On a Slippery Slope Read Free Page B

new?”
    â€œOh, there you are!” Gabby yells, happily waving as she runs toward us. “Yay! You finally met my twin!”
    â€œHold it,” A.J. says, pointing at me, “you know her?”
    â€œYeah, she’s the new girl from across the street … the one I took to the concert.”
    â€œ WHAT ! Everybody shut up!” Chloe whips her head around, focusing death-ray eyes on Gabby. “This is the girl —” She angrily points her finger in my direction “— that you took to the concert instead of me!” Chloe’s face is so red that if she were a volcano she’d be erupting right about now. “I told you I wanted that ticket, Gabby!”
    â€œWell, I must have forgot,” Gabby snips, folding her arms over her chest.
    A.J. chimes in, “So, let me get this straight. The girl from the plane is the same girl you took to the concert?”
    â€œI don’t know.” Gabby smirks. “Is this the girl you told me about, the pretty one who almost stole your iPod?”
    â€œGabby …” A.J. puts his fingers to his lips and makes a face at her.
    â€œWell, is she?” Gabby asks again, not letting him off the hook.
    â€œLooks like it,” A.J. replies, his dimpled cheeks suddenly pink.
    â€œ Um … hi,” I squeak.
    â€œIt’s Hannah, right?” he says, just as the bell rings.
    â€œYup, it’s me! Hannah Banana,” I blurt out, grinning ear to ear like a complete idiot. Why did I say that? I hate, hate, HATE when people call me that .
    â€œA.J.” He smirks, sticking out his hand.
    He wants me to shake it! What kid does that? He did it on the plane, too. If I touch that hand, I know what will happen — my knees will go weak, I won ’ t be able to speak, and I ’ ll make a total fool of myself again. Super, now what am I going to do?
    â€œWell, this is great! We all know each other!” Gabby puts her arms around both of us, saving me from A.J.’s outstretched hand. “Well, gotta get to class,” she says, letting go. Once she’s halfway down the hall, she turns and yells back, “Oh, and you have to join our club! See you at lunch.”
    â€œClub?” I say, looking at A.J., who is now the only person left in the hallway besides me.
    â€œYeah,” he says, all smiling and dimply. “There’s the signup sheet on the wall.” He points to where he was standing earlier. “If you want to meet people and have fun, sign up … if you dare,” he adds with a chuckle.
    Just then, Ms. Winters pokes her head out of the classroom and points to the clock. “Time to get moving, Hannah. Class is starting.”
    I look down at my hands, which are empty, and then back at A.J.
    â€œHeads up!” he yells, throwing me a pen.
    I run over and scribble my name on the bottom of the sheet, not knowing exactly what for. Oh well, I guess I’ll find out soon enough.

4
    Minutes in the Library
    H e ethinks I ’ m pretty.… He actually told Gabby that I’m pretty. He wants me in his club! “He lent me his pen!” I blurt out, surprising myself.
    Ms. Winters, who is writing word problems on the whiteboard, twists her head over her shoulder, closes her eyes, and asks, “Is there a problem, Hannah?”
    A few kids snicker.
    â€œNo, Ms. Winters, no problem at all,” I say, suddenly aware of the fact that I am holding A.J.’s pen in the air.
    â€œWell, good; let’s try to control the random outbursts, okay?”
    â€œSure,” I answer, pulling my hand down.

    Just as the laughter dies down and Ms. Winters starts writing again, something smacks me in the head — hard . I suck air in through my clenched teeth, not daring to make a sound. The pain is searing and I feel a lump forming beside my temple. It really hurts! This is getting old! A girl beside me points at my desk where an eraser has landed. I wonder if it was