7 A Galaxy of Disappointment

CHAPTER SEVEN A Galaxy of Disappointment Scientific Fact (noun). A simple observation of the world that does not change over time. Unlike fashion, which changes all of the time. And, of course, the weather. NOTHING WAS GOING RIGHT. During lunch, I sat at the end of a long table with Birdie, Phoenix, and Avery. Nobody was speaking. I stared at my bologna sandwich. Ugh. Bologna. Ham is my favorite lunchmeat. It's square, my favorite shape, because I like defined edges and corners. The circular bologna was covered with a piece of crisp lettuce. I could only take one bite and then stared at an unopened bag of potato chips. To make things worse, Fall Festival posters lined every wall of the cafeteria. "I can't believe we're not going to be able to do the Vomiting Pumpkin demo at the festival," I said, closing my

eyes so I didn't have to be tortured by the sight of the posters featuring grinning jack-o'-lanterns. "The festival will still be fun," said Birdie. "Face painting, caramel apples." "Bean bag toss, the cakewalk, and the costume photo booth," said Phoenix. "Sack races, the bouncy houses, fun cheesy prizes," added Avery. "I just can't get happy about it," I admitted. "It's because of the"—I could barely say the word —"the detention." After opening her stainless-steel container, Phoenix dipped a stick of celery into the hummus inside. "I didn't know that detentions were a thing at our school," she said. "They're not." I could hardly swallow. "I guess you would know," said Avery. "Since your mom is the principal." "Thanks for pointing that out," I mumbled. Sometimes Avery knew how to poke a sore spot. I mean, of course I knew that my mom was the principal. I've only lived with her for all ten years of my life. And of course I was freaked out about having to report after school tomorrow for what appeared to be a detention. Did she really need to rub it in? Already I was regretting eating with Avery. But when you decide to eat with Phoenix, it

also means eating with Avery. They're bonded like atoms in a molecule. Phoenix crunched on a celery stick. Birdie started to doodle in her notebook. Well, not really doodle—she was furiously drawing spirals. She whispered, "Do you think your mom will be really mad, Kate?" I sagged into my chair. "I don't even want to think about it." Not only would my parents be unhappy, but I was truly disappointed in myself. A whole galaxy of disappointment. Normally, Elijah eats with us too, but today he was eating with Jeremy and Memito at the far end of our long rectangular table. Honestly, I was surprised that they weren't sitting at the opposite end of the cafeteria. Or the universe. "I heard detentions go on your permanent record," called out Memito, twirling the lid of his thermos on his finger. "Then in middle school you get labeled as a troublemaker. And it follows you to high school, too." "That's not true," I said. "It would have to be way more serious for that to happen." Nearby, one of the monitors, Ms. Giosso, was directing kids to throw away their recycling in the proper bin. For a moment, her eyes scanned our table. Suddenly I wondered if she had heard about our detention.

"Staying after school is not good," said Elijah, staring glumly at his applesauce. "Yeah, it's not awesome," agreed Jeremy, although he didn't look all that sad. "But it's not the biggest deal." "I think it's a big deal." Memito made a farting sound by sticking out his tongue. Elijah laughed. "Eh." Jeremy shrugged. "It'll be just another afternoon at Franklin Elementary." "I don't think so," said Phoenix, waving her hand, which had a Band-Aid where the cactus needles had pricked her palm. "Mmm, these fries are tasty," said Jeremy, dipping a french fry in some ketchup. Leaning back, he tipped his chair like it was a rocker. Jeremy hardly seemed disturbed, which wasn't like him. "How can you be happy?" Just as the lunch monitor stepped closer to our table, Phoenix flung a crumpled napkin over at Jeremy. Ms. Giosso marched right up to our table. I braced myself. Phoenix was about to be written up. The monitor stopped at the head of the table. Her eyes locked with Phoenix's. "Did I just see you throw a napkin?" she asked. "Yes, you did!" said Phoenix, pronouncing each word like she was on stage. She smiled proudly. "I just learned how to throw a curveball. And I was

practicing a two-seam grip. My cousin's on the softball team at Sonoma State, in California, and showed me via Skype." "Really?" Ms. Giosso patted her throat. "I played softball in high school. You're looking at the shortstop." She glanced at the glass wall overlooking the playing field. "Next time, practice that curveball out there. Okay?" "Oh yes, will do," said Phoenix as Ms. Giosso headed over to the salad bar, where some kids were tossing tongs. Memito pretended to mop his brow. "Phew," he said. "That was too close." Jeremy rolled his eyes. "If that had been me, I would have gotten a detention on the spot." "Please don't say that word," I begged. "Detention." "Kate, don't worry," said Elijah. "Maybe it's not an actual detention. Maybe it's just a special chemistry club meeting." "Good try," I said. "Except chemistry club was canceled this week because of the Science Challenge." "I don't think it could be anything else but a detention," groaned Memito. "Let's get real," said Jeremy. "Ms. Daly is kind of old. And back in the olden times, they did stuff

like that." "Ageism!" accused Phoenix, wagging her finger as Jeremy made a face. "That's prejudice against older people. Girls, I'm thinking we should sit at a different table." "Yeah," I said. "Agreed," said Birdie. Then the bell rang. And it was too late. "Well, you can try to avoid us, Phoenix," said Jeremy. "But we'll be seeing all of you at your doomsday tomorrow afternoon." He threw back his head, smirking. "Bye-bye!" he said getting up to go with Elijah and Memito. "Hey! It's your doomsday too," I said. Jeremy gave us a thumbs-up, then disappeared along with Elijah and Memito into the crowd leaving the cafeteria. Popping off my seat, I turned to Phoenix and Birdie. "There's something going on with him. I don't know what it is. But I'm going to figure it out."