Free My Best Frenemy by Julie Bowe

plopping down on the bench.
    “Suit yourself, ” Mom says, brushing past me. “But I plan to go shopping at the mall on Saturday morning. ”
    I do not storm out of the room.
    I just turn around and do a slow stomp up the stairs.
    I give my bedroom door a very small slam.

Chapter 10
    Dear Stella,
    I didn’t sleep so good Last night partly because I have been feeling a little bad about arguing with my mom, and partly because I checked the school’s Lunch menu that we keep on the fridge. I was hoping for Salisbury steak today, even though I hate it. Because guess what we are having?
    Macaroni and cheese.
    When I start yelling about a mouse in my macaroni it will really sound true. Which will make everyone else start yelling, too. And when Mrs. Kettleson comes out of the kitchen to see what all the yelling is about and doesn’t find one tiny paw or pink tail in my macaroni . . . I’m in for it. Mrs. Kettleson is not a big fan of yelling unless she’s the one doing it.
    Bye (maybe forever),
Ida
    I see Stacey before school, but I don’t mention my dare because all the other girls are around. Plus, I’m still thinking about what happened earlier at the bus stop.
    We were all just standing there, not talking because it was cold and sometimes it feels warmer if you bury your chin in your collar and don’t move your lips. But then Tess did a big sneeze. A monster sneeze. Her face was snot city. So was her coat.
    She looked at Quinn for help, but he just shook his head and said, “Nu-uh. No way. ” So I started fishing around in my pocket for a tissue even though I’m not a big fan of cleaning up snot, but before I could even check both pockets, Jenna said, “Here, ” and handed Tess a handkerchief made out of actual cloth. Tess took it and tried to wipe her face, but it didn’t work very well because it’s hard to grip a hankie with mittens on.
    So Jenna picked the hankie up off the ground and wiped Tess’s face and cleaned the splatters off her coat, even though they were already frozen on, but still, she tried. Then Jenna bunched up the hankie and stuffed it back in her pocket.
    I was mostly in shock. Partly because she kept all that snot, and partly because she had helped Tess without anyone telling her to.
    I’m still wondering what has gotten into her when I sit down at my desk. But then Randi walks by making squeaky mouse sounds, so my mind gets right back to worrying about lunch again.
    I’m dreading lunch so much, I can hardly even enjoy the other girls doing their dares. I barely giggle when Mr. Crow erases the board and leaves chalk streaks behind. When Jolene “accidentally” lets our hamster loose and it takes most of math to catch him, I don’t smile at all even though missing math is one of my favorite things to do.
    But, worse yet, when Brooke touches Dylan’s shoe and then howls all the way to our classroom sink, I’m so busy keeping my worry locked inside, I can’t even open my mouth to laugh along with everyone else.
    “What is going on ? ” Mr. Crow asks sharply. He hands Brooke a wet wipe and sends her back to her desk. “First there’s chalk in my eraser. Then the hamster gets out. Yesterday, I found pencil shavings in my tea, and now Brooke is acting like she touched hazardous waste. ”
    Mr. Crow steps to the front of the classroom. He crosses his arms and gives us all a very serious squint. “Anyone care to enlighten me? ”
    All the boys shrug.
    All the girls count ceiling tiles.
     
     
    When it’s time for lunch, I stand in line between Quinn and Tom, wondering what I should do. If I ask Stacey to help me get out of the dare, she will probably tell me to stop worrying because everyone will think it’s so funny. Randi will think it’s funny, I know, because she’s the one who thought up the dare. And Brooke will think it’s funny because Stacey does. And probably Meeka and Jolene will agree.
    The only one left to wonder about is Jenna. I glance at her. She’s standing in