Access Denied (and other eighth grade error messages) Read Online Free PDF

said.
    “What?” I said. “You don’t even know them.”
    “I don’t have to know them to know how they feel,” Reede said, with an authority that made me believe her. “He likes you,
     she can feel it, and she’s totally jealous and trying not to show it. Didn’t you hear how fake her ‘hi’ was?”
    I didn’t know how to answer that. If I said I had noticed, then it would be like I knew she was jealous of me and that sounded
     self-centered. But if I said I didn’t notice, it would seem like I was a totally unobservant dork who couldn’t read anyone’s
     body language.
    “Play the innocent bystander if you want, Erin,” Reede said. “But that guy is totally into you and his little girlfriend is
     going to be solo very soon.”
    I looked at her.
    “I think I just made your day,” she said, walking backward down the hall. “You can thank me later.” She turned around and
     picked up her pace, leaving me shaking my head. How could one person be so complicated? One minute Reede’s dissing my look,
     the next she’s saying Mark is sending me “energy surges” and is going to break up with Kara. I was so confused as I looked
     for Mr. F that I nearly barreled into Puppet Porter—I mean Mrs. Porter—our principal.
    “Watch where you’re going, Miss Swift,” she said, as she placed a hand on my shoulder to steer me out of oncoming traffic.
     “Staying out of trouble so far, I hope?”
    “Yes, Mrs. Porter,” I said. “That’s my plan.”
    “Excellent, excellent,” she said. “And how are your puppets?”
    “I don’t have any puppets, Mrs. Porter.” I sighed. Ever since I’d hit Serena last year for calling me a puppet and had to
     talk to Mrs. Porter, who had a whole collection of puppets, she thought I had a collection, too. “But how is
your
collection?”
    “I added another marionette from Germany,” she said. “You should stop by.”
    “Maybe I will,” I said. “Right now I need to go.” I ducked down the hall toward the gym where I spotted Mr. F outside one
     of the larger custodian closets.
    “Running from trouble?” Mr. F said when I arrived, out of breath.
    “Just my past,” I said. I glanced at the open door, noticing several photos taped to it. “Were these up last year?”
    “Same kids, different photos,” Mr. F said.
    “I can’t believe I never noticed,” I said. “Who are they?”
    Mr. F emptied a box of paper towels and looked up. “Some of the best kids around.”
    “Better than us?” I joked, placing a roll of paper towels on the shelf next to the others.
    He chuckled, then pointed to a young girl, whose toothless smile filled her face. “That’s Olivia. She’s seven.” He shook his
     head. “Sweetest smile you’ll ever see and the best hugger I’ve ever met.” He picked up the empty box and set it in the hall.
     “They’re kids at a place I visit.”
    “They’re cute,” I said. “I’d like to meet the best hugger.”
    “Maybe you will someday,” Mr. F said. He offered me a Tootsie Pop from his jar on the shelf. “But I bet you didn’t come here
     to talk about pictures. What’s on your mind?”
    I unwrapped the Tootsie and settled on top of a step ladder near the door. “There’s this new girl.”
    “Reede Harper,” Mr. F said. Now he was cleaning scrub brushes in the big sink, rubbing them together so the soap squished
     and squirted.
    “How did you know?” I asked. “Aren’t there a lot of new people every year?”
    “Just a hunch,” Mr. F said. “Go on.”
    “Well,” I said, “at first she seemed really stuck up, like she was too cool for everyone, but then she says things that are
     the total opposite of that.”
    “Sounds pretty normal,” Mr. F said, raising an eyebrow. “Is that all?”
    I concentrated on peeling the wrapper off my Tootsie Pop. “Reede thinks this one guy is going to break up with his girlfriend
     and that he likes someone else.”
    Mr. F smiled. “I don’t know if Mark will break up with