Too Cool for This School by Kristen Tracy Page A

whispered. “I’m Lane’s cousin, Angelina. My mom is her mom’s sister. We were born five days apart. But I’m an Aquarius, and Lane’s a Virgo.”
    I wanted to die. Why was Angelina telling Todd and Jagger that I was a Virgo? And why did it matter that she was an Aquarius? And why was she talking about our family tree? Couldn’t she have just introduced herself as my cousin? Wasn’t that what normal sixth graders did? And why wasn’t she as groggy as I was?
    “You’re from Alaska, right?” Todd asked.
    “Yeah,” Angelina said. “I’m from a town called Eagle River near Anchorage.”
    I wanted to interrupt this conversation, but I wasn’t sure how to do it.
    “Cool,” Todd said. “How many eagles have you seen?”
    By now, Lucia and Rachel and Ava were up and we were all staring down through the mesh at Todd and Jagger.
    “Eagles are so common in Alaska that I see at least three or four every day,” Angelina explained.
    “Wow,” Jagger said. “You mean, like, bald eagles?”
    “Yes,” Angelina said. “I mean bald eagles.”
    “Have you ever seen a bear?” Todd asked.
    “I have,” Angelina said. “In the forest near my house there are fifty-two tagged brown bears and so many black bears that they don’t even bother to tag them. And there are wolves too.”
    “Awesome,” Jagger said.
    “Hi, Jagger,” Ava said. “I like your jacket.”
    I squinted to get a better look at Jagger’s jacket. In the darkness, all that I could tell was that it looked blue.
    “Thanks,” Jagger said.
    “What time is it?” Rachel asked, sounding groggy.
    “Time for donuts?” Todd asked.
    I watched as Todd pulled a bright white box from a paper bag and gently shook it.
    “You are so sweet,” Ava cooed.
    “Ooh,” Rachel said. “Do any of them have jelly centers?”
    Todd opened the box and peeked inside. “You’ll have to look for yourself.”
    “Hand it over,” Rachel said.
    I think I heard her stomach growl. In addition to drawing squids, Rachel’s other favorite pastime was eating anything with sugar in it.
    “You have to come and get it,” Todd said.
    “But the grass is covered in dew,” Lucia said.
    She was so practical.
    Todd shook the box again. “I’m going to count to ten. You better get them.”
    Jagger laughed. “If you don’t, I’ll eat ’em.”
    “No!” Rachel said.
    “Shhh,” I said. The last thing I needed was to get caught with my almost boyfriend bringing donuts to my pj party.
    “Can’t you just hand them to us?” Lucia asked.
    And then, before I could figure out a way to flirt with Todd and persuade him to give us the donuts, something terrible happened. Angelina ruined my moment.
    “I’ll risk the dew,” she said.
    With the speed of a wild dog and the flexibility of a monkey, Angelina hooked her legs on the metal frame ofthe trampoline and lowered herself to the grass. “Hand them over.” She reached her arms toward my almost boyfriend. And he surrendered the box right away.
    “You’re quick,” Jagger said.
    “Alarmingly quick,” Ava said.
    Angelina swung herself back onto the trampoline and handed Rachel the box. “There is a jelly-filled donut!” she squealed.
    I watched in horror as the kitchen light flicked on.
    “You better scram,” Lucia said.
    “Thanks for the donuts,” Angelina said.
    My big, exciting moment with Todd had suddenly turned to trash. We should have been able to hang out and talk to each other for hours. Maybe he would have even climbed on the trampoline with me. But before I could even come up with a good place for them to hide, Todd Romero and Jagger Evenson were absolutely gone. I watched my mother wave to us from the kitchen window. What a bummer. I waved back to her. And so did my friends. Angelina waved so much that it looked like she was trying to fend off a vicious mosquito.
    “That was so lame,” Ava said.
    “Why?” Angelina asked. “Don’t you like donuts?”
    It was tragic how clueless Angelina could be. Mostly