“I’m still a metal mouth,” said Allie, pointing to her braces. “And a motormouth, too.”
Allie laughed loudly at her own joke and Izzy cringed, thinking, Turn your volume down, Allie. Quickly, Izzy said to Marie, “I love your new hairdo. It’s The Best!” Marie always had been very particular about her appearance, and straight-up fearless about fashion and hairdos. Today her hair had a hot pink streak from her part to her chin that matched her shirt’s hot pink sequin stripes and the pink sparkles scattered across her tulle skirt. “You should be, like, a social media influencer or something!” said Izzy.
“Oh,” said Marie, tucking a pink streak of hair behind one ear. “Thanks.”
“And wow!” said Charlie, pointing to Marie’s sneakers, which were shiny and changed colors when she moved. “How’d you make your shoes glow like that?”
“Oh,” said Marie again, “phosphorescent paint.”
Izzy saw that Marie was distracted, and she saw why: Two girls were staring at Izzy, Marie, Allie, and Charlie and whispering to each other. A wave of self-consciousness swept over Izzy from head to toe. Politely she said, “Listen, Marie. We’re late to this assembly already because of the crowded halls. Aren’t those stairs just the worst? And can you believe how cold it is in here? Anyway, we have to hustle to find seats, so we can’t talk now, but can you come over after school? Granddad would love to see you! We’ll make sundaes, like we used to! Or peanut butter toast or sandwiches with—what did you always call it when we were little? Swish cheese!”
“Thank you, Izzy,” said Marie, also polite. “But no, I have to go straight home.”
“We could come to your house,” suggested Charlie.
“No,” Marie said again. “That won’t work.”
“Oh, right,” said Charlie. “I remember that your mom always was sort of strict.” Marie’s mom kept the house “just so” at all times and decorated it elaborately.
Izzy piped up, “Remember that time we made an explosion in your kitchen and blew the fuses and all your Christmas lights went out? Your mom was pretty mad about it. So I guess—”
“Look,” Marie said abruptly, “I’ll talk to you guys later.”
“Oh! Okay,” said Izzy, Charlie, and Allie together, all three taken aback by Marie’s coldness.
Sometimes, when Izzy was anxious, she made dumb jokes. This was one of those times. She grinned too wide and said goodbye to Marie the way they used to when they were in third grade: “See you later, alligator!”
Charlie understood that Izzy was nervously trying to remind Marie of the fun they used to have. She laughed kindly and said, “¡Vale! Okay, Izzy! We’re not in third grade anymore, but I’ll pick up my cue. I say, ‘In a while, crocodile.’ Right?”
Not one to miss a beat, Allie chimed in, “And I say, ‘See you soon, raccoon!’ ”
They waited for Marie to say, “In an hour, sunflower!”
When she didn’t, Allie said, in an exaggeratedly bad French accent, “Au revoir, minotaur! That’s a French one I made up for you, Marie.”
Marie winced, and Izzy saw that the two staring girls were snickering at them now. “Yes, well,” Marie said curtly, “as Charlie said, we’re not in third grade anymore. I’ll see you around.” She turned away and sat down.
“Yikes,” said Allie as she and Charlie and Izzy walked back up the aisle. “I’d say I told you so, but that was even more awkward than I thought it would be.”
Even Izzy had to admit, “Marie didn’t exactly seem overjoyed to see us.”
“Ya think?” said Allie. “That’s the understatement of the century.”
“It’s like she’s Marie’s evil twin,” said Charlie. She sighed. “Well, there’s no way we can stop her from being different from the way she used to be. She has evolved.”
Izzy felt torn in two. Part of her still believed that Marie wanted to be their friend, even if she had changed in other ways. But after that encounter, part of her couldn’t shake off this nagging, negative thought: One law of physics is that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Marie certainly had an equal and opposite reaction to our warm friendliness: a very cold shoulder.
Izzy glanced back and saw Marie wave to someone—a new girl that Izzy didn’t recognize—and motion the girl toward her and the seat that she had saved. The new girl had snappy brown eyes. She wore eyeglasses with big frames and overalls with lots of pockets. Marie spoke animatedly and intently to her as they took their seats next to one another. It was clear to see Marie had no cold shoulder for the new girl.
For a second, Izzy was crushed. Then her determined streak kicked in, and she thought, I don’t know how, but Allie, Charlie, and I will warm Marie up. We’ll make her want to be our friend again.
Izzy, Allie, and Charlie found three seats together in the back of the auditorium and plunked themselves down just as the principal, Mr. Delmonico, began to speak to the 300 new sixth graders. He was a beanpole, but his voice was big and booming as he said, “All right, let’s settle down now.” The noise didn’t decrease at all, so Mr. Delmonico tried again. “Students! Atom Middle School sixth graders! Your attention, please!” When that didn’t work, the principal resorted to flicking the lights on and off and bellowing, “Quiet!”
Finally, with lots of rustling, whispers, and squeaking seats, the room quieted.
“Thank you,” said the principal. “I’m Mr. Delmonico. I’m new here at Atom Middle School, too, so you and I will begin together. Let’s get off to a good start.”
“Why’s it so cold?” someone yelled, and everyone cheered and whistled in support of the question. “It’s cold outside, but it’s freeeeezing in here!”
Mr. Delmonico shook his head. “I know,” he said. He shivered. “I’m cold, too. Maintenance is working on it. This is an old building, and we’ve had some trouble with the air-conditioning unit. It’s like the thing’s got a mind of its own. But never fear, technicians are in my office today checking out the thermostat. We should be back to normal in no time.”
At that, someone started a wave that swept across the auditorium, with kids standing up, waving their hands in the air, and saying, “Brrrr!” This was met with gales of laughter.
“Let’s keep it down to a dull roar, folks!” said Mr. Delmonico, though he had a chuckle in his voice. When the laughter died down, he continued, saying, “The purpose of this morning’s assembly is to welcome you to Atom Middle School and to go over the school rules and expectations. There’s really only one rule: Be kind. And I have only one expectation: Follow the rule. Now, you’ve been assigned to homerooms alphabetically by last name. Your homeroom teachers will hand out your schedules, locker assignments, and combinations.”
Nervous murmurs rippled through the auditorium.
Mr. Delmonico spoke over the anxious muttering. “I know that lockers and locker combinations are new for most of you. But you’ll get used to them. Stay cool.”