“Hey,” Charise whispered, sitting beside Ms. Gibson. “Did I miss anything?”

“Not yet. Did Gideon get here yet?” Ms. Gibson replied.

“Yeah, he’s getting ready in Mr. Rivers’s classroom. You do realize that we could get in trouble for this, right?”

“Do you realize that I could get in trouble for it, too? I could get fired.”

“Good point. Gideon thinks it’s hilarious that this is going to happen. I’m so glad you called to tell us.”

“Where’s S?”

“In the bathroom, trying to compose himself so he wouldn’t start giggling like an idiot when he comes in.”

“I see.”

“So, you’re going to do this when the cheerleaders get their award?”

“Yeah, Mr. Rivers and I thought it up. I like to think of it as a sort of ‘Revenge of the Nerds’ thing.”

“You guys are really weird.”

“Yeah, I know.”


“Hey, what’s Charise doing here?” Emily whispered.

“Well, she did sort of co-create CNC,” Ophelia pointed out.

“Yeah, I know that, but still… it’s kind of weird. What do you think she and Ms. Gibson are whispering about?”

“Who knows? I’m sure there’s a reason for it.”

“Well, I’d like to know.”

“I’m sure we will eventually. It’s probably just some boring thing.”

“Yeah, probably.”


S stepped out of the bathroom, his face perfectly calm and serious, but this façade lasted mere seconds, when he saw Gideon. S laughed hysterically, leaning against the wall for support as tears of mirth rolled down his face.

“Oh, shut up, Verona,” Gideon muttered.

“Dude, dude, you look just like him. I mean, except the hair.”

“Well, I’m not going to mess up my hair just for one stupid joke on the ditzy cheerleaders.”

“But still, that’s awesome. How did they convince you to do it?”

“Mr. Rivers offered me $20 to do it.”

“Money definitely well-spent.”

“Yeah, I guess. I’m really getting sick of this fad.”

“Well, then, what would you suggest?” S asked.

Gideon thought for a minute, and then replied, “Something with Ville Valo.”

“Oh, God, not you, too!”


S sat beside Charise, smirking a little. Charise glanced over at him, trying to maintain her composure.

This is going to be hilarious, she thought to herself. I can’t wait for Gideon to get up and start dancing. Oh my God, this is going to be great. I wish Tacita could be here to see this. Hey, maybe I should get Ms. Gibson to grab one of the cameras from the A/V room. We can record it and make copies for everyone! That would be totally sweet!

Ms. Gibson lightly nudged Charise. “What are you smirking about?” she whispered.

“I seriously wish we had a camera,” Charise replied.

“We do. Earlier today, Mr. Rivers and I set up a few small cameras directed at the stage.”

“Seriously?!”

“Yeah, we figured we’d record this for posterity. Our last attempts at being hell-raisers, so to speak. We’re getting too old for this kind of thing.”

“You guys aren’t old. Thirties and forties… come on, that’s young now!”

“Mm, I guess. I just can’t wait to see how people are going to react to this. It’ll be seriously awesome.”