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  It all started three days after I officially became a woman: The message of mass destruction arrived. It was February 14, to te exact. Happy Valentine’s day.

  Sara Thurman has never considered herself part of the popular crowd. She’s got her best friend, Arlene, and that seems like enough. But when Sara’s mom sends a special Valentine’s Day delivery to her class, all of a sudden Sara is very popular-only for a horribly embarrassing reason! It seems that everyone at Bowie Junior High now knows something about Sara.

  If you liked I Class Favorite, then you’ll love The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ALADDIN MIX

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  Text copyright © 2007 By Taylor Morris

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  ALADDIN PAPERBACKS and related logo are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  ALADDIN MIX is a trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  Designed by Karin Paprocki

  The text of this book was set in Bembo.

  First Aladdin Paperbacks edition November 2007

  Library of Congress Control Number 2007932711

  ISBN-13: 978-1-4169-3598-8

  ISBN-10: 1-4169-3598-3

  eISBN-13: 978-1-4424-5928-1

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks a million to everyone in mediabistro.com’s novel workshop who gave me innumerable ideas and helped with every step along the way, even after the class ended. Thanks also to my West Coast reader, Jordana Brown, and my awesome agent, Steven Chudney. Thanks to my super editor, Molly McGuire, who always nudges me in the right direction. Special thanks to Sarah Rutledge, my amazing writing partner who has since become one of my best and dearest friends. And finally, to Silas, who always encourages me to try harder and dig a little deeper.

  1

  Does Your Crush Know You Exist?

  You’re walking—okay, drooling—along behind your crush when he unknowingly drops a pen from his backpack. You hurry to pick it up; when you give it to him, he says:

  a) nothing, just accepts the pen and keeps walking.

  b) “Thanks,” and smiles at you before moving on.

  c) “Thanks. How’d you do on that geometry quiz last week?”

  The message of mass destruction arrived three days after I supposedly became a woman. It was Friday, February 14, to be exact. Happy Valentine’s Day.

  The day started off bad enough. I woke up with lingering cramps that no amount of Aleve could ease. I huddled in bed until I was almost late for school—I didn’t have time to shower, even though my hair looked a little greasy. I put just a touch of baby powder on the shiniest parts, a tricky trick I learned in Up! magazine.

  The Bowie Junior High office followed standard operating procedure by sending me a note during first-period English. It was a major coup to get one of these notes on Valentine’s Day, since it was effectively rubbing your present in the faces of girls who were unloved by any boys. The office would receive the gift, and you could check it out between classes, but you couldn’t pick it up until the final bell.

  The student office assistant quietly handed the note to Ms. Galarza, whose eyes were gleaming with teacherly excitement. We were just beginning Jack London’s The Call of the Wild, which some kids complained they’d already read in, like, fourth grade, but Ms. Galarza reasoned that we may have not fully understood it the first time. Up until that day, my thirteen-year-old life was more like The Call of the Mild, and there was no misunderstanding that fact.

  I eagerly unfolded the note, which read simply, “You have a delivery in the office. You may come by after first period.”

  To get my attention, Arlene craned her neck over the row that separated us. Her winter-pale skin was already turning a warm brown now that softball season had started. I had tried to be an athlete with her, trying out for every sport from basketball to track—including, of course, softball. I not only never made the team, but something horrific usually happened during the tryouts. During volleyball tryouts last year, for example, I found it absolutely impossible to serve overhand—to the point that Coach Swathmore actually stopped the entire tryouts to ask, in front of everyone, “Kid, are you joking?” After claiming I wanted to concentrate on my B-average grades rather than sports, I gave up trying for good, and now watched from the sidelines as Arlene became better and better, and made more friends with each passing game.

  Danielle Martin, who sat in the row between us, handed me a note from Arlene.

  What is it?

  A package?

  After answering, I handed the paper to Danielle low and quick across the aisle.

  From who?

  Doesn’t say.

  “What do you think, Sara?” Ms. Galarza asked. Arlene and I quickly turned to the front as others turned to stare at us. Even Jason Andersen glanced back at me—just a glimpse, though, like he thought he heard something but only mildly cared to investigate.

  “Uh,” I began, trying to think of the most generic answer that would cover whatever she was asking. “I think so.” I nodded, like Yes, absolutely so.

  Ms. Galarza eyed me for a moment before saying, “I agree with you. The dynamic between Buck and Spitz could easily be related to human interaction.”

  Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, I let my attention turn back to Jason. I gazed at the back of his head longingly. I’d known him since elementary, but he turned superhot this year—at least to me. He’d held reign as a nice, quiet guy since elementary school, neither nerdy nor great, although always very sweet, like the time he totally paid for Leslie Lasa’s entire lunch even though she was only ten cents short. But something had changed in him over the summer. He seemed different now, like he sat up a little straighter, had a bit more confidence. Like he was more mature or something.

  “I also want everyone to consider the relationship between man and dog,” Ms. Galarza rambled. As if I could concentrate on anything, with Jason in front of me and that note in my hand.

  Adults can be so dense—they wouldn’t let me go see what was waiting in the office because they didn’t want me to miss class. But they gave me this tease of a note, torturing me into sitting for another twenty-seven minutes wondering who, what, why? Had a secret admirer sent me a huge white teddy bear and a box of Russell Stover chocolates? Maybe it was that scrawny guy in my health class. I mean, I thought he just had a lazy eye, but maybe he’d really been gawking at me all this time. More likely, Dad had sent me something age-inappropriate from the road, like a Dora the Explorer sand bucket from Georgia. My dad took over his father’s office-speaker business a couple of years ago and now travels arou
nd the southern states and North Texas installing these things that offices need for their intercom systems. He moved out in December when he and Mom officially separated, and even though he was always traveling for work and was rarely home, having him totally out of the house was weird. I still see him when he’s in town, and we occasionally talk on the phone. But I missed the way he ruffled my hair in the morning when I was too cranky to talk, and the Saturday mornings he picked up doughnuts for us, always getting two of my favorite—Boston cream—in case someone got to it before I did. Even though he seemed to have forgotten that I am now a teenager and don’t get as excited about Build-A-Bear as I used to, I still missed him more than I wanted to admit.

  When the bell rang, Arlene bulldozed over people to get to my desk.

  “Do you think it’s flowers?” she shrieked, her blue eyes staring down at the pink office slip.

  “I don’t know,” I said. I watched over her shoulder as beautiful, gorgeous, lovely Jason left. “I have no idea who would have sent them.”

  “Well, come on. Let’s find out.” Arlene pushed her way through the crowded halls, dragging me through the herd of students like a little sister being marched to Mom for punishment. “’Scuse us,” she said, pulling at my wrist as we came to the main hall, filled with trophy display cases and the 1989 Ball that won us our one and only state basketball championship. “Sorry, excuse me. Hi, Lindsay. Watch it, Shiner! Jerk! Excuse us, please. Oh, hey, Gerald.”

  I could smell the roses before we had even rounded the corner to the office. The front office literally looked like a florist’s shop—it was absolutely stuffed with red and pink roses, and one lone bouquet of white roses with red tips.

  “Oh, my God, look at all these.” Arlene gasped.

  “Dang. Think they’re all from your mom’s shop?” I asked as we pushed through the glass door.

  “They sure don’t look like they’re from Kroger’s,” she said.

  I quickly scanned the office, trying to pick out which bouquet might be mine. I tried real hard not to let myself think for even a second that they might be from some guy besides my dad—tried, but failed. I had a quick, unbelievable thought that this was Jason’s way of telling me he’s loved me since that day in third-grade recess when I accidentally stepped on his fingers on the jungle gym. After that, I knew I was only in for disappointment. What could top declaration-of-love flowers from Jason Andersen?

  As Arlene scrambled around me to get a whiff, Mrs. Nicholson looked around her monitor, her chin jiggling in rhythm to the chains on her half-moon eyeglasses.

  “Yes, girls?”

  “She got a note,” Arlene said, jerking her thumb in my direction.

  Mrs. Nicholson, totally unimpressed, pointed her pen to the white flowers with red tips behind us. “Take the card, leave the flowers. You can pick them up after school.”

  “Oh, my God, you’re so lucky!” Arlene sighed. “Look at these! They’re so pretty. Who do you think they’re from? Quick, here’s the card.” She plucked the little white, blank envelope from the baby’s breath and quickly reached inside for the card.

  “Here, give it to me.” I snatched it away from her.

  “Who’s it from?” Arlene panted. I turned away as I pulled out the tiny card, because I had this really strong feeling that whatever was written there was going to change my little world. I rarely spoke to guys—I was hardly a master of seduction—but now I was getting a dozen white roses with gorgeous red tips. How could that not be something big?

  When I turned my back to Arlene, I noticed someone sitting in the chair by the door, just across from my roses. She had ink-black hair set in a high ponytail, like a geyser of oil bursting out of the rubber band; she sat up straight, her hands gripping the sides of her chair and her crossed leg swinging nervously. I didn’t know every kid at school, but I at least recognized them all; we rarely get any new kids in Ladel, and not in the middle of the school year, especially on a Friday, so I automatically wondered what her story was.

  “Well?” Arlene shook my arm. She looked like she was about to bounce out of her well-worn Reeboks. “What does it say?”

  The girl looked at me, and a soft smile spread across her shiny peach-colored lips. “Doesn’t it feel good to be noticed?”

  Arlene gave her a little, “Uh,” her mouth dropping open. Arlene packs a lot into her one-syllable responses, and I knew this one meant, Do you mind? We’re in the middle of something important and totally private. Besides, I wasn’t so sure I agreed with the girl. I definitely hadn’t wanted to be noticed that day last week when I slipped down the stairs on my way to class, landing so hard on my tailbone, I was afraid I’d broken it. I had wanted to rub my bum, but I bounced right back up, scooped up my books, and hollered to no one in particular, “See y’all next fall!”

  I looked back at the card. As I read the few words, I felt the blood rush to my cheeks—and not in that girly, excited sort of way.

  “So?” Arlene begged. “Who’s it from?”

  I shoved the card into the front pocket of my jeans, my hands already sweating as my mind raced on how to make this go away and wondering why, why, was this happening to me. Right then it absolutely did not feel good to be noticed. Nu-uh. Not at all.

  “Nobody,” I stumbled, “just . . . somebody.” I glanced up at Mrs. Nicholson, and I swore she was looking at me funny—a bit of a smirk on her face. God, I thought. The envelope hadn’t been sealed. She read it . . . she knows.

  “What does that mean?” Arlene demanded as she followed me out of the office.

  “Did you have to be rude to that girl?” I asked, wondering if I could transfer schools this late in the year.

  “That’s such crap, Sara. Why won’t you tell me? I swear I won’t tell anyone.”

  “Right,” I said, twisting the combination on my locker. “Kind of like how you swore you wouldn’t tell my sister what happened during basketball tryouts?” I had tried to go big by chucking the ball from the three-point line. I ended up decking Coach Swathmore in the face, breaking her nose. I was asked to leave the gym as quickly as her blood spilled to the court.

  “Please! It was funny, and she would have found out, anyway. Elisabeth knows all the coaches here, and you said she talks to Coach Eckels, like, weekly. I saw her stop by just last week.”

  It was true. Coach Eckels had coached Elisabeth in cross-country when she was here at Bowie—he was the junior high’s head coach and took a big interest in running. Since Elisabeth was such a star, he had given her extra coaching when she was here two years ago.

  “Like I wanted everyone to know about that, much less her,” I continued, trying to push the horror of the tiny card out of my mind. “Besides, I don’t have to tell you everything, you know.”

  Lately, I’d been getting agitated with Arlene. We’ve been best friends since elementary school, but even though I still considered her my best friend, sometimes I wondered if I was still her best friend. To keep us connected after she started playing softball, we started a Golden Raspberry–movie tradition because we both secretly love movies that get horrible reviews, so we decided to embrace them. The Razzies are like the anti-Oscars—they’re awards that movies and actors get for being the absolute worst. We watch them the first Saturday night of every month, except for that time in October that Arlene’s softball team had some big team-bonding sleepover. I was mad about it, but I never told her. I didn’t want to seem like a crybaby, but she had sacrificed our friendship bonding for her teammates. That stung.

  I slapped my locker shut and started down the hall, trying to act normal when really I was dying of anger and embarrassment.

  “You know, I could just ask my mom who sent them. I’m sure they came from her shop,” Arlene called out in a halfhearted threat.

  “Yeah,” I said, trying to sound casual as I rounded the corner. “But you won’t.”

  I really, truly, sincerely hoped I was right.

  I always thought that getting my period would herald m
y arrival as a woman. Along with the inconvenience of that monthly visitor, I’d also be rewarded with the perks: My boobs and hips would suddenly fill out, my hair would be shinier, my voice would have a coquettish lilt, and all the guys would want me.

  I was patient for this day to arrive—at first. When Becca Miller got her period in fifth grade, some girls teased her about it even though we were completely curious about what it felt like. In sixth grade I looked enviously at girls wearing kitten heels and showing off new belly button piercings—signs of womanhood, in my mind, not to mention things my mother would never let me wear. When Arlene discreetly got her period that year, I felt betrayed. Until then, we had done everything together—shaving our legs for the first time and flirting with boys at the same party (different guys!). I found out three months later, when she casually said, “I have the worst cramps.” When I asked why she hadn’t told me, she said, “Gross, Sara. It’s not the kind of thing you discuss,” even though she just had.

  Suddenly we were entering junior high, where the girls wore makeup, shorter skirts, and kissed boys. Then there was me. I wasn’t allowed to wear makeup yet, my legs were too scrawny to wear short skirts, I’d never had a boyfriend, plus I hadn’t gotten my period yet. I felt like a fraud. It was not the image I had of starting junior high. Then, in October of our seventh-grade year, everyone had a date to the Fall Ball—including Arlene, even though we had sworn we’d turn up our noses at the event to stay home and watch Razzies. When some random guy from the baseball team asked her to go, she acted all giddy about it, and the next thing I knew, I was sitting home alone watching From Justin to Kelly with no one to make sarcastic comments to.

  It wasn’t until this year, in eighth grade, that I finally got my period. Call it an early Valentine’s gift. There was no joy in the big moment, only a feeling of God, it’s about freaking time. I realized I looked no different from the day before, but I did feel different—as in yuckier.

  “I can’t believe you still won’t tell me. What’s the big secret?”