Revenge of the Geek (6 page)

“Can everyone please take a seat? Then we’ll get started,”Candace said. Even though she barely raised her voice—which was low and husky—she instantly commanded everyone’s attention. Candace waited for a moment while people took their seats at the long tables, and then smiled again. “Welcome to our first
Ampersand
staff meeting. I’m really excited about the upcoming year. Our theme this year will be”—Candace paused, allowing suspense to build—“the modern student.”She smiled, allowing this announcement to sink in.

Candace continued. “We want to present our readers with a look at what it’s like to be a high school student today. The challenges we face; the issues that excite us. In our first issue, we’re going to focus on problems facing students. And I hope you’re all excited to get to work, because I’m about to hand out your first assignments.”Candace picked up a lined legal pad off the table.

I looked up quickly. She’d already made story assignments? I hadn’t yet had a chance to tell Candace I’d like to be considered for the short story. Was I already too late?

“Many of you have already talked to me about what you’d like to write about, so I tried to take those preferences into account when I made the assignments,”Candace continued.

Gah!
I thought, suddenly seized with panic. People were already lobbying for the plum assignments? How did I not know that was happening?

“The cover story this month is going to be an in-depth look at SAT preparatory programs. Are they worth the money? Is one program vastly preferable to another? Are the program administrators making irresponsible promises to students who take their courses about what they can expect in test performance? Because of the size and scope of this article, I’m going to assign two writers to it: Peter Rossi and Coleen Duchene,”Candace said.

There was a smattering of applause. I glanced at Peter and Coleen, who were sitting at a table together, looking flushed and pleased.
They’re both seniors, so it makes sense that they get the highest-profile assignment
, I thought. The new staff members—which included, besides me, Tabitha Stone, Padma Paswan, Nate Fox, Vida Diaz, and Marc Holland—would probably be given less-important pieces to cut our teeth on.

Candace cleared her throat. “Our second feature is going to look at the extraordinary steps some parents are taking to get their kids into college, such as hiring consultants to help them with their applications.”

There was a murmuring of interest in the room. It sounded like a juicy piece. “I’ve decided to assign two of our new staff writers—Marc Holland and Padma Paswan—to write it. I have confidence they’ll do a great job,”Candace continued.

Padma let out a gasp of excitement, and Marc grinned as Nate Fox thumped him on the back. I smiled my congratulations at Padma. I was incredibly envious that she and Marc had gotten such a great assignment, but I was glad to know that Candace wasn’t reserving all of the best assignments for seniors. Maybe I’d get a good piece, too.

But as Candace continued down her list, giving a short description of each article and then assigning a writer to it, she didn’t mention my name once. I still had a small bubble of hope that maybe, just maybe, I’d be assigned the fiction piece. I hadn’t asked for it specifically, but the year before I had been a finalist for the prestigious Winston Creative Writing Contest. Candace knew this; in fact, it was why I’d been invited to join the staff of
The Ampersand
.

“And, finally, I’m pleased to announce that this issue’s short fiction piece will be assigned to”—Candace paused for suspense.

Say my name; say my name
, I begged silently. I could feel my heartbeat rising steadily, and I crossed my fingers in my lap.

“Tabitha Stone,”Candace said.

My heart stopped its rapid thumping, and instead felt like it was now plummeting into my stomach. As if it wasn’t bad enough that I hadn’t gotten the fiction piece, it had gone to
Tabitha
, of all people. Why her? Why not me? Jealousy snaked through me, even as I applauded politely along with the rest of the staff.

Tabitha inclined her head gracefully, as though she had just been named Queen of the World and we were her groveling subjects. “Thank you for the opportunity. I shall endeavor to do my best,”she said, sounding as pompous and condescending as ever. It took all my self-control not to roll my eyes.

“I think that’s everyone,”Candace said, putting down her notepad. “Let me know if you’d like to bounce any ideas off me. You can also talk to Mrs. Gordon. She’s agreed to be our faculty adviser again this year. Her phone number is written on the whiteboard. She said to feel free to call her at home if you need any help or advice.”

Wait
, I thought.
Wait! What about me?
I hadn’t been assigned a piece.

I looked around, trying to see whether anyone else had been left out—or noticed that my name hadn’t been called—but the rest of the staff was now chatting excitedly, all eager to get to work on their articles. Apparently, I had been the only one left out. Self-doubt suddenly cratered inside of me. What if there had been some sort of a mistake when I got the letter welcoming me to
The Ampersand
staff?

Feeling like my legs had turned into wood, I made my way up to the front of the room, where Candace stood talking to Peter Rossi. I waited while Peter went on and on about his plan to enroll in an SAT prep course—even though he’d taken the test the year before—in order to get the inside scoop on what promises were being made to students.

Candace nodded a few times as he spoke, and when it became clear that he wasn’t planning on winding down anytime soon, she finally broke in. “The problem is that I need the article in two weeks, so there probably isn’t time for you to take the course. Instead, why don’t you start by interviewing students who signed up for it last year?”

Peter looked let down—clearly he’d been relishing the idea of going undercover—but he finally agreed that considering the time limitation, this was probably the best course of action, and then he rejoined Coleen at their table. Candace turned to look at me.

“Hi,”I said. “I, um, didn’t get an assignment.”

“You didn’t?”Candace picked up her notepad and frowned down at it. “You’re Miranda Bloom, right?”

“That’s right,”I said, feeling a combination of nerves over what was going to happen with my assignment and relief that at least Candace hadn’t immediately told me that there must have been a mistake, because I wasn’t on
The Ampersand
staff.

“Oh, right, here you are,”Candace said, tapping the list with one finger. “I assigned you the piece on student athletes.”

“Student athletes?”I repeated.

“Sure. You can pick the direction you want to go in. It can be an interview, or, if you want to stay on theme, a look at the problems facing student athletes. Whichever you want.”

My first reaction was confusion. What sort of problems did student athletes face? Limited hot water in the showers? Too many pretty cheerleaders distracting them? And Geek High didn’t even have student athletes. Not really. The only sports teams we had were golf and tennis, and neither was very good.

“The main thing is, I need you to keep it short. I need only five hundred words, maximum. It’s basically going to be a filler item,”Candace continued.

“Right,”I said, absorbing this newest blow. Tabitha Stone got the fiction feature. Marc and Padma were assigned the second-most-important feature article. I got five hundred words to be used as filler. It would probably be stuck somewhere in the back of the magazine, on the same page as an advertisement for car insurance.

“Are you all set? You know what you’re doing?”Candace asked.

I nodded, wondering whether I looked as disappointed as I felt.

“Great,”Candace said, and she turned to talk to Padma, who had lined up behind me, eagerly waiting to discuss her new story assignment with the editor in chief.

“You’re upset,”Charlie said.

I nodded and stared gloomily down at my coffee mug. I’d called Charlie after the disastrous
Ampersand
meeting, and we’d arranged to meet at our favorite coffee shop, Grounded.

“I got the worst assignment,”I said. “And meanwhile, everyone else—Tabitha, Padma, Marc, everyone—got great ones.”

“Come on, not everyone,”Charlie said. “There are always lots of short pieces in
The Ampersand
. You can’t be the only one who was assigned one.”

Typical Charlie
, I thought. She had a habit of being annoyingly reasonable.

I shrugged. “Well, maybe not everyone got a great assignment. But I definitely got the worst one,”I said grudgingly.

Charlie ran a hand through her green hair, which caused it to stick up on end like a troll doll. Somehow, she still managed to look adorable.

“What you have to do is spin this in your favor,”she said.

“What does that mean?”

“Knock your article out of the park. Make it a slam dunk. Drive it off the tee.”Charlie giggled, amused by her own sports-related metaphors. I shot her my best death-ray glare. “Seriously, Miranda. Look at this as an opportunity to impress your editor. If you ace this assignment—”She dissolved into giggles again.

I stood up. “If you’re going to keep making sports jokes, I’m leaving.”

“Okay, I promise I’ll stop now,”Charlie said.

I sat back down.

“What I’m trying to say is, if you do really well on this article, I’m sure Candace will give you a better assignment next time.”

“How, exactly, am I supposed to impress her with a filler piece on a problem facing nonexistent student athletes? I can hardly do an exposéon steroid use in five hundred words,”I complained.

“You’ll think of something,”Charlie said.

“How? I’ve got nothing. Seriously, I’m drawing a complete blank.”

“Well, when I’m in the middle of a painting and get stuck, sometimes it helps if I put it aside and don’t think about it for a while,”Charlie suggested.

“So I’m supposed to think up a great idea by not thinking about it?”I asked doubtfully.

“The idea is that your subconscious mind continues to engage, while you distract your conscious mind. And then when you’re feeling happy and relaxed, good ideas will start flowing in,”Charlie said.

“I don’t know,”I said.

“Try it. It works for me,”Charlie said.

The bell that hung on the glass-front door jingled. Charlie, who was facing toward the door, looked up. Her expression darkened. I twisted around in my seat to see who had come in. It was Finn, who had one long arm slung awkwardly around Phoebe’s shoulders.

“Great,”Charlie said. “Just what I need.”

Finn’s girlfriend was tall with long legs, which she was showing off in a very short cheerleader’s outfit, and shoulder-length red hair that was pulled back in a high, bouncy ponytail secured with a blue ribbon. She was looking up at Finn and giggling at whatever he was saying.

“Does that girl ever stop laughing?”Charlie asked, her tone caustic.

“She does seem very happy,”I said.

Charlie snorted. “I’ve met Barbie dolls who are more on the ball than that chick. She’s so vapid, she makes me sick. And Finn, too, for dating her. For God’s sake, she’s a cheerleader.”

“It’s not healthy how you’re always holding in your feelings. You should let them out from time to time,”I said.

My sarcasm was rewarded with an extremely dirty look.

“Look, Charlie. I think you need to accept that this is happening. Even if you don’t see what the attraction is, Finn really likes her,”I said, leaning forward and keeping my voice low. Finn and Phoebe were still up at the counter, placing their order, but I didn’t want to take the chance I’d be overheard. “He seems really happy. I don’t think they’re going to break up anytime soon.”

“Ouch,”Charlie said, her shoulders slumping.

I nodded sympathetically. “I know. Trust me, I know.”And I did know. I’d been devastated when Hannah and Emmett first started dating. “But I think once you accept that she’s not going anywhere anytime soon, the better off you’ll be.”

Charlie was quiet for a long time. I glanced over at Finn, who had finally realized we were there. He raised a hand.

“Greetings and salutations,”he said.

“Hey, Finn,”I said. “Hi, Phoebe.”

“Hi,”Phoebe said, waving.

“We’d join you, but Phoebe and I want to spend some quality time together before cheerleading practice starts,”Finn said, pointing at his girlfriend with two fingers.

“I didn’t know you’d joined the cheerleading squad, Finn,”Charlie said.

“Very funny,”Finn said.

“There are guys on our squad,”Phoebe said. “They hold us up during the lifts.”

“But do they get to have pom-poms?”Finn asked.

“No. Only the girls have pom-poms,”Phoebe said, seemingly unaware that Finn was joking around.

Charlie smirked, and nudged me under the table.

“Two lattes, one skinny, one full fat, and one slice of carrot cake,”the barista at the counter called out.

“That’s us. Catch you ladies later,”Finn said, turning to grab the proffered plastic tray.

“Bye!”Phoebe said perkily.

They turned and went to sit at a table by the window.

“Don’t stare at them,”I instructed Charlie.