“But you still kept them?”

She chuckles. “I didn’t say I wasn’t tempted to respond.”

“Well, then help me now. Please? What do I do about Oscar?”

She coughs up a dry laugh. “Well, I find that when I’m having trouble expressing myself, it helps if I try writing a letter.”

“All the kids at school know,” I say. “Or at least they’re about to. They know I answered some of your letters. A few even think I killed you and took over your job entirely.” I shouldn’t say it, but I’m going to anyway. “You know some kids even think you’re a vampire.”

“The only vampire I’m related to is Count Chocula.” She waves her hand, brushing away the gossip. “Let ’em think what they want. You’ve got a knack for this, my dear, and I don’t serve up compliments for fun. But first you’ve got to sort things out with your parents and this Oscar boy. I won’t have all this pacing back and forth in front of my house. It’ll stress my plants out.”

I feel awful about Oscar, and I hate that I pushed him so far away. “You think a letter might do the trick?”

She leans back in her armchair. “Not just any letter.”

Chapter Thirty-Two

Three Legs Are Better Than Two

Mrs. Young bends down to tie my ankle to hers. “Too tight?” she asks. Her hair is in two huge buns on either side of her head. She wears big yellow sunglasses with lenses that look like lemons and a T-shirt that says Texas Derby Divas with a pair of roller skates on the front.

I tug on the rope a little. “Nope.”

“You feeling any better?” she asks more quietly.

For the first time a heavy weight sinks in my chest, and I realize that I’m really going to miss Mrs. Young. “Well, waking up extra early for my test wasn’t great, but at least we didn’t finish last in the wheelbarrow race.”

She holds her hand up for a high five. “Told you I’ve got skills.”

And she wasn’t wrong. Maybe teachers aren’t an alien species after all. Actually, I take that back. Teachers are total aliens from another galaxy, but at least most of them come in peace.

Since I stormed off before I had a chance to sign up with anyone else yesterday, I was the lucky one to end up with Mrs. Young. I wasn’t exactly pumped about spending my last day of seventh grade tied to my teacher, but I guess there are worse things. Like spiders. And toilet paper stuck to your shoe. And oatmeal-raisin cookies where the raisins look like chocolate chips.

Greg and Kiera are partnered up at the end. I’m sure Kiera’s mad at me, but I’m hoping she’ll understand I didn’t mean to hurt her. Still, I’m nervous to even see her. We were only just getting back on track again. And Oscar . . . Oscar won’t even look at me. I’ve got a plan, though.