The Unteachables by Gordon Korman

Author:Gordon Korman
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2018-11-08T16:00:00+00:00

Sixteen

Parker Elias

Jake Terranova!

Everybody knows Jumping Jake Terranova, who will jump through hoops to get you a great deal on a new or used vehicle. The billboards are all over town (although to me, TERRANOVA MOTORS looks more like AROMAVENT ROTORS). Anyway, there’s no mistaking the face. This guy’s famous! What’s he doing in room 117?

Mr. Kermit has an expression on his face as if he smells something really bad. It’s the way he looks when there’s a vuvuzela blaring. And since the vuvuzelas are all gone, it can only mean one thing: he hates Jake Terranova’s guts.

Miss Fountain steps forward. “I really should explain, Mr. Kermit. I ran into Jake—that is, Mr. Terranova—at my parents’ country club. I wanted to see if he remembered me. He sold me my Prius last year.”

Mr. Terranova smiles with all thirty-two teeth. “Great car. Are you in the market for a new vehicle, Mr. Kermit? Emma loves hers.”

“It makes me feel good to know I’m helping the environment every time I drive,” Miss Fountain says with a meaningful look over her shoulder at Ribbit.

Our teacher’s eyes get so narrow that they’re barely slits.

“Anyway,” Miss Fountain goes on, “we got to talking, and your name came up, Mr. Kermit. I told him about that story in the Telegraph—”

The car dealer cuts her off. “This should come from me.” He turns to Mr. Kermit. “I read the article about the vuvuzelas. They mentioned something from the past—something I was involved in.”

Our teacher has his teeth clenched until his lips have practically disappeared. “Mr. Terranova used to be one of my students,” he explains, his speech clipped, “some years back.”

“That’s not enough. They should hear the whole truth.” He addresses us. “You might have heard about a cheating scandal. Well, Mr. Kermit had nothing to do with it. It was me. I can’t believe the newspaper dredged up that old story.”

“Don’t worry about it, Mr. Terranova,” I assure him. “None of us read newspapers.”

“I do,” Mateo puts in. “Middle Earth Weekly. Of course, it’s more fanfic than news.”

The car dealer gives him a strange look. “The point is I don’t want you kids to think that Mr. Kermit did anything wrong. It was my fault. I got caught and I got suspended for it.”

“No kidding,” Aldo pipes up. “We just got back from being suspended. But I didn’t think it would happen to a big-shot rich dude.”

Barnstorm snorts a laugh. “He wasn’t a big shot when he got suspended, dummy. He was a kid like us.”

Aldo and Barnstorm wheel around in their seats, turning belligerent expressions on each other. But Mr. Terranova quickly steps between them. “Guys, I was in middle school once too. If you two want to throw hands, there’s nothing I can do to stop it. But not here and not now.”

Aldo and Barnstorm back down.

The car dealer faces Mr. Kermit again. “So I came here to apologize, which I should have done years ago. And if there’s anything I can ever do to help out—you know, with the class—all you have to do is say the word.

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