Front Page Face-Off Read Online Free PDF Page B

slapped the table.
    â€œBeatrice, this is why I don’t like you chewing those candy necklaces!” said Mrs. Bradford. “Does anyone know the Heimlich?”
    â€œI’m fine!” Jenner protested. “Delilah, go ahead with your funeral … uh … idea.”
    I knew I was about to make her head explode, but I had no other choice. “Well, this summer I saw Renee Mercer eating out of a trash can—”
    â€œBwa-ha-ha!”
    The first raucous laugh came from somewhere in the back of the room. Several other people joined in.
    It wasn’t the initial response I’d hoped for, but at least I’d gotten some attention.
    â€œThat’s not the whole story,” I said. “See, it was an ice-cream cone that belonged to her ex-boyfriend, and she was stalking him at the mall.”
    Now everyone was chattering, even more so than about the shoplifting teen. I’d attached a face and name to the situation, something Ava hadn’t done, making my story seem raw and real. With the buzz I was already building,the article was sure to explode once it reached the student body, lifting me to Junior Global Journalist acclaim.
    And then I heard a voice at the end of the table say five dooming words: “Wait until Renee hears this.”
    A girl from the sports section, who I now recognized as one of Renee’s lacrosse teammates, whipped her cell phone out of her purse.
    Beside me, I heard the smack of palm against forehead as Jenner sang, “I toooold you.”
    Other kids caught on to Lacrosse Girl’s idea, and soon thumbs started to fly across keypads, as the story of Renee’s summer adventure was texted to other classrooms … and of course, to Renee herself.
    â€œWait! Whoa!” I leaned across the table, though Lacrosse Girl was still several arm lengths from me. “This conversation doesn’t need to leave the room yet. It’s just an idea!”
    â€œA bad idea!” chimed in Jenner.
    I glared at her and she shrugged. “I’m only trying to help.”
    â€œI wasn’t going to use Renee’s name in the article,” I insisted. “My sources were going to be anonymous … like Ava’s!” I pointed at her, hoping to spread a little of my impending doom.
    Jenner had been right. It was one thing to take on the Little Debbies, girls I could beat down with a wet noodle;Renee Mercer was an entirely different beast. She was going to make me the school’s first obituary listing.
    â€œCell phones away before I take them away!” shouted Mrs. Bradford. “We’ve obviously got some great articles for our next issue, but Delilah”—she turned to me—“you will need to keep your sources anonymous when you write your piece.”
    I flopped back into my seat and groaned. “If I live to write it.”
    As the meeting continued, I became aware of a strange chain reaction at the opposite end of the table. It started with the girl who’d texted Renee.
    I watched her check her phone, then clap a hand to her mouth and giggle. The boy to her right leaned close, and she showed him the message. His eyes widened, and the boy to his right leaned over so the first boy could whisper to him. The second boy passed the message to the girl beside him, and she tapped Jenner on the shoulder.
    I tried to read the girl’s lips, though I knew the message couldn’t hold anything promising. A moment later, my suspicions were confirmed. Jenner cringed, scribbled on a piece of paper, and passed it to me.
    Renee is going to tie you to the tetherball pole and bat you around.
    I raised an eyebrow and Jenner scribbled on the paper some more.
    She’s going to the gym right now to tape up her hands.
    I frowned in confusion, and Jenner mimed a few boxing punches.
    Just then, my sense of self-preservation kicked in.
    I grabbed my book bag and stood up. “Mrs. Bradford, I want to talk to the headmaster about