9. He Wouldn’t Hit a Girl

Chapter 9 He Wouldn't Hit a Girl Nick and Stuart were waiting for Marvin. "How'd you get stuck walking with Patsy Gatsby?" asked Nick. Marvin shrugged. He looked at Patsy. She was already walking away, head down. "Was she weird?" asked Stuart. "No," said Marvin. "We just talked." "Ugh!" exclaimed Nick. "You talked to her!" "C'mon," said Stuart. "Let's go climb the spiderweb." The giant spiderweb was Marvin's favorite thing at Lake Park. It was made out of rope. It was fun to climb, but scary. Especially way up at the top. Marvin started toward it, then stopped and glanced

back at Patsy. She was sitting on the sidewalk. Playing jacks. She didn't notice Clarence, Travis, and Kenny standing behind her. She bounced the red ball. Clarence kicked it. "Oops. Sorry, Worm-Face," he said. Kenny and Travis laughed. "C'mon, Marvin," said Nick, heading toward the spiderweb. Marvin started after his friends, then stopped again. He watched as Patsy tried to walk away from Clarence. "What's the matter, Stink-Head?" asked Clarence. He grabbed one of her suspenders. "Let go," said Patsy. Clarence pulled the suspender way back, then snapped it against her. Travis and Kenny laughed. Clarence grabbed her other suspender and snapped it, too. "Quit it," said Patsy. "Quit it," teased Clarence. "Leave her alone!" said Marvin.

Clarence turned. "What's your problem, Redpost?" Marvin marched right up to Clarence. "You think you're so tough, Clarence!" he said, hands on hips. "Well, you're not. You're just stupid and gross." "I can beat you up," said Clarence. "Oh, gee, I'm scared," said Marvin. He turned to Patsy. "Clarence thinks he's really great, just because he's the biggest kid in the class. Well, the only reason he's so big is because he's been left back a hundred times."

Patsy laughed. "I'm warning you," said Clarence. A crowd gathered around them. "Oh, grow up!" said Marvin.

Clarence glared at Marvin. Marvin looked right back at him. Their faces were inches apart. "I don't believe it," said Marvin. "You get uglier every day." A group of girls laughed. Clarence forced a laugh. He turned away. "You're not worth it," he said. "All right, Marvin!" said Nick, slapping him on the back. "Wow," said Stuart. "You stood up to Clarence." Casey Happleton stared at him, finger in mouth. "Weren't you scared?" asked Nick. "No," said Marvin. "Clarence wouldn't hit—" Marvin stopped. He was confused. He was going to say, Clarence wouldn't hit a girl.