams waves. He looks friendly enough.

Ms. Donnelly points to Maggie and another girl. “Maggie and Darla, as two of Ambler’s basketball stars, I’d like you each to be captains and choose teams. Then we’ll play five on five and switch players from the bleachers every ten minutes. All right, let’s get started!”

Maggie and Darla step onto the court. I’m sure I’ll be chosen last. I always am. That’s okay with me—I prefer to be as invisible as possible in gym class. With any luck, I can make it through the whole class without having to play. But what if Darla chooses me and I have to play against Maggie? I slump as low as possible and wish Sunita and I had sat farther back in the bleachers.

Darla and Maggie start calling out names. To my surprise, after six girls are called, Maggie turns to me, smiles, and says, “Jules.”

I get up slowly and walk down to stand with her team. This is so confusing. Why’d she pick me? Before I even have time to wonder, Maggie and Darla are finishing choosing their teams, and I’m on the court with nine other girls.

Okay, I think. What would Josh do? Deal with it. Be friendly. How awful could it be? Josh said Maggie can’t be all that bad. She chose me, after all. Maybe Maggie’s trying to be friendly, too? At least it’s not dodgeball, right? We’ve probably used up three minutes already. So just seven minutes left?

I look up to the bleachers, and Sunita gives me a thumbs-up. Sunita said yesterday that Maggie is great at sports, so if the ball comes to me, I’ll just pass it to Maggie. That’s friendly, right? I can do this.

Coach Williams blows his whistle, and Maggie starts out with the ball. I hang back, away from the basket, not really sure what to do. Luckily, Sunita was right. Maggie is awesome at basketball. A tough-looking girl on the other team tries to steal the ball from her, but Maggie fakes a pass, moves quickly to her right, and in a split second she is under the basket, laying it in. Score!

The other girls on our team cheer and high-five Maggie. I can’t help but feel a little excited, too. I clap twice, and then look to where I should go next. Now we are on defense, which is usually what I like, because it means I can make a show of playing without actually doing much. But it doesn’t look like that’s going to work on Maggie’s team.

“Jules, guard Sarah! Right next to you!” Maggie yells to me.

I look to my right and see the tough girl with the ball. She’s taller and stronger than me, and I really don’t know how to guard someone, anyway. But maybe this is my chance to make things up to Maggie. My heart races and I run toward Sarah, trying to get between her and the basket. But she’s way faster than I am, and she’s already raising the basketball, ready to shoot. I lunge with my hand out, trying to block it. The only thing that gets blocked is my nose, with Sarah’s elbow.

“Ow!” I yell as I hit the ground with a clumsy thud. My nose burns with pain, and my eyes smart with tears.

Maggie runs over to me. “Are you okay?” she pants.

I reach for my nose and touch it carefully. It’s not bleeding and I don’t think it’s broken, but it hurts like crazy and the whole gym class saw me get knocked down. How embarrassing is that? I’m a terrible athlete, and now I’m lying on the floor with everyone looking down at me. Maggie made me look so stupid—all because she told me to guard Sarah.

“Why did you tell me to go after Sarah?” I ask, trying to stand. “You knew there was no way I could stop her from making a basket. I’m sorry I ruined your project and said that thing about the tutor, but you didn’t have to do this to me!”

“Do what? What are you talking about?” Maggie shakes her head. “It’s just a basketball game. I had no idea you were going to get hurt.”

Coach Williams runs over. “Okay, ladies, break it up. Jules, are you okay?” He leans over and looks at my nose. “It seems fine, but take a break for the rest of class. You can go get changed.”

I head back to the locker room, my eyes burning, my nose throbbing. I can’t look at Maggie, Sunita, or anyone else. I just want this day to be over.

• • • • •

At the end of the day, Mom is parked in front of the school, just as planned. At least that’s one good thing. Josh and I carry Chewie in her cage across the lawn to the car and put her on the backseat. Mom and Sophie help carry the extra food and a backup water bottle.

“So this is Cuddles?” Mom asks.

I try to calm the rabbit down. She’s hopping back and forth in the cage one minute, then cowering in the corner the next. I don’t think she likes all the jostling around.

“Isn’t she cute?” I say.

Mom and Sophie nod.

I can’t wait to get Chewie—I mean Cuddles—home. I have to start thinking of her and calling her Cuddles.

Cuddles, Cuddles, Cuddles. Her name is Cuddles.

But the minute we get home, Cuddles is anything but cuddly. Sophie wants me to take her out of the cage so she can hold her.

“Okay,” I say, “but just for a few minutes. Rabbits do not like to be held that much.”

I make Sophie sit on the floor and put a pillow on her lap. Josh closes the door to the bedroom, then holds the cage door open while I lift Cuddles out. I try to hold her close to my body, but Cuddles thumps her back feet. She nearly leaps out of my arms, and her nails scratch me. But I hold her and get her safely to Sophie’s lap. Cuddles seems nervous. Maybe the car ride agitated her.

Josh and I sit on the floor on both sides of Sophie and Cuddles. We pet the rabbit until she calms down a little. But she is curious, her nose and whiskers twitching. She wants to explore. She sniffs and hops, sniffs and stops, tentatively at first, then she’s hopping all over. She goes under Sophie’s bed with Sophie giggling like crazy.

“Look, look.” Sophie is over-the-top excited, her voice screechy and fast. She’s practically hopping as much as Cuddles. “She’s under the bed. There she is!” Sophie shouts. “She’s hopping again!” Sophie bounces on the mattress on her knees, then leans over upside down to watch Cuddles.

Cuddles hops out again and begins to chew on the cord to my desk lamp.

“No, no, Cuddles,” I say. I quickly unplug the lamp and move the cord up where she can’t reach it. Then she starts pulling the books off our lower shelf with her front paws and chewing on them.

“My book!” Sophie howls. “She’s ruining my favorite book!”

I grab the book and shoo Cuddles away from the shelf.

“I see why your teacher named her Chewie,” Josh says.

“Okay, Cuddles goes back in her cage until we can bunny proof our room,” I say. I put her back in her cage and latch the lid. Cuddles immediately puts her front paws on the cage and sits up on her hind feet, sniffing at the air as if she wants out again.

“Look, look!” Sophie laughs. “Cuddles pooped under my bed. I’m not cleaning that up. You have to, Jules!”

“Fine,” I say. “Josh, could you please bring me a paper towel? But don’t tell Mom why, okay?”

“Sure,” Josh says. He leaves the room, closing the door behind him again.

Sophie jumps around the room, chanting, “We have a bunny, we have a bunny!” Cuddles starts to chew on the wire of her cage. Then she chews on the plastic edge of her water bottle, instead of drinking from the little metal pipe.

“Sophie, quit jumping around. You’re making her nervous,” I say.

Sophie finally calms down but wants to be right next to the cage. She sits on the carpet in front of Cuddles. Sophie pulls out her homework and a book she brought home from school. Just then, Cuddles chews a big hole through the bottom edge of her water bottle. Water gushes out in spurts right on Sophie’s book, her homework, the carpet, and of course on Sophie.

Sophie jumps up screaming, “Look what she did!”

“Shh!” I say, moving Sophie away from Cuddles and the wet mess.

Josh comes back in. “What’s going on?” he asks.

“We’re going to need more paper towels,” I whisper.