The Detention Club by David Yoo Page B

pro.”
    Drew twisted his mouth for a couple of seconds.
    â€œWell, then maybe we can join her act and win the thing with her?”
    â€œI told you I’m done trying to be nice to her!”
    â€œWhat choice do we have?” he asked.
    I didn’t say anything. Drew was right. Maybe Sunny wasn’t as popular as I’d assumed, but she was still the most important student in the school because she got the best grades, was the president of so many clubs, and won the talent show every year. To win it with her would only make everyone think we were important, too, which would at least be a step in the right direction.
    After school Drew came over to my house and we went up to my bedroom, where I converted my bottle-rocket launcher back into a recorder. Then we went downstairs and snuck up on Sunny as she was practicing the flute. I started trying to play along with my recorder while Drew started hitting my old lunch box like it was a tambourine—it was really loud, and startled Sunny. Old bread crumbs from really good sandwiches from my past sprinkled out of the lunch box onto the carpet like snow.
    â€œWhat do you think you’re doing?” she asked us.
    â€œOh man, this sounds great, why didn’t we think of this before?” Drew said, banging away at the lunch box. “We could probably get a record deal if we played for the right people.”
    â€œYou know, Sunny, Drew has a point there,” I said. “We should perform together at the talent show on Friday. I heard that talent scouts from Hollywood will be in the audience.”
    â€œThere is no chance we’ll play together,” she sniffed. “You guys are horrible.”
    â€œWhat are you talking about?” I said, and started rocking out on my recorder again. Sunny rolled her eyes.
    â€œDo you even know any other songs besides ‘Three Blind Mice?’” she asked.
    I sighed. In order for her to need my help someday, I’d need to actually have something to offer her.
    â€œI was thinking you could play a fancy version of it with us.”
    â€œLeave me alone, you’re wasting my time,” she said, and we trudged out of the living room. We went over to Drew’s house and got online to the school’s website to sign up for the talent show, even though we didn’t even have an act for it, and that’s when we saw the Lost-and-Found Forum for the first time. At the top it read:
    Have you lost something? Post an alert here in the official Fenwick Middle School Lost-and-Found Forum!
    Â 
    Below it there was already a half dozen posts from students.
    Â 
    Reply to: Heidi Markowitz
    I lost my iPod this morning (Friday, September 7). It is a black 160GB with hard clear plastic case—either in the music room or on bus 17.
    Email me if you have found my phone.
    Reward offer!
    Â 
    And:
    Â 
    Reply to: Hank Sweet
    My Notre Dame hat missing. If you find it, immediately return it or else. Hank Sweet.
    â€œAt least we haven’t lost anything in school,” Drew said.
    â€œYou’re a really positive person, you know that?” I told him.
    He smiled at me.
    â€œWell, I eat right,” he said.
    â€œThat doesn’t make any sense,” I replied.
    We tried to figure out what we could do for an act. It was kinda depressing to realize that, outside of collecting mica, we weren’t really that good at anything else.
    I sighed.
    â€œIsn’t there anything else we’re good at besides collecting?” I asked Drew.
    â€œI have that magic set in my bedroom from a long time ago.”
    â€œNow, there’s a start. Let’s check it out,” I said, trying to feel hopeful.
    Unfortunately it was a basic kid’s set—just a bunch of stupid coin tricks and some colored scarves for beginner-level juggling.
    â€œCoin tricks aren’t nearly exciting enough. Where’d you get this,