Lindsay's Surprise Crush by Angela Darling Page A

back toward him. “I don’t think so, thanks.”
    â€œIt’s a great piece,” he persisted. “And don’t worry, it’s not like I’m suggesting it because I ‘like’ you,” he said, using air quotes.
    â€œOh, well, that’s a relief,” she said, smiling a little. What was that word again that her dad would use to describe this kid? Cheeky. David Costello was definitely cheeky.
    â€œYeah, you’re not really my type. Plus, I have my eye on someone else,” he continued, nodding contentedly.“A seventh grader. She’s gorgeous.”
    Lindsay suppressed her urge to giggle. Where did this kid get all that confidence? He was short. He had purple braces. Still, there was something kind of charming about him. He was comfortable in his own skin. He was easy to talk to, almost like the way Nick used to be easy to talk to.
    â€œListen, thanks anyway,” she said, “but my social life is complicated enough right now. I don’t really need to further damage my already-damaged reputation by being seen in the band room practicing some dorky music—no offense.”
    He shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
    He didn’t seem offended by what she’d said, which, upon reflection, she felt a little bad about. She’d been a bit harsh, calling it dorky music, she had to admit. But the kid had a thick skin. He stood up as the bus’s brakes screeched. “This is my stop. See ya.”

chapter 10
    THAT EVENING LINDSAY RAN THROUGH HER ALL About Me presentation several times. She was dreading it. Why did it have to be first thing in the morning? And why did they have to present it? Couldn’t they just write a report like they usually did? She was really different from her older brother, who loved to perform—on stage, at a party, wherever. Some people were just like that, but not her.
    She flicked through the slides on her computer, frowning.
    Several kids had already presented over the course of that week, and their presentations had been really interesting, she had to admit. She had had no idea that Nadia Melek’s father had been born in Cairo, or that Nadia spoke Arabic. Before the presentation, Lindsay thought people in Egypt spoke Egyptian.
    She had been amazed to learn that Ned Norman had won a robotics competition when he was ten, and thathe’d already placed out of tenth-grade math.
    Claudia Flores, the Mexican exchange student, had shown them pictures of the town she was from in Mexico, and each one looked like a postcard. There were candy-colored buildings bathed in sunlight; azure, glimmering beaches; and her village square at night, with sparkly lights and outdoor restaurants, where people milled around all dressed up. Lindsay couldn’t imagine leaving a place that pretty and coming to live here. Claudia showed a picture of her with her three brothers. One of her brothers had even played for the Mexican national soccer team. Nick let out a “Whoa, no way!” when Claudia told them that. Lindsay turned off her computer and opened her math book, staring down at the problems and frowning.
    The fact that the other kids’ presentations had gone so well just made Lindsay feel worse, not better, about her own presentation. Those kids were interesting. They had real stories to tell. Hers was going to be so dull. What was so interesting about her family? A mom who used to be a concert pianist but was now just a mom who taught piano lessons on the side. A dad who was a lawyer, and not the rich kind. A brainiac brother who was better at piano than she was, and also really good-looking and theatrical,off at college. Big yawn. Claudia’s brother played on a professional soccer team. Ned Norman was not only a genius, but he also had a really cool family—one of his uncles was a police detective in New York City.
    She closed her math book with a sigh. There was no way she could concentrate on it when she was all