“Lexi?” I asked, thinking about how sad she looked every time we talked about Doc’s projects. Now we’d be carrying around flour sacks, and she’d be left out. “Think we should make her one?”

Lexi and I go the farthest back; we both lived in the same row of town homes for a couple of years until about three years ago, when Mrs. Devlin started trading up with a new husband and a new house each year. For a few short months in seventh grade, Lexi lived next door to the Blakelys, and that’s when she became friends with Cole. The marriage didn’t last, but Cole and Lexi’s friendship did.

I used to be jealous of the way Cole took care of Lexi, until Kori and I became friends. I still remembered what it was like to be left out, though.

“I’ll go see if Doc’s got an extra,” I said before heading to his desk.

I returned with it as the bell rang. “I’ll decorate it in supervised study,” Cole said, scooping it up. “Have fun in history.”

I squished up my nose. “See ya.”

When I stepped through the doorway, I spotted Anthony Beck’s T-shirted back. All I could think about was how he saw me half-naked, and I bolted toward Dick Click’s classroom, but seeing Dick and his greasy comb-over, I kept moving.

Dick’s classroom was once the last frontier of the school. Then they built the new auditorium connected by an extra-wide hallway, which, in addition to showcasing various students’ artwork, included a new bathroom that was only supposed to be used during events. So I darted to it and ducked in the last stall for a quick smoke before having to deal with Dick’s class. I propped my new Baby Badtz-Maru on the back of the toilet tank, then leaned against the wall and tapped out a cigarette. Just as I got it lit, I heard someone coming and had to quickly snuff it out. I waved my hand to disperse the smell, then crouched on the toilet, hiding my boots.

Two girls came in and camped themselves out in front of the mirror. Through the crack I could see Chelsea Westad’s white-blond hair. Another girl shoved her way into the stall next to me and was … oh joy … throwing up. Fun.

Cheerleaders are so disturbed.

Below the partition I could see the soles of two shoes facing upwards. “Go Adrian #17” was written in heavy blue marker on the white rubber soles of both.