People were confusing. She’d rather do a hundred math problems than try to figure out someone else’s mixed-up feelings, any day of the week. That’s why she and Evan got along so well. He’d just tell her, straight out, “I’m mad at you because you ate the last Rice Krispie’s Treat.” And then she could say, “Sorry. Hey, I’ve got some Starburst in my room. You want them?” And that would be that.
At the top of the easel, written in purple wipe-off marker, it says “Rahul Kapoor’s Quest to Be: The. Best. At. It.
We lean in for a BRiC, which is a secret high five that the three of us invented, named after our initials: Bhai, Rahul, and Chelsea. We had to throw in the i because we needed a vowel to make it a word. I beat u in a three-way tie.
Ben Hardy has been cursed by potatoes. Moving to Idaho seemed like a bad sign — and sure enough, a catastrophe in the cafeteria soon lands him a job as the substitute mascot for their school. Which is (you guessed it) a friendly spud. With learning how to maneuver in a musty old costume, sorting out his plans for the big school dance, and keeping his identity under wraps, Ben’s life as a potato is anything but bland.
Out of all the mascot options — the Cougars, the Eagles, the Saber-Toothed Tigers — my new school just had to be the Spuds.
He shrugged again. “Can’t be a hero if you’re afraid of looking stupid.”
“No problem then, because I don’t want to be a hero.”
“Sure you do, Kirby. Everybody does. Down deep inside, everybody wants to be a hero.”
That was one of the secrets to success: caring about the big things and the small things. Or in Pattie’s case, you cared about everything.
In nature, orange means good things, like pumpkins, and juice, and autumn leaves, and sunsets. But when you paint something orange it usually means something not-so-good. Except, of course, if it’s Halloween. And even Halloween is scary sometimes.
