Don't Care High by Gordon Korman Page A

Don’t Care High have a president, but everybody knows his name. And he’s doing things for the school.”
    â€œHe isn’t doing things for the school,” Paul reminded him. “We’re telling everybody he is. Keep at least a loose grip on reality, please.”
    â€œEven Wayne-o knows about Mike,” marvelled Sheldon. “Wayne-o! I was hoping we’d make an impression, but — 
Wayne-o
!”
    â€œWhen it trickles up to Daphne, I’ll let you know,” said Paul dryly. “I Just can’t help wondering what Mike thinks of all this.”
    Sheldon shrugged. “It probably hasn’t reached him yet. He doesn’t talk to anyone, you know. He may have seen one or two of the signs, but I’m sure he just ignored them. The big thing is what do we do next?”
    Paul got a cold feeling in his stomach as the spirit of Steve deserted him. “What do you mean ‘next’?”
    â€œFame is fleeting. Mike could be here today and gone tomorrow, and Don’t Care High accelerates that process.”
    â€œWell, I don’t see what we can do about it,” said Paul. “Pretty soon we’re going to run out of repairs and accomplishments. And we can’t exactly take out an ad in the newspaper telling the world how wonderful Mike is.”
    Sheldon broke into a wide, toothy grin. “Ambition, you’re a genius. Mike should be proud to have a man like you in his camp.”
    â€œWhat? A newspaper ad? That costs money!”
    â€œNot in our own newspaper it wouldn’t. You see, Don’t Care High has a print shop — obviously out of use for some years now. That shop is there for student use, and what better use than a publication from Mike to his constituents?”
    â€œAw, Shel, we’d better think about that first. Making up stories is one thing; writing them down is another. I mean, if we have to go to the office to ask for the key to this shop, they’re going to know the paper comes from us.”
    â€œIt’s an open shop,” said Sheldon. “There’s no door. The only thing we have to worry about is being seen, and we’ll figure some way around that. We’ll arrange with Feldstein to get a few lockers nearby so it’ll be a close stash before distribution.”
    Paul groaned. Feldstein again.
    â€œWe need a name,” Sheldon continued. “How about
The Otis Report
? What do you think?”
    â€œIt’ll look snappy on our expulsion papers,” grumbled Paul.
    â€œMost important, we need a picture. Mike, his face radiating honesty, industry, goodwill and the ability to get things done. Something for the students to get behind and stay behind. Now they just have a name; they need a face to capture their trust.”
    â€œJust think for a minute of the particular face you’re talking about,” Paul interjected. “It
looks
like the face of someone who lives on the eleventh floor of a ten-storey building. He looks like he comes from a non-existent town, which he drove here from in a non-existent car. He looks like he’s
completely out of it
!”
    â€œAll the more reason why he should really catch on. Everyone in the school is completely out of it, too. Now look, he’s in your photography class? Make him your next project.”
    Paul shook his head. “I’m really not sure about all this, Shel.”
    Sheldon grinned. “Of course you’re sure. You’re co-editor, aren’t you? And staff photographer to boot. That’s a lot of responsibility. Now let’s start writing copy.”

7
    W hen the rain stopped, Mike Otis wasn’t the only big story at Don’t Care High. Feldstein, his authority being challenged for the first time this year, was on the warpath. Two freshman boys, unheeding of the locker baron’s supremacy, had dared to saw off Feldstein’s locks and replace them with their own, thereby taking