On a Slippery Slope (3 page)

Minutes in the Library

H
e
ethinks I
'
m pretty.…
He actually told Gabby that I'm pretty. He wants me in his club! “He lent me his pen!” I blurt out, surprising myself.

Ms. Winters, who is writing word problems on the whiteboard, twists her head over her shoulder, closes her eyes, and asks, “Is there a problem, Hannah?”

A few kids snicker.

“No, Ms. Winters, no problem at all,” I say, suddenly aware of the fact that I am holding A.J.'s pen in the air.

“Well, good; let's try to control the random outbursts, okay?”

“Sure,” I answer, pulling my hand down.

Just as the laughter dies down and Ms. Winters starts writing again, something smacks me in the head —
hard
. I suck air in through my clenched teeth, not daring to make a sound. The pain is searing and I feel a lump forming beside my temple. It really hurts! This is getting old! A girl beside me points at my desk where an eraser has landed. I wonder if it was from one of the Queens of Mean — probably! As I turn to look in their direction, another eraser hits me square in the forehead. Great! Another lump, thanks to Chloe. That one could have taken out my eye! Well, she's not getting her eraser back. I pick it up and dig my name into it. That will teach her!

“Ms. Winters!” Chloe says, stretching her hand in the air.

“Yes, Chloe.”

“May I please get my eraser from Hannah?”

“Why does Hannah have your eraser?”

“I lent it to her.”

“No, you didn't,” I say.

“Yes, I did, Hannah, and I would appreciate it if you gave it back.” Chloe narrows her eyes, flashing a nasty grin.

“
Hannah, give her back her eraser,
” Ms. Winters says as she twists the cap off her water bottle.

“But …”

“You're welcome,” Chloe sings sweetly, plucking the eraser from my fingers.

“For what?”

“For the loan of my eraser.” She laughs. “Oh, and Ivy needs hers back, too.” She squats down and picks up an eraser beside my desk. “Hmmm … maybe tomorrow you'll remember to bring your own.”

“What!” I yelp.
Is she seriously for real?

“Hannah, do we have a problem?” Ms. Winters asks, frowning.

“Nope.”

After that, I figure the Queens must have gotten bored with their
Torture Hannah Game
, because the rest of the morning turns out to be pretty uneventful, not that I would have noticed, because all I can think of is A.J. — he thinks I'm pretty!

When the bell rings, I can't get out of that classroom quickly enough. In the thirty seconds it takes me to fly to my locker, grab my lunch, and slam the door shut, Gabby is beside me.

“Wow, you're fast!” I say, relieved I don't have to go looking for her.

“We have to get good seats!” she squeals. “Come on!” She grabs my arm and whisks me down the hall to the library where kids are already starting to gather.

“So, you're gonna love this club,” Gabby says, her eyes lighting up like it'
s Christmas.
“Everyone is super social! It's the perfect place to make friends!”

Phew!
I have to admit, I'm pumped that this is a social club, and not some boring chess or math club. I mean a social club is the perfect place to meet people and … to be social! I'm totally social — this is perfect!

“Yay! We're about to get started,” Gabby says, squeezing my arm. “A.J. looks like he's almost ready.” She points to the desk at the front where A.J. is standing. He's wearing a
light-blue
V-neck
T-shirt
, khaki pants, and burgundy Vans, which make him look super cool. Judging from all the girls around him, I'd say I'm not the only one who thinks so.

“Ahem,” A.J. says loudly, “Great crowd today! Looks like it's going to be a wicked year! Are you ready for some fun?”

The room cheers.

“Okay, so we need to get organized; who's going to volunteer to take minutes?” A.J. scans the room.

“Did
anyone
come prepared?” He throws up his arms. “Guys, we go through this every year. Doesn't anyone have paper?”

Suddenly, I realize he's staring right at me, or more specifically, at the pad of paper, which Gabby has just shoved into my hands.

“You should do the minutes,” Gabby whispers in my ear. “The more involved you get, the more fun you'll have.”

“Glad to see you made it!” A.J. walks over to my table as thirty pairs of eyes follow. “I'm a bit surprised, actually; I didn't think you had it in you.”

“Pardon?” I don't know if I'm more shocked or confused. I mean, what the heck! He doesn't know me! And he told me to sign the paper! “You told me to sign the paper,” I mutter through my teeth.

He laughs. “I'm just saying I'm surprised you did.”

“Why are you surprised?” I reply, wishing everyone would stop staring at me.

He leans over and whispers, “Well, you're not really the type, are you?”

“What?” I say a little louder this time.

“Maybe I'm wrong, but when I met you back in Glen Haven you seemed a bit nervous. Remember?” He smirks. “You know, going on your very first plane ride and all.”

“Yeah, I remember,” I answer, but what I really feel like saying is:
I also remember that smirk on your face. I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now.

“Honestly.” He shrugs. “You just don't strike me as the adventurous type.”

“Adventurous!” I suck in a breath. “How adventurous do you have to be to socialize with a bunch of people from Maple Ridge?”

Everyone gasps.

“Um,”
I stammer,
“I mean Maple Ridge people, or Maple Ridgers, or whatever you call yourselves, are awesome, like, the friendliest people on Earth, or so I've been told, and well … I'm looking forward to socializing with all of you!”

The room falls silent, and everyone is glaring at me like I'm an alien who's just eaten half the town, but still wants to know if we can all be friends.

Chloe breaks the silence. “Oh, Hannah, maybe where you're from people are slow, but here in Maple Ridge, we go far too fast to socialize.” She meanders her way up through the library tables and positions herself at A.J.'
s side.

“Yeah,” A.J. says, confused. “You must really take your time if you can
chit-chat
.”

Chit-chat
? What's wrong with
chit-chatting
?

“She … even … looks … slow,” Ivy says, stretching out her words for effect.

“I'm not slow!” I yell.

Who do these people think they are? Some social club!

“Well, maybe you're not, but I doubt you're as fast as A.J.,” one of the kids yells.

Okay, at this point, I am totally confused. They can't be talking about socializing, unless they sit around making up rap songs. Rap music is fast sometimes. Maybe this
is
a rapping club! That would be fun! I like rap … sort of. Anyway, I'm sure I could learn to do it in no time, and I'm so mad right now that it doesn't even matter what kind of club this is.

“I might be!” I bark.

“I doubt it,” some dude says, shaking his head and snickering. “A.J.'s the best!”

“Well, how do you know he's better than me? Maybe I'm great!” I say, suddenly feeling all of the confidence in the world.

“You go, girl!” Gabby says punching my arm. “I bet you're better than my brother! Maybe you can coach me!”

“Coach you?” I look at her in panic.
What is she talking about? What kind of club is this! What have I gotten myself into?

“So, how many races have you actually won?” A.J. smirks. “I mean, I do believe that you're good, being from Vermont and all, but how do you
know
that you're better than me?”

“Races?” I say, rubbing my chin.

Everyone is staring at me, waiting for an answer.

“Well,” Ivy demands. “How many competitions have you won?”

“You guys have competitions?” I whisper to Gabby.

“Well, yeah.” Gabby frowns. “Obviously.”

“And you race?” I look up at A.J.

“Look,” Chloe says, “this is getting boring. How many snowboard competitions have you actually won?”

“Snowboard competitions?” I bite my lip.

“Hey, guys, give her a break. Maybe she's not into snowboarding,” A.J. says, shrugging. “Maybe she skis. So, which is it, Hannah? Do you ski or snowboard?”

“Oh, A.J., she probably does both,” Gabby scolds. “So what's your favourite — skiing or snowboarding?”

The whole room is silent. They're all waiting for my answer.

“
Tick tock,
” Chloe says, tapping her watch.

“Um,” I say, my thumbnail digging sharply into my palm.

Ivy plants her hands on her hips. “So, which is it?”

“You do both, right?” Gabby says, searching my face for an answer.

“
Um
…”

“Wow, both. Usually you do one or the other, but I guess that's cool,” A.J. says, obviously assuming “um” meant “yes.”

“So, let me get this straight,” Ivy cuts in, “you ski and you snowboard and you're ridiculously good at both?” She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at me suspiciously.

“Well … I …”

“Of course she is! I mean she's from Glen Haven, Vermont, guys, only listed as the
number-one
ski-resort
town on the east coast by
World Skier
magazine! It's an amazing place!” Gabby turns to A.J. “Am I wrong, A.J.? I mean you just came back from there. Tell them!”

A.J. nods. “They've got some sweet slopes.”

“You must have lived at the hill, Hannah!” Gabby says, squealing with delight. “Eeeeek! Skiing, snowboarding! I mean how could you pick just one? You're so lucky: our parents made us choose.”

“Oh, really?” I ask, not knowing what else to say. Actually, what I should be saying is:
Wait! There has been a huge misunderstanding. I have never skied in my life, let alone snowboard! And I'm totally afraid of heights!
But then again, I'm a little miffed with A.J. just assuming I didn't have it in me, which is totally rude, even though probably right. No! He's not right! He's so wrong! I'll show him!