red Magic Marker each day since school started. I couldn’t help wondering about the countdown. What was she waiting for? Her birthday? Summer vacation?
I took the stairs two at a time. My backpack banged against my shoulder as I cut in and out of stragglers on their way to class. But by the time I made it to the east wing, there was no sign of Delaney.
I checked back at her locker after sixth period. Nope.
After seventh period—the last one of the day.
Still
no. She’d probably left for a dentist’s appointment or something. I stayed a few more minutes, searching for her in the river of faces flooding down the hall. But soon the crowds dwindled down, and when some kids chatting by their lockers started to give me funny looks for lurking, I gave up and set off for my own locker downstairs.
I almost ran into Mellecker coming out of the boys’ bathroom.He looked startled to see me. “Oh, hey,” he said, wobbling for a second.
“Hi,” I mumbled, and kept heading for the stairwell.
“Wait,” he called after me.
I stopped.
Here it comes
, I thought as I slowly turned around. At least there weren’t a lot of kids nearby to witness whatever happened next.
Mellecker sauntered toward me. He started to smile. “Remember when we used to climb up that huge dirt pile in the Ho-Hos’ backyard and you kept saying we were climbing Mount Everest?”
I blinked up at Mellecker, speechless with surprise. “Yeah,” I finally answered softly. “And I brought that rope from home, and we tied ourselves together in case one of us fell in a crevasse.…”
Mellecker laughed and looked at the floor, shaking his head. “Yeah. What dopes.” Then his expression suddenly shifted, and he glanced at me with a pained light in his dark eyes. “Listen,” he said, “I had no idea that lady on the field trip was your mother. If I had remembered, I never would have drawn that stupid cartoon. You know that, right?”
I founded myself nodding. He actually looked sincere.
Mellecker’s face cleared. “I recognized you right off, though, as soon as I saw you coming down the hall. You still do that same little move with your head.” Mellecker imitated me flipping my hair out of my eyes. “I used to think it was so cool back when I first met you. I kept trying to do it too, but my hair was never long enough.”
I smiled in amazement. Mellecker thought my “little move” was cool? I never even knew I had a “little move.”
“So if you recognized me,” I asked, “why didn’t you say anything?”
Mellecker shrugged. “Why didn’t
you
?”
I paused and let out a big breath of air. “I don’t know. You weren’t a Ho-Ho very long. I guess I figured you didn’t want to be reminded.”
“Yeah,” Mellecker confessed. He shoved his hands into his pockets with an embarrassed grin. “I kinda thought my Teddy Blair days were behind me.”
“Sorry about that,” I said sheepishly.
Mellecker shrugged again. “It’s okay. Let’s call it even.” He glanced toward the clock on the wall. “Well, I better be getting to practice,” he said, starting to walk backward down the hall. “But I’ll see ya tomorrow, Crenshaw. Okay?”
“Yep.” I lifted my hand in a wave as he turned and disappeared around the corner. Then I stood there with my heart swelling like the Grinch’s on Christmas morning when he hears all those Whos singing down in Whoville. So Mellecker wasn’t such a jerk after all. He remembered everything—the dirt pile, even the dumb way I flipped my hair out of my eyes. And he had called me Crenshaw, just like he called the rest of his buddies by their last names. Suddenly the idea that we could ever be friends again didn’t seem so far-fetched anymore.
I headed downstairs, humming, still thinking about all the possibilities. I was so preoccupied that I didn’t even notice Delaney until I was halfway down the hall. She was leaningagainst one of the lockers toward the end of the corridor. Not just any
I took the stairs two at a time. My backpack banged against my shoulder as I cut in and out of stragglers on their way to class. But by the time I made it to the east wing, there was no sign of Delaney.
I checked back at her locker after sixth period. Nope.
After seventh period—the last one of the day.
Still
no. She’d probably left for a dentist’s appointment or something. I stayed a few more minutes, searching for her in the river of faces flooding down the hall. But soon the crowds dwindled down, and when some kids chatting by their lockers started to give me funny looks for lurking, I gave up and set off for my own locker downstairs.
I almost ran into Mellecker coming out of the boys’ bathroom.He looked startled to see me. “Oh, hey,” he said, wobbling for a second.
“Hi,” I mumbled, and kept heading for the stairwell.
“Wait,” he called after me.
I stopped.
Here it comes
, I thought as I slowly turned around. At least there weren’t a lot of kids nearby to witness whatever happened next.
Mellecker sauntered toward me. He started to smile. “Remember when we used to climb up that huge dirt pile in the Ho-Hos’ backyard and you kept saying we were climbing Mount Everest?”
I blinked up at Mellecker, speechless with surprise. “Yeah,” I finally answered softly. “And I brought that rope from home, and we tied ourselves together in case one of us fell in a crevasse.…”
Mellecker laughed and looked at the floor, shaking his head. “Yeah. What dopes.” Then his expression suddenly shifted, and he glanced at me with a pained light in his dark eyes. “Listen,” he said, “I had no idea that lady on the field trip was your mother. If I had remembered, I never would have drawn that stupid cartoon. You know that, right?”
I founded myself nodding. He actually looked sincere.
Mellecker’s face cleared. “I recognized you right off, though, as soon as I saw you coming down the hall. You still do that same little move with your head.” Mellecker imitated me flipping my hair out of my eyes. “I used to think it was so cool back when I first met you. I kept trying to do it too, but my hair was never long enough.”
I smiled in amazement. Mellecker thought my “little move” was cool? I never even knew I had a “little move.”
“So if you recognized me,” I asked, “why didn’t you say anything?”
Mellecker shrugged. “Why didn’t
you
?”
I paused and let out a big breath of air. “I don’t know. You weren’t a Ho-Ho very long. I guess I figured you didn’t want to be reminded.”
“Yeah,” Mellecker confessed. He shoved his hands into his pockets with an embarrassed grin. “I kinda thought my Teddy Blair days were behind me.”
“Sorry about that,” I said sheepishly.
Mellecker shrugged again. “It’s okay. Let’s call it even.” He glanced toward the clock on the wall. “Well, I better be getting to practice,” he said, starting to walk backward down the hall. “But I’ll see ya tomorrow, Crenshaw. Okay?”
“Yep.” I lifted my hand in a wave as he turned and disappeared around the corner. Then I stood there with my heart swelling like the Grinch’s on Christmas morning when he hears all those Whos singing down in Whoville. So Mellecker wasn’t such a jerk after all. He remembered everything—the dirt pile, even the dumb way I flipped my hair out of my eyes. And he had called me Crenshaw, just like he called the rest of his buddies by their last names. Suddenly the idea that we could ever be friends again didn’t seem so far-fetched anymore.
I headed downstairs, humming, still thinking about all the possibilities. I was so preoccupied that I didn’t even notice Delaney until I was halfway down the hall. She was leaningagainst one of the lockers toward the end of the corridor. Not just any
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