The Detention Club Read Online Free PDF Page A

was really fast—during one recess she actually beat Trent and some other guys in a race, but then in fifth grade she gave up her running career to focus on riding horses, and as a result her legs weakened and she fell to third-fastest girl in the grade, and people just weren’t as crazy about her as before. She looked different, I noticed. Not just taller, but she was wearing makeup and looked older than us.
    â€œWhat’d you do this summer?” I asked Sally. “I mean, besides age ten years.”
    â€œIt was boring. I hung out at the pool every day, but I met my new BFF, Angie. She went to Hemenway,” Sally said, pointing at the girl next to her.
    â€œHi,” I said to Angie, and she kinda just stared back at me.
    â€œWhat about you guys?” Sally asked.
    Drew looked at me. I figured Trent and his basketball buds spent the entire summer playing hoops, and Carson spent his time in Mexico City, and it sounded like everyone else hung out at the pool, so I assumed we’d definitely collected the most mica. Everyone was paying attention to us, so I figured it was a good time to make the official announcement. I nodded at him.
    â€œPete and I more than doubled our mica collection,” he said.
    At first nobody said anything.
    â€œYou guys collect mica?” Angie asked.
    â€œThat’s what we do at our school,” I reminded her. “I guess you don’t have any on your side of the town. Drew and I had the most at the end of the year, but we barely had thirty pieces, remember, Sally?”
    â€œNobody plays with mica anymore, Pete!” Carson snickered. “That is so fifth grade.”
    Everyone laughed.
    â€œWe don’t play with it,” Drew shouted. “Mica’s not a toy. If you knew anything about it, you’d know that you have to be really careful with it, and besides, you don’t—”
    Thankfully, the bell rang for first period, so Drew couldn’t continue doing what he mistakenly thought was effective damage control. Everyone raced out of the room, including Drew, while I sat back in my seat, thinking about what Carson had said. “ So fifth grade”? What was that supposed to mean?

Chapter Six
    I N ADDITION TO FINDING OUT I didn’t have any classes with Drew and then discovering that nobody seemed to remember the mica contest, I found out that all the teachers were in love with Sunny. I mean, I’d already assumed this, but it weirded me out that in all my classes that morning, the teachers introduced themselves to me and raved about how great Sunny was.
    â€œAny relation to Sunny Lee?” Mrs. Ryder, my first-period math teacher, asked.
    â€œThat’s my sister,” I said.
    â€œSunny was my brightest student last year,” she said, then added, “I expect big things from you this year, Peter.”
    I didn’t say anything.
    â€œPeter may be smartest,” Sally said. “But he still plays with mica!”
    Everyone laughed.
    â€œI’m not sure you’re in a position to tease me like that—let’s not forget that last we checked, you were only the third-fastest girl in the grade,” I pointed out.
    Sally stared at me.
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” she said.
    Mr. Vensel, my English teacher, and even Mrs. Lewis, my art teacher, both noted my relationship to Sunny. Then they’d start talking about the class, and kids would pull out their notebooks and take notes. I didn’t feel like I had to do this because I’ve always been ahead in class, so instead I stared out the windows all morning, thinking of things Drew and I could collect outside during recess. That was the key, I figured. Everyone had forgotten about mica, so we just had to remind everyone how good we were at collecting stuff in general.
    I realized we couldn’t just collect something we’d already collected back in elementary school. It would have to be something different. I stared