Revenge of the Geek Read Online Free PDF Page B

think we get to pick our assignments. The editor in chief does that. And, anyway, I’m not really interested in writing an exposé,”I said.
    “Why? What do you want to write?”Charlie asked.
    “Fiction,”I said. “There’s always at least one fiction piece per edition.”
    “Hmm,”Charlie said. She looked like she wanted to say something, but decided against it. Instead, she picked up a carrot stick and chewed thoughtfully on it.
    “What?”I asked.
    “Nothing,”Charlie said.
    “Come on, just spit it out.”
    “It’s just that I’ve heard there’s a lot of competition for the fiction spot,”she said.
    “Where’d you hear that from?”I asked.
    “Tabitha Stone,”Charlie admitted.
    “Uh-oh,”Finn said, continuing to eat the stale peanut butter cookie.
    “What?”I asked.
    “You’ve always had a problem with Tabitha Stone,”Finn said.
    “No, I haven’t,”I said.
    “Yes, you have,”Charlie and Finn said together.
    I glowered at both of them. It figured that the first time the two of them had gotten along all day was at my expense.
    “Just because I don’t particularly like Tabitha doesn’t mean I have a problem with her,”I said loftily.
    Charlie and Finn exchanged a meaningful glance. Nora watched all of us from underneath lowered lashes.
    “Face it, M. You’ve been jealous of Tabitha ever since she had that book of poetry published,”Finn said.
    “ Self -published,”I corrected him. “Her dad paid for it to be published. Anyone can do that. There’s nothing to be jealous of.”
    “Whatever,”Finn said, shrugging.
    “No, not whatever ,”I said. I could feel my temper gaining heat. “That’s what happened.”
    “I thought her book received positive reviews,”Charlie said. “In fact, wasn’t it mentioned in the New York Times Book Review ?”
    “So? It was still self-published!”I said.
    “Relax, Miranda. All I’m saying is that having a publishing credit has got to work in Tabitha’s favor. I don’t want you to be disappointed if she’s picked to write the fiction piece for the fall issue,”Charlie said.
    “So you think Tabitha is going to be picked over me?”I asked indignantly. “Thanks for the support!”
    After all, I’d been a finalist in the Winston Creative Writing Contest. Sure, I hadn’t won, but that was because I hadn’t been able to attend the finals. They were held the same weekend as the Mu Alpha Theta state finals, and the Geek High MATh team would have been disqualified for being a player short if I hadn’t gone with them. But surely being a finalist in a prestigious national writing contest was just as impressive as paying someone to publish your maudlin, incomprehensible poetry.
    “You know I’m your biggest fan,”Charlie said. “Finn, too.”
    “Actually, not so much—”Finn began. But before he could finish, he said, “Ouch! Why do you guys keep kicking me?”
    “Sorry,”Charlie said sweetly. She turned to Nora, who had been watching us all silently but intently. “So, Nora. What’s on your schedule?”
    “This is her not-so-subtle attempt to change the subject,”I told Nora.
    Nora stood abruptly. “Actually, I have to go,”she said.
    We all looked up at her in surprise. There were still fifteen minutes left before the bell rang.
    “I have to see my guidance counselor. I was put in a biology class, but I already took that at my old school,”Nora explained.
    “So? If you take it again, you’ll ace it without having to do any of the work,”Finn said.
    “But she’d have to do the frog dissection again,”Charlie reminded him.
    “So? Big deal,”Finn said.
    Charlie and I both snorted with laughter.
    “Finn, you threw up during the frog dissection unit,”I reminded him.
    “I did not!”
    “Yes, you did, too,”Charlie said, giggling. “It was classic.”
    “Lies. It’s all lies, I tell you,”Finn said.
    Nora shifted from foot to foot, looking like she wanted to flee.
    “Good luck with the guidance counselor,”I