“Ha! Yes! Show us what you got, Blume!” To Vi, Lucas said, “What are some of the questions? Easy ones.” He winked at Marianne.

Like a robot, Vi answered immediately: “Easy. Right. Okay.” She cleared her throat. “He was the second president of the United States, hailing from Massachusetts. Who was he?”

“Teddy Roosevelt!” Marianne shouted with a confidence she knew would make it funnier. She unwrapped a piece of gum and threw it in her smiling mouth.

Ava shrieked. “Girl, we learned this in like third grade! It’s John freaking Adams! Are you for real?”

“Please, please, tell me you know the first president. Please.” Lucas clasped his hands in a prayer position.

“She’ll probably be like, ‘George Washington Carver!’” said Niko, to everyone’s delight.

“Just don’t make me try to spell ‘Massachusetts.’” Marianne blew a big bubble and let it pop. It spread across her nose, and she pulled it back in with her tongue.

“You’re too much, Blume. Good stuff.” Lucas smacked her back, and he, Ava, and their friends scurried to class.

Marianne stood there facing Vi as the hallways rapidly emptied.

Vi spoke first. “That’s not allowed.”

“Huh?”

“Chewing gum,” Vi said.

“Oh.”

Actually, gum was allowed in the hallway, just not in class, but what was the point of getting into it with someone who didn’t like her?

“Oh my God,” Vi grumbled. “I’m surrounded by morons.”

And she stalked off.

No Thank you for saving me from public ridicule?

Vi Cross may have been destined to be president someday, but Marianne would never vote for her. She’d probably outlaw gum.

Marianne spotted Jalilah jogging back to her locker. She looked like she’d forgotten something.

Marianne eyed the clock on the wall and saw she had one minute left to make it five classrooms down—plenty of time. The longer she stayed out of class, the longer she could avoid Ms. James’s questions about the reading.

“Hey, you think you’d ever join?” Marianne asked Jalilah, strolling a few steps toward her and the gray-blue lockers. “Quiz Quest?”

Jalilah let out a short, loud “Ha!” Pulling out a folder, she said, “You mean if no one had to know?” She mimicked thinking about something for an instant, then answered, “Still no.”

Marianne laughed, wrapping her arms around her unread textbooks. “Yeah. It sounds like torture. And, like, most of the smart kids join Academic Games or Junior Diplomats, right?”

“Yeah, the kind of smart kids who have friends…” Jalilah snarked.

“Harsh but true,” Marianne agreed, waving bye to Jalilah as she hurried off.

As Marianne strode toward lit, she saw Mr. Garcia turn the corner, and she instinctively looked away.

When Marianne arrived at Ms. James’s door right as the bell dinged, Ms. James smiled and asked her daily question: “Hi there! How’d you like the reading?”

And, as was their tradition, Marianne answered, “Didn’t get a chance to do it this time. Sorry!”

Then Ms. James sometimes said, “Why don’t you get started on it now?” or “And why is that?” or “That’s a shame, I wanted to hear your thoughts” or once in a blue moon, on days she looked like she’d had less sleep, “Mm-hmm.”