Chapter 1:

Everyone else had a partner but me. What was I supposed to do now? Annie gave me a sympathetic smile from across the room; much to the dismay of most of the school’s female population, excluding myself, she had managed to talk Jack Martin into be her partner for the trip. Jack Martin…how original. He and two of his friends, Adrian Lebundusky and Eddie Gray, are on what I refer as the Idiot Brigade.

One my female peers that is especially miffed at Annie and Jack’s partnership is Sophie Wiennamen. Sophie is the epitome of esteem and popularity at K.L. Downing Middle School, her dark hair always perfect, her nails always manicured…and she just happens to be Jack’s girlfriend of four months.

Partnership on the eighth grade trip to New York City is vital, because your partner, who you choose before you leave, is your bus buddy, your restaurant table companion, your semi-chaperone on the rare occasion when the two of you are allowed to go off on your own…

…and I am partnerless. I shall walk the streets of Manhattan all alone, be that weird girl they stick at a table with (knowing my luck) the Idiot Brigade.

Oh, where did my manners go? I forgot to introduce myself! My parents are convinced my name is Edwina Mae McHuff-Loscowitz. Couldn’t you just die? At the age of eleven, I fashioned myself a new name, one that would not get snickered at during role call. Roxanna Marie Low. Tres chic, right? At this exact moment, my black hair is insisting on sticking up in every direction, I have forgotten my iPOD at home, and there is something brown on my jeans that could be chocolate or goat crap.

Annie heads towards me. Not that I’m going to speak to her. I’m mad at her. We planned in the THIRD STINKING GRADE that on the eighth grade trip, we would be partners. So, la-dee-da, I end up partnerless while she goes off in hopes to capture the heart of the taken and dim-witted Mr. Martin.

Annelise Acton and I have been best friends for as long as I can remember. She lives down the street from me, and although people tell us we’re polar opposites, we find that we compliment each other nicely.

“Rox, I’m sorry, but…”

I stopped her. “I don’t want to hear it.”

“Roxie, you’re being a drama queen.” And then she did that pouty lip thing, and made her eyes even bigger (not an easy feat.)

“I guess the drama llama followed me here.”

I cracked a smile. I’m horrible at staying mad at people in general, but Annie just knows how to make me laugh, and once you get me laughing, I forget why I’m mad.

“So,” I said, veering back on track, “how’d you convince Martin to partner up?”

“I have my methods,” Annie said with a sly smile. “Plus, Sophie needs to come off her pedestal. I can practically feel her giving me the evil eye through the back of my head.”

“Well, wouldn’t you be thoroughly pissed if some little trollop partnered up with your boyfriend?”

“Did you just say trollop? I take offense at that!”

“Crap, I was hoping you didn’t know what it meant. Anywho, what am I going to do about this whole partner ordeal?”

And at that moment, the other school arrived. K.L. Downing is so small that we always partner up with another school. Literally, there are only eighty-two people in my entire grade. So, for the eighth grade trip, we always go with the “fine, academic young people” at Dekken Middle School.

Automatically, every girl in the room looked up and started boy-watching. I could hear Annie whispering under her breath, “Ugly, ugly, fruity, goofy-looking, fruity, fruity, fruity, ugly…”

I felt a tap on my shoulder. Crapola, what’ve I done now?

“Miss McHuff-Loscowitz?”

Ms. Frink, our batty guidance counselor and organizer of field trips. In my career at K.L. Downing, I believe I have told her thirty-seven times that I got by Roxanna Low, and would appreciate it if she would not call me by that ridiculous name my parents cursed me with at birth. She has yet to comply. I sigh heavily, hoping my annoyance would be noted.

“It would appear that a student at Dekken is without a partner, so you won’t be alone after all! Isn’t that exciting?”

“Oh, yes, Ms. Frink,” I said, letting sarcasm drip into my voice, “I can hardly contain myself.”

“Here comes the young man now!”

And then he walked in. And he was gorgeous. Like, not just “oh, well he’s okay, I guess” cute. No, this was “drop-your-books-and-offer-him-a-s’more-cause-he’s-HOT!” cute. He had dark brown hair that hung into piercing blue eyes. He was taller than me (an ‘oh-my-god factor’ in my opinion; I’m not extremely tall, but this school is crawling with midgets.), and I heard him say, “Miss?” to Ms. Frink, and get this…. he had an accent. Not just any accent, but a BRITISH accent. Swoon-a-rama. The gods are with me today.

“Oh, yes, Benjamin, Eddie’s waiting over there. And Edwina (I made sure to glare at her. She didn’t notice), your partner’s right here!”

Behind this gorgeous hunk of England was my partner. Crap it.

Ms. Frink started to introduce us.

“Mr. Pope, this is Miss Mc-“

“Roxanna Low,” I said, and extended my hand.

“Oliver Pope.”

I looked him up and down. He had a mass of curly blond hair that stuck in every direction (really, worse than mine was at the moment), and he a large, freckled covered nose sticking out from underneath it. He came up to my shoulder (slightly terrifying, I’m only 5’6”…and I thought the boys at KLDMS were short…), and the strangest part was that his feet were HUGE. But all in all, he was a bit on the goofy-looking side, but not completely grotesque.

“I’ll just leave you two to get acquainted!”

“Alrighty, ma’am!” Oliver said in an overtly cheery voice. Hmm, this boy and I might get along better than I thought…

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