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Before I can reply, he does a quick about-face and starts marching toward the pool house.
Once he s a good distance away, I turn and face the Helping Hands. They re all just standing there,
stupified, looking like they might dive for cover at any second. Penny s mouth is gaping wide enough for
a whole burger, Carter is pearly pale, and the twins are waving in the wind, looking a little faint. Drip, on
the other hand, is bouncing on the toes of her sneakers.
That. Was.Awesome! she says, uttering one word per bounce. You rock!
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I can t believe she did that, Hank says to Frank.
I can t believe you did that, Frank says to me.
Yeah, Carter adds. Way tostick it to him.
Drip lets out an aggravated moan. Maggie, can you chase him off next?Please?
All of a sudden I hear a rhythmic footfall and the crunching of leaves. Jack is racing toward us, his
T-shirt stained with sweat.
Hey, he says breathlessly. What happened? I saw those guys come over. Were they trying to start
stuff?
Yeah, sort of, Drip replies. But Maggie took care of them. Especially Miles. She and the others start
laughing.
Jack turns to me. Really? Are you okay?
He seems worried. Maybe too much so. I m fine, I answer.
But& what did he do?
Nothing. He just& talked trash.
Yeah. And she almost bagged him, Drip cuts in.
Jack walks right up to me. You need to stay away from that guy.
I stare back at him, thrown by his slightly pushy attitude. I can handle Miles.
She s right about that, cries one of the twins.
Jack rakes his fingers through his sweaty hair. Look. Just trust me on this, he continues, his voice
barely audible. That guy is scum. You don t want to egg him on.
Who says I was? And who are you to boss me around? I can t believe this guy. My own parents
don t lecture me the way he does. Does he think I m some flaky kid who can t take care of herself?
Okay. I m sorry, he says. Only he doesn t sound sorry. He just sounds irritated by my reaction. I
just& He pauses and lets out a sigh. I just don t want to see anyone get hurt. He looks at me, and for
a second it seems like he s going to say something else. Then he shakes his head and walks away,
heading back to the dead tree.
A voice comes from below. Hmmm. I glance down and see Drip staring after Jack.
What? I ask.
Nothing, she replies. Just& hmmm.
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You should have seen it. It was, like, ten to one.
No it wasn t. More like twelve to one.
What are you talking about? You were so scared you practically climbed the tree. You weren t even
looking.
My standing up to the gang of Bippies has become a subject of debate for the twins. Once everyone
started relaying the story to Mrs. Pratt, the facts seemed to go out with the Hefty bags. To hear it now,
you d think I was a weapon-wielding martial arts master and the Bippies had brass knuckles and chains.
Frank keeps calling me Warrior Princess and Hank won t stop humming some superhero theme song.
After the incident with Miles and Caitlyn, the rest of the morning went fine, and before I realized it, it was
time to pack up and head over to Mrs. Pratt s house. At first I wasn t sure about it. I really didn t want
to see Jack again; that guy already had me wary before all this ordering me around. But I was hungry.
And Norm was back at my place, getting ready for another astrology class. So I got Penny to draw me a
new map and biked into the neighborhood behind the park.
I m so glad you joined our club! Drip says for the seventh time, walloping me on the back.
The only ones not joining in the dramatic retelling are Jack and Penny and I. I keep shoving mini
egg-salad sandwiches into my mouth so I won t have to talk. Jack is sitting in the leather recliner, listening
to the others and shooting me disapproving looks every few seconds. And Penny, other than asking if the
soup is dairy free, hasn t said much at all.
That s twice she and I have been in a confrontation with Caitlyn and the others, and Penny hasn t
acknowledged either time. Is it because it bothers her so much she can t bear to talk about it? Or has she
been beaten down so much by those types it isn t even newsworthy anymore?
Well, now. Sounds like you guys had quite an exciting time out there, Mrs. Pratt remarks in a not
entirely sincere voice. She s also been giving me strange glances, as if she were Jack s illegitimate mother
or something. Probably afraid I might try to take over the club and turn them into a fighting force.
I m really starting to regret losing my temper with the Bippies. Not because I fear retaliation which is a
possibility but because I now realize it was the wrong thing to do. I don t mean ethically. I mean
planwise. None of these Helping Hands members would have faced them down (except maybe Drip). I
should have just hung my head and taken the abuse like a good loser.
Okay, everyone. I hate to be a party pooper, but we do need to discuss some club business, Mrs.
Pratt shouts from her seat on the couch. The big dance is coming up soon and we still have a lot of work
to do.
Dance? I look over at Penny, who is carefully lining up the plastic spoons. What dance?
Every fall the Helping Hands Club has a dance fund-raiser for the charity of our choice, she says, as if
reading from the official bylaws. This year we decided to donate all the money from tickets and drinks
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