I stood up and grabbed my tray. "Come on, Tina," I said. "Let’s go somewhere a little bit quieter."
Tina, her big brown eyes on the sugar cone sticking out of the middle of theA on Lana’s chest, picked up her tray and followed me. The bodyguard followed Tina. I could swear he was laughing.
As Tina and I walked past the table where Lilly and I usually sat, I saw Lilly staring at me with her mouth open. She had obviously seen the whole thing.
Well, I guess she’s going to have change her diagnosis: I amnot unassertive. Not when I don’t want to be.
I’m not sure, but as Tina and her bodyguard and I left, I thought I heard some applause coming from the geek table.
I think self-actualization might be right around the corner.
Later on Monday
Oh my God. I am in so much trouble. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before!
I am sitting in the principal’s office!
That’s right. I got sent to the principal’s office for stabbing Lana Weinberger with a Nutty Royale!
I should have known she’d tell on me. She is such a big whiner.
I’m kind of scared. I’ve never disobeyed a student rule before. I’ve always been a really good kid. When the student worker came to our G & T class with the pink hall pass, I never thought for a minute it might be for me. I was sitting there with Michael Moscovitz. He was showing me that the way I subtract is all wrong. He says my main problem is that I don’t write my numbers neat enough when borrowing. Also that I don’t keep track of my notes, and scribble them in whatever notebook I happen to have handy. He says I should keep all my Algebra notes in one notebook.
Also, he says I seem to have trouble concentrating.
But the reason I couldn’t concentrate was that I had never sat so close to a boy before! I mean, I realize it was only Michael Moscovitz, and that I see him all the time, and he’d never like me anyway because I’m a freshman and he’s a senior, and I’m his little sister’s best friend and all—at least, I used to be.
But he’s still a boy, acute boy, even if heis Lilly’s brother. It was really hard to pay attention to subtraction when I could smell this really nice clean boy smell coming from him. Plus every once in a while he would put his hand over mine and take my pencil away and go, "No, likethis, Mia."
Of course, I was also having trouble concentrating because I kept feeling like Lilly was looking at us. She wasn’t, of course. Now that she’s fighting the evil forces of racism in our neighborhood, she doesn’t have time for the little people like me. She was sitting at this big table with all of her supporters, plotting their next move in the Ho Offensive. She even let Boris come out of the supply closet to help.
May I point out that he was all over her? How she can stand having his spindly little violin-stroking arm around the back of her chair, I can’t imagine. And hestill hasn’t untucked his sweater.
So I really shouldn’t have worried that anybody was going to notice me and Michael. I mean, he certainly didn’t have his arm around the back ofmy chair. Although once, under the table, his knee touched my knee. I nearly died at the niceness of it all.
Then that stupid hall pass arrived withmy name on it.
I wonder if I’m going to get expelled. Maybe if I get expelled I could go to a different school, where nobody knows that my hair used to be a different color and that these fingernails aren’t really real. That might be kind of nice.
FROM NOW ON I WILL
1. Think before I act. 2. Try to be gracious, no matter how much I am provoked to behave otherwise. 3. Tell the truth, except when doing so would hurt someone’s feelings. 4. Stay as far away as possible from Lana Weinberger.
Uh-oh. Principal Gupta is ready to see me now.
Monday Night
Well, I don’t know what I’m going to do now. I have detention for a week,plus math review with Mr. G,plus princess lessons with Grandmère.
I didn’t get home until nine o’clock tonight. Something hasgot to give.
My father is furious. He says he is going to sue the school. He says no one can give his daughter detention for defending the weak. I told him that Principal Gupta can. She can do anything. She’s the principal.
I can’t say I really blame her. I mean, it wasn’t like I said I was sorry or anything. Principal Gupta is a nice lady, but what could she do? I admitted I had done it. She told me I’d have to apologize to Lana and pay to have her sweater cleaned. I said I’d pay for the sweater but that I wouldn’t apologize. Principal Gupta looked at me over the rims of her bifocals and went, "I beg your pardon, Mia?"
I repeated that I wouldn’t apologize. My heart was beating like crazy. I didn’t want to make anybody mad, especially Principal Gupta, who can be very scary when she wants to. I tried to picture her in her husband’s sweat pants, but it didn’t work. She still scared me.
But I won’t apologize to Lana. I won’t.
Principal Gupta didn’t look mad, though. She looked concerned. I guess that’s how educators are supposed to look. You know. Concerned about you. She went, "Mia, I must say, when Lana came in here with her complaint, I was extremely surprised. It’s usually Lilly Moscovitz I have to pull in here. I never expected I was going to have to pullyou in. Not for disciplinary reasons. Academic reasons, maybe. I understand you aren’t doing very well in Algebra. But I’ve never known you to be a discipline problem before. I really feel I must ask you, Mia . . . is everything all right?"