Souls in Peril by Sherry Gammon

admire a man who doesn ’ t give up. ” Coached pa tt ed him on the back before jogging over to keep an eye on Jeff.
    “ Teacher ’ s pet, ” muttered the catcher. Some called out butthead and a couple of stronger insults at him on the way to his locker. He couldn ’ t believe his day. No matter what he did, he couldn ’ t seem to catch a break. He dressed quickly, shoved his stinky clothes to the bottom of his backpack to take home, and left for second period. And Emma.
    His heart pounded like thunder as he entered journalism class . H e feared it would explode. Not knowing where JD usually sat, Max stood in the back, enduring another round of crude jokes about his size as the room filed with students. He didn ’ t care. Emma would be there any minute now.
    Students poured into the large classroom, some settling in behind computers, other the drafting tables that lined the walls of the well-lit room. The last bell rang; and no Emma. She didn ’ t show. Max was crushed. He only made it through first period knowing he ’ d see her in an hour.
    Mr. Roberts, the teacher and editor of the school newspaper, sat behind a large copy machine . He looked up and smiled. “Hello, Jayden.” Max nodded. “How are you feeling?”
    “I ’ ve had better days,” Max answered honestly.
    “I ’ m sure you have. Remember what we ’ ve talked about. Write it down, get those feelings out.”
    Max had no clue what to say to that. He hated writing with a passion, and preferred dealing with his feelings on the ball diamond.
    Mr. Roberts cracked a few windows open, before coming back over to JD. “Since Emma isn ’ t here today, I ’ d like you to work on the story about the rat problem in the cafeteria.”
    “We have rats in the cafeteria?” Max blurted out.
    Mr. Roberts laughed. “Emma told me she may need help with the story. You should ask her.”
    Emma and JD working together? Max liked that idea. “Um, Mr. Roberts, would you mind if I sat out today ? I ’ ll do extra homework or something, but my head is really pounding.” Though it was not the real reason he wanted to sit out of class, it was the truth.
    “No problem. Would you like to go to the nurse ’ s office and l ay down?”
    As tempting as the offer sounded, Max declined. He picked a desk as far away from everyone as he could get and sank into the chair. He laid his head down on the desk and let the rays of sunshine streaking across it , bathe his head.
    No Emma. He ’ d wanted to see her so badly. Now it ’ d have to wait until tomorrow. It seemed like a million years away.
    Third period Lit didn ’ t hold much interest for him either. He wasn ’ t big on reading the classics , even though Emma tried to encourage him too. Now he had to sit and listen to boring Professor Bennett blabbering on and on about them .
    “ Good morning, class. ” She was dressed from head to toe in pink. Max had to turn his head to keep from laughing. “ JD, so good to have you back. Come, take your seat. ” She pulled out a chair at the desk nearest her. Max stumbled to the front, ignoring the snide comments as he made his way. Settl ing into the vacant chair, Max noted how happy he now felt. Well, happy may have been a bit of an over statement, but clearly JD enjoy ed Lit class.
    “ Today we will be reading poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. ” Professor Bennett smiled as if that were a good thing. Max and almost every other guy in the class groaned. The female population opened their books gleefully.
    They read poems till Max ’ s ears bled, or so it felt like it . Despite the anguish he experienced , he couldn ’ t deny the happy little place inside him that delighted in the poems. In spite of himself, Max smiled. JD likes poems . I never would ’ ve guessed.
    At lunch, he searched out Izzy , and the two of them ate lunch in a deserted classroom. To Max ’ s surprised, Izzy actually ate, even though her diet seemed a bit bland. It gave credence to his drug theory