Geek High by Piper Banks Page B

couldn’t see what was on her screen, but I had a pretty good idea of what Web site she’d just surfed over to. Felicity leaned forward toward the screen, her shoulders bunching up to her ears. She turned to Morgan, who was doing her best to control her excitement and look sympathetic.
    â€œDon’t worry; it’s totally bogus,” Morgan said soothingly.
    But Felicity just shook her head and looked back at the screen. She whispered something to Morgan that I couldn’t hear, although I could figure out the substance of it, since they both then turned to look at me. Felicity looked wounded, and her moss green eyes had filled with tears. Morgan’s lips were pressed together into a tight, angry line.
    What were they…Wait just a minute. Did they think I’d written the blog?
    I looked over at Finn, who sat next to me (Charlie had opted to take History of the Renaissance instead). He was engrossed in a conversation with Tate Metcalf about some online role-playing game they were both hooked on.
    â€œDude, you have got to try playing as an evil wizard. It’s the only way you can get the Wand of Asb’el. That wand kicks ass,” Finn was advising Tate.
    â€œReally? I always play as a paladin,” Tate said. “You get the good armor that way.”
    â€œTrue, but paladins are such boring do-gooders,” Finn said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Think of all of the henchmen you can recruit if you’re evil.”
    â€œFinn,” I hissed, tugging on his shirtsleeve to get his attention.
    â€œJust a sec. I have to illuminate Tate on the beauty of evil-aligned characters,” Finn said. He started to turn back to Tate, but I grabbed his arm.
    â€œListen to me; this is important! She thinks I wrote that blog,” I said.
    â€œWho?” Finn asked. He looked at me blankly, blinking like an owl. I suppressed the urge to take him by the shoulders and shake him. Honestly, if you met Finn when he’s acting like this, you’d be shocked to learn that he’s a genius.
    â€œWho do you think? Felicity ,” I said through gritted teeth.
    â€œHuh?” Finn asked. And then he finally got it. “Ohhhhh,” he said, drawing out the word.
    â€œRight. Oh ,” I said, and turned to look back at Felicity. She suddenly stood and bolted out of the classroom, pushing past Mr. Aburro just as he was walking in with a model of a World War I German U-boat tucked under his arm. Mr. Aburro is nearly as wide as he is tall. I was actually a little surprised Felicity could squeeze by him.
    â€œMiss Glen, class is about to start,” Mr. Aburro called after her. But Felicity didn’t stop. Mr. Aburro looked startled. “What was that about?” he asked no one in particular.
    â€œI think she just read about herself on the Geek High blog,” Padma said helpfully.
    So everyone had found out about Finn’s blog. That hadn’t taken long.
    â€œGeek High blog?” Mr. Arburro repeated slowly. His brow wrinkled in confusion. “What’s a blog?”
    Morgan hurried out of the room after Felicity, calling out, “Felicity, wait!”
    As I watched her go, I felt uneasy. I knew I should feel vindicated, especially after Felicity’s blatant attempt to humiliate me in mod lit that morning. But I didn’t. Instead, I actually felt a little sorry for her.

    â€œIt was during the First World War that truly practical submarines emerged. Germany used their fleet of twenty-nine U-boats to great effectiveness as the war began. Within the first ten weeks, the Germans had used their subs to sink five British cruisers. And on September fifth, 1914, a German U-boat was successful in sinking a British warship for the very first time,” Mr. Arburro enthused. He was just getting into his zone when there was a knock at the door.
    â€œCome in,” Mr. Aburro called out.
    A small girl with blond ringlets and a snub nose shuffled