What’d I do? I guess at this end of the galaxy it’s a crime to get stuffed into your own space helmet. Well, at least I should be safe here, what with Principal Ort’s office right across the hall. And no other helmets in sight. Although the door is closed. And I’m sure Dorn would be just as happy to cram me into that recycle slot over there. Man, how much must he hate me to risk getting taken out by Grimnee like that?
I feel the bench shift slightly. I turn in time to see Dorn leaning down toward me. Maybe he doesn’t need to cram me into anything. Maybe he’s planning a more basic fist-to-body-part type of interaction. I lean away and close my eyes. I may not have a choice whether or not to feel what’s coming, but I sure don’t have to look at it.
“You know,” Dorn says, in a surprisingly normal-sounding voice, “I used to be a pretty big deal around here before you showed up.”
Hey, no stuffing! No pummeling! I decide to risk it and open my eyes.
“Huh?”
“My mom is the head of security on the space station, so we were one of the first families to come out here. I pretty much ran the show at school. Then you guys started coming in from all over the place.”
“You guys?” I ask.
“Yeah, you know, the scientist kids.”
“Scientist kids? What’s wrong with us?”
“What’s not wrong with you?” Dorn’s getting a little agitated now. “You come in here and you’re all so smart and everything and the teachers like you and Principal Ort likes you. Even the lunch ladies like you guys. And it all just makes me want to barf.”
“And cram me into my helmet.”
“Yup.”
“Over and over again.”
“Yup.”
I can’t believe I’m actually having a conversation with Dorn. Don’t get me wrong. It still feels sort of like a wildebeest-and-crocodile situation. I just know at some point Dorn is going to lunge at me and drag me under the water. But for now we’re actually talking.
“But you seem to hate me even more than the other kids. I’m not the only one with a parent who’s a scientist.”
“Yeah, but you’re the only one with two. And all I heard for weeks before you even got here was how you were the smartest kid in the whole galaxy. A real supergenius. ‘Be nice to Kelvin,’ they said. ‘Be sure to make Kelvin feel at home,’ they said. Makes me want to stick my finger down my throat.”
Again with the regurgitating? It’s as if the very thought of me makes Dorn sick to his stomach.
“Actually, it’s Mighty Mega Supergenius,” I blurt out before I can stop myself.
“What?”
“You called me a supergenius, but I’m actually a Mighty Mega Supergenius.” Crap! Stop talking, Kelvin! You’re just asking for that croc to drag you down.
“Well, at least I was supposed to be. But it’s no secret anymore. You know as well as everybody else—I’m just average.”
“If that.”
“So why are you still picking on me, then?”
“Because I’m the bully. It’s what I do. It’s what everybody expects me to do. And I can’t go letting everybody down, now can I?”
“Uh, I don’t think that’s such a good idea, Principal Ort.”
“Nonsense, Mr. Dorn. It’s a wonderful idea. A WONDERFUL idea! A SPECTACULAR idea! A SENSATIONAL idea! Ah, here she comes now.”
I glance over at Dorn. He looks even more horrified. And now I can hear voices coming from inside Principal Ort’s office. Actually, it sounds more like just one voice. One loud voice. One very, very, very loud voice. And then everything is quiet for a few seconds before the door slides open and Dorn’s mom appears.
“Let’s go,” she says to Dorn, glowering.
Dorn pulls himself up off the bench and shuffles along behind her as she heads back down the corridor. It’s just me and Backpack now.
“Hey, Backpack. Why do you let Dorn carry you around everywhere and treat you like that?”
“Oh, it’s not so bad. Nobody teases me about being little anymore. And he helps me with my math homework.”
“He does? But he’s failing math.”
“Yeah. I think he doesn’t want anybody to know he’s good at it. Weird, huh? See you later, Kelvin.”
