Free 101 Ways to Bug Your Friends and Enemies by Lee Wardlaw

“I was there too, you know. He’s that Hawaiian guy on the golf team. The team that was gonna whomp me. How could I forget the guy who insulted you and Gadabout by calling mini-golf jungle ball.”
    â€œI’m sure he didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” Hayley said. “And he stopped the team from whomping you, remember?”
    â€œNo, your dad did that.”
    Get out now, Steve. Quick — before you start blubbering .
    I pretended to gasp at my watch. “Yikes, I’ve gotta go! Mr. Handsome isn’t the only guy starting his first day at Patrick Henry.”
    Hayley caught my arm.
    I froze. Afraid if I moved, she’d let go of my arm. Afraid if I moved, she wouldn’t let go of my arm.
    â€œThat’s the other reason I wanted to talk to you this morning,” she said. “I have a couple of favors to ask.”
    â€œWhat kind of favors?”
    â€œGoldie did a little investigative journalism for me—”
    â€œYou mean snooping ?”
    â€œâ€”and found out Cullen’s got a computer class with you. Since you’re such a computer whiz, I was hoping you might help him—if he needs help, that is. Goldie says he got into some nasty trouble when he lived in Hawaii, so he’s on academic probation here. If he doesn’t get a B in every class, the coach will kick him off the golf team.”
    â€œWe wouldn’t want that,” I said under my breath.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œI said, what’s the other favor?”
    She tucked her bangs behind one ear. The golf ball earrings quivered. “I’m embarrassed to ask. But you’re my best friend. I don’t trust anyone else . . .”
    â€œAsk what?”
    â€œWould you ask him . . . ask Cullen . . . if he likes me?”
    SPLAT.
    I didn’t know I had a second heart. But there it was, oozing to the floor, joining its mate in a gory gelatinous puddle.
    â€œI’m late,” I said.
    I dove into the tunnel. Scrambled gopher-like through the black. Welcomed the whimpers of my shredded knees. That was pain I understood.
    â€œSteve, wait!”
    Hayley scrambled out behind me, hair mussed, skirt dusty.
    â€œI feel rotten,” she said. “I shouldn’t have made you come here this morning. I shouldn’t have bugged you with favors. I’m sorry! That was inconsiderate of me. This is your first day of high school ! You must have other stuff—important stuff—on your mind. Forget I asked. It’s lame to think that he . . . that I . . . we only saw each other once, anyway. Love at first sight! Huh. It’s crazy. It doesn’t exist, right?”
    The fog swirled around Hayley’s head like a halo. Wet diamonds clung to her cheeks, her lashes.
    In a voice I didn’t recognize, I said, “All right. I’ll ask him.”
    â€œWhat? Really? Are you sure you don’t mind? Oh, thank you .” Hayley scrunched me in a hug. I smelled sun-warmed peaches. A silken thread of her hair caught on my upper lip.
    Then she was skipping backward to Gadabout’s gates. “Meet me for lunch! Our usual spot, under the pine tree, behind Jefferson gym. You can tell me everything then. Not just what Cullen says, but about your first morning as a high-schooler. And who it is you like! We didn’t have time to talk about that. And I want to hear about the convention!”
    â€œSure.”
    Hayley halted mid-skip. Her SOS powered up. Locked on target.
    Yep, she knew. She knew me well, Hayley did. Kind of . . .
    â€œMr. Patterson doesn’t want to buy the Nice Alarm, does he,” she said.
    I shoved my hands into my pockets. “Nope.”
    â€œHuh. What does he know.” Defiance blazed in her eyes. “You’ll keep inventing anyway. The Nice Alarm will get built. No. Matter. What . Right?”
    â€œRight.”
    Hayley placed a hand over her heart, eyes still ablaze. “This is gonna sound corny, Steve, but