Free 121 Express by Monique Polak Page A

got off the bus, he turned back to the driver. “What a jerk!” he called out.
    The driver didn’t say anything, but even from where I was sitting, I noticed how his cheek twitched.
    Someone slid open a window at the back of the bus. “Hey, Jake!” a voice called, and then whoever it was threw Jake their bus pass.
    Three seconds later, Jake was back. “I found it,” he said, grinning as he flashed the pass at the driver.
    â€œLet me have a look at that picture,” the driver said.
    But Jake was already lost in the crowd. I couldn’t see him, but I could hear him high-fiving the guy who’d lent him his bus pass. “You’re my man, Pierre,” Jake said.
    Maybe it was the heat from so many bodies, but the egg smell was getting worse. Some kids at the back were hurling pieces of scrunched-up paper. One hit the girl next to me. The name Valerie was engraved on her bracelet. “Oww!!” she said, extra loud because she was talking over her Mp3 player.
    â€œCut it out!” the driver shouted. He might have said it again, but I couldn’t tell for sure over all the noise.
    In a weird way, I was having fun. When some of the kids around me started laughing, I laughed too. I reached for the ball of paper that had landed on the floor and threw it as hard as I could toward the back of the bus.
    â€œHey, new guy!” a voice called. “You pitch like a girl!”
    I bristled. It was my own fault; I’d called attention to myself.
    I knew whatever I did next was important. This was what my mom would call a defining moment. She says life is all about defining moments, only most people miss them. They’re too busy doing other stuff.
    I knew if I acted embarrassed or afraid, the kids at the back would peg me as a loser. If I could come up with a smart comeback, I’d be saved. But there was too much pressure. I couldn’t think of anything smart to say.
    I felt Sandeep Singh’s eyes on me, waiting to see what I’d do next.
    So I did the only thing I could to save myself.
    I turned to Sandeep. “What are you looking at, raghead?” I asked in a loud voice. Sandeep squirmed, but the kids at the back cracked up. At least the pressure was off me.
    As the bus turned onto Côte-Vertu Boulevard, I remembered our scienceteacher said we’d be studying Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection this year. She told us how Darwin believed only the fittest creatures survive.
    Darwin was onto something. A kid’s got to be fit to survive the 121 Express.

chapter two
    I heard the vice principal’s high heels clicking down the hallway before I saw her. “Good luck on curbside duty today, Andrew,” she told Mr. Adams when she passed him. Then she lowered her voice and added, “The monsters are always at their worst on the Friday before a long weekend.”
    Mr. Adams groaned. “Thanks for the heads up.” But the vice principal didn’t hear him. Her heels were already clicking outthe side door. I guess she was as happy to leave school as the rest of us.
    Monday was a day off—which meant we had three free days in a row. We had a bit of homework, but nothing that couldn’t get done on Monday night. And though it was only week three of school, I’d made some friends. Guys like Jake and Pierre from the back of the bus.
    I’d had to cause a bit of trouble to get in with them, but it was worth it. The first thing I did was stick a wad of pink chewing gum on the bus driver’s seat. When he got up to stretch his legs, it looked like he had a long pink tail. The guys thought that was pretty funny.
    Then last week, I brought along a water pistol I’d filled with 7-Up and squirted a couple of the nerdy girls. You should have heard them shriek. This one Asian girl, Jewel Chu, was jumping up and down she was so angry. “I’m going to send you my dry cleaning bill!” she said. But I just