That's Not What I Heard by Stephanie Kate Strohm

Author:Stephanie Kate Strohm
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

“We are looking good, Spoony,” Diamond Allen crooned with satisfaction as she surveyed the sea of red on their side of the cafeteria. “We are looking really good.”

Phil didn’t know about we. But Diamond certainly looked amazing. She looked like she should have been on a fashion runway, or maybe going to the Oscars, or something. Phil didn’t even know what to call her outfit—it was pants that were somehow connected to the top, all made out of the same material—but it was incredible. Phil found himself mesmerized by the small gold necklace hanging against the elegant indentations of her collarbone, by the poetic curve of her shoulder against her top’s delicate strap.

Who knew a shoulder could be poetic?

“I thought it would just be the freshmen,” Diamond continued. Phil tore his gaze away from her shoulder, not wanting to look creepy. “But it’s not. It’s everyone on our side. Even the seniors! Did you see, Spoony? Corey Brooks? Wendy Phan? Jess Howard? We even got Jess Howard! That’s, like, as close to Kim as you can get!”

Phil had seen Jess Howard. But for the first time this year, he couldn’t have said anything about her. He didn’t remember if she’d been wearing red, magenta, or any other color of the rainbow. He couldn’t even be sure she hadn’t been dressed as a ketchup bottle, like Gabe Koontz, who was trying to sit comfortably in his bulky costume. All he could see was Diamond, her eyes sparkling with excitement. He loved the way her voice sounded like a song, the way she came up with the funniest stuff in improv class like she wasn’t even trying, and the way she laughed with her whole mouth wide open, so he could see every single one of her brilliantly white teeth.

Get a grip, Phil! he scolded himself. There was no way Diamond saw him the same way he saw her. After all, Diamond had a face that could launch a thousand ships, and Phil barely had a face. But just being next to her, hearing every one of her spectacularly enunciated words, was enough for him. It was more than enough.

It was more than he had ever dreamed.

“Hey, Spoony.” A couple of sophomore girls stopped by their table. Sophomores? Talking to Phil? Sophomores who knew his name?! Phil was reaching unprecedented heights. The Phil Spooner of a couple months ago would never have dreamed that he’d be here, eating lunch with people, with Diamond Allen, and talking to sophomores who knew his name. “We heard you saw Teddy Lin chop down all the trees in Kim’s backyard. They, like, totally squashed all the patio furniture when they fell. Is that true?”

“Um.” Phil looked at the expectant faces of the sophomores, hanging on his every word. He looked at the ketchup bottle that was Gabe Koontz; at Chloe Baker, practically trembling with fear at the prospect of rogue trees squashing patio furniture; and at Diamond, beautiful, brilliant Diamond, leaning toward him, desperate to hear what he had to say.

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