Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie by David Lubar Page B

studs and barbells and other stuff I don’t even know the names of. There was a safety pin jammed through her left eyebrow, and another under her lip. It was kind of freaky.
    When she came through the door, it got so quiet you could hear a safety pin drop. I tried not to stare at her. Okay—that’s not true. I tried not to let her catch me staring. But I couldn’t help myself. I mean, safety pins? There were some kids in school who looked kind of like that, but nobody anywhere near as extreme.
    She was wearing a black T-shirt for some band I’d never heard of. It showed a girl crying blood. The girl was clutching a headless teddy bear. Naturally, the bear’s neck was also pretty moist. We’d definitely moved far beyond Pooh. Thisbear more likely had a name like Gush or Spew. My homeroom teacher stared at the shirt for a moment, but finally shrugged and looked away.
    At lunchtime, I watched the new girl walk into the cafeteria. I would have bet anything she’d head over to the punks, or go to the darkest corner, where the goth batlings sat. Instead, she walked straight to the table by the center window where the popular girls held court. She plunked down, opened up a lunch bag, and started to eat a sandwich. From what I could see, she didn’t pay any attention to the evil stares.
    As fascinating as all of this was, I had something far more important on my mind. Survival. The paper had come out that morning.
    “You’re acting like there’s a bug in your burger,” Patrick said.
    “Huh?” I glanced down. I’d been gripping it hard enough to leave holes in the bun, but hadn’t taken a bite yet. I kept checking Vernon’s table, waiting for him to start shouting. But I didn’t hear any complaints. I guess I could cross that worry off my list.
    I sighed and took a bite. “Government regulations actually allow a certain quantity of insect parts in food,” I said.
    “Thanks a lot.” Kyle dropped his burger onto his tray. “Another thing I didn’t need to know. I’m happy being ignorant.”
    Patrick shrugged. “Good source of protein.”
    At least things were quiet at home. Though it was weird walking along the hall upstairs. Bobby’s room was on one side ofmine. Smelly’s was on the other. Both empty. Meet the Hudson kids—one had split, one hadn’t arrived, and the other didn’t have a clue about where he was going.
    Dad spent a lot of time in the garage working on the ‘vette, even though Bobby wasn’t around to give him a hand. I hung out there when I had a chance, though I mostly just watched Dad, or read. Sometimes, he’d look over to his left, like he was going to ask Bobby to pass him a wrench.
    Whenever he asked me to hand him a tool, it took me about three tries to find the right one.
    Once in a while, Dad would point to some part of the engine and explain what he was doing. I’d nod and try to say something that showed I was interested. Once in a while, I’d hold up my book and explain about some cool part I’d just read. Dad would nod and say, “That’s interesting.” I didn’t offer to read to him. That didn’t feel like a guy thing.
    Mom was worried about Bobby, but he’d called when everyone was out and left a message saying he was visiting friends in Ohio, so at least we knew where he was. Dad had already stopped by the diner to let them know Bobby wouldn’t be showing up for work.
    In school, the halls started to fill up with hand-lettered posters. Five kids were running for freshman-class president. Including Julia. The other candidates were dorks, so there was no way she’d lose.
    Maybe she could do something about crime when she got elected. After being careful for nearly a month, I forgot to wrap up my change in my backpack. Just when I realized mypocket was jingling, Wesley Cobble approached me for a donation.
    I’m not a complete wimp, and it’s not like I’ll never stand up for myself, but Wesley is flat-out scary. He isn’t the biggest kid in the school. A lot of