Read All About It! by Rachel Wise

take you down!”
    Michael laughed. “I dare you!”
    Wait, were these guys flirting? I looked at Hailey and she was flushed.
     She fluffed her hair and smiled at Michael really big. He smiled back.
    â€œWhat was yesterday?” I asked, as casually as I could
     manage.
    â€œOh, we just had a friendly shoot-out after practice,” said
     Hailey.
    â€œIt wasn’t so friendly, actually,” Michael said with a
     laugh.
    â€œWell that’s your own fault,
     trash-talking me like that.” Hailey wagged her finger at him.
    â€œYo, Lawrence! Chalk talk!” A coach shouted from the locker
     room door. Michael looked at him and waved.
    â€œGotta go,” Michael said.
    â€œSee ya!” said Hailey, really energetically.
    â€œBye!” replied Michael. “Later, Paste,” he said
     to me, and gave me a salute before he jogged off.
    Paste? Now my nickname had a nickname?
    I looked at Hailey. She was laughing to herself and shaking her head as
     she scooped up the ball with her toe.
    â€œAre you laughing at my nickname?” I asked. I felt really
     annoyed with her but I couldn’t exactly say why. If I had to break it down, I
     guess it was because they had kind of left me out of that whole conversation in a way,
     even though they were talking to me. It was weird.
    â€œWhat? No! I just . . . He’s funny.”
    â€œHumph,” I said crankily.
    I was thinking about them having a scrimmage and how neither of them had
     mentioned it before.And it had been yesterday. Which meant that
     while I had been waiting at the PTA meeting for Michael to come meet me, he was playing
     soccer with Hailey! Now I was even madder at him than before!
    â€œLet’s hit it. I can shower at home,” said Hailey.
    I looked at her long and hard. Was there something up with her and
     Michael?
    No. No way.
    But it was annoying that they had that whole sporty, jokey thing going.
     Really annoying.

    It wasn’t until much later that night that I realized I’d
     lost my notebook. I couldn’t believe it. I went to my bag to write down an idea I
     had for the curriculum article, and the notebook wasn’t there. It must’ve
     fallen out of my messenger bag back when I wiped out at the field.
    I felt sick.
    Hailey and I were already in our pj’s and had mud masks on our
     faces. I couldn’t even scream because my face would crack.
    â€œI ost i ote-ook,” I said to Hailey
     desperately.
    â€œUt?” she asked. She looked at me in confusion.
    â€œI ost i ote -ook!”
    There was a pause. Then Hailey figured it out.
    â€œAit! Ur OTE -ook?” She mimed
     writing on a pad of paper.
    â€œEss!” I nodded emphatically.
    We only had a little more time left on the masks so it did seem like a
     shame after having that stuff on for twenty minutes to wash it off with only a few
     minutes more to go. But Hailey is a good friend and she understands how much I rely on
     my notebook for everything.
    â€œEt’s awsh ih ah,” she said generously.
    After we were all clean, Hailey got her dad and some flashlights, and
     the three of us went back to the soccer field where I had wiped out and my bag had
     opened. We looked all around there and then expanded our search to the bleachers and
     everything, and it was just plain gone.
    I probably would have kept looking all night, as if the looking would
     magically make it appear, but I felt bad for Hailey and her dad, so I told them itwas okay and that we could leave.
    â€œI’m sorry, Sammy,” said Hailey when we got back to
     the car.
    I shrugged hopelessly. Everything was in there. My story ideas, quotes
     from the PTA meeting, to-do lists, homework assignments, everything. I was pretty
     devastated. The only silver lining was that I didn’t have anything incriminating
     about my crush on Michael or my Know-It-All column. Thank goodness! As much as writing
     is my life, it’s always