Freaky Tuesday #17 Read online

  Posted by: Priya

  Subject: Geekiness

  I have no idea.

  Posted by: Alex

  Subject: Geekiness

  Dictionary definition: a person often of an intellectual bent who is disliked.

  Posted by: Gaby

  Subject: Geekiness

  I hate to agree with Chelsea. But I agree with Chelsea.

  Posted by: Alyssa

  Subject: Geekiness

  I’m a proud art geek. And, Brynn, I’m doing a painting for your new bedroom. The painting won’t be geeky.

  Posted by: Jenna

  Subject: Geekiness

  I was watching Beauty and the Geek, and a bunch of guys thought the only definition of “booty” was pirate treasure. That says it all, right?

  Brynn got an IM before she could read the next answer. She clicked on the pop-up window to read it. It was from Alex.

  : What’s up, B? What’s the real deal on the geek question?

  : Somebody basically called me a geek today. Can you see my salty tears through your monitor?

  : Who should I beat up? Just give me a name.

  : LOL. Let me give you a list of pretty much everyone at my school. To them, if you’re in drama, you’re a geek. I’m thinking of switching from Drama League to the debate team.

  : No. If you do, I’ll have to beat you up, too. That’s like saying you’re thinking of not being Brynn anymore. You have to stay in drama.

  Brynn hesitated, staring at Alex’s IM. She looked around her room, taking in the paper flowers she’d carried when she was Eliza in My Fair Lady, the green hat she’d worn when she was Peter Pan at camp, the pictures of the entire cast of Hansel and Gretel, the first play Brynn was ever in.

  Her computer gave a ding and another IM came up.

  <[Grrrrace]>: Alex just IM’d me that you’re thinking of giving up drama. You can’t do it. I know how much you love it. I’d die if I couldn’t act, and I know you would, too. You have to promise me that you’ll stay in the club. PROMISE!

  Brynn smiled as she typed her answer.

  : I promise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  chapter

  SIX

  “I knew I’d get an A,” Max said. He paused to shovel a spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth. Then started talking again before he’d barely chewed. “But I didn’t think I’d get a hundred percent. There was this one question I thought I’d messed up on.”

  “Great work,” Candace’s dad told him.

  “Great work,” Candace echoed, wondering why neither of her parents bothered to mention Max’s not-so-great table manners.

  “Oh, and I’m going to head up a team for science fair. People were practically killing one another to get on my team,” Max continued. He stuffed an entire stalk of asparagus into his mouth. “Everybody was really psyched about my engine-run-by-decomposing-garbage idea.”

  “You take the team to victory, and that’ll make a nice addition to your college apps,” Candace’s dad commented.

  “Oh, we’re going to win,” Max answered with a grin. “I worked all summer on coming up with the experiments.”

  What did I do all summer? Candace thought.

  Then she remembered. Camp. She wished she was back there right now!

  “How did the first week of school treat you, Candy?” her mother asked, using Candace’s little-girl nickname.

  “Good,” Candace said. “We had a quiz in history today. Supposedly more teachers give quizzes on Fridays, at least according to Allen.”

  “That guy has a statistic for everything,” Max commented. “I’ve only met him a couple of times, and I think he got out about fifteen statistics per conversation.”

  “Yeah, he likes the statistics,” Candace agreed.

  “How do you think you did on the quiz?” her dad asked.

  “We exchanged papers and graded them in class. I got a perfect score,” Candace answered, happy to have something good to report.

  “Great, sweetie,” her mom said. “And how’s math so far? Do you like your new teacher?”

  “Mr. Merrill is great!” Candace answered enthusiastically. “I like him a lot.” Which was true. Mr. Merrill was really patient when she didn’t understand something. She bet he’d explain things twenty more times if she needed him to. She was just too embarrassed to admit that that’s exactly what she did need.

  “So shall we just hold off on a tutor for a while, then?” her dad asked her.

  Candace hesitated. Part of her wanted to say no, please get me a tutor STAT. A big part. But the part that wanted to say yes was a little bigger. She needed help. She knew she needed help. Still, Candace just wasn’t ready to have all her parents’ attention focused on her. All that worry.

  “I think I’m good,” she answered. “Algebra is different than other kinds of math. People who aren’t that great at math can be algebra stars.” It was something that Mr. Merrill had said the first day of class.

  “It’s true,” Max agreed. And for once Candace wasn’t grossed out that he was talking with his mouth full. “You think in a different way when you do algebra than you do in the math you learn before that.”

  “Now that we’ve gotten the school report, let’s talk about next weekend,” Candace’s mom suggested. “I’m thinking it’s time for one of our family outings.”

  “Can’t,” Max said. “I’m going camping with the Finns, remember?”

  “Oh, that’s right. Time goes by so quickly. I can’t believe it’s time for the camping trip already,” Candace’s mom answered. She smiled at Candace. “What do you think of having a party that weekend, with your big brother out of the picture? A party is always a great way to kick off the new school year. There are tons of your friends that you’ve hardly seen over the summer.”

  I don’t deserve a party, Candace thought. Not after all that lying. If my parents knew the truth about how I’m doing in math, they’d be pulling together a list of tutors right now.

  But if she told them the truth, in less than an hour she would have her weekend plans. Math, math, and more math.

  Candace took a sip of water. Her mouth and throat had turned to dry sandpaper. “A party sounds great,” she finally said.

  Brynn checked the audition schedule. She’d be the third girl up. That was a decent slot. It was better to go near the beginning or the end. At the beginning, the people you were auditioning for were fresh. They were eager to find the best person for each part. They hadn’t heard the same song one billion times. At the end, if you really rocked, the people you were auditioning for remembered you, because they didn’t have to watch a billion other actors after you.

  Not that there were anywhere near a billion actors auditioning for the Wilton Academy production of Little Shop of Horrors. There weren’t anywhere near a hundred. The number of girls auditioning for Audrey, the lead, was less than ten. Brynn had never been to an audition with so few people to compete against. It kind of made the whole process less fun. Definitely less of a challenge.

  I have a good shot at playing Audrey, Brynn thought. It was an amazing part. Tons of good songs. Lots of time onstage. You got a chance to be funny, but you also got a chance to tug at the audience’s heartstrings, too.

  So why don’t I feel more excited? she asked herself.

  Duh, she thought. Maybe because starring in the school play pretty much equals social suicide. At least at this freaky school.

  Mr. Saunders, the director, called Brynn’s name. It was already her turn. Brynn forced a smile on her face and bounded up to the stage. She might not be feeling completely sure that she wanted to be in this play, but she wasn’t going to let Mr. Saunders or anybody else get even a whiff of doubt from her.

  She handed the girl sitting at the piano the sheet music for “Part of Your World,” the song from The Little Mermaid where Ariel sings her soul out about wanting to be in the human world.

  Bry
nn had chosen “Part of Your World” because it expressed the same emotions as Audrey’s big song, “Somewhere That’s Green,” and was even written by the same guys who were the lyricist and composer for Little Shop. But “Part of Your World” was a song that Mr. Saunders wouldn’t have heard a hundred—okay, ten—girls sing by the time auditions were over.

  As soon as she got out the first line, Brynn was Ariel. She wasn’t thinking about popularity. She wasn’t thinking about wanting to get cast in the play. She was just thinking about wanting to experience the world above the ocean, where the humans lived.

  She was oblivious to anything else until the music stopped. Then she was suddenly aware of another sound. The sound of snickering from the back of the room. Her face flushed as she realized that several people—popular-type people—were watching the auditions.

  They looked like they thought her song had been the funniest song they’d ever heard. And “Part of Your World”? It was about longing. It was about wishing for another life. How could they think that was funny? What was wrong with them?

  Or was it Brynn who had something wrong with her?

  I can’t just go up to her and ask if I can copy her math homework. Especially not after I already did it once, Candace thought. She stood at the end of the hall, watching Brynn pull books out of her locker on Tuesday.

  But the thing was, she couldn’t turn in her math homework partially done, either. And Brynn wasn’t like her other friends, or her parents, or Max. She wouldn’t be all judgmental. She wouldn’t think Candace was some kind of loser.

  Candace took a step down the hall, toward Brynn. Then hesitated. It was true that Brynn wouldn’t think Candace was a loser because she was having trouble with math. But that didn’t mean that she’d be okay with cheating. Because that’s what Candace would be asking her to do. Cheat.

  “Hi, Candace!”

  Brynn’s voice jerked Candace away from her thoughts. Brynn was about two feet away. Candace hadn’t even noticed Brynn walk away from her locker. “Um, hi,” she answered.

  Brynn started past her. “Wait!” Candace cried.

  “What’s up?” Brynn asked.

  “I need…” Candace couldn’t get the request for math homework out of her mouth. “I need to ask you to come to a party I’m having this weekend,” she said in a rush.

  “Really?” Brynn replied. “That sounds fun.”

  “It sounds fun, right?” Candace echoed. “It’s on Saturday, starting at seven thirty, at my house. You have the address on the camp contact sheet, right?” Candace asked. Even though she and Brynn had both always lived in the Boston area, they’d never been to each other’s houses.

  “Yup. I’ll be there. Thanks!” Brynn said. And she started to walk away.

  “Wait!” Candace blurted.

  Brynn paused.

  Candace tried to think of what to say. How could she ask for the homework? “Uh, I just wanted to say that you can bring someone if you want to. To the party.”

  “Cool. That would be great,” Brynn said.

  Now ask her about the homework, Candace ordered herself. Ask her or she’s going to walk away and you can’t stop her again.

  “It’s going to be really fun,” Candace said. Hadn’t she already kind of said that? Didn’t matter. She pushed on. “I was up so late making plans. What to eat and everything. I…I didn’t get my math homework done. Again.” Her heart started fluttering, beating faster than a hummingbird’s wings. “Would you mind if I borrowed yours?”

  Brynn hesitated for a second.

  Please, please, please, Candace thought. She couldn’t go into math without that homework. She just couldn’t.

  “Oh, why not?” Brynn said. “It will be my contribution to a fabulous party.” She pulled her backpack off her shoulder, unzipped it, and pulled out her math notebook.

  Shame flooded Candace as she reached out for it. But she took the notebook anyway. She had no choice.

  chapter

  SEVEN

  Valerie stood on the walkway leading to the Home Away From Home house. Get in there, she told herself.

  But she didn’t want to.

  It should be fun, she figured. It was movie night at the Home. Val, Chelsea, and Gaby were observing to prep for the activity night they were going to run. And observing movie night—that was pretty much just watching a movie. Val loved movies. So, fun, right?

  Definitely fun. Except for two things. Chelsea and Gaby.

  Valerie didn’t know what to expect from her teammates. Would they be able to get through movie night without screaming, or hair pulling, or bloodshed? All Val knew for sure was that she didn’t want to get between them. And that meant she didn’t want to go inside Home Away From Home.

  “Are you suffering from some kind of malfunction?” a voice asked from behind her. “Why are you just standing there?”

  Valerie didn’t have to turn around to identify the speaker.

  Party time, she thought. “Hey, Gabs. I was just thinking.”

  “And you hurt yourself?” Gaby joked as they walked toward the house together.

  Oh, yeah. It is party time. Woo-hoo, Valerie thought. “I don’t think I strained my brain,” she answered, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice. “I was wondering how it would go tonight,” she admitted. Why not just be honest? “I’ve been reading the posts going back and forth between you and Chelsea, and I thought maybe I needed a black-and-white striped shirt and a whistle for tonight.”

  Gaby looked at her blankly.

  “You know…like a referee,” Valerie explained.

  “You’d need a lot more than a shirt and a whistle to keep Chelsea in line,” Gaby answered. “Can you believe what she said about us in those posts?”

  Us. Had Gaby forgotten that she called Val snotty in one of her messages? Valerie decided to let it go. That and Chelsea calling Valerie un-nice. The last thing they needed tonight was more mess.

  She pulled open the front door and stepped inside. “You’re here! Finally,” Chelsea said. “Ms. Jeunet was wondering where you were.”

  Gaby’s eyebrows shot up. “You were talking to Ms. Jeunet?” she cried.

  “She introduced me to the frat guys who are running movie night,” Chelsea answered. “Too bad you missed it.” She grinned. “They were all really cute. And they were really impressed that I’m volunteering here.”

  “Did you tell them it was my idea?” Gaby demanded.

  “You weren’t here,” Chelsea answered with a shrug.

  Valerie could see the muscles in Gaby’s jaw tighten. Duck and cover, she thought.

  But before Gaby could blow, Ms. Jeunet hurried up. “Girls, you’re here,” she said to Val and Gaby. “Chelsea wasn’t sure you would be.” She rushed on before either of them could protest. “The guys are about to get the movie started, but I thought we could grab a few minutes to touch base about what you have planned for your activity night. Chelsea started to say something about an event with singing, but I was called away on a popcorn crisis before I heard all the details.”

  “Right,” Chelsea answered quickly. “We wanted to do a singdown. What you do is—”

  “You come up with teams, and you give each team a list of items to search for in the house,” Gaby interrupted.

  Ms. Jeunet’s brow furrowed. “I’m not sure where the singing comes in,” she said.

  “That’s because there is no singing—” Gaby began.

  “During the scavenger hunt part of the night,” Valerie said, thinking fast. “We have three activities planned. A scavenger hunt, a singdown, and uh, um, a round of charades. We’ll have teams for the night, and everyone on the team that wins the most events gets a prize. Plus the losers will get consolation prizes,” she finished up, breathless.

  “That sounds great! I love the idea of teams. That’s a great way for the kids to get to know one another. There are always new families coming to the Home, so there are always new kids who haven’t met many people.” Ms. Jeunet smile
d. “I can’t wait. But now I have to dash. The DVD player is a little temperamental. I want to make sure the boys aren’t having any problems.” She started toward the living room. “Manny!” she called to a shaggy-haired boy sitting on the stairs. “Come with me. I might need your technical expertise.”

  As soon as Ms. Jeunet and Manny were out of sight, Chelsea and Gaby both whirled to face Valerie. “Why did you do that? That’s not what we planned,” Chelsea whisper-yelled.

  “We didn’t plan anything,” Valerie reminded her. “Not anything we all agreed on, anyway.”

  “I still say my idea is best,” Gaby said. “And I already did so much work on the scav—”

  “I. Don’t. Care,” Valerie announced. “Ms. Jeunet already said she loved the idea of three activities. That’s what we’re doing. Unless one of you wants to go tell her that the three of us have been fighting for days because we can’t agree on what we want to do with the kids who have brothers and sisters who are really sick!”

  “Fine,” Gaby snapped. “But I’m finishing planning the scavenger hunt by myself. I don’t need your help. Or want it.”

  “Works for me,” Chelsea answered. “I’ll do the singdown on my own. It’s going to be the best activity of the night.”

  “I guess that means I’ll handle the charades solo,” Valerie said. “Wow. I’m so glad we’re doing this volunteering thing together!” She turned on her heel and walked into the living room. She didn’t care if Gaby or Chelsea followed her. Right now, she didn’t care if she never saw either of them again.

  Gaby stared at the TV screen, but she couldn’t make herself pay attention to the movie. All she could think about was how out of control the volunteering situation had gotten. The whole thing was her idea, and now she was only in charge of one little part of the activity night. Thanks to Valerie. Gaby couldn’t believe Val had taken over like that.