Kristy Power! by Ann M. Martin Page A

Amendment rules!" Then he grew serious again. "And I'm glad you're learning about it. But we have other things to learn, the things I was actually hired to teach. So I'd like to try to get back on track as quickly as possible. We have two big projects to work on - " "Awww," called out Alan. "I was hoping you'd forgotten about those assignments." "No such luck." Ted smiled and shook his head. "I fully expect to see both projects completed on time by every student in this class. I hope that you're making good progress. In fact, I'd like to meet with each biography pair sometime after school today." He held up a piece of paper. "Here's a schedule, with ten-minute time slots. Please consult with your partner and sign up as you leave class." I glanced at Cary, but he didn't return my look. Oh, well. He couldn't ignore me forever. We were going to have to cooperate, if only for those ten minutes with Ted.
    The rest of English class flew by. Ted went over the format for our biographies, reviewing basic concepts such as paragraphs, theme sentences, and conclusions. There wasn't any more talk about his suspension.
    When the bell rang, I looked at Cary again. This time, he met my eyes. Reluctantly, he worked his way over to my side of the room. "What time is good for you?" he asked brusquely.
    "Anytime," I said. "As long as I can catch the late bus home." We walked to Ted's desk and waited for a chance to look at the schedule. "How's this?" he asked, pointing to a slot between Claudia and Jeremy and Logan and Rachel.
    "Fine," I answered with a shrug.
    He wrote in our names. "Catch you later, then," he said over his shoulder as he took off.
    "Later," I echoed.
    For the rest of the day, I tried not to think about Cary. Did that mean I paid attention in my classes? Well, not exactly. Instead, I daydreamed about my Christmas party. During math, I wrote down the names of every CD owned by my siblings and me. Then I narrowed down my choices, trying to pick music that everybody would like. That's not always easy, since my friends have pretty wide-ranging tastes.
    During social studies, I pondered the important question of whether nachos or pizza would be better. Either way, I was also planning on serving chips and dip, plus brownies and these outrageous pecan cookies Nannie makes.
    And, while I went through the motions of playing basketball in gym class, I thought of all the games I knew, from Scattergories to charades, trying to decide which ones would work to liven things up. I didn't want this to be one of those parties where everyone just sits around making awkward conversation.
    The distraction worked. I was able to put Cary aside until the last bell rang. Once school ended, our meeting with Ted was only half an hour away. I decided to spend that time looking over my notes so I'd be able to report on my progress when we sat down for our meeting.
    I found a seat in the library and pulled out the notebook where I was keeping the material I'd gathered about Cary. He'd given me the answers to my list of questions the day before, shoving the paper into my hands as we passed in the hall. I'd looked them over enough to know that he hadn't offered any surprising or interesting answers to my boring inquiries. Oh, well. I had the basic facts to work with, and that would have to be enough. But as I stared at the papers in front of me, I couldn't help thinking about the most important fact of all: Cary had been kicked out of his last school. And there was no way anybody but me would ever know.
    "Hey." I jumped a little in my seat. Cary was standing in front of me, holding his notebook loosely in one hand. "Ready?" he asked.
    I checked my watch. It was almost time for our meeting. "I guess," I answered. He stood there silently as I gathered my papers together. So silently, in fact, that it made me nervous. I kept dropping things, first my pen, then my calculator, then a