“So doesn’t that make science just like math? I mean, Pluto is Pluto. Two plus two is four. Relax in the beanbag.”

Now all the kids laughed.

Hey! I’m serious!

In the past, when I’ve asked questions like that, I’d been given detention because the teacher thought I was being disrespectful. So when Mr. Dooley approached and tapped my desk with his pencil, I expected the worst.

“Keep on asking questions, Mr. Livingston. Because without questions, there is no learning.” Then he walked back to the front of the class. “Open your math books and get your ears ready to listen. We’ll be having a test next Friday, so I hope your brains haven’t become mush over the summer.” Mr. Dooley inserted a little key in his top right desk drawer and pulled out a stack of stiff forms. “These are what we in middle school call computer scan forms. Get used to the look of them. You’ll enter your test answers here. MANY A STUDENT HAS FAILED A TEST because they lost concentration, skipped a row, and FILLED IN THE WRONG BUBBLE. Here’s a tip for surviving middle school. ALWAYS PAY ATTENTION WHEN YOU ARE BEING TESTED.”

A gasp sounded from the other side of the room. It was Bailey Martin. She’s super smart, and a straight-A student, but she’s more than a bit anxious. She turned pale at the sight of the computer scan sheets.

Carlos leaned over to me. “What is that snapping sound?”

“It’s probably Bailey. She’s cracking her knuckles under the desk. She does that.”

Carlos nodded. “Oh. I thought it was coming from over there.”

I looked in the other direction. Wiley Overton was staring right at me! And he was cracking his knuckles too.

Chapter 17
Coop

I kept a secret eye on Wiley all through the morning during class, and then searched for him in the lunch room. Thankfully he didn’t sit at our table with us. “Hey, Doug. I don’t know why but I feel like I’ve seen Wiley somewhere before.”

Doug spoke through a mouth full of hamburger. “You think you’ve seen Wiley somewhere before?”

“Yeah. And he was staring at me all morning, like he knows me or something.” Our table started filling up, so we dropped our conversation down to a whisper. I pulled out my phone. “I have an idea. Let’s stand up, face his direction, and pretend to take a selfie. Instead, I’ll take a picture of Wiley. Then I’ll text it to Zoe. Maybe she’ll recognize him too.”

“Great idea, bro.” Doug washed down his last bite of burger with a huge chug of milk and then came and stood next to me. “You and me buddy! First day of school selfie!” He said it loud enough for the whole cafeteria to hear.