Rachel Takes the Lead by Marilyn Kaye

Author:Marilyn Kaye [Kaye, Marilyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Holiday House
Published: 2021-07-13T00:00:00+00:00

I WASN’T IN A VERY GOOD MOOD THE NEXT morning.

The day didn’t actually start off badly. I woke up to Fifi licking my face, which made me smile. I tossed an old stuffed teddy bear off my bed to make more room for her, but she jumped off my bed and went after it like she would chase a squirrel. When she got to the teddy bear, though, she just stood still and stared at it. It was as if she was waiting for it to run off, and when it didn’t, she didn’t know what to do. I started laughing, but then Mom, looking particularly anxious, appeared at my door.

“Rachel, I can’t walk you to school, I’m way behind on a deadline, something I’ve absolutely got to finish by five o’clock.”

I jumped out of bed. “That’s okay, Mom, I can walk by myself.”

“No, no. Mami will drop you off on her way to the high school, but you have to be ready to leave in fifteen minutes.”

This meant no play time with Fifi, and no breakfast either. I hurried to get dressed. When I went downstairs to the kitchen, Mami gave me one of her precious granola bars, which I can’t stand, and I stuffed it in my backpack. Then we jumped in the car.

I knew my friends wouldn’t be at school when I got there, and I wasn’t surprised to find there weren’t any kids at all hanging out in front. It was too early. The only activity in the area was the arrival of teachers.

I went inside, expecting to find the building empty of students, but I was wrong. In every hall I walked down, two or three girls were busily taping posters on the walls. I recognized some of the girls, and I was pretty sure they were in the cool crowd. My suspicion was confirmed when I saw what the posters read: PAIGE NAKAMURA FOR 7TH-GRADE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE! There was a photo of her in the center, surrounded by pink hearts. With my head down and my eyes averted, I made my way to my homeroom.

I was surprised to see that there was already one other person in the room, and it was David Tolliver. He looked up, and when he saw me, he grinned. I smiled back uncertainly. I sat down at my desk, on the other side of the room from his. Then he got up, came toward me, and sat down at the desk next to mine.

As usual, I froze, unable to even say hello, but it didn’t matter. David started talking immediately.

“So, what do you think? How are we going to defeat Paige?” he asked cheerfully.

David hadn’t been at East Lakeside long enough. Clearly, he didn’t know the situation at this school very well.

“Nobody can defeat Paige,” I told him.

“Why not?”

“Because Paige is the most popular girl in the seventh grade.” Actually, I should have said the most popular person. I couldn’t think of any boy in our grade who was as popular as she was.

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