I.D. Read Free

That she didn’t mean that stuff about me being stupid.
    Yeah, right. So why did she say it then?
    I don’t hate her. She’s my mom. She’s stuck with Ron—but still. I wasn’t going to let her off that easy. I didn’t say anything. I just shrugged. I grabbed my backpack and a cold English muffin and left. I had to get out of the house.
    I made it to school fifteen minutes early. That was lucky. I’d forgotten to do my math homework. I’d kind of had other things on my mind that night.
    Oxner would kick me out for sure if it wasn’t done. Other teachers might cut me some slack if I told them about the “problems at home,” but not him. I wouldn’t give him the chance. There’s no way I’d even tell him. I wasn’t going to let him feel sorry for me.
    I had to get some of the homework done or I was screwed.
    I was leaning against my locker, staring at the math sheet, when I saw Alexa. Oneminute your life is total crap, and the next it seems like everything is one hundred percent okay.
    â€œHey, Alexa!” I said.
    I didn’t think she heard me. I ran after her.
    â€œAlexa!”
    That time she turned around. “Oh, hi, Christopher,” she said. Her eyes were this amazing color, like a blue highlighter. I wondered if she wore tinted contacts.
    â€œCan you do me a favor?” I said. Girls like her can’t say no to a favor.
    I explained that I’d had a little trouble getting my homework done the night before. I didn’t tell her about my stepdad. It made me sound too much like trailer trash. I just asked if I could see her paper.
    â€œOh, I don’t know about that, Christopher,” she said. The way she looked, you’d think I was asking her to smuggle drugs into the country. “It’s sort of cheating.” She hugged her binder really close to her chest.
    â€œNot for you it isn’t,” I said. “If anyone finds out, just tell the truth. Tell them Istole your binder.” I yanked it out of her hands. She lost her balance. I caught her with my other arm just before she fell forward. It was pretty sweet.
    â€œPlease?” I whispered. “No one will know. I’ll only copy enough answers so Oxner can’t kick me out.”
    She stood up straight and smoothed her shirt. I could tell she didn’t want to do it.
    â€œPlease,” I said again.
    She looked down the hall. It was like she was scared someone was watching.
    â€œNo one will find out,” I said. I smiled at her. I have a nice smile. Girls always say that.
    She bit her lower lip. She looked around again. She sighed.
    â€œOkay,” she said. “But hurry.”
    I messed up her hair and ran into the boys’ washroom. It only took me about three minutes to get enough answers to keep Oxner off my back.
    She was with some other girls when I came out. I put my arm around her so theywouldn’t notice me slipping her the binder. When they left, I whispered, “Thanks. I’ll make it up to you.”
    I’d have to think of something good.

Chapter Six
    I ate my supper in my room that night. I felt kind of bad about leaving Mandy and Mom with Ron, but I couldn’t hack the guy right then.
    Besides, I needed to study too. It’s one thing to get in trouble. Alexa didn’t mind me giving Oxner a hard time. It’s another thing looking stupid. I didn’t want her thinking I was flunking out because I was dumb. I figured if I studied I could answersome questions in history the next day. That might impress her.
    I opened the book. We were studying the Nazis. They were twisted enough that they were kind of interesting. I read for about half an hour, and then I started to think about Alexa again. Why wait until the next day? Why not call her now? I could act like I had some big question that just couldn’t wait. I could make it sound like I actually spent time thinking about history and stuff like that.
    I