I shrug again. “Whatever.” I yawn so hard my Red Army cap falls off my head.

“Wow.” She reaches out and touches my hair. “Your hair really grew out. I forgot how blond it is.”

I pick my cap up off the floor and pull it down low. “I was out in the sun a lot this summer. I should take care of it.”

“No. Leave it alone. It’s beautiful.”

Then this awkwardness opens up between us, like we have forgotten how to talk to each other. She drums long, crimson fingernails on my desk. The bell rings, and Mr. C. rises up from behind his desk.

“Sit,” he greets us. There are no empty spaces around me, so Grimshaw leaves and sits near Claudette and Angel. Junior Davis doesn’t seem to be in Western Civ. Mr. C. turns his back to us and writes on the board. He turns around. “Five-paragraph essay.” People moan. “For a quiz grade. What is Western Civ, and how did it affect my summer vacation?”

At the end of the day, Grimshaw isn’t waiting for me on our bench, so on the first day of my senior year, I ride the bus alone, an ill omen if there ever was one. Even Aaron has friends who drive now. It’s just Serena Velasco, a senior, and a wild horde of brand-new seventh graders.

When I get home, I hop on my bike, and just for the heck of it, I ride the long way to the cemetery. Mizerak’s corn has grown so high I can’t see the gravestones from the road anymore. I swing off my bike and push it up the weedy path. Up on the Helmers’ pedestal is my old friend Melody Grimshaw, practicing cheerleader jumps.

I sit on Mr. Sprague’s bench and pick burrs off my socks. “I knew I couldn’t trust you.”

“Serena, get over yourself,” she pants.

I watch her execute a straddle jump. “What did you write on your essay?” I ask. “About your summer vacation.”

“It’s private,” she says when she lands. She does another jump. “Did I point my toes?” I turn my back to her and face the wall of corn.

“I think you picked up a virus from those cheerleaders. I hope it’s not contagious.”

“We’re going out for cheerleading,” Grimshaw says primly.

“What? Who’s we?”

“We is us. You and me. There are two spots open on the varsity squad. The Decker twins moved away, and the alternate quit. Angel and Rack are coming to coach us.”

“Angel and who?”

“Rack. That’s what everyone calls Claudette Mizerak.”