If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period

by Gennifer Choldenko

  "Did you see the new tree Dad bought?" Kip asks.

  "Is he here?"

  "Yeah. Look, he got me this book. He said I can be in charge of watering, pruning, fertilizer..." Kip follows me to our dad's office, still holding the book.

  My father looks up from his laptop. "Well, if it isn't my two brilliant daughters." He puts his arms out to us.

  "One brilliant daughter, Dad," I mutter.

  "Tell her about the tree! Tell her," Kip says.

  "I bought a tree for out front. A new tree. A new beginning. Won't that be nice? Everything is going to be fine here. Yes it is," my father says.

  "Yay!" Kippy yells at the top of her lungs.

  I wish I could believe him the way she does, but at least he's trying. I even think about showing him my extra credit. Well, for a nanosecond, anyway. I did a good job on that extra credit. That was more work than I usually do all year. But when I showed it to Walk, he was like: "Yeah, fine, turn it in." Yeah, fine, turn it in. Excuse me? That was all weekend working my butt off.

  I'd better get full points, that's all I can say, because that work is great. More than great. Stupendous, in fact. Now I need a spa day.

  When I get to class and see Balderis writing extra credit on the board, I say to myself, Not me. Not this week. Besides, Walk isn't even here.

  Matteo smiles at me. I look around to see if he's smiling at someone else. He isn't.

  "Hey," he whispers. "You want to work together this week? Walk's got some big student council thing."

  "Sure." I raise my hand, looking over at Rory. See this, Rory? I've got friends. I don't need you.

  But Rory and Brianna have their hands up, too. It's amazing what they'll do to stay in that talent show. Rory is wearing makeup and she's got new clothes. They're tighter, with a lot more skin showing—the kind of clothes fat girls can't wear. When she sits down, you can see her butt crack. She's even given up the backpack she used to carry. It had a tiny unicorn stitched on the front. She never could decide what to name the unicorn. Every day it was something different. Now she has a blue backpack. It could be anybody's.

  "All right, I'll let you pick your own partners this week," Balderis says. "One hundred possible points, same as before." Balderis raises a stack of pages in the air.

  "Brianna," Balderis calls.

  "Can I work with Matteo?" Brianna asks.

  Why would Brianna pick him? Must be she needs an A and she knows Matteo will get her one.

  "Brianna and Matteo." Balderis writes them down.

  Matteo's face caves. He says nothing, but I can hear him dying two seats away.

  "Sophia," Balderis calls.

  "Tessa," Sophia says.

  "Rory," Balderis says.

  "Kirsten," Rory says.

  Rory picked me?

  Brianna picked Matteo. That is the only reason Rory picked me, I remind myself, but I can't help smiling at her as she slides into the seat next to mine.

  "Um, when do you want to meet to work on this?" I ask.

  "You could come to my house and then have dinner over." Her eyes are big and innocent like she's my stuffed puppy.

  I think about all the sleepovers we did. The day we wrapped each other in toilet paper and pretended to be mummies. The time we went to the beach and a dog stole Rory's shoe and buried it under a dead fish. The Halloween we decided to dress as salt and pepper shakers and fought over who got to be salt and who got to be pepper.

  "It's better to work in the library," I say. "They have all the newspapers and stuff."

  "The library?" she asks as if I've just suggested we do our homework on the freeway divider.

  I shrug.

  "We can still be friends, you know, even if I'm friends with them," Rory says.

  Oh great, she'll be friends with me when they aren't around. I'm the spare.

  But I can't deny the warmth coming from her.

  "You've, like, forgiven me, haven't you?" she asks.

  "Sure," I say, trying to sound as if I haven't given it much thought one way or the other.

  "I was just wondering because ... Where have you been sitting at lunch? I thought I saw you with the"—her voice drops to a whisper—"poor kids."

  "The poor kids?" I ask.

  "Yeah, you know."

  I shake my head.

  "Okay, well, whatever. I just miss you. That's all I'm trying to say."

  "Are you and Madison doing a lot of sleepovers and stuff?" I can't keep myself from asking this.

  "Some. She has, you know, other friends, too."

  Is this code for Madison is dumping her? Poor Rory. She's really nice. Well, she used to be nice, anyway. Who knows who she is now.

  "What do you mean?" I ask.

  "Nothing, I'm just saying. We had fun, didn't we?" She kicks at her new could-be-anyone's backpack. "Hey, how are your parents, you know, getting along?"

  I look at the backpack, the new pants, the new makeup. This is not the same Rory.

  "Fine," I say as the bell rings and I zip up my binder. "Never better."

  Thirty-Four

  Walk

  Walker Jones

  October 5

  "All human beings should strive to learn before they die what they are running from, and to, and why."—James Thurber

  What's this Thurber guy's problem? Who does he think he is? I'm not running from anything or anyone, and nobody I know is running from or to or around in circles, either. I've got better things to do, okay?

  Sorry, Ms. Scrushy. I'm doing my best here, but this guy is dead wrong about this.

  The elbow is back.

  "What do you want?" Walk asks.

  Brianna cocks her head. "Oh, is this bothering you?"

  "What do you think?"

  "Do you have Dolman?"

  "No."

  "Lucky you. Matteo does though, right?"

  "Uh-huh."

  "Matteo is like a math genius, isn't he?" Walk shrugs. "More or less."

  "Yes!" She pumps her fist in the air. "That's what I thought."

  The way she says this bugs Walk. He puts his elbow on her desk now.

  "What's the deal with you and Matteo?" Walk stares her down.

  "The deal?"

  "You pick on him. You act like you own the air he breathes."

  "What are you talking about? I just said he was a math genius. And besides, I don't pick on anyone. I am very kind to everyone. He's the one acts all weird about it."

  "About what?"

  She raises her eyebrows. "He never told you?"

  "Told me what?"

  She scoffs. "I thought you were friends."

  "Told me what?" Walk demands.

  "Hello? About his mom!"

  "What about his mom?"

  "She's our maid. She, like, cleans my house. Scrub-a-dub-dub," Brianna sings.

  "Liar."

  She snorts. "Oh yeah? You ask him."

  But Walk doesn't have to ask him. He can tell by her stupid smug face it's true.

  So that's what's going on.

  Thirty-Five

  Kirsten

  At lunch I head for the library table where Matteo and Walk usually sit. Matteo's backpack hangs on his chair, but it's Brianna's voice I hear. Brianna in the library? Now that's unusual.

  "Brianna!" Matteo calls. "Come on."

  Brianna snorts, then suddenly appears from behind the stacks. She glares at me. "What are you looking at?" she asks as she sails out the door.

  Matteo sits down. His face looks like a crumpled paper bag.

  "What was that all about?"

  He shoves his highlighter pack into his backpack, and gets up.

  "Hey, wait up," I call, hurrying after him, but just as I get to the door of the library, Dorarian appears, blocking my way.

  "Everything okay?" Dorarian squints, pressing her glasses up her nose.

  "Yeah, sure, uh-huh." I push past her just as Matteo ducks into the school office.

  I hurry after him. He's headed for the outside door.
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  "Excuse me." The office secretary comes up behind him. She is wearing purple pants, purple sweater, purple shirt, and purple jewelry—all of it large.

  "Oh hi," I call to her, waving my Kippy-ish wave, up around my ear.

  "You two are not allowed back here," she barks.

  "I'm sorry. I'm starving," I whisper. "My mom has me on Atkins. I swear to god I could eat a house. Matteo was just keeping me company."

  "Oh." She looks at me, then Matteo. Her big face softens. "I tried Atkins. I would have killed for a banana. And then you're supposed to eat fried pork rinds? It's disgusting.

  "Next time, ask first," she tells me, taking the cover off her purple candy dish.

  "Thank you! I really appreciate this," I tell her.

  Back out in the hall, Matteo smiles at me.

  "Now will you tell me what's going on?" I ask.

  Walk's head pops up from the water fountain. He wipes his mouth. "Yeah, what is going on?"

  "Brianna wants to copy my Dolman take-home," Matteo tells us.

  "You're kidding," I say.

  "You get caught, you'll lose your scholarship," Walk says.

  "You think I don't know that?" Matteo whispers.

  Walk nods his head. "You're not gonna do it, right?"

  "Why would he do it?" I say. "It's crazy."

  Matteo's nostrils flare.

  I look at Walk then Matteo. "What? What am I missing?"

  "His mom works for Brianna's mom," Walk explains.

  Matteo gives Walk a sharp look. "How'd you know?" he mutters.

  "I know everything," Walk says. "What happens if you say no?"

  "Brianna makes trouble for my mom," Matteo tells the floor.

  "What kind of trouble?" I ask.

  "Accuses her of things. Breaking glasses, plates, platters, stealing ... She comes home and cries and cries."

  My mouth drops open. I shut it again. Matteo's mom is the cleaning lady? I think about Bonita, our cleaning lady. I hope they don't know we have a cleaning lady. All cleaning ladies don't know one another, right? Of course they don't.

  "This time she said she'd say my mom stole." Matteo's voice is so low it's hard to hear him.

  "If you don't give her the test?" I ask.

  He nods.

  "Whoa." Walk sucks his breath in.

  "She can't do that," I say.

  "Sure she can," Matteo says.

  "We can't let her," I say.

  Matteo won't look at me.

  "But it's not right," I whisper. "It's just not."

  Thirty-Six

  Walk

  Hey, man, you can't keep doing whatever she wants," Walk tells Matteo when they're changing into their gym clothes.

  Matteo slams his gym locker. "I don't do whatever she wants."

  "What do you call it, then?"

  "I call it none of your business, Walk."

  "I'm your friend, man. Don't you know that?"

  Matteo ties his shoes slowly, methodically, like it requires all his attention to get the bow just so. Walk waits for him to answer. He doesn't.

  "Does your mom know about this?"

  Matteo pulls his shirtsleeves over his bulging arms. "My mom thinks you should believe the best of people. Brianna is a nice girl." He imitates a heavy Spanish accent. " 'Maybe your English not good, mijo. Maybe you don't understand.' "

  "How does she figure you get straight As, man?"

  Matteo shrugs.

  "How about your dad?"

  "He doesn't even think I should be at this school."

  "Why?"

  Matteo twirls the dial on his gym locker. "He thinks I'm going to forget who I am."

  "When's Dolman's take-home due?"

  "Third period tomorrow."

  "Doesn't give you a lot of time."

  "No kidding."

  "So what are you gonna do?"

  Matteo glares at him.

  "Okay, okay." Walk raises his palms up. "I'll back off. I will."

  Thirty-Seven

  Kirsten

  When I call Walk he says: "I told Matteo I'd ▼ V back off. He doesn't want help."

  "You sure?"

  "I'm sure," he says.

  "Really sure?"

  "Really sure."

  But after I hang up, I can't stop thinking about Matteo. Brianna can't do this. She just can't. Walk was right. She really is a snake—a boa that hugs you to death.

  When I fall asleep, I dream of unicorns. Hundreds and hundreds of unicorns, each one asking, "What is my name?"

  I wake up and decide I should talk to Rory. I don't know what I'll say exactly, but I can't leave this alone. I have to find out what she knows.

  Rory's dad doesn't drive her all the way to the drop-off because he's always in a rush to get to work. He lets her out at the corner by the gas station and she walks from there. I don't have to wait long before Rory's dad's silver Lexus pulls up.

  "Rory," I say as she gets out.

  Rory checks to make sure no one else is here. I can't imagine Brianna or Madison ever meeting her at the gas station, but it still hurts. "Oh hi, Kirsten," she says when she's satisfied no one is around to see her talking to me.

  "You and Brianna and Madison doing the talent show next week?"

  "Yeah, if they let us."

  "Why wouldn't they let you? You guys are doing the extra credit for Balderis."

  "Brianna got a fail notice in Dolman's. She has to get an A on the take-home or she's sunk."

  "Dolman's hard. I'm glad I didn't get her," I say as we start walking to school.

  "Me too," she agrees.

  "Matteo has been working like crazy on that take-home. And you know how smart he is."

  "Wait. You aren't really friends with Matteo, are you? Do you know his mom is like a maid?" She coughs. Her voice gets high and wheezy.

  I get her inhaler out of her backpack and hand it to her.

  "Yep. Matteo's my friend," I say after she's taken a puff.

  "Boyfriend?"

  "No. Look, I might be able to help with the Dolman take-home."

  I'm not exactly sure where I'm going with this. I don't want to get in the middle because if it blows up, Matteo and Walk will hate me. Walk told me not to get involved. I should just back off, but a plan is taking shape.

  Rory's eyes key in on me. "Really?" she asks.

  "Uh-huh," I say, "but this would be just, you know, for you. Not for Brianna, all right?"

  "Brianna and I are just friends at school and stuff. You and I are best friends forever—"

  "Sure." I cut her off and take a deep breath. "I saw Matteo put his Dolman take-home in his backpack. The front pocket. He has this, you know, Velcro organizer thing. It's, like, green and he keeps his highlighters in there and his money and stuff. The take-home's in there."

  She nods. "Really? Oh. Thanks ... like, really, thanks! Come by at lunch, okay? I miss you." She smiles the old Rory smile.

  Next thing I do is pay a visit to Dorarian the librarian.

  "Dorarian," I tell her, "you have to do me a favor."

  "And why is that?" she asks, looking at me over the top of her sparkly blue glasses.

  "Because it's really for Matteo."

  "Matteo?" She stops marking books and looks at me.

  "Call Matteo out of Balderis's first period because he has an overdue library book. But it has to be right before the end of class. Like nine twenty-five."

  "Matteo would never have an overdue library book," Dorarian informs me.

  "You'll be wrong," I tell her.

  "I'm never wrong."

  "This time you will be."

  "You want to tell me what you're up to, young lady?"

  "I can't. You have to trust me."

  "Why should I?"

  "Because I'm doing the right thing."

  She takes off her glasses and starts chewing on them. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to think Matteo has an overdue library book and be mistaken."

  "Yes! Thank you!" My arms fly out like I'm going to
hug her.

  She puts her hands up like I shouldn't come near.

  I can't help laughing at this. I don't know why. "Nine twenty-five, okay?" I tell her, half running down the hall.

  I'm late when I get back to Balderis's class.

  Balderis raps his knuckles on the table. "Ms. McKenna, I thought we were over the tardiness problem."

  "Sorry," I mumble, hurrying to my seat.

  Balderis makes a big theatrical sigh as he writes me a pinky. "Take it to the office after class. I don't want you to miss any of the lecture," he says, and continues on with his explanation.

  Walk looks at me. His eyes ask what I'm up to. What if I blow this?

  Brianna and Rory are giggling and whispering, watching me. When they see me look at them, they quick change to their pretend smiles and wave. I wave back, then I write a note to Matteo. PUT YOUR TAKE-HOME IN YOUR HIGHLIGHTER PACK IN THE FRONT COMPARTMENT OF YOUR BACKPACK. THAT IS ALL YOU HAVE TO DO. I SWEAR, SWEAR, DOUBLE SWEAR.

  He shakes his head a tiny fierce no.

  I write him another note. trust me.

  He glares at me, but he unzips the front pocket of his backpack and starts digging in it.

  Then I write a note to Balderis. BRIANNA HAS STOLEN MATTEO'S HIGHLIGHTER PACK WITH HIS MONEY IN IT.—ANONYMOUS

  Now I have to wait and just hope. What a crappy plan. Too many things have to happen for this to work. What was I thinking?

  Balderis lectures until 9:15, then he takes questions until 9:20. I draw one hangman, but I can't finish. I'm too nervous to draw.

  "Okay, extra-credit groups, five minutes to get your act together," Balderis announces at 9:20.

  But Brianna is across the room from Matteo. What's she doing way over there? She has to move closer. I get together with Rory and keep my eyes peeled for Dorarian. This is never going to work. I may as well kill myself now.

  The clock ticks 9:22. Rory is telling me about her costume for the talent show.

  9:23. "Want to see the fabric?" Rory asks.