Free Friends for Never by Nancy Krulik Page A

quiz, Katie thought about life in class 4A. Sure, they had to do regular work, like this quiz. But they also did a lot of really great stuff, like yodeling and telling jokes.
    And the kids in class 4A were the only ones in the whole school to have a snake for a class pet. No hamster, guinea pig, or turtle could ever be as cool as Slinky the Snake!
    It was hard to believe that Katie had ever wanted to be in class 4B with Ms. Sweet. Not that Ms. Sweet wasn’t a nice teacher. She was. But Mr. Guthrie was a lot cooler.
    Then again, Katie’s two best friends, Jeremy Fox and Suzanne Lock, were in class 4B. Katie missed them sometimes. It would have been nice to be with them all day.
    But Katie still got to see Suzanne and Jeremy at recess, during track team practices, and on the weekends after her Saturday morning clarinet lessons. They still had lots of fun together.
    Katie had learned something really important in fourth grade. She didn’t have to be with her best friends all day long. No matter what class they were in, Katie and her pals were friends forever!

Chapter 2
    “Hey, Katie,” Emma W. called as Katie walked out onto the playground after lunch. “You want to jump rope with Mandy and me?”
    “Sure,” Katie agreed happily. “Just let me find Suzanne. She’s probably with Jessica. We can all play.”
    Katie knew Emma W. would like it if they all played together. Last year, when Emma was in class 3B, Jessica had been her best friend. But this year, they were in different classes. Emma didn’t get to hang out with Jessica all the time anymore.
    “Okay,” Emma W. said. “But hurry up. I have a new rhyme I want to try.”
    Katie looked around the playground for Suzanne and Jessica. She found them standing next to the big oak tree.
    “Hi, you guys,” Katie said as she approached Suzanne and Jessica. “Wanna jump rope with Emma W., Mandy, and me?”
    Suzanne sighed. “Jump rope?” she asked. “Are you kidding?”
    Katie seemed surprised. “Kidding?”
    “We don’t do that kind of stuff,” Suzanne declared. Jessica nodded in agreement.
    “But you jumped rope all the time last year,” Katie reminded Suzanne.

    “Exactly,” Suzanne replied. “In third grade. But we’re in fourth grade now. Jumping rope is for babies.”
    “Oh,” Katie said. She felt embarrassed. She hadn’t thought of it that way. “So what are you guys going to do?”
    “Just hang out here and talk,” Suzanne replied.
    Katie frowned. She had to get back to where Emma and Mandy were waiting for her. They needed at least three people to play jump rope. “I don’t really have time to talk,” she said.
    “That’s okay,” Suzanne replied. “Our conversation is private anyway.”
    Katie couldn’t believe it! Suzanne, her best friend, was telling her to go away. She glared at Suzanne.
    “Don’t look so angry,” Suzanne told her. “It’s not about you. It’s about my modeling class.”
    “What’s so private about that?” Katie asked her. “Everyone knows you’re taking a modeling class.”
    “Yes, but she’s my new assistant.” Suzanne pointed to Jessica.
    “Your what?”
    “I’m going to need an assistant when I’m a famous model,” Suzanne explained to Katie. “So I have to teach her all about modeling stuff. That’s what we’re talking about. We’ve started a modeling club.”
    “What kind of stuff do you do in a modeling club?” Katie asked.
    “Oh, you know, talk about new hairstyles and lip glosses.” Suzanne stuck out her bottom lip. “I’m wearing grape gloss with glitter.”
    “Oh, I thought you ate a purple Popsicle at lunch,” Katie said.
    Suzanne rolled her eyes. “That’s why you’re not my assistant,” she said.
    “That was really mean, Suzanne,” Katie replied.
    Suzanne paused for a moment. “Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you . . .” she began.
    “Tell me what?”
    “My name’s not Suzanne anymore.”
    Katie stared at her. “Excuse me?”
    “Suzanne is too plain a name for