The Substitute by Marilyn Kaye

Author:Marilyn Kaye
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
ISBN: 9780804149921
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2013-09-24T18:30:00+00:00

When they arrived at school the next morning, Tasha ran on ahead of Amy into the lobby.

“They didn’t pick you, did they?” she asked when she caught up to Tasha by the bulletin board. Her friend looked dismayed.

“No. And they didn’t pick you, either.”

“You’re kidding!” But there it was in black and white.

The following students have been selected to join the Parkside Middle School Cheerleading Squad: Lisa Aronson, Camilla Burns, Marie Lazaro.

“That’s disgusting,” Amy declared. “I was better than any of them!” Hastily she added, “And you were just as good.”

“Well, it’s pretty much what I expected,” Tasha said. “They only pick their friends, even when someone else is clearly better. I can’t believe the faculty advisor let them get away with that. Even Heartless Heartshorn had to see how wrong this was.”

Amy shrugged. “Nobody listens to faculty advisors.” But even so, she had to agree with Tasha. Heartshorn didn’t like her, that was clear, but teachers could usually be counted on to be fair.

Not in this situation, though. Amy learned that when she walked into her homeroom. Ms. Heartshorn wasn’t there yet, and Claire Dudley was eager to speak to her.

“Amy, I am so furious!” she said. “You would have been a fabulous cheerleader. You can really move!”

Claire really seemed sorry, so Amy tried to believe that at least one cheerleader had tried to be fair. “I guess the others on the squad didn’t feel the same way you did,” she said.

To her surprise, Claire shook her head violently. “But they did! We all wanted you to be on the squad. Well, most of us did,” she amended. “The majority voted for you.”

“Then why didn’t you choose me?”

“Ms. Heartshorn wouldn’t let us.”

“What?”

“It was so weird,” Claire went on. “She said she didn’t like the way you moved. She told us you’d make the rest of us look bad. I guess that makes sense.…”

Amy didn’t think so. As far as she could see, Ms. Heartshorn was just taking one more step toward making Amy’s life miserable. This was too much! Amy wasn’t going to put up with it anymore.

As soon as Ms. Heartshorn walked into the room, Amy went to the teacher’s desk and spoke, even before the teacher could put her big briefcase down. The cold gray eyes gave Amy the creeps, but she fought off the shivers.

“Ms. Heartshorn, I need to talk to you.”

“Go to the principal’s office,” the teacher said.

Amy stared at her in disbelief. Was the witch punishing her for speaking?

“Dr. Noble wants to see you.”

Now Amy really began to worry. No one was called to Dr. Noble’s office unless they were in trouble. Or unless something had happened at home …

Her heart in her mouth, Amy raced down the hall and through the lobby to the administrative offices. The bell hadn’t rung yet, so teachers were still picking up mail and memos. That was why she didn’t see Tasha right away.

It wasn’t until she made it to the secretary’s desk that she realized Tasha was there.

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