Pack of Dorks (19 page)

“Sam and I are friends,” I said, shocked at how calm my voice stayed. “You remember what it’s like to have friends, don’t you?”

Her overly glossy mouth fell open. “Seriously?” Becky crossed her arms and blinked at me a couple of times. She looked lost for a second. I think I wasn’t allowing her speech go as planned. “Everyone likes
me
,” she said. “
I
am by far the coolest girl in this school. Everyone wants to be my friend.”

“Yeah,” Sam said. “But who actually
is
your friend?”

Becky blinked a couple more times, her pale face blushing. I knew she hated blushing.

“I’m not here to talk to
you
.” Her hands formed fists so hard her knuckles turned white. She glared at me. “You’re making a fool out of yourself with all of this dog stuff.
Everyone
is making fun of you.”

“Prepare yourself for a shock,” I said. “But Tom and Henry aren’t everyone.” I heard Sheldon, who was sitting with April at the table behind us, snort. I suddenly realized that everyone around us had stopped eating and was listening.

Becky breathed so hard from her nose that she looked like a bull. “I’m not just talking about them,” she snapped. “You guys are pathetic. Pathetic dorks. Forget dogs, okay? You can make a pack of dorks.”

Sam and I smiled at each other. “We’re way ahead of you. That’s just what we were thinking,” I said. “But just to be clear, we actually like wolves, not dogs, Becky.”

“But if people who liked dogs wanted to join in, I would let them,” Sam said.

“Cats, too, I guess,” I joked, turning my back to Becky in the hope she’d just move on.

“But not ducks. I hate ducks,” Sam said.

“No one hates ducks. Ducks are adorable,” I said. “What’s wrong with ducks?”

“I hate ducks,” said Amanda from the table beside Sheldon and April’s.

Sam kicked out a chair for Amanda, and she walked over, slouching into it. I think she really did hate ducks. She smiled at me, a super small one. She should smile more often.

Sheldon turned in his seat. “Hadrosaurids are duck ancestors. They were much cooler than ducks, though. They could run faster than a T-Rex. I like hadrosaurids.”

“Great. Hardrosaurids lovers are in. Want to sit with us, Sheldon?” Sam said.

“I like monkeys! Monkeys are cool!” April chirped.

“There you have it. You’re in, too,” I said, pulling out a chair for her.

Becky growled. The five of us laughed so hard we never heard her go back to her table. When the bell rang, she was sitting there with Tom and Henry, no one looking or talking to each other.

“I feel sort of bad for them,” I whispered to my pack.

Sam shrugged. April smoothed her skirt. She spent a lot of time running her hands along her skirt like she didn’t know what to do with her fingers now that she broke the nose-picking habit. Amanda’s angry eyes flicked from our table to Tom’s.

“We could just, you know, ignore them,” Sheldon said.

“Ignoring everything makes me mad,” Amanda snapped.

“Everything makes you mad,” I pointed out. “Maybe you should work on that.”

“They have their territory, we have ours,” Sam said.

“Ever think you’re taking this wolf thing too far?” I asked him.

Chapter Sixteen

Sam and I presented our class report on wolves at the end of the day. Technically, our reports were due earlier in the week, but Ms. Drake gave us an extension so we had time to work in our sanctuary trip.

For our diorama, Dad had helped me build a model of the sanctuary. I know it’s sort of stupid, but I got chills when I added a black wolf to the pack with the red one representing Sascha. For the presentation, Sam and I took turns reading pages from our report, and then we were opened it up for questions.

Ms. Drake went first. “So, you’ve said wolves have a hierarchy. Which other social systems do you believe have an order, where there is a clear definition of who is in charge?”

Sam and I answered at the same time. He said, “The government” just as I blurted, “Middle school.”

The class laughed. Ms. Drake asked Sam to elaborate. He said about how the senate, congress, and president are the alphas and the people the pack members.

When Ms. Drake turned to me, I added, “Our class has packs, too. There are some people who think they’re alphas. People who think they can act however they want or do whatever they want because, for some reason, they act powerful. But real alpha wolves take care of the rest of the pack. They aren’t just in charge in order to be cruel. Here, the kids who think they’re the most popular, or the coolest, they’re usually the biggest jerks.”

Amanda whisper-shouted, “Yeah!” Sheldon nodded so hard his glasses slid down his nose. April twisted a tissue in her hands and glared at Becky. Ms. Drake’s eyes narrowed and her arms crossed, but she didn’t interrupt me.

“How do wolves handle an alpha who isn’t doing a good job?” Ms. Drake asked.

“They form a new pack,” Sam said.

When the bell rang, my pack gathered around the monkey bars.

“This might be the best day ever,” said Sam, a smile spreading across his face. “We aced our report. We stood up to Becky. We’re . . . we’re just awesome.”

I laughed. “I know what you mean! If I could do a back flip, I’d totally do one right now.”

“Sam can! He can do a back flip!” April piped up.

And there, in front of everyone, Sam slipped off the monkey bars and did a flip in the grass. Amanda hooted, and Sheldon clapped. From the other side of the playground, Tom shouted, “Loser!”

Henry leaned from the top of the playscape, cupped his hands over his mouth, and shouted, “Watch it, Monkey Boy! You might find yourself hung up again!”

And just like that, Sheldon dropped down from the bars. He ripped off his jacket and growled so loud a vein in his neck popped. I’ve got to admit, the skinny kid looked freakishly strong. “Try it, numbskull! Just try it, and I’ll go T-Rex on your butt!”

“Yeah,” Amanda cracked her knuckles. “No one messes with our pack.”

April and I moved simultaneously to stand beside Sam, glaring full force at Tom and Henry. April brought her fists up and bent her knees like she was about to spar in karate. Sam put his hand on my shoulder and howled. It still sounded like a tortured cat, but only until the rest of joined in.

Tom and Henry rolled their eyes, but they didn’t come any closer.

When it was time to go back inside, I felt a soft tap on my shoulder. I turned to see Becky.

“I think we said all there is to say at lunch,” I snapped.

“Look, all right,” Becky stammered. “I was wrong. Tom and Henry are jerks. I thought Tom would want to be my boyfriend, but he told me I’m boring.” She blinked at me with big eyes, like she really thought I’d feel sorry for her.

“And?” I said.

“And I was a jerk, too,” she blurted. “I was wrong. I should’ve been a better friend. Now I don’t have anyone.” The tears in her eyes looked real. “Can you give me another shot?”

“Wow, Becky,” I said. “You really would do anything to be popular. Even join a pack of dorks.”

Becky’s mouth twitched like she was fighting to keep a scream inside.

“What do you guys think?” I asked Sam and April, who were not at all subtle about listening in from their spots in line ahead of me.

“Room for anyone, right?” April asked.

Sam laughed. “That’s right. But maybe we’ll just pretend you’re not in the pack. You know, Becky, so we can find out what everyone else thinks of you first.”

“Gawd! Forget it!” Becky stamped her foot and stormed to the back of the line.

“Beck!” I called. “Why don’t you call me later? We can talk, all right? And go from there. I’ll let my dad know it’s cool for you to call me again.” She paused and nodded without turning around.

Sam bumped me with his shoulder. “You’re nicer than you ought to be.”

I bumped him back. “I’ve got to be nice. My pack depends on me.”

Acknowledgments

For loving me more than I deserve, thank you to my husband. Jon always introduced me as a writer, years before I felt like one, and he never stopped supporting my dream. His confidence and encouragement made this possible.

Thank you also to Emma and Benny, for inspiring me every day. Being your mother is the best, most important part of my life.

I am honored to be represented by Nicole Resciniti of The Seymour Agency. Nicole, thank you for believing in me and sticking with me. In addition to being incredible at what you do, you’ve created an amazing support system of clients and friends. I’m thrilled to be a member.

To my amazing editor Julie Matysik, thank you doesn’t begin to scratch the surface of my gratitude. I’m blessed to work with you.

Thank you to my mom, who read my first ever story and told nine-year-old me, “This should be published.” Dad, you helped me see wonderful stories—and a lot of humor—in everyday life. Thank you for that. Amy and Michele, thank you for cheering me on.

Much love also goes to Buffy Andrews for never letting me give up on my dream and sharing the tools I needed to achieve it. I couldn’t ask for a better mentor and friend.