Alibi Junior High by Greg Logsted Page A

point?”
    “Sure, why not.” I look toward the open door. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Smith, if there’s nothing else, I’ve really got to get going.”
    “That’s fine, Cody, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
    “Okay.”
    I hurry out the door and look for Renee. She’s walking down the hall by herself.
    I run after her, shouting, “Renee! Renee!”
    It seems like she’s the only person in the hall who doesn’t hear me. Everyone is turning my way except her.
    “Renee! Renee! You forgot your notebook.”
    I tap her on the shoulder. She jumps and quickly spins around toward me. The stick in her kite swings toward my left eye. I try to avoid it but it’s moving too fast.
    “Ahhh!” The pain shoots through my whole body. I clutch my eye and squat down to the floor. I can’t believe it. I let my guard down. Good thing my dad wasn’t here to see that. I’d be doing extra training drills for a week.
    She’s standing over me, pulling iPod ear buds out of her ears. I can hear the sound of faint, tinny music. “What’s wrong with you?” She looks alarmed. “What are you doing?”
    “You poked me in the eye with your stick.”
    “I did?” Her expression softens. “I’m sorry. I didn’t do it on purpose.”
    I slowly rise to my feet, blinking my eye and trying to rub the tears away. I think it will be okay, although it still really hurts.
    It’s tough to talk. “I know, I guess I startled you.”
    “Startled? Who says ‘startled’?”
    “I guess when you’ve been maimed by a stick you tend to say words like ‘startled.’”
    “Did you say tend ? Who says ‘tend’? First you say ‘startled,’ and now ‘tend.’” She gives me a huge smile and a wink. “Oh, I get it, you’re from Albania, right?”
    “Albania?” My head’s starting to hurt. “Why would you think I’m from Albania? Are you putting me on?”
    “Putting you on? What an odd phrase. But that would be fun, wouldn’t it? To put someone on like you put on a new suit. Just slide inside their skin and walk around for the rest of the day. See what it’s like to be them.”
    “Um, I guess.”
    “You guess? What’s wrong with you? I think it would be okay for a girl to try being a guy for a day, but a guy being a girl? Now that just seems plain weird to me. You want to be a girl?”
    “What? No! I didn’t say that. Not that there’s anything wrong with girls, it’s just…Why are we even talking about this?”
    “You brought it up.”
    “No, I didn’t.”
    She shrugs her shoulders. “Okay, whatever you say.”
    I’m starting to get really frustrated. This isn’t how I wanted things to go between us. I try my best to stay calm but I can hear the tension slipping into my voice. I wave at the people in the hall with the notebook. “I have absolutely no desire to walk around in a girl’s or for that matter anyone else’s skin except my own.”
    “Oh, I’m just playin’ with you. Hey! That’s my notebook! What are you doing with my notebook?”
    I almost forgot about it. “Oh yeah. You forgot it under your desk. I was just returning it.”
    She takes it out of my hand.
    A teacher standing in the hall shouts, “Move it along, people! This isn’t a social club!”
    She starts talking faster. “Hey, don’t worry. I think you’re cute. Next time you want to talk to me, just talk to me. Okay? You don’t have to go around stealing my stuff to get my attention.”
    “I didn’t steal your notebook!”
    “Whatever you say. Listen, I’ve got to get going. Oh, by the way, my name’s Renee.”
    “I know.” I can’t believe I just admitted that. “I’m Cody.”
    “Nice to meet you, Cody. Hey…I was wondering. Fiona and I need a third for the class project. You seem to know a lot about history. Would you want to work with us?”
    I can’t believe she’s asking me. Two minutes ago I didn’t think I’d even be able to talk to her, and now we’ll be working together! I feel a little dizzy. Just say yes and try not to sound