Mr. Henderson’s smile froze. Our eyes met. I
could see the disbelief and embarrassment in
his.
“What do you want with her?” he stammered.
“Did she do something wrong?”
“No,” Jason said, pulling a test paper from his
backpack. “I just wanted to ask her about her
solution to the last problem on the physics
competition.”
Mr. Henderson’s jaw dropped. “She didn’t take
the test!”
Jason frowned. “This is a copy from my uncle,
<
who’s on the committee. Only Katie solved the
last problem. I’m sure of it. Is she not in your
class?”
Mr. Henderson spluttered, “She… she is.”
“Where is she, then?”
Mr. Henderson looked at me. I patted Jason on
the shoulder. “Hey, looking for me?”
Jason looked me up and down, a flicker of
surprise in his eyes. “You’re Katie?”
“Yep.”
“What are you doing out here?”
I smiled. “Detention. Hard to tell?”
Jason and I squatted outside the classroom
while I explained how I’d solved the problem.
Mr. Henderson kept calling him in, but Jason
く
just deadpanned, “No thanks. If Katie can
squat, so can I.” Mr. Henderson’s face turned
purple.
As class ended, Jason asked for my number.
“The Seven Schools exam is coming up. We
could compare notes.”
I wrote it down. He put it away carefully, then asked, “Does your teacher have it out for you?”
“Is it that obvious?”
He grinned. “I think I get it.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing. See ya.”
I didn’t understand what he meant until two
weeks later, when I saw him at the auditorium.
The seven top high schools in the city held a
joint exam every year. Before the exam, they
<
organized a motivational lecture for the top 100
students from each school. This year, it was at
our school. Each school also sent a student
representative to speak. Northwood sent Jason.
Our school…
I stared at Mr. Thompson, our balding vice
principal, desperately combing his remaining
strands of hair across his scalp. “A speech?
Nobody asked me about this.”
He mumbled, “Things have been hectic… It’s
just sharing study tips. Easy peasy.”
I crossed my arms. I saw Mr. Henderson lurking
nearby, and it all clicked. Ashley was supposed
to give the speech, but after the cheating
scandal, they needed a replacement. Me.
“Not doing it,” I said.
Mr. Thompson frowned. “Don’t be childish. Your
teacher told me everything. This is a school
honor! So many students would kill for this
opportunity.”
“Then let them do it.”
His face hardened. “This is your duty. Don’t
push it.” He took a call and left, giving me a
warning glare. Like I’d give in.
I walked out and played games on my phone.
Thirty minutes later, a panicked classmate
found me. “Katie! The teachers are looking
everywhere for you!”
