Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Hearsay hearsay (hearsay), n. Quoting someone else's words when that person is not present to say whether those words are true; rumor. Hearsay is not allowed as evidence in a court of law. "So, you get it?" asked Megan, leaning back in her chair. "They're the same. See?" The math problem was about symmetry. There were five different shapes drawn on the page, and for each one, Evan had to figure out if the shape was symmetrical or not. If it was, he had to draw the line of symmetry. Megan had already done the first one to show him how.

But Evan was having a hard time thinking about symmetry when he was sitting right next to Megan Moriarty. "That one's easy," said Evan, trying to sound cool. "Everybody knows that hearts are symmetric." "Not all hearts," said Megan. "Look at this one." "Well, that's just freaky," said Evan. The next three shapes weren't too hard, and Evan was able to draw the line of symmetry for each one. But the last one had him stumped, and Megan

finally had to let him in on the trick: the shape wasn't symmetrical at all. "It looks like it should work," said Megan, "but it never does, no matter where you draw the line. Jessie showed me that. She's a math genius, huh?" Evan didn't say anything. Having a sister who was smart enough to skip a whole grade was like having a best friend who was a basketball star. It made you look bad by comparison. "Hey, Evan?" said Megan, dropping her voice and leaning in even closer. They both looked over at Mrs. Overton, who was talking on the class phone. Evan could smell the coconut shampoo Megan used on her hair. It made him think of ice cream at the Big Dipper. "How do you think Scott Spencer got the money for that 20/20?" The nice, floaty feeling leaked out of Evan. "Scott Spencer? Huh!" said Evan. "I know what you mean," said Megan, sitting back and twirling her hair. "He always acts so nice when the teacher's around, but then he's really mean in the

halls." "Yeah, that's Scott," mumbled Evan. "You know," said Megan, leaning in again. "Scott once told me his mother makes ten dollars a minute. Do you believe that?" Evan thought of the Spencers' house and the vacations they took every year—skiing and the Caribbean and even Europe—and he didn't doubt it for a second. "Sure," he said. "You should see where he lives." "I heard he has a new TV that's as big as the whiteboard." Megan pointed to the large whiteboard at the front of the room. "Probably," said Evan. "You wouldn't think a kid like that would steal things." Megan's eyes opened wide. "Does he really steal? Alyssa told me he does. She said he took her charm bracelet out of her locker and then pretended he'd found it on the playground. Just to impress her. But I don't know if that's true." Evan was dying to tell her that Scott had stolen

$208 from him—but he couldn't. "He stole lunch money from Ryan once. And he took a candy bar from the Price Chopper. He steals lots of things." Megan looked at him closely. "Did you see him take the money or the candy bar?" she asked. Evan shook his head. "No, but Ryan said—" "That's just a rumor, then," said Megan. "You can't believe everything you hear. That's what my parents always say." "If you knew him like I do, you'd think it was true, too." "Maybe," said Megan. "But I don't listen to rumors. People probably say things about me that aren't true! And about you, too!" Evan wondered if that was so. What would people say about him? Did his friends talk about him behind his back? He didn't like to think about that. But what Megan said got him thinking about the missing money. Evan never actually saw Scott take the money, but he had told everyone—Paul and Ryan and Adam and Jack—that Scott had taken it.

And they'd all believed him, because... well, because it was true! Evan was sure of it. "You have to know Scott," Evan said, shaking his head again. But he could hear his mother's voice: Rumors are like pigeons. They fly everywhere and make a mess wherever they go.