Free The Clueless Girl's Guide to Being a Genius by Janice Repka

of his mouth and stuck it on my nose. That was the day I crossed him off my “potential boyfriend” list.
    I wanted Salvador to move, but if I made too much of a fuss, he would tease me about liking Adam and then Adam would walk in and it would be a disaster. “Whatever,” I said.
    Practice lasted one and a half hours, and my salad was so awful I had to beg Professor Wigglesmith to trade so I wouldn’t starve. That was the bad news. The good news was that doing math together in a group made it bearable, and Professor Wigglesmith said we were making great progress. When practice was over, she rushed off to plan “a surprise.” The rest of us scattered. I started to walk home, but heard someone behind me, turned, and saw Adam.
    â€œHey, Mindy, wait up. Can I walk with you?”
    â€œSure.” Adam lived on the other side of town, so walking me home was totally a good sign.
    â€œCool, isn’t it?”
    â€œI don’t know. Except for the puddles, I think it’s kind of nice out.”
    â€œNo. The other cool. I mean, the math team and the competition and all?”
    Why did I have to be so stupid? “Oh, yeah, I guess.”
    â€œMiss Wigglesmith’s not like the other teachers.”
    â€œOf course not,” I said. “She’s thirteen.”
    â€œI mean, she doesn’t look down on us like some of the other teachers do, and she doesn’t assume that we’re lazy just because we don’t get all the answers right.”
    When I dreamed of having Adam to myself, this was not the conversation I had in mind. “So, are you going to the dance?” I asked.
    â€œWhat dance?”
    â€œYou know, the dance, the Spring Fling, next month. I totally wanted to go last year, but they have that stupid rule about having to be in eighth grade.”
    â€œI hadn’t thought about it.” He shifted his backpack. “I’ve been so busy with the Great Math Showdown, it’s almost like I’ve been living in another world. My dad’s an engineer, you know.”
    I shrugged, wondering what that had to do with anything.
    â€œHe was really disappointed about my math grade when we had Miss Snipal. Not that he rubbed it in or anything; still, I knew. He tried to help with my homework, but you know how parents are.”
    â€œOh,” I said, wondering how to steer the conversation to the dance. This was my big chance to score a date with a total hottie, but Adam wasn’t making it easy.
    He ran a hand through his prickly blond hair. “You should have seen him when I said we were entering the Great Math Showdown and that I was team captain. I’ve taken home a lot of trophies for wrestling and basketball, but my parents care more about academics. Winning the Great Math Showdown would really mean something to them.”
    â€œI’ve got about a million twirl trophies,” I said.
    â€œTwirl?”
    â€œYou know, baton twirling.”
    â€œOh.”
    â€œThat’s how a lot of people react. They think it’s just a bunch of girls in sparkly leotards playing with metal sticks. The thing is, nowadays, it’s treated more like a real sport. Countries from all over, like Japan, Poland, and South Africa, have teams that compete in the World Championships. Baton is even part of the Junior Olympics. If enough countries participated, it could become an Olympic sport.” Then I remembered I was trying to get a date, not to give a baton appreciation lesson. “Plus there’s dancing in it, too. Do you like to dance?”
    â€œI don’t know,” said Adam.
    We were at the beauty shop.
    â€œThis is where I live, above the shop. My mom is the Tiffany part of Tiffany’s House of Beauty and Nails.” I pointed to the sign with this week’s saying: “Bald Man’s Special: Buy One Cut & Blow Dry, Get One Free.”
    â€œOh,” said Adam. He hesitated, and my heart raced. Is he going