Chapter 5

Chapter 5 Love Stuff assonance (n) a poetic technique in which the middle sound of a word (usually a vowel) is repeated in words that are next to the word or near it, such as silly little chimps Evan was grabbing a plastic spoon at the utensil table in the cafeteria when he saw Jessie walk up to Megan, who was near the front of the line. It was noisy in the cafeteria, the way it usually was, but Evan was close enough to hear Jessie's voice, which was always loud and clear. "Do you love Evan?" Evan's head snapped in the direction of Jessie's voice. He saw Megan's back stiffen and her face turn bright red. The dozen or so kids closest in

line straightened up and turned their full attention to Jessie and Megan. Tessa squealed, her hands flying to her mouth. Scott Spencer started laughing, and several of the boys erupted in a chorus of "Oooh." Evan felt his face flame and his stomach drop. He wanted to run out of the cafeteria. Salley Knight, who was standing right behind Megan, said, "You're not supposed to say something like that!" "Why not?" Jessie asked, still talking in her usual loud way. "Because..." Salley threw her hands up, shaking her head. Evan walked quickly back to his assigned seat at his lunch table, careful to keep his eyes down. The kids at the table hadn't heard what Jessie had said, but by the end of lunch, the news had traveled up and down the aisles. There were lots of jokes about kissing. Malik turned two soggy french fries into lips and squeezed them open

and closed while making loud smooching noises. A bunch of girls started to sing "My Heart Will Go On," so loudly that the cafeteria ladies told the whole class that they were the worst group of the day and were in danger of losing recess. Even that didn't stop the snickering and poking. Evan wished the floor would swallow him whole. When the doors to the playground were finally opened and the horde of noisy fourth-graders ran outside, Evan stayed behind and cornered Jessie at the trash can. "What are you doing? How come you said that?" He wanted to shake her, as if that would make her understand what she'd done. "Said what?" asked Jessie. Evan dropped his voice to a dangerous whisper. "That Megan and me are in love." "I did not say that!" "Well, that's what everyone is saying now. What's with you, Jess? Come on! Even you—"

"All I did was ask a simple question. All I did was ask Megan if she loves you because that's what it says in the girls' bathroom." Evan felt his stomach drop to his knees for the second time that day. He tried to ask Jessie what she meant, but it was as if he'd forgotten how his tongue worked. It just lay there in his mouth, unable to form words. "C'mon! Line up!" shouted one of the cafeteria ladies to the last few stragglers busing their trays and throwing out their trash. Evan placed both hands on Jessie's shoulders and bent his head down close to hers. In a whisper, he asked, "What does it say in the girls' bathroom?" Jessie put her hands together, both thumbs meeting in a downward-facing point to form a perfect heart. "M.M. plus E.T.," she said. Evan felt another wave of heat rise up from his shirt collar. The noise of the cafeteria swirled around him.

"Did Megan write that... that thing in the bathroom?" Evan asked. "No. I don't think so. I don't know! How am I supposed to know?" "Can you find out?" "Why?" asked Jessie. "What is it with all this love stuff?" Evan again had the feeling of wanting to shake Jessie. Why didn't she understand things that everyone else did? "Just find out, would ya? Ask her. And then tell me. But don't tell her I asked you to find out. And don't tell anyone else. Swear it!" Evan headed for the playground, wanting to shake off this almost-sick feeling. He pushed open the door and shouted, "Hey!" as Ryan ran by on the blacktop. "Wait for me!" He could count on Jessie to find out the answer, but how long would that take? Valentine's Day was just four days away, and Evan needed answers.