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Click here for reading level. This book is part of the Bayview High series. To read the first chapter of Hidden Talent, click here. Enjoy! Read an interview with the author, or visit her myspace page. Other Tea Leaf Press books by H.J. Lewis: Summer of Change Who is Mel Randall, Anyway? The Accidental Camper Distant Cousin Hawk Medicine Hidden TalentVish knew he'd blown it. Big time.He stared at the page full of chemical equations. All the numbers and letters seemed to blur together. "One minute to go!" the Chemistry teacher, Mr. Lang, called out. Vish looked up at the clock and then back at his quiz paper. He had three multiple-choice questions to go. When in doubt, choose C, he thought. Or is it B? He filled in B for all three questions. "Time's up! Put your pencils down, please." Mr. Lang stood at the front of the room. "Hand in your papers on your way out." The bell rang and students started shuffling up to the teacher's desk. Vish felt a smack on the back of his head. He turned to see his buddy Gord standing behind him. "How did you do?" Gord asked. "Not good. What about you?" "I bombed," Gord replied. "What's with having a pop quiz in the second week of school? It's just not right." "Zuke probably aced it," Vish said. "As usual," Gord added. They both looked across the room at their friend Mike Suzuki. He was wearing a T-shirt that read "Actually I AM a rocket scientist." "Quiet, please!" Mr. Lang called out. Vish slid out of his seat and walked to the front of the room. "Thank you, Gordon." The teacher nodded as Gord handed over his test. "Thank you, Amit," he said to Vish. Gord choked on a laugh and headed for the door. Vish cleared his throat. "Uh, my name is Vish, sir." Mr. Lang looked up and frowned. "Vish, right. Vish. It's been a long week. Listen, can you hang back for a minute?" Vish stepped to one side while his classmates handed in their tests. I can't be in trouble for failing the quiz already, he thought. Lang probably wants to say he's sorry for calling me the wrong name. If so, he could save his breath. Vish was used to teachers calling him by his brother's name. But...how does he know Amit? Mr. Lang was new this year. The last few students filed past. Mr. Lang leaned back in his chair and looked at Vish. "Vish Chopra. You must be Amit's little brother. I just got the connection now." "That's me," Vish replied. "Amit and I were in the same classes all through high school," Mr. Lang told him. "You went to Bayview?" Mr. Lang nodded. "About six years ago." That explains it, Vish thought. Mr. Lang did look about the same age as Amit. "What's your brother up to these days?" the teacher asked. "He's at med school now," Vish replied. "At McGill." Mr. Lang smiled. "I'm not surprised. Amit and I were always competing for the highest marks. He usually came out on top." Vish looked at his watch, hoping the teacher would get the hint. He did. "Sorry, Vish. I'm sure you want to get started on your weekend. Just tell your brother that Ted Lang says hello." "Will do, Mr. Lang." Vish was already half-way to the door. Gord was waiting in the hall. "What's up with the private party with Mr. Lang? Are you sucking up for a better mark or something?" Vish laughed. "Yeah, right. Where's Zuke?" "He'll catch up. Let's get out of here." Gord and Vish started walking. Lockers lined both sides of the long hallway. Metal doors slammed shut as students cleared out after last period. The squeaking of sneakers on the wooden gym floor echoed down the hall. A couple of girls dressed in volleyball uniforms raced past Gord and Vish. "So what did Mr. Lang want?" Gord asked. "He asked about Amit. I guess they went to high school here together. The two of them were at the top of their class." "Amit? At the top of his class?" Gord joked. "There's a huge surprise." "Lang is sure going to be disappointed when he marks my quiz," Vish said. "Heads up!" a voice shouted. Vish turned around just as Mike booted a soccer ball in their direction. Gord snagged it out of the air and quickly looked around for teachers. "Zuke, if you get my ball taken away, you're a dead man." Mike just laughed. "Whatever. You want to head to the park for a while?" "Yeah," Gord said. "Let's go." They walked past the front office. Old Mrs. Finkle was sitting in her usual spot behind the desk. She waved at the boys and then called out to Vish. "Have you heard from Indira lately? How is she doing?" Vish sighed. If one more person asks about my brother or sister, I'm going to lose it. His sister was in her second year at university. She was just as smart as Amit-maybe smarter. "She's good, Mrs. Finkle," Vish said, trying to keep a straight face. "She dropped out of school and went to India. Now she's living at an ashram and doing yoga all day." Mrs. Finkle's mouth dropped open in shock. Vish took off before she started to ask questions. "You are such a liar!" Gord gave Vish a high five as he came through the door at the end of the hall. All three boys burst out laughing. "Doing yoga, that's a good one!" Mike said after he'd caught his breath. Indira was studying engineering. The chances of her dropping out of school to bum around were slim to none. Vish was a different story. If he dropped out of school, he didn't think anyone would be surprised. |
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