Revenge of the Geek Read Online Free PDF Page A

said, sounding as condescending as ever.
    “That’s true. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves,”Mrs. Gordon said. “Today I’ll introduce the book to you—the setting, the main characters, the historical background—so you’ll have a point of reference when you begin reading.”
    Tabitha looked disgruntled. She loved showing off, and obviously resented not being praised for her superior knowledge.
    Feeling cheered up, I opened my laptop and began taking notes.
     

    When the bell rang, signaling the end of class, there was the usual flurry of activity. Laptops were stowed away, book bags were zipped up, people began chatting. By the time I’d packed up my things and turned around, Nora was gone. She must have scurried out of the classroom first thing.
    I kept an eye out for Nora for the rest of the morning, but we didn’t have any other classes together. I had independent study for math with Mr. Gordon—husband of Mrs. Gordon and the coach for the math team—then, after math, I had physics with Mr. Forrester. Finn and Charlie were both taking physics with me, and Charlie was still visibly annoyed at Finn. I shared a table with Charlie, and we sat behind Finn and his buddy, Tate Metcalf.
    I didn’t see Nora until lunchtime. Lunch at Geek High was served family style. The cafeteria staff set out platters of sandwiches, crudités, and cookies on each round table and everyone helped themselves. This was meant to foster a sense of camaraderie between the students, but instead, there’s such competition to get to the edible sandwiches (turkey, ham, chicken club) and avoid the inedible ones (tuna, egg salad, pimento loaf) that Geek High students have been known to rush the lunch room and dive at the platters. You’d think the cafeteria staff would have noticed the strong preferences, but if they did, it didn’t move them to make any changes to the menu. Maybe they enjoyed sadistically torturing us with goopy brown tuna salad studded with chunks of soggy celery.
    During the usual mad dash into the lunch room, I saw Nora standing to one side, looking lost and a little overwhelmed at the swarm of activity around the lunch tables. I fought my way through the crowd and headed over to her.
    “Hi,”I said. “Do you want to sit with us?”
    Nora hesitated, still chewing on her bottom lip, but finally she nodded.
    “It gets crazy in here at lunchtime,”I said as I led her to the table where Finn and Charlie were already seated, carefully guarding a platter of chicken club sandwiches.
    “Yeah, I noticed,”Nora said.
    “It’s the natural consequence of limited supply and increased demand. Just avoid the egg salad at all costs. Trust me.”I slid into an empty seat next to Finn, and gestured for Nora to sit next to me. “Nora, this is Finn and Charlie. Guys, this is Nora.”
    Finn gave Nora a smart salute and said, “S’up?”
    Charlie smiled at her and said, “Hi, Nora.”
    “Hi,”Nora said shyly.
    “You’re new here, right? How’s your first day going?”Charlie asked.
    “It’s fine,”Nora said unconvincingly. “I’m just trying to learn my way around.”
    “Has the official hazing started yet?”Finn asked.
    “Hazing?”Nora repeated nervously.
    “No one’s told you about that? Whoops, my bad. Forget I said anything. You’ll find out soon enough,”Finn said menacingly, although he softened the effect with a goofy wriggle of his eyebrows.
    “Just ignore him. There’s no hazing,”I told Nora, handing her the platter of sandwiches. Finn made a wild grab for the last chicken club. I quickly moved it out of his way. “Finn! You’ve already had three!”
    “I’m a growing boy. I need nourishment,”Finn complained.
    “Then have a tuna,”I said.
    “Thanks, but I’d rather eat glass,”Finn said.
    “There’s an idea,”Charlie said. “Go for it.”
    Nora pushed the plate back toward Finn. “It’s okay. You can have it. I’m not that hungry.”
    “Wa-hoo,”Finn said. He grabbed for the