Skateboard Renegade Read Online Free PDF Page B

at Coleridge.
    He wondered if Amherst would be any better than Brighton. Everyone always said it was a better school. And when he let himself
     think about it, Zach was kind of excited about working on the high-tech, cutting-edge equipment Amherst offered.
    But his parents hadn't sent him to Amherst for the education. No, they'd sent him there to separate him from his best friends
     in the world! They didn't deserve the satisfaction of seeing him get excited about it.
    He got out at curbside in front of the school, and his parents called, “Good luck!” Zach ignored them. Hitching up his backpack,
     he turned away from the car and didn't look back as it drove off.
    The first thing he noticed about Amherst Academy was that nobody, not one person, looked anything like he did.
    He searched everywhere in the crowd of students milling around in front of the school. Most were dressed preppy style. Obviously,
     some kids still let their parents choose their clothes. “A lot of geeks and no freaks,” Zach muttered to himself unhappily.
    The next thing he noticed was that he was drawing stares from some of the kids. They were looking at him with a mix of curiosity,
     amusement, and disgust—as though he were some weird new insect who was going to be sharing a classroom with them.
    Great. This was going to be just great.
    Zach decided that the best thing to do was ignore them. He went up the steps and into the main hallway, where a big sign said PLEASE TAKE A SEAT IN THE AUDITORIUM .
    Zach sat in the back row, where he got a good view of the rest of the student body as they filed in. He hadn't realized just
     how much of an outsider his “new look” would make him here. He'd done everything to fit in with his
old
friends. But he didn't go to school with them anymore. These kids were the ones he was going to have to fit in with from
     now on. And he looked all wrong!
    The auditorium was filling up fast, and the seats around Zach were soon occupied. On his left was a fat kid with thick black
     glasses and braces.
Boy,
thought Zach.
Three strikes against him. Poor guy.
    “Hi!” the kid said in a squeaky voice, giving Zacha smile full of metal. “I'm Benny Santangelo. Seven-four.” He stuck his hand out, and Zach took it.
    “Zach Halper. What do you mean, seven-four?” The kid looked to be about five foot two.
    “My class,” Benny explained. “What's yours?”
    “Oh. I don't even know,” Zach replied. “Let's see here …” He fished out his program card. Benny took it and looked it over.
    “Lucky us!” he said, pointing to a number at the top right of the card. “We're classmates!”
    “Great,” Zach said, trying to force a smile. He was sure the kid was going to want to sit next to him, and eat lunch with
     him, and be his new best friend. Heelllppp!!!
    The kid to the right of Zach said hello to Benny. “This is Zach,” Benny told him. “I forget your last name.”
    “Halper,” Zach said.
    “Hi. I'm Bernard.” The kid stuck out his hand for Zach to shake. It felt like a cold, dead fish.
    Bernard was about a foot taller than Benny, but they both had exactly the same glasses. The piece of tape was even in the
     same spot—although Benny had actually used a Band-Aid on his.
    “Pleased to meet you,” Zach mumbled, then swung around to look elsewhere.
    Bernard, seeing that Zach was ignoring him, started talking to Benny. Zach listened to them jabber about the fact that they
     were both taking Algebra 1A and Geophysical Science. Benny told Bernard he'd lost ten pounds over the summer, and Bernard
     said he'd grown six inches. The two boys made a date to play chess after school.
    Zach sat there, rolling his eyes.
    Brian Jeffers was right,
he thought.
This place is nerd heaven!

6
    Z ach trudged through his first classes like a robot. He said hi to the few kids who said hi to him. The others he ignored.
     He could hear them whispering behind his back. Zach was feeling worse than ever about his new look—the