1 Zero gravity dodgeball three times since Tuesday So you know it's the end of the year I shuffle toward the back wall of the gym and line up behind the rest of the class If I ever get picked first for dodgeball it'll mean the universe has turned upside down Becka shouts Riya Windsor one of the team captains Becka Pierce trots over to the other side of the gym and gives Riya a high five that sounds like a sonic boom I watch Riya wince and pretend that she doesn't feel like she just slapped a brick wall Shocker I whisper to Ari Becka's always first pick not that this bothers me but I'm hoping I at least don't get picked last today This has officially been the worst year of my life And I'd like to get through the next few hours without being reminded again that I'm the least popular kid onboard the PSS 118
Ari doesn't say a word probably because he can't hear me over the thumps in his chest He's had this cartoon cartoon crush on Becka for as long as I can remember The kind where your heart pops out against your shirt you go all bug eyed for no reason and little pink hearts float up out of your head like bubbles It's super annoying I don't know why he likes her so much She kind of scares me And during gym class she's a freaking nightmare Literally Once after a really intense game of freeze tag my dorm mate Diego woke up in the middle of the night covered in sweat screaming No Becka I'm not it Please I'm not it T Bex T Bex some of our classmates cheer Becka flashes one of her evil grins She's tall maybe the tallest girl in the whole school And a couple of years ago Hunter LaFleur started calling her Tyrannosaurus Bex or T Bex for short So naturally she showed up to the school dance in a giant dinosaur costume who knows where she even got that from and shoved Hunter into the drink table He slipped on some spilled fruit punch and broke one of his big toes when he tried to get up They didn't even have detention in fifth grade before that day But Becka didn't care about getting in trouble She beamed all the way to Principal Lochner's office And now T Bex isn't an insult It's a term of respect Can't believe we're playing dodgeball again I tell him
What Ari says hypnotized by the snap snap beat of Becka cracking her knuckles Ordinarily I would slap him on the back of the head to bring him to his senses but I resist the urge Things have been bad enough between us lately Long story My fault I don't want to strain our friendship even more Especially because he's the only person who didn't start treating me differently after my dad aka our science teacher got fired a few months ago So I just mutter Creeper alert Which Ari understands right away Oh He tears his eyes away from Becka Thanks Anyway I was saying that I can't believe we're playing this again I know we're still on the same page about most things including disliking dodgeball Of course Ari holds the high score in Virtual Dodgeball along with every other video game I know But the real thing Not so much Eh he responds pointing to the corner of the room Ms Needle who teaches mismatched things like PE music art and Spanish and dresses like she's getting ready for all those classes at once is lost in some old timey paper book that she must've checked out from the special library on Ceres There's nothing else she can get us to play on the last day of school without having to yell I nod Can't blame Ms Needle for being a little
burned out I'd be too if I was an underpaid public school teacher who spent nine months of the year living with my whiny students onboard a rundown spaceship My dad used to say that it's the most rewarding job in the solar system But my dad's also a liar And second Ari adds dodgeball isn't my favorite favorite either But don't jinx yourself by complaining It's bad luck The ball will for sure knock out your teeth or something That's Ari something practical and smart because he's brilliant immediately followed by something ridiculous ridiculous and superstitious because and I've never been totally clear on this maybe he also believes in magic But he's right about one thing I don't need any more bad luck Come on Hunter shouts at the captains We're not gonna have enough time Okay okay Riya groans rubbing her forehead She's clearly having trouble picking between the only two choices left Unlike Becka Ari and I are short and scrawny Ari has giant dark hair that always looks like he just finished electrocuting himself And considering his habit of tinkering with every machine he can get his hands on he sometimes really has just finished electrocuting electrocuting himself I have super freckly skin and eyes that I've always thought are a little too big for my face You'd know just by looking at us that we aren't the next All-Jupiter All-Jupiter Athletes in the making
