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quarter after. Maybe he was right. She hadn’t told me she wasn’t going to come, but she hadn’t said yes either.
    â€œI’ve got to go soon,” Nevin said.
    â€œWe have plenty of time until first bell, and even if you are late it’s no big deal.”
    â€œWhy don’t you just tell us a bit of the plan while we’re waiting?” Wally suggested.
    â€œI’d rather wait until—” I stopped as I saw Lisa enter the cafeteria. “Here she is,” I said. I watched her walk across the room. I noticed other guys watching her as well, turning their heads to follow her as she passed. I really was an idiot.
    â€œHey, Lisa, this is Nevin,” Wally said.
    She smiled and nodded. He looked down at the table like he was embarrassed to be around her.
    â€œLet’s hear it. You’ve got two minutes,” Lisa said. She sat down and folded her arms across her chest.
    I felt the hairs on the back of my neck bristle. I had the urge to just sit there and wait her out, not say a word for two minutes, but I thought she’d just get up and leave. I knew her well enough to know when she said two minutes, that’s how long I had. She had to be in charge, just like me.
    I took a deep breath. “Here’s my plan. The three of us are the best skaters in the entire school, maybe in the entire area.”
    â€œYou brought us here to say that?” Lisa questioned.
    I ignored her. “And we can make money, lots of money, because we are such good skaters.”
    â€œI think I’ve heard enough,” Lisa said and started to get up.
    â€œYou promised me two minutes,” I said.
    â€œGee, I wouldn’t want to break a promise or a commitment!” she snapped, glaring at me angrily.
    â€œCome on, Lisa, just listen for another minute,” Wally said. “Aren’t you curious? I am.”
    â€œYou mean you don’t know what he’s going to say either?”
    Wally shook his head.
    â€œYou said Wally was in. That was one of the only reasons I agreed to come here this morning.”
    â€œI didn’t say that!” I protested. I certainly had
implied
it, but I never
said
it. “Besides, he will be in as soon as he hears my plan.”
    Her face softened, her shoulders relaxedand she slid back down into her seat. “Fine. You have one minute left.”
    â€œIn the old days, skaters didn’t make money, they just skated. Then there were contests and the prize money started small and got bigger. The best skaters also got sponsored to ride certain boards or trucks or wheels, or wear the right clothes. Then videos started and the money was even bigger. And now the way to make money, lots and lots of money, is to video tricks and have a web site.”
    â€œThanks for the history lesson,” Lisa said.
    â€œDon’t you see?” I asked.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œMe neither,” Wally said.
    â€œI do,” Nevin said. Everybody looked at him. “You want to create your own web page, fill it with things other skaters want to see and then have pop-up and standard ads on the page to generate money.”
    â€œExactly! That’s exactly what I want to do!” This Nevin guy really was smart. “Does everybody understand?”
    â€œI understand completely,” Lisa said.“I understand that this is probably the stupidest thing you’ve ever suggested.” She started to stand up again.
    â€œAnd just what’s so stupid about it?” I barked.
    â€œHow about
everything
.”
    â€œCould you be a little more specific?”
    â€œFor starters, do you know how hard it is to create a web page?”
    â€œIt’s easy,” Nevin said, answering for me. “I’ve made lots.”
    â€œBut it would still cost money to do that,” she said.
    â€œNo, it wouldn’t,” Nevin disagreed. “Not a cent. I already have all the software, graphics and enough space to park a dozen