Nothing takes the edge off failure like hanging out with your pets.
A CHANGE FOR CARLY
Lots of kids in our class have braces; it’s not like getting them is a big deal. But Carly must be especially sensitive to having a doctor poke around in her mouth because she’s in full anxiety mode today.
“The orthodontist says the first month might be painful.” Carly looks ready to start crying outside science class.
“It’ll probably only hurt for a few weeks,” I say. “Think of all the ice cream you’ll be able to eat before you can chew again.”
My comment obviously makes things worse because a tear forms in the corner of her eye.
“You’re tough,” I tell her. “Nothing ever gets you down!” I have to admit I’m a little surprised at how difficult this is for her.
“I’m a baby when it comes to pain,” she confesses. “Getting braces is all I can think about now.”
My first thought is that maybe Carly will be so distracted by her braces that she won’t be able to do her homework and I can get a higher grade than her—for once. But even I know taking advantage of Carly’s anguish isn’t what a real friend would do.
“It’ll be like lots of things,” I tell her. “It’ll stink in the beginning but then you’ll get used to it and it won’t stink so much.”
She smiles at my weak attempt at explaining how the world works and the tear in her eye doesn’t fall down her cheek.
“You’ll still be pretty,” I say. “Even with all that barbed wire in your mouth.”
Turns out that tear was ready to trickle down after all.
I apologize ten times but Carly ducks into the girls’ room, successfully avoiding me to go cry.
I can be such a moron sometimes.
A SURPRISE
The rest of the day isn’t much better. I barely pass my English lit test, and Mr. Demetri took a nosedive into a mud puddle outside the gym and I missed it. (Matt DID get to see it and fell over laughing.)
YouTube class to the rescue! Not counting recess when I was little, I can’t remember the last time I raced to anything at school.
“Welcome, welcome, welcome!” Mr. Ennis opens his arms wide like a ringmaster at a circus. I’m guessing he feels especially happy because the video of him making salsa already has a hundred thousand views.
I take my seat and notice the two empty spots where the Johnson twins usually sit.
“Melanie and Melissa won’t be able to join us for the rest of the course,” Mr. Ennis says. “I guess their dad’s a bigwig in the computer industry and just got transferred to Palo Alto. Too bad—I thought they had a lot of potential.”
I stare at the empty desks. Two students on the class waiting list are going to be THRILLED. Matt and I nearly jump out of our own desks when Umberto and Carly enter the room.
“No way!” I shout.
Mr. Ennis just laughs; it’s fun having a teacher who doesn’t care when you yell.
When I last saw Carly she was crying, but now she’s grinning ear to ear.
“Why didn’t you tell me you got in?” I ask.
She shrugs like it’s no big deal, when actually it’s a gigantic deal. “I wanted to surprise you.” Carly takes the seat closest to me.
I may have upset her a few hours ago, but one good thing about Carly—she never holds a grudge. With her and Umberto here, this class just went from amazing to off the charts!
“Today, we’ll be laying the foundation for our own channels, so get out your phone or your notebook—however you take notes—and let’s begin.”
I pull out my sketchbook filled with hundreds of stick figures as well as notes for most of my classes.
“There are lots of steps you have to take to set up your own YouTube channel and the first thing you each have to do is come up with an original username,” Mr. Ennis says. “There are millions of people already on YouTube so a lot of names have been taken.”
When Matt pulls his desk over to mine, Mr. Ennis looks confused, then nods. “Everyone in this class is going to create their OWN channel. You may team up for projects in other classes but in this class, you’ll be working alone.”
Matt, Umberto, Carly, and I whip around to face each other. We’ve already put in so much work together!
Matt raises his hand. “How about if we WANT to work with someone else?”
Mr. Ennis laughs. “When I was your age, I hated working in pairs and groups. I was such a nerd, I always ended up doing all the work. Consider it a gift that you get to do your own thing.”
Matt harrumphs as he drags his desk back. Working alone is a definite setback but part of me is relieved. Some of Matt’s ideas for our YouTube channel were good, but a few of them were definitely NOT my first choice. Bobbing for bologna instead of apples? Or challenging Bodi to a farting contest? Maybe getting to work by ourselves in this class will end up being okay after all. (Not that I tell the others; I put on a show and act as disappointed as they are.)
We all work on our own while Mr. Ennis scrolls through his phone, probably checking how many new views he has. Will any of us find the same kind of YouTube success he’s found?
I’m usually not much in the planning department—DUH!—but I’ve been giving my username a lot of thought.
“Okay,” Mr. Ennis says. “Who wants to share?”
Matt’s hand shoots up. “The UltiMATT Challenger!”
Mr. Ennis types into his phone so fast, it’s like his fingers are caffeinated. “Already taken,” Mr. Ennis answers.
“Super Girl,” Carly volunteers.
“That’s taken too.”
Since there are a zillion people on YouTube, choosing an available username is harder
