Too Cool for This School Read Free Page B

might have been kind, but sometimes she missed the boat.
    “Todd and Jagger,” Ava said. “They eat with the other guys, but I want them to eat at our table.”
    It bummed me out that we weren’t focused on picking out my class-captain outfit anymore. But when we started talking about guys, it usually took all our focus.
    “I don’t think you’ll be able to pull them away from the guy table until they finish playing that video game,” Lucia said.
    For weeks Todd and Jagger and a bunch of other guys had been trying to win a game involving two tribes of dwarves:
Dwarf Massacre 3: Axe of Doom
. I didn’t really understand all the rules.
    “That game is so lame,” Ava said.
    “Do you even know what it’s about?” Lucia asked.
    Ava dropped my skirt on the floor and sat down next to it. “You’ve got good dwarves and bad dwarves. The good ones are made of steel and the bad ones are made of iron. They’re battling each other for world supremacy.”
    I was super surprised that Ava knew the rules to
Dwarf Massacre 3
.
    “Maybe we should try to play it,” Rachel said. “And then maybe we could hang out at their table and talk about our progress.”
    Ava groaned and collapsed backward very dramatically. “I’m strapped to my cello five days a week trying tolearn my part for the waltz in Tchaikovsky’s
Sleeping Beauty
. If I add one more thing to my life, I’ll die.”
    “I’m pretty busy too,” Lucia said. “I’ve still got five weeks left of Tagalog classes with my mom.”
    I was still surprised that Lucia agreed to take a conversational foreign language class with her mom. It seemed like a terrible way to spend your Thursday nights.
    “Haven’t you quit that yet?” Ava asked.
    Lucia shook her head. “I’ve learned a bunch of practical phrases. I mean, I already know how to tell time.”
    “But are you ever going to visit the Philippines?” Rachel asked.
    “Sure,” Lucia said. “Someday.”
    “Let’s try to keep brainstorming on how to get the guys to eat with us,” Ava said.
    We all just sat in silence. There was a strong divide in the lunchroom. Girls ate with girls. Guys ate with guys. It was hard to cross those boundaries.
    “What would happen if we just sat with them?” Rachel asked.
    Ava’s eyes grew wide, but she didn’t object. “I’d try that,” Lucia said.
    But I thought sitting with my secret boyfriend before we agreed to be official might look pushy. “If you guys do that,” I said, “I’m going to sit with the other class captains.”
    All of my friends gasped.
    “No!” Rachel said.
    “I’d miss you too much,” Lucia said.
    “You won’t let being class captain change you?” Ava asked. “Will you?”
    What a weird question. “Of course not,” I said.
    Then my phone buzzed again. It was another text from Todd.
    Todd: Going to play dwarves with Jagger. Maybe we can talk tomorrow.
    Oh no. I’d lost my chance to talk to him.
    “Why do you look so sad?” Rachel asked. “What did he say?”
    I shrugged. “He’s going to play
Dwarf Massacre
.”
    Rachel looked at me very sympathetically. “Maybe you and I could learn how to play.”
    Did I want to pretend I was a dwarf who violently killed other dwarves? I didn’t think so.
    Knock. Knock. Knock
.
    My mom popped her head in my room. “Time to break this party up. Moms are here.”
    We all scrambled to our feet. Ava handed me my skirt. “You should totally wear this. You’ve got great tights.”
    “Yeah,” I said.
    They left my room and my house and soon I was all by myself. I washed my face and brushed my teeth and put on my pajamas and got in bed.
Does Todd want to hear from me?
I wondered.
Probably!
Even though I knew he was busy, I sent him a text.
    Me: Are you winning?
    I held my phone and stared at it. But nothing happened. Eventually, I set it on my bedside table. I pulled out a magazine and tried to do some reading. But my phone was very distracting. Then it finally buzzed.
    Rachel: Thanks for