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Click here for reading level. This book is part of the Bayview High series. To read the first chapter of After Dinner Barf, click here. Enjoy! Other Tea Leaf Press books by A.D. Fast: Beating Up Daniel Crossing the Line Dangerous Rivals Taking the Lead The Mystery of the Medieval Coin To Save a King Angel Wilson: teenage diva After Dinner BarfThe sound of lockers crashing closed filled the hall as the bell rang for first class.First class, Angela thought as she grabbed her new notebook. What happened to summer? Summer went by too quickly. It was the same old September routine. New jeans, new shirts, new teachers, and the same old guys. Angela was glad she was in grade ten this year. She was fourteen years old and would turn fifteen in November. She was always the youngest in her grade. It was good not be the youngest in the school, like she was last fall. This past summer had been awesome. Angela had spent the summer teaching gymnastics at a summer gymnastics camp. She coached little kids from four to eight years old. Every night she hung out with friends, and every weekend she watched cute guys at the beach or went shopping. She also had a part-time job scooping ice cream. All in all, it was an exciting summer. But now it was over. "Heyyyyy, Angie baby," a voice sang from down the hall. A girl with long, red wavy hair ran toward her. It was her friend Autumn. Angela braced herself. Autumn was not slowing down. Her arms were open wide. Within seconds she had Angela in a massive bear hug. "You look awesome, girlfriend!" Autumn said. She finally stopped hugging long enough to talk. "Thanks, so do you. I like the red hair. Very cool. Very skin-matching," Angela answered. "Yeah? Well then, I'll keep it," she announced proudly. Autumn was always changing her hair. Straight. Curly. Braids. Colors. Her wild hair matched her personality. She was always worried about her hair color matching her skin tone. She had fair skin, and rosy, rosy cheeks. Her red hair also looked great with her green eyes. If she wanted to, she could be an actress or a model, Angela thought. "Do you have chemistry now?" she asked Angela. Autumn loved school. She loved every class. And every class loved her. She got great marks for everything she handed in. "Yeah, so do you? Cool," said Angela. Angela grabbed her white binder. It was covered in glitter-ink. The names of great gymnasts were written all over it. "How was drama camp?" Angela asked as they walked down the hall to chemistry class. "It's drama lessons, my friend," Autumn said, laughing. "They wouldn't let me into drama camp. It was filled with eight-year-olds." She smiled "It was so great. I made a demo tape to try out for commercials. Did you know we're doing a musical this year?" "Get out of town!" Angela said, pretending to be surprised. "How happy are you?" "Too happy," she answered as she strolled cheerfully down the hallway. The two girls stopped and chatted to their friends at lockers as they walked along. It took forever to get to class. Angela and Autumn had been friends ever since grade nine math class. Angela had stood up on her chair and sang "Jeremiah was a Bullfrog" on a dare. She got kicked out, of course. Autumn had brought her the homework after class. She had been the only one to clap for Angela. They had been friends ever since. Angela felt good being back in class. She had her new black pants on with a tight black top. She had spent the whole night before trying on clothes. The weather was still warm, but she did not want to wear shorts. She did not want anyone to notice that she looked different this year, either. It wasn't her hairstyle--her long, brown hair was still straight and shiny. She did not change her lipstick either. It was her body. Over the summer, a terrible thing happened to her. She grew up. That's what her mother told her. "You've grown up dear." Bigger hips, a bigger bra, the whole nine yards. She used to be as thin as a board. And as flat as a board, too. Now, she had curves. "Womanly curves," her mother said. "It's about time." She was afraid Angela would never develop. Angela, however, didn't like it. Before, her boy-body (as her brother put it) was good for many reasons. Clothes hung down straight. No one stared at her chest. She was light on her feet for gymnastics. Now, she still wore the same size as last year, but she looked like she could be twenty-one. The two girls walked into chemistry class and looked for two seats together. Most of the students were already in class. Most of the seats were taken. Angela and Autumn had no choice but to sit near the front of the class. Test tubes sat on the long table at the front of the room. The names of chemicals were written on a large poster at the side of the class. The long green curtains were pulled back and the sun streamed in through the windows. The room was spotless. That would be the last time they would see the classroom so clean until the end of the school year. "Angela, bella, look at you!" Sal called out from four rows back. Angela took her seat. Bella meant beautiful in Italian. Sal liked to tease Angela. Salvatore Dipalma was six feet tall and had short, wavy black hair and long, black eyelashes. He worked construction all summer from seven in the morning until seven at night. His dad built houses and needed extra help in the busy summer. He and Angela had been good friends since grade one. "Get out," she called over. "Where have been? I haven't seen you in ages." "You know, working all summer. I'm done now, though. When are you coming over?" he said with a smile. He winked as he opened his book. Sal had a loud voice and didn't care who heard him. Angela looked at Autumn and smiled. Autumn gave her arm a nudge and winked. "Why don't you go for him?" Autumn asked. "He's tall, dark, and gorgeous. And he likes you." "Autumn!" Angela whispered. "We're friends. We pretty much grew up together!" "Actually, Ang, they say you should be friends first. Then you start to date," Autumn said quietly. "Would you stop it? Gross! Besides, my mother would totally die. Sal's mom is my mom's best friend. It just can't be done," she added. When she glanced at Sal, he winked. The new chemistry teacher walked in and put his books on the table at the front of the class. He wrote "Mr. Lang" on the board. When Mr. Lang turned around Autumn gasped out loud. Autumn knew Ted Lang's younger sister. When Autumn was in grade four, Ted had been in grade twelve. He was really cute. He looked like Tom Cruise, only taller. She used to go to the high school football games just to see him run out on the field. Mr. Lang smiled at the class. "Good morning," he said in a loud, deep voice. "I'm Mr. Lang. Some of you may know me. I used to be a student at Bayview High." Autumn took out a piece of paper, wrote something down, and passed it to Angela. There's no way I can learn chemistry now. Angela smirked. "What are the odds of this happening?" Autumn whispered to Angela. "I hope he doesn't recognize me." Mr. Lang began handing out the course outlines. He stopped in front of Autumn to count enough papers for the row. He put down the handouts and asked her to pass them back. Then he smiled and went over to the next row. "Pardon my heart failure," Autumn whispered, her eyes closed. Mr. Lang made things pretty clear. He was going to be a strict teacher. Late projects would get a mark of zero. Talking would get you kicked out. He warned them that he was planning on giving a lot of pop quizzes. The bell rang and the class gathered their books. Autumn had drama, and Angela had English. They agreed that they would meet later for gym class. As Angela walked out the door she walked right into Chris Wells--the best looking guy in grade twelve. |
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