Geek High by Piper Banks

lines together? HE says that they’re just friends, and SHE says her boyfriend is still in the picture, but GEEKHIGH.COM has learned that the pair was seen canoodling at Reef Beach last week. Developing…
    â€œDo you know who’s writing this?” I whispered to Finn.
    â€œMs. Bloom, did you have something you want to share with the class?” Mrs. Gordon asked loudly.
    Argh.
    My face turned the color of a ripe tomato. I was actually going to have to speak in front of Emmett. I desperately tried to think of something— anything —I might know about The Stranger , but I’d never read the book. I have enough existential angst in my own life without including it in my recreational reading.
    â€œNo, no. I’m just really excited about reading The Stranger ,” I lied. “Big fan of the Cure.”
    â€œWhat is she babbling about?” Felicity asked loudly to the room at large.
    â€œThe Cure did a song back in the seventies called ‘Killing an Arab’ that was based on The Stranger ,” I said.
    â€œVery good, Ms. Bloom. And next time we meet, I’m going to play the song for you,” Mrs. Gordon said, twinkling with pleasure. This is why I loved her. I don’t know anything about the stupid book, other than that the Cure wrote a song about it, but Mrs. Gordon still managed to make me feel like something other than a complete moron.
    Plus, it’s always fun to know something that Felicity doesn’t. At Mrs. Gordon’s praise, Felicity’s mouth twisted into a pout. I sneaked a glance at Emmett, but he was intently typing away on his laptop.
    Mrs. Gordon turned to write, Example of an Absurdist Theme on the blackboard. When she turned back around, Tabitha raised her hand.
    â€œYes, Tabitha,” Mrs. Gordon said, nodding to her.
    â€œIs it true that Camus was deliberately copying Hemingway’s style when he wrote The Stranger ?” Tabitha asked in her most serious voice.
    I used the opportunity to IM Finn.
    Â Â Â Â Â I clicked back to the Web site and read the second entry.
    DIRT DISHING
    Sources deep inside the administration of GEEK HIGH have informed GEEKHIGH.COM that the school cafeteria came perilously close to failing its health inspection last spring. Bugs? Fecal contamination? No one can—or will—say for sure. But take my advice and bring your lunch until the matter is cleared up.
    Â Â Â Â Â Ewwww, I thought.

Chapter 6
    C harlie’s mom, Mrs. Teague, dropped me off at my dad’s house after school. She offered to wait until I got inside, but I insisted that I’d be fine, so Charlie and her mom said good-bye and drove off back down the sandy road, while I waved from the front steps.
    I turned and opened the door. Or, at least, I tried to. As it turned out, the door was locked. I reached into my knapsack, rooting around for my Hello Kitty key chain (it’s meant to be ironic), when I remembered—I didn’t have a key. Peyton still hadn’t given me one. Her cleaners had a key to the house, and the caterers, and the woman who came once a week to water the plants. But me? No key.
    I sighed, closed my knapsack, and rang the doorbell. No one answered, although I heard the scrabbling of nails on marble as Willow bounded joyfully toward the door. Willow doesn’t bark, so she just stood there, her body wriggling with happiness as she peered at me through the glass panels that flanked the front door.
    â€œHi, Willow. Any chance you can grow an opposable thumb and let me in?” I asked.
    She just wriggled some more.
    â€œGreat,” I said. The driveway was deserted, and there were no sounds of life inside the house, so chances were good that there wasn’t anyone home. I dropped my knapsack and sat down next to it, wrapping my arms around my knees as I waited.
    It was a typical Florida August afternoon: steaming hot and blindingly sunny, and the air was thick with the