Excerpt 1

The bell rings, and everyone hurries to find the right seat. Our teacher, Ms. House, has placed a name card on each desktop. We sit alphabetically. When I take a minute to look around, I can’t believe who’s beside me. It’s seventh grader Mark Lewis, the most popular guy in the school. How will I ever concentrate on advanced math when the cutest, coolest boy is sitting right next to me? The pencil slips out of my sweaty hand. Regular boys don’t make me nervous, but Mark is definitely not regular.

Someone wrote “I kissed Mark L” in the girls’ bathroom in my old elementary school. The fifth grade girls spent most of last year trying to figure out who had been lucky enough to kiss him. It’s obvious why Mark is so popular. He has shiny brown hair and soft curls that hit the back of his neck. He has this perfect small nose that goes with his angled jaw. When Mark smiles, his whole face smiles—including his large brown eyes. Mark’s eyes are his best feature. They twinkle like the brightest stars in a dark sky. I could stare at him for a long time.

Ms. House passes out our text books and tells us to turn to page five. I barely hear her because I’m too busy wondering if Mark Lewis can see my pimple. I wish I had popped it. I’m startled when Ms. House interrupts my ultra-important inner thoughts to ask me a question. Luckily, I recover pretty fast and come up with the answer.

I smile inside. This will be the first happy event of the day to share with my dad. Or maybe Mark Lewis being in my class should be number one and getting the answer correct should be number two. Ending the fight with Sarah will definitely make the list. Maybe the first day of middle school isn’t going to be so bad after all.