Just Kidding by Annie Bryant Read Free Book Online Page A

Sarah would be glad to teach you.”
    A few students got to their feet, but the first one at the front of the room was Henry Yurt. In a broad exaggeration of an elegant gentleman, he bowed deeply to Ms. Ciara and held out his hand. “Madam, may I have the honor of this dance?”
    Ms. Ciara, who usually shushed Henry, was definitely in the mood of Spirit Week. With a cool smile, she simply dropped into an old-fashioned curtsy, took Henry’s hand, and faced him. Michael and Sarah showed them a few steps, and soon the goofy Yurtmeister was dancing with the tall, slender Ms. Ciara.
    â€œOnly the Yurtmeister could pull off something like this,” whispered Maeve to Katani.
    Henry caught on to the steps at once, but his face barely reached Ms. Ciara’s shoulder. Watching him try to lead her was so funny that most kids in the class burst out laughing. It was good-natured laughter, though. Henry himself was grinning as he whirled Ms. Ciara around the floor. Chelsea Briggs couldn’t help laughing too. She paused as the dancers got close to her, and then she snapped a photo of their happy expressions. She nodded at Avery. This was going to be a total A+ for the Sentinel .
    Charlotte sat with her eyes turned toward the dancers, but she hardly saw them. She had shifted so her back was to Avery.
    Avery kept staring at Charlotte trying to get her attention. Avery’s usually lively dark eyes were quiet and bewildered. Finally, she got out her pen and scribbled a note, which she passed to Charlotte. What’s up–are you mad atme?

    Charlotte couldn’t believe Avery even had to ask! How can she not know what’s bothering me? Can Avery be that clueless? Charlotte fumed to herself.
    She considered not answering at all. But then she thought, This whole thing is getting weird, and talking about it might make things better . Maybe Avery really didn’t have a clue. So she turned over Avery’s note and started writing.
    Avery read the note and her cheeks turned pink. She wrote back, I guess I blew it, huh? I’m really sorry. I just don’t think sometimes .
    She started to hand the note to Charlotte, but her hand was unsteady as she held it out. To her horror, the slip of paper fell to the floor.
    In a flash, Anna, Queen of Mean no. 1, had grabbed the note and tossed it to Joline, Queen of Mean no. 2, who started to read it out loud. Luckily, the music was still going, and most of the class was too focused on learning the dance steps to pay any attention. But Avery saw the stricken look on Charlotte’s face. Charlotte clearly wished the floor would just swallow her up and take her far, far away. Being embarrassed in front of a whole class was one of Charlotte’s worst nightmares.
    Furious, Avery came to her friend’s rescue. She tried to snatch the note from Joline. “That’s not yours!” she snapped.
    â€œCome on, Avery,” Joline sneered. “I was just kidding. Since when did you get so sensitive?”
    Avery opened her mouth to put Joline in her place—shehad no problem standing up to the Queens of Mean—but just then she realized the room was too quiet. The music had stopped and Ms. Ciara was standing in their row, sternly looking at Avery and Joline. “I’ll take that,” she said crisply. When Joline silently handed her the note, the teacher glanced at it and then ripped it to shreds. “Girls, you know better than to pass notes in my class. Or in any class. It’s disrespectful and only tells me that you weren’t paying attention. Nothing you write in a note is so important that it can’t wait until after the bell rings.”
    She walked to the front of the room and dropped the pieces of paper into her wastebasket. Charlotte, relieved, took a deep breath. Thank goodness Ms. Ciara isn’t one of those teachers who made students read notes out loud , she thought. That would have been completely humiliating . She