Quite an Undertaking - Devon's Story Read Online Free PDF Page B

at the end of the week. I didn’t realize it was so soon.”
    I had no idea what Melissa Cox had to do with me, but I kept my eyes on Mrs. Gibson and had to remember to breathe in and out.
    She peered at me over her glasses. “I want you to take her place as girls’ sports editor.”
    My eyes flew wide open. Editor? I wasn’t getting dropped from the class? I’m sure the relief showed on my face, but before I could answer, Mrs. Gibson held up her hand to stop my response.
    “Devon, I don’t want your answer yet. Talk it over with Mike. He can tell you what the job entails, but I would like your answer first thing tomorrow morning. Fair enough?”
    Fair? Absolutely. I nodded and said, “Yes, ma’am,” way too enthusiastically. How could I not take an editor position? So what if I had never played a single sport at Grasse River High School, that wouldn’t stop me. Three minutes earlier, I thought I would need to find another class to take during first period, but all she wanted to do was promote me. Why didn’t she just say that on Friday?
    When she ended the staff meeting, I slumped back in my chair with a sigh of relief. I didn’t have a moment to let my promotion sink in because Mike whipped his chair next to mine, so close, in fact, that our arms touched.
    “Congrats, Devon.” He held out his hand. “You’ll make a great editor.”
    I shook his hand and hoped he couldn’t feel mine trembling. “Thanks. I had no idea.” I let go of his hand, but he held onto mine longer than necessary. I pretended to scoot my chair a little closer to my computer, but all I really wanted to do was move my arm away from his.
    “You’ll be fine. Do you want a rundown on what you have to do? If you take the job that is.”
    I knew in my heart of hearts that I’d accept the position, but I would take the day to weigh the pros and cons. Cons? What cons?
    “Sure, tell me what I’m in for, but don’t scare me off, okay?”
    He winked at me and then smiled in such way that was supposed to melt my heart or something. How could I tell him that somebody had already beaten him to it? What sucked big time was that I couldn’t tell her how I felt. And now Mike seemed to be turning into another problem for me. Why was life getting so complicated all of a sudden?
    He outlined the many and varied duties of a sports editor. First, I had to find out who the girls’ sports reporters were and what sport they covered. Most would come from the Journalism I class—the sophomores—not our class. Next, I had to get their fall wrap-up articles, which were probably in Melissa’s network folder, and then edit, edit, edit. Mike told me that fixing bad writing was a tough gig, but he also told me to ask him if I needed help being diplomatic. Apparently, I had more articles to edit than he did. The girls had seven sports in the fall— volleyball, soccer, tennis, golf, cheerleading, cross-country running, and field hockey while the guys only had five— football, golf, soccer, volleyball, and cross-country running. Just when I thought the editor’s job wouldn’t be too taxing, Mike complicated matters by pointing out that each sport had a junior varsity team, too. He moved his seat closer to mine again, and then reminded me that all varsity winter sports teams needed previews for the upcoming issue.
    I took a deep breath and subtly moved my chair away. The girls’ sports editing job sounded colossal, and with the boys’ sports editor coming on to me big time, I wondered what I was getting myself into.
     
     
    I OPENED THE door to the cafeteria courtyard, but shut it fast when a gust of cold air made me shiver. We’d probably have to eat inside from now on until the earth thawed out again in April, so I claimed a table inside.
    I bit into my turkey sandwich while I kept an eye out for Gail and Travis. I stood up and waved my arms when they walked into the cafeteria holding hands. Gail waved back when she saw me. Travis headed to the food