Free It's Not Easy Being Bad by Cynthia Voigt Page A

American pie.”
    Margalo pointed out, “At least one of them is only eleven.” This was Hadrian Klenk.
    â€œBut he’s probably the smartest kid in the whole seventh grade.”
    â€œMaybe the whole school, maybe the whole school system, but so what?”
    â€œYou mean, since that doesn’t make him any less of an unpopular dork?” Mikey asked.
    â€œAlthough it does make him the smartest unpopular dork.”
    â€œThat’s the clique I belong in, Smart Unpopular Dorks,” Mikey said, perfectly happy. “SUDs. You want to be in it? You’re smart enough.”
    â€œI’m not unpopular,” Margalo protested. “Not like you.”
    They could talk without worrying about being overheard, since the room was loud with conversations and laughter as the rows below them filled up and Mr. Saunders ascended the four steps to the stage.
    â€œSo I win again,” Mikey said in a lowered voice.
    As Mr. Saunders looked out over his audience, he noticed Mikey and Margalo. Actually, “noticed” was too mild a word. His attention fell on them, like the blue laser beam out of the eyes of an alien invader. Mikey and Margalo looked back at himfrom where they sat alone in the empty rear of the auditorium.
    Frowning a little, Mr. Saunders raised his right hand, flipped it up into the air—instructing them to stand up—and pointed to the last filled row, half an auditorium away.
    Everybody turned to see what he was looking at. But everybody turned right back, because Mr. Saunders started talking. “Good afternoon, boys and girls,” he was saying, as Mikey and Margalo slowly rose from their seats to move up. Mr. Saunders was so tall, he had to lean down a little to get his mouth close enough to the microphone. His voice was so deep and loud that he had to speak softly into the microphone. He told them it was going to be his pleasure to announce the seventh-grade honor roll students, those with B averages. After that, he told them, it would be his pleasure to read them the very short list of high honor roll students, who had straight A’s. Then he had one announcement to make, before he came to the real purpose of this assembly, which was the big seventh-grade class project of the year, which was the eighth-grade dance.
    As he spoke, he watched Mikey and Margalo sit down, still three rows back from the rest of the students.He watched, but decided not to say anything as he unfolded a sheet of paper.
    Mikey said to Margalo, “High honor roll’s something I could do,” and Margalo whispered back, “Pipe down.”
    Mr. Saunders read out the forty-six names on the honor roll, in alphabetical order. When he’d finished, he asked those students to stand and receive the applause of their less fortunate—probably because less hard-working—peers. Mikey and Margalo stood up and applauded one another.
    Next Mr. Saunders read off the names of the three girls on the high honor roll list, and the one boy. Hadrian Klenk, the only boy with straight A’s, bobbed up and sank right back down into his corner seat, in the front row.
    Mikey refused to stay piped down. “I’ll make high honor roll next marking period.”
    â€œWe both could,” Margalo realized.
    â€œMath,” Mikey reminded her.
    Mr. Saunders moved on to his next topic, which was the importance of school spirit. He urged all of the seventh graders to come to games, and cheer on the West School teams, just as they hoped to be cheered on next year, when they were the ones playing. “There’s nothing like hometown support,” Mr. Saunders said,“nothing as important as your friends being behind you as you try your hardest.”
    â€œSo all I can do this year is sit in the stands?” Mikey asked. “What’s wrong with this picture?”
    Those two major topics, academics and athletics, covered, Mr. Saunders got down to the purpose of the