Free Rock Star by Adrian Chamberlain Page B

desert island I go back to that summer at Shawnigan Lake, swimming in the green water with sunlight shafting into the deeper brown-black water. Some big dark fish are down below— it’s scary for some reason. And then I’m dreaming…dreaming that I’m sinking deeper and deeper, and that I can still see the sunlight. But it’s far, far above. And then I’m asleep.

Chapter Two
    The next day at school, I plop myself down at my usual lunch table. Fake wood grain, bright orange plastic chairs. I always sit with the same people— guys I’ve known since elementary school. It’s kind of boring in a way. Then again, it’s nice to have somewhere to sit where you belong.
    Our lunchroom is big on cliques. The cool kids always hang out with the cool kids, the smart kids sit with the smart kids, the jocks sit with the other jocks. What’s my table like? Well, I hate to admit it…but we might be a nerd table.
    Most of my friends are into stuff like video games, science fiction books, Star Wars , Star Trek —even the old-school Star Trek shows from the 1960s. Things like that.
    I used to be into all that stuff too. I really liked the old-school Star Trek . I could talk for hours about the Vulcans and Spock and all. My best friend Jason and I have this joke—if you can call it a joke. We’d always point a finger at each other and yell, “Warp drive!” Warp drive means the faster-than-light way the Star Trek spaceship travels through space after nuclear war destroyed planet Earth. I don’t know why we would say something so stupid and uncool to each other. I guess we thought it was funny.
    Jason and I look totally different. I’ve got dark hair, almost black. Jason’s got red hair. He also has tons of freckles and wears gold wire-rimmed glasses. He’s always joking around, and he’s always in a good mood. Not like me. I guess that’s why we’re best friends.
    “Warp drive!” says Jason, pointing his finger at me as I sit down. I just grunt. Jason’s getting every single thing out of his lunch bag and arranging it on the table, like he always does. He’s a precise sort of guy. His mom, who’s really nice, always makes him a good lunch. Sandwiches wrapped in wax paper, apple, granola bar, home-baked cake. The works. I make my own lunch now. Today it’s two Pizza Pops. That’s it. Pretty crappy, but I’m too lazy to make anything good.
    Most of our friends are really into computers. Not just computer games. They actually know tons about computers, like how to fix them and program them and all. Have you ever noticed that these kinds of guys usually dress horribly? They look like their mom dressed them. Which might even be true. Donnie, sitting next to Jason, wears a little striped Charlie Brown T-shirt, like a six-year-old would wear. Steve’s got a short-sleeved sport shirt, buttoned up to his neck.
    They’re all talking loudly about some big stupid computer project they’re working on. Steve’s so excited, a bit of the sandwich he’s eating dribbles down the side of his chin. Leaks right down.
    “Steve, for Christ’s sake!” I say.
    He looks over.
    “What?”
    “Steve. Steve-o. Your chin,” says Jason. He points to his own chin. Steve rubs the sandwich guck off with the back of his hand.
    “Can’t take these guys anywhere,” says Jason.
    I bite into my Pizza Pop. Then something embarrassing happens. Something really terrible. The Pizza Pop explodes, just like in the TV commercial. A bunch of the red stuff inside, like tomato paste, squirts out about three feet onto the floor beside me. A couple of girls at the next table look over and giggle.
    I can feel my face getting red and hot.
    “Hey, Dunc! Like a zit,” says Steve.
    “Yeah. Pop that zit,” Donnie says, laughing like a maniac.
    “Shut up, you dildos,” I say. “Grow up.”
    I look around, but by now no one at the other tables is looking. It’s always busy in the cafeteria at lunch. Lots of talking, echoing noise. Bright fluorescent