I Heart Band by Michelle Schusterman

Julia’s dad was an amazing cook. “What time? I can . . .” I trailed off when I noticed Owen chatting with Trevor by his cubby. We were supposed to study today. I’d totally forgotten.
    â€œUm, I . . . I can’t,” I said lamely. “I have to—”
    â€œLook at this!” Natasha appeared out of nowhere next to Julia, flapping her hand around. “I just chipped my nail on my case.”
    Julia examined her finger. “It’s not that bad. Can you bring some polish tonight? We’ll fix it.”
    â€œDefinitely.” Natasha gave me her best fake smile. “You’re coming too, right, Holly? Fajita night?”
    â€œI asked her during first period,” Julia told me hastily. “So you can’t come, really? Why not?”
    Great. I so wasn’t about to tell Natasha that I was getting tutored in science. “I’m, um . . . my uncle’s in town. We’re going out to dinner.”
    I hated lying to Julia. Like, really, really,
really
hated. And I knew she could tell I was lying.
    â€œIt’s okay,” she said as the bell rang. “Maybe next time.”
    We squeezed out of the band hall into the already crowded halls. “See you seventh period!” I tried to sound normal.
    Julia waved. “See you!” She was trying to sound normal, too. Neither of us did, though.
    I joined the horde of bodies moving toward the math hall and wondered if our friendship would ever really be back to normal.

Chapter Nine

    B y the time Owen and I got to his house, I was feeling pretty rotten. When Owen opened his front door, we were immediately attacked by a fuzzy black-and-tan blob. It turned out being sad was pretty much impossible with a puppy licking my face.
    â€œHis name’s Worf,” Owen said as I plopped down on the floor. Worf leaped into my lap and I started scratching his belly, giggling when he squirmed and made these little whimpering noises.
    â€œHow old is he?”
    â€œJust a few months.” Owen picked up a rubber bone and squeaked it. We laughed as Worf ran in circles, barking frantically. “We got him over summer break.”
    â€œOwen, is that you?”
    â€œHi, Mom!” Owen tossed the bone down the hallway, and Worf took off after it. “This is Holly.”
    Owen’s mom had the same light blond hair as him, except it looked like she actually combed hers. They had the same smile, too. “Ah, the lab partner. Nice to meet you, Holly.”
    I scrambled to my feet. “Hi, Mrs. Reynolds. Nice to meet you.”
    â€œIt’s Mrs. Grady, actually,” she said kindly, glancing around. “No Trevor today?”
    â€œI told him to come over later,” Owen said, picking up his bag. I grabbed mine, too, relieved that Trevor wouldn’t be studying with us. The fewer people that knew I was actually failing a class, the better.
    â€œIs Steve still at work?” Owen asked.
    Mrs. Grady nodded. “He’ll be home in a few hours. Have fun, you two!”
    I followed Owen upstairs. “Who’s Steve?”
    â€œMy stepdad,” he replied. “So this is the game room,” he added when we reached the top of the stairs. I looked around.
No kidding
.
    One long sofa sat in the middle of the room facing an enormous TV, with at least three different game consoles and, like, twenty controllers on the floor in front of it. Next to the TV were stacks of shoe boxes stuffed with discs and cartridges. The computer desk along the right wall was cluttered with even more games. I couldn’t even see the surface of the coffee table because it was covered in those cards he was always playing with at lunch. Posters of robots and dragons and spaceships were tacked up all over the walls, and I had to shove aside a dozen comic books just to sit on the sofa.
    This place was like Nerd Central.
    I got out my science textbook while Owen cleared the coffee table.