I Know You're Lying by Daphne Benedis-Grab

Author:Daphne Benedis-Grab [Benedis-Grab, Daphne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 2022-09-06T00:00:00+00:00

“Astrid was the one who told me to talk to him!” an eighth-grade girl walking by gushed as the four made their way to the tray counter so Henry and Jack could bus their trays.

“She’s amazing!” the girl’s friend raved. Nora cringed, hoping Maddie, Jack, and especially Henry would act natural and not blow her cover.

Maddie glanced back casually and raised a brow at Nora, but the boys plowed ahead to dump their trash and trays, allowing Nora to breathe a sigh of relief.

The two eighth graders ignored Nora as she passed, and for one fleeting second, Nora wondered what they’d think knowing that “amazing” advice had come from the seventh grader going by. She also wondered which letter it was, which guy had been talked to, and to what result. Sometimes Astrid gave advice to girls needing encouragement to ask someone out, but other times she advised girls who had been talked down to or treated as unimportant. These letters—telling girls how to make their voices heard—were some of Nora’s favorites to write.

At the trash cans, she dumped her ketchup wrappers, then put her fries plate in the rubber bin by the dish-washing window. She did a final napkin wipe of her fingers—cafeteria fries were greasy but so good—then followed the others out into the hall. Rudy, like the other basketball players, would be in the gym.

The hall was nearly empty, and quiet after the crowd noise of the cafeteria. It was a relief to leave that and the soggy burger smell behind.

“So, did you hear that?” Maddie asked, walking so close to Nora that their arms bumped. “About how amazing Astrid is?”

Nora attempted to shrug this off but she could not stop the warm feeling—the pride—from washing over her. Was writing Astrid making her shallow, eager for quick compliments instead of serious praise?

Henry loped up to them. He jostled Maddie but Nora could tell it wasn’t on purpose. Maddie seemed unfazed—it appeared they were all getting used to Henry’s puppylike ways and Nora had to admit she was starting to find him endearing.

She wondered about the remark Sasha had made about Henry’s father, and the way Henry had reacted—clearly there was a story there. But that would have to wait. “How can you not want a piece of that Astrid glory?” Henry asked her.

“It’s not real,” Nora said immediately. “I want to be known for investigative reporting, not some frivolous advice column.”

“It’s not frivolous,” Maddie and Jack said in unison, then laughed.

“I don’t know what frivolous means but it sounds bad, so I agree with them,” Henry said firmly.

Now even Nora was laughing.

“It’s a smart and fun column that helps people,” Maddie insisted. She had pulled off her ponytail holder and was shaking out her smooth, thick hair.

“It’s not—” Nora began, but Maddie held up a hand as she interrupted.

“Investigative reporting, but why can’t you be known for two things?” Maddie asked. “Can’t a girl be serious and fun too?”

“Oh, she dunked on you there, Nora,” Henry said cheerfully as they rounded the corner.

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