Read Online Access Denied (and other eighth grade error messages) by Denise Vega - Free Book Online Page B

problem was but I wished she’d get over it
     so I could have some fun.
    “You’re riding your bikes?” She said it as if I’d told her we were going to skydive to get to DQ—without parachutes.
    “Yeah,” I said. “You know, those things with two wheels I’ve been riding since I was six?”
    She gave me her don’t-get-smart-with-me look.
    I sighed. “They’ll come here first so we can all ride together. Blake wants to say hello.”
    Finally, a smile. “Well, that’s nice. I think it’s fine but no stopping along the way. Straight there and straight back. All
     right?”
    What did she think we were going to do, head to California? “All right.”

CHAPTER 13
CLUB COOL
    JILLY WOULDN’T HAVE BELIEVED IT, but I was more excited about starting I-Club than I was about the DQ double-date on Saturday.
     As I stepped into the familiar computer lab that Thursday after school, I couldn’t help grinning. The clusters of computers,
     the glowing monitors, the trackballs and mice neatly positioned beside each keyboard—it all gave me a jolt of excitement.
     Even though we had our computers and technology elective in here twice a week, the room looked different somehow. Soon we’d
     be creating web pages, links, and animated stuff, and all of it would go out on the Internet for everyone to see. I couldn’t
     wait.
    “Okay, people, settle down.” Ms. Moreno stood in front of her desk, a stack of papers clutched in her hand. Mr. Arnett, who
     helped with I-Club, was flipping through software discs. I glanced around the room. Most of the old faces were back, including
     Serena. Reede sat near the back, Tyler on one side of her, Steve on the other. She raised her chin in greeting and I nodded.
    Mark appeared in the doorway, talking to someone over his shoulder. A hand clutched his and I pictured Kara just outside the
     door. He said something to her and smiled. The hand released and he waved good-bye before coming inside, grinning at me as
     he dropped into a seat at one of the computer clusters.
    There were about five or six seventh graders huddled in the corner beneath the Rules for Safe Surfing poster. Behind them
     was the familiar row of shelves holding books, manuals, and discs, all neatly stacked because I’d organized them myself last
     year.
    “Find a seat, everyone,” Ms. Moreno said. She rapped on the desktop and we quieted down. “We need to get our groups and get
     to work. We have a lot to do if we want to have a fully functioning website on the Internet by February or March.”
    “What about the Intranet?” someone asked. “Will that go away?”
    “We’ll have both,” she said. “And we’ll need to maintain both. Some of what we have for the Intranet can be used on our Internet
     website, which will help.” Her eyes fell to the back of the room. I glanced over my shoulder. The seventh graders were still
     in a group, eying the empty seats, none of which were together. “You’ll have to split up,” Ms. Moreno said to them. “
Most
of the eighth graders don’t bite, though I can’t vouch for all of them.”
    The class chuckled and the seventh graders made their way to available seats.
    “Okay, these are the group leaders.” Ms. Moreno glanced down at her paper. “Erin Swift, Rosie Velarde, Mark Sacks, Jonathan
     Parker, and Zach Lucas. Could each of you make sure you’re at a separate computer cluster and then—”
    “Ms. Moreno.” Steve waved his arm high in the air.
    “—when I read off the groups, please—”
    “Ms. Moreno!”
    Ms. Moreno sighed. “What is it, Steven?” She was the only one who called him Steven. I thought it was because she was trying
     to make him sound older and more mature so he would act older and more mature. So far, it wasn’t working.
    “You forgot to call my name to be a group leader.”
    All the eighth graders broke out laughing.
    “What?” Steve looked around at us, raising his hands in a question.
    “Leader of what?” Rosie said. “Ways