Just Kidding Read Free

and sitting up straight as Ms. R entered the room.
    Ms. R smiled as she marched in solemnly and sat down at her desk. “It’s Spirit Week!” she announced, “and this is what I think of it.” She pointed to her oversized T-shirt so the class would read the quote underneath the picture of the dictionary: BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL .
    The class burst into cheers and whoops. Henry Yurt pumped his fist in the air and let out a “Yeeeeehaaaaaaw!”
    When the noise died down, Dillon Johnson pointed to Ms. R’s T-shirt and asked, “Who said that?” Dillon was one of the best athletes in the seventh grade. He sometimes had a crush on Maeve–they had even gone on a sort-of date to a Celtics game–and was usually a pretty good guy.
    Right now, though, it looked as though Riley wasgoing to have a heart attack. He was shaking his head back and forth. Finally, he managed to sputter, “The Beach Boys, man! It’s one of their biggest hits! You never heard ‘Be True to Your School’? It’s like a vintage rock classic. I mean Brian Wilson is a certified genius.”
    Maeve grinned. Riley was like a one-man rock ’n’ roll encyclopedia. Meanwhile, Dillon looked annoyed. He told Riley to chill. “Not everybody knows every rock ’n’ roll song ever made.”
    Ignoring him, Riley began to hum the tune, but Ms. R stopped him gently. “Okay, Riley. Thanks. Everybody get back in your seats. I have to read the rules for Spirit Week so everyone knows what’s going to happen.”
    She picked up a colorful sheet of paper lying on her desk and began to read. “All classes in all periods will be shorter every day this week.”
    There was an immediate outbreak of applause, led by the twins, Josh and Billy Trentini, and Avery Madden. Avery, the smallest but most athletic of the BSG, loved everything to do with sports. She was often found playing pickup basketball or giving her two cents about the Red Sox to whoever would listen. “I just can’t wait until opening day at Fenway,” Charlotte heard her telling the guys the other day at lunch. Of course that was months away. Charlotte just hoped her friend could contain herself until then.
    Since there was a great deal of head spinning and whispering going on, Ms. R looked up at the class and raised her eyebrows. Even though she was a favorite teacher at Abigail Adams, kids knew that the “eyebrowraise” meant business. The students quieted down, and the teacher read on. “Every student will be asked to sign up for either the dance committee, the sports committee, or the community service committee. We’re all going to be working together to make this week special and to do our school proud. The point of Spirit Week is to think about what spirit really means to you. It could be about your feelings for your school, or your community, or your family.”
    Before she could go further, there was a knock at the classroom door.
    When the door opened, all eyes turned.
    In walked Kevin Connors, superstar athlete, starring in almost all the school sports events, and current boyfriend of Amanda Cruz, who was the star player for Abigail Adams girls’ basketball team. They were like Abigail Adams’ movie stars. Even Anna and Joline, pop stars in their own minds, were in awe. Maeve was thrilled. She thought Kevin was dreamy.
    â€œWhat’s Mr. Hotshot doing here?” Katani whispered to Charlotte. Katani didn’t have anything against Kevin Connors, but she could never understand why people (her friend Maeve for instance) made such a huge deal out of someone they didn’t even know.
    Charlotte also wondered why Kevin would walk into Ms. R’s class in the middle of homeroom…especially with all the Spirit Week craziness going on.
    Ms. R heard giggles as some of the girls whispered to each other. She pointedly ignored them. “Oh, Kevin, come on in,” she said.