So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti Read Free Book Online Page A

long to drink.”
    He fills the cup at the sink. He gulps his water.
    “Nice!” he says.
    “That’s awesome,” a girl in the back declares. It’s taking me forever to memorize everyone’s name. I don’t know how teachers do it every year.
    I grin at my notebook.
    Mr. Peterson is all over it. “What an excellent example of thinking outside the box!” he announces. “This was a terrific way to reach a creative solution. Many thanks to the always brilliant Brooke.”
    “Teacher’s pet much?” Scott whispers.
    “Not,” I whisper back.
    It’s been an eventful day in the Box. Earlier, we found out what noodle cleaning was when we were working on a logic problem about astronomy. This one girl went, “I thought our solar system had, like, millions of stars,” and Mr. Peterson was all, “Our solar system contains only one star! Noodle cleaning in action!” He says there’s all this erroneous information stuck in our brains (or, as he likes to call them, noodles) because we either learned things that were incorrect or we’re remembering things the wrong way. He anticipates much more noodle cleaning this year.
    “Listen up, gang,” Mr. Peterson says now. “I have a fun Friday treat for you. Logic pop quiz!”
    Complaints rumble through the class.
    Scott leans over to me. “Beer me strength,” he groans.
    I have no idea what he’s talking about.
    “Remember?” he says. “Jim and Andy?”
    One of the few things I picked up during my extremely brief Office viewing was that the cute one is Jim. I nod and smile back.
    Now we have a problem. I have a feeling Scott is going to keep quoting Office stuff at me. I can’t pretend to know what he’s talking about forever. This could be a good thing, though. If we shared the same passion for something, it could be a way to be in Scott’s life more, which I desperately need. Only, I don’t like that show. The characters talk to the camera. I find that highly annoying.
    So I’m not exactly thrilled, but I buy the first three seasons after school. It’s weird what love can make you do. You do these crazy things before you can even recognize yourself. If it was anybody else, there’s no way I’d start watching some show they like. Dad gave me a credit card for clothes and things, but he’ll be checking the bills every month. I can justify my purchase because they’re having a sale where if you buy three seasons you get a free shirt. Not that I want an Office tee, but Dad doesn’t have to know that. The tee has a heart on it that says JAM in between the Jim guy and some girl. I don’t know what “Jam” is supposed to mean. I guess I’m about to find out.
    My plan was to discover where Scott lives over the weekend. I thought about asking him where he lives exactly, but that would seem even more stalkerish. I tried to find out his address, but it wasn’t listed. So I was going to keep searching his street until I found him. Except it rained for two days straight. I’m not a fan of walking around in the rain. I ended up staying in all weekend, having an Office marathon.
    And now? I absolutely love The Office .
    True, I only started watching it because of Scott. But oh my god, that show is so good. That talking-to-the-camera thing is actually really funny now that I get where it’s coming from. And the whole Jim and Pam dynamic? Totally brill. I’m hooked.
    On Monday, I wear my Jam tee to school. I nervously look around for Scott all day. I catch a glimpse of him down the hall before fifth period, turning a corner in the opposite direction. My heart flutters. I can’t wait for him to see my shirt. It takes forever for seventh period to end.
    Scott’s already at his desk when I get to class. I saunter over. He notices my shirt, smiling all big.
    I go, “Is it just me, or does it smell like updog in here?”
    “Yes!” Scott is so cute when he’s excited. The only other time I’ve seen him like this was when his lacrosse team won state last year. “I