she did look like the picture。 A
lot like the picture。
Making that connection sent a chill down my spine。 And I wondered — what was she thinking？
Could she really be that interested in root
derivations？
Darla Tressler caught me watching； and man； she gave me the world's wickedest smile。 If I
didn't do something fast； this was going to spread like
wildfire； so I squinted at her and whispered； “There's a bee in her hair； stupid；” then pointed
around in the air like； There it goes； see？
Darla's neck whipped around searching for the bee； and I straightened out my focus for the
rest of the day。 The last thing I needed was to be
scorched by the likes of Darla Tressler。
That night I was doing my homework； and just to prove to myself that I'd been wrong； I pulled
that newspaper article out of my trash can。 And as
I'm flipping it over； I'm telling myself； It's a distortion of reality； it's my imagination； she doesn't
really look like that…。
But there she was。 The girl in my math class； two rows over and one seat up； glowing
through newsprint。
Lyta barged in。 “I need your sharpener；” she said。
I slammed my binder closed over the paper and said； “You're supposed to knock！” And then；
since she was zooming in and the paper was still
sticking out； I crammed the binder into my backpack as fast as I could。
“What are you trying to hide there