Read Online The Downside of Being Up by Alan Sitomer - Free Book Online

this,” he said, and before I knew it Finkelstein had dashed across the hall and approached Susan Montgomery, a short girl who had blue eyes and brown hair tied in pigtails.
    â€œHey, Swooozie Q-zie,” Finkelstein said, trying to sound as if he was some kind of middle school Casanova. “My tongue is like dynamite and your lips are the gas, so whaddya say you and me go to the Big Dance and slurp face till our hair explodes?”
    Susan paused, shifted her books from one arm to the other, then fixed her eyes on Finkelstein like a laser beam.
    â€œI’d rather lick pig vomit.”
    â€œ He-hurrggh, you’re witty,” Finkelstein said, flashing a mouthful of glowing orange. “But seriously, whaddya say?”
    â€œNo, I am serious.” Susan didn’t have a hint of humor in her voice. “I would rather lick vomit from the belly of a dead pig than go to the Big Dance with you.” She adjusted her books again. “Never talk to me again, Alfred. Even if I am about to step in front of a speeding bus, never talk to me again.”
    Susan walked away and disappeared into the flow of student traffic. Finkelstein stood there and watched her vanish.
    â€œSo you’ll get back to me, right?” he called out.
    Susan didn’t even bother to turn around.
    â€œShe wants to taste my taste buds,” Finkelstein said as he walked back over to me.
    â€œYeah,” I answered. “I can see that.”
    One thing I had to hand to Finkelstein, though, was that he was completely unfazed by rejection. For me, even the idea of being shot down by a girl sent rivers of panic flowing through my blood. But Finkelstein was different. It was like he wore some kind of coat of not caring what other people thought about him. You could insult him, make fun of him, tease him and roast him and still, he’d just roll along continuing to do his own thing. We were totally opposite like that. Me, I was jelly on the inside when it came to people rejecting me. I liked to be liked.
    I looked down the hall and suddenly freaked out. Quickly, I dashed around the corner.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” Finkelstein said, following me.
    I peeked down the hall from my hiding spot.
    â€œWhat?” Finkelstein said.
    â€œIt’s Allison,” I answered. “Allison Summers.” She was walking our way, speaking with two girls from the softball team.
    â€œWhy are you hiding?” Finkelstein said. “Go ask her.”
    â€œGo ask her what?” I replied.
    â€œGo ask her to the Big Dance,” Finkelstein said.
    â€œI’m not gonna ask her that.”
    â€œWhy not?” Finkelstein said. “A tasty little frog leg like her isn’t gonna last in the pond forever.”
    â€œYou’re a moron.” I checked to see if she was still heading my way.
    She was. Two seventh graders suddenly raced by, one kid chasing the other, trying to smash him. Kids always got really nutty during Nutrition Break. To a kid my age, fifteen minutes felt like a hundred hours, and there was a heck of a lot of trouble you could cause in a pretty short amount of time.
    â€œBut why?” Finkelstein asked. “Why not ask her?”
    â€œâ€™Cause I’m not.”
    â€œBut why?”
    â€œBecause,” I said, tracking her every move. “I’m not.”
    â€œBecause why?”
    â€œBecause what if she . . .” I paused mid-sentence. “What if she says no?”
    Finkelstein looked at me in disbelief.
    â€œThat’s what you’re afraid of?” he said. “Her saying no? Um, hello, news flash. Girls say no to me all the time.”
    â€œCan you blame them?” I said.
    â€œYou’re missing the point, Bobby,” he explained. “See, you gotta start thinking about all the spit-swapping you’ll be able to do if she says yes. That’s what keeps me so motivated.”
    â€œThat’s not why I wanna ask her,” I said. “I