coach,â she went on. âItâs so exciting that theyâre recruiting him to be team captain.â
âReally exciting,â I agreed.
I didnât know Ryan had been asked to be team captain. I wondered when it happened that this girl who weâd only just met knew so much more about my family than I did.
We arrived in Bungalow 3 just as the bell rang. Spencer Whatshisname from the beach, wearing the same jeans and white T-shirt, called out to us. Well, actually, he called out to Lauren.
âSaved you a seat over here.â
Lauren slid into the desk behind him, and I sat down at the desk in back of her.
And there we were: me in my new school, Lauren Wadsworth, most beautiful girl, in front of me, and Spencer Whatshisname, handsome, popular dude, in front of her. Three cool ducks, all in a row.
This certainly hadnât been the way I expected it to go. But I was relieved that my transition to Beachside was turning out to be so easy.
Really, Sammie? If itâs so easy, why are you sweating under your arms? You know you only do that when youâre nervous.
Iâm only going to tell you one thing about my homeroom: Mr. Boring was. And I mean
totally
. He spent the whole time going over our schedulesâand not just our regular schedules, but assembly schedules, rainy-day schedules, and half-day schedules. He was obsessed with schedules. It was the most boring half hour of my entire life.
The only good thing about it was when I discovered that Alicia was in my homeroom. She was sitting on the other side of the room, talking to a couple of kids. One was a really tall, thin girl with wild, curly hair that puffed out in all directions. Even though it was hot outside, the girl was wearing high, lace-up, black boots. The other kid was a guy with red hair, but unlike Dan, the SF2 redhead who was tall and athletic, this guy was kind of round and had a pair of wooden drumsticks sticking out of his back pocket.
Hey, Alicia!
I mouthed when Mr. Boring wasnât looking.
She smiled at me and mouthed the words
See you later
.
Lunch?
I mouthed at her, and she nodded.
It was all set. Go to class. Meet up with Alicia for lunch. Ask Charlie to join us. Get to know each other. Maybe if Alicia lived nearby, the three of us could even stop at the Third Street Promenade on the way home.
Yup, it was going to be a great first day.
Lunch
Chapter 6
âWe sit over there under the pavilion,â Lauren told me as we wandered out to the yard after fourth period. âThatâs our table.â
I had run into Lauren after Spanish while I was trying to get my new locker open. She held my backpack while I fiddled with the combination, which was a big help because I am not a gifted locker opener, and it took both hands and all my concentration to get the stupid thing open. I was actually very surprised that Lauren mentioned lunch to me, since I thought she had only invited Charlie to join them at their table. I said sure, Iâd sit with them, knowing that Charlie would be extremely happy to see me keeping my promise about being friendly. I wanted to meet up with Alicia, too, but I figured Iâd find her somewhere.
The cafeteria at Beachside is indoors, but you have your choice of eating inside or outside. It smells like cafeteria food inside, so if the weather is good, which it almost always is, most kids choose to eat outside. The best tables are located under the pavilion, which is this green, metal tent-kind-of-thing that provides a shady area so you donât have to sit out in the hot sun to eat. Itâs also the area closest to the cafeteria, so kids can buy a hot lunch or pick up something from the quick-serve window and then just head outside to their table. Of course, the SF2 table was under the pavilion, right smack in the center. The best spot for seeing and being seen.
As I followed Lauren over to their table, I saw that the whole area was swarming with kids. Some were lined up
âReally exciting,â I agreed.
I didnât know Ryan had been asked to be team captain. I wondered when it happened that this girl who weâd only just met knew so much more about my family than I did.
We arrived in Bungalow 3 just as the bell rang. Spencer Whatshisname from the beach, wearing the same jeans and white T-shirt, called out to us. Well, actually, he called out to Lauren.
âSaved you a seat over here.â
Lauren slid into the desk behind him, and I sat down at the desk in back of her.
And there we were: me in my new school, Lauren Wadsworth, most beautiful girl, in front of me, and Spencer Whatshisname, handsome, popular dude, in front of her. Three cool ducks, all in a row.
This certainly hadnât been the way I expected it to go. But I was relieved that my transition to Beachside was turning out to be so easy.
Really, Sammie? If itâs so easy, why are you sweating under your arms? You know you only do that when youâre nervous.
Iâm only going to tell you one thing about my homeroom: Mr. Boring was. And I mean
totally
. He spent the whole time going over our schedulesâand not just our regular schedules, but assembly schedules, rainy-day schedules, and half-day schedules. He was obsessed with schedules. It was the most boring half hour of my entire life.
The only good thing about it was when I discovered that Alicia was in my homeroom. She was sitting on the other side of the room, talking to a couple of kids. One was a really tall, thin girl with wild, curly hair that puffed out in all directions. Even though it was hot outside, the girl was wearing high, lace-up, black boots. The other kid was a guy with red hair, but unlike Dan, the SF2 redhead who was tall and athletic, this guy was kind of round and had a pair of wooden drumsticks sticking out of his back pocket.
Hey, Alicia!
I mouthed when Mr. Boring wasnât looking.
She smiled at me and mouthed the words
See you later
.
Lunch?
I mouthed at her, and she nodded.
It was all set. Go to class. Meet up with Alicia for lunch. Ask Charlie to join us. Get to know each other. Maybe if Alicia lived nearby, the three of us could even stop at the Third Street Promenade on the way home.
Yup, it was going to be a great first day.
Lunch
Chapter 6
âWe sit over there under the pavilion,â Lauren told me as we wandered out to the yard after fourth period. âThatâs our table.â
I had run into Lauren after Spanish while I was trying to get my new locker open. She held my backpack while I fiddled with the combination, which was a big help because I am not a gifted locker opener, and it took both hands and all my concentration to get the stupid thing open. I was actually very surprised that Lauren mentioned lunch to me, since I thought she had only invited Charlie to join them at their table. I said sure, Iâd sit with them, knowing that Charlie would be extremely happy to see me keeping my promise about being friendly. I wanted to meet up with Alicia, too, but I figured Iâd find her somewhere.
The cafeteria at Beachside is indoors, but you have your choice of eating inside or outside. It smells like cafeteria food inside, so if the weather is good, which it almost always is, most kids choose to eat outside. The best tables are located under the pavilion, which is this green, metal tent-kind-of-thing that provides a shady area so you donât have to sit out in the hot sun to eat. Itâs also the area closest to the cafeteria, so kids can buy a hot lunch or pick up something from the quick-serve window and then just head outside to their table. Of course, the SF2 table was under the pavilion, right smack in the center. The best spot for seeing and being seen.
As I followed Lauren over to their table, I saw that the whole area was swarming with kids. Some were lined up
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