11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass

he points out. “I figured I was alone in this. And then yesterday when you didn’t show up for the quiz, I couldn’t believe it. I wanted to call you, but I was too freaked out. Then when I winked at you and you made that face, I knew.”
    “What face?” I ask, getting defensive.
    “It was like you saw a ghost.”
    I cross my arms, annoyed. “Well, you would have reacted the same way.”
    “Believe me, I’m sure I looked like that when that pop quiz started and you weren’t in your chair. Look, you and I seem to be the only people this is happening to, so there’s no sense arguing.”
    “But why us?”
    “I’ve been trying to figure that out, but I can’t.”
    I look at my watch. “We better get back in there. Stephanie’s going to start looking for me.”
    “You’re right. We don’t want to draw any attention to ourselves.” He gathers his books and stands up. “And I don’t think we should let people see us together. It’d be too hard to explain why we’re suddenly friends.”
    I stiffen. All the hurt from his mean words comesflooding back. “We’re
not
friends,” I say coldly, swinging my bag over my shoulder.
    “Well, you know what I mean,” Leo says, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
    I take a bit of pity on him and ask, “So what do we do now?”
    “I think we should lie low,” he says hurriedly, “and do everything as close as possible to the way we did it the first time. Then after our parties I’ll sneak over and we can compare notes. You know, about everything we’ve been through these last few days. Maybe together we can figure out what’s going on.”
    The thought of going through with my party again makes me want to hide under a rock. I’m sure
his
party was great so it’s not much of a hardship for him. We don’t speak as we head back inside. Leo clears his throat as we approach the cafeteria. “Um, just so you know, I’ve felt horrible every day for what I said at our party last year. I didn’t mean any of it.”
    Unable to meet his eyes I ask, “Then why’d you say it?”
    “It’s a long story. Any chance we can just skip it and be friends again?”
    I shake my head.
    “I didn’t think so. I’ll explain tonight, I promise.”
    I turn to go, but he reaches out and stops me. “Amanda? Thank you.”
    “For what?”
    “For reading my note and for meeting me. I was really scared you wouldn’t. I just … I …”
    I look up to see his eyes fill with tears. For the first time it occurs to me that maybe it wasn’t allergies that made his face red and blotchy those other days. I want to ask him why he was in the guidance counselor’s office. I want to ask him a million things. But for now I just nod.
    We stand there awkwardly. I glance down at my watch, then grab a surprised Leo by the sleeve and push him out of the way. A second later the crying Bee Boy throws open his classroom door and flies into the hall. A second earlier and the door would have crashed right into Leo’s head.
    “Wow, thanks!” Leo says, eyes wide.
    “No problem.” I turn and quickly walk toward the cafeteria.
    I can tell, even without turning around, that Leo is smiling.

Chapter Eleven
     
    Humiliating myself in gymnastics tryouts is easier to handle this time. One good thing about being stuck doing this with Leo is that I can cross off “I’m going crazy” from my list of reasons why this is happening. I don’t think people go crazy together.
    When it comes time to put on my costume, I’ve thought of a few ways to make it less horrible. I slip on a T-shirt first so the lace isn’t as itchy, and put fresh Band-Aids on my ankles so the shoes don’t hurt as much. When I come out of the bathroom, Kylie’s door is still closed. I haven’t seen her since I’ve been home, which works out fine for me. The warning on the cover of her diary was probably just a bluff, but I don’t want to take any chances. I’m aboutto head downstairs to greet the first arrivals when her door