Friends Forever? Read online

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Cast of Characters

  Chapter 1: Leadership Lesson

  Chapter 2: Follow Up

  Chapter 3: Shocking News

  Chapter 4: Discouraging Words

  Chapter 5: Good Ideas, No Takers

  Chapter 6: Training Tactics

  Chapter 7: Jump Start

  Chapter 8: Cheerleader Dares

  Chapter 9: Greater Cause

  Chapter 10: Who Cares?

  Chapter 11: The Biggest Dare

  Chapter 12: Sun-Up Showdown

  Chapter 13: P.S

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Glossary

  Discussion Questions

  Writing Prompts

  More Fun with Claudia!

  Meet David!

  Explore More

  Copyright

  Back Cover

  Cast of Characters

  CLAUDIA That’s me. I’m thirteen, and I’m in the seventh grade at Pine Tree Middle School. I live with my mom, my dad, and my brother, Jimmy. I have one cat, Ping-Ping. I like music, baseball, and hanging out with my friends.

  MONICA is my very best friend. We met when we were really little, and we’ve been best friends ever since. I don’t know what I’d do without her! Monica loves horses. In fact, when she grows up, she wants to be an Olympic rider!

  BECCA is one of my closest friends. She lives next door to Monica. Becca is really, really smart. She gets good grades. She’s also really good at art.

  ADAM and I met when we were in third grade. Now that we’re teenagers, we don’t spend as much time together as we did when we were kids, but he’s always there for me when I need him. (Plus, he’s the only person who wants to talk about baseball with me!)

  TOMMY our class clown. Sometimes he’s really funny, but sometimes he is just annoying. Becca has a crush on him … but I’d never tell.

  I think PETER is probably the smartest person I’ve ever met. Seriously. He’s even smarter than our teachers! He’s also one of my friends. Which is lucky, because sometimes he helps me with homework.

  Every school has a bully, and JENNY is ours. She’s the tallest person in our class, and the meanest, too. She always threatens to stomp people. No one’s ever seen her stomp anyone, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened!

  ANNA is the most popular girl at our school. Everyone wants to be friends with her. I think that’s weird, because Anna can be really, really mean. I mostly try to stay away from her.

  CARLY is Anna’s best friend. She always tries to act exactly like Anna does. She even wears the exact same clothes. She’s never really been mean to me, but she’s never been nice to me either!

  NICK is my annoying seven-year-old neighbor. I get stuck babysitting him a lot. He likes to make me miserable. (Okay, he’s not that bad ALL of the time … just most of the time.)

  BRAD is our school’s football star. He’s really popular, really nice, and really cute. Only Becca and Monica know that I have a really big crush on him! I usually feel too embarrassed to talk to him, unless I really, really have to.

  KAREN is one of Anna’s friends. So of course she’s trying out for the cheerleading squad.

  GINA is in eighth grade. She’s also the captain of the cheerleading squad. She gets to pick the people who will make the team. I don’t know her well, but she doesn’t seem very nice!

  KRISTIN is really good at math. She’s one of the girls who’s trying out for the cheerleading squad.

  CHAPTER 1

  Leadership Lesson

  English is my favorite class. History is my second favorite subject. Sometimes, Ms. Stark tells us an interesting story in history class.

  It is sort of like English class, but the Stories are true. People wrote down what happened in the past, or they drew pictures.

  So history class is like a time machine that only goes backward. I think that’s cool.

  Ms. Stark doesn’t tell an interesting story in history every day. Today, we talked about leadership.

  “A leader guides or leads a group or activity,” Ms. Stark explained. “Can anyone give me an example?”

  “Follow the leader,” Brad Turino said. “The kids game.”

  No one giggled, even though Brad was talking about kid stuff. No one wanted to embarrass the captain of the football team.

  He’s also GORGEOUS and NICE. And he must be a good leader, because Id follow him anywhere.

  I’ve had a secret crush on Brad for years. Only Monica and Becca know about it. They’re two of my best friends. My other best friend is Adam, but since he’s a BOY, I don’t tell him everything.

  “Good, Brad,” Ms. Stark said. “Anyone else?” Tommy jiggled in his seat and waved. He was the class clown. I couldn’t tell if he wanted to answer Ms. Stark’s question or go to the bathroom.

  “Yes, Tommy?” Ms. Stark asked.

  Tommy jumped up. He put his hands by his head and wiggled his fingers. Then he bugged out his eyes. “Take me to your leader! Or else!” he yelled in a weird alien voice.

  Becca tried not to laugh. She has a secret crush on Tommy.

  Jenny Pinski groaned. “Rotten joke, Tommy.

  Jenny doesn’t like anyone. We don’t care. We just stay out of her way. She’s wanted to stomp someone since kindergarten.

  “How rotten Was it?” Tommy asked.

  Jenny held her nose.

  Tommy sighed and sat down.

  “Anyone else?” Ms. Stark asked.

  Carly raised her hand. I was sort of surprised. Carly isn’t stupid. She just doesn’t care about grades. She forgets facts unless the topic is clothes or Pine Tree Middle School. gossip. So if Carly knows an answer, it’s a big deal.

  “The leader of the band!” she said.

  Jenny groaned again.

  “Can anyone name a person who’s an example of a good leader?” Ms. Stark asked.

  “Sam Willie, the lead guitar player in my favorite band, Bad Dog,” Sylvia answered.

  Then Anna raised her hand. “Me!” Anna exclaimed. “I’m a leader because everyone Wants to be friends with me”

  Ms. Stark smiled. “I meant someone from the past,” she explained.

  “President Abraham Lincoln!” Peter shouted out. He’s a SUPER BRAIN and a little shy. When everyone looked at him, he slid down in his seat.

  “That’s an excellent example,” Ms. Stark said. “Why was Abraham Lincoln a good leader?”

  Nobody answered.

  So Ms. Stark told us about being a good leader. I took notes.

  A Great Leader

  1. Does the right thing even if others don’t like it.

  2. Inspires others to do the right thing.

  3. Is not afraid to fail.

  I Wanted to be a great leader.

  CHAPTER 2

  Follow Up

  Monica, Becca, and I had lunch right after history class. We walked to the cafeteria together.

  “Claudia is a natural leader,” Becca said.

  “I am?” I asked, surprised.

  Becca nodded. “You think up crazy things to do,” she explained. “And Monica always goes along with your ideas.”

  Monica frowned. “No, I don’t,” she said.

  “Yes, you do,” Becca said. “Even when you might get into trouble.”

  That happens a lot. The TROUBLE part, I mean.

  Some of My Crazy Ideas and the Terrible Consequences

  Crazy Idea #1: Gave my Siamese cat a bath with the hose.

  Terrible Consequence #1: Ping-Ping freaked out. She turned into a yowling, spitting bundle of soggy fur with claws. Monica and I got scratched, and Ping-Ping wouldn’t let me pet her for a week.

 
; Crazy Idea #2: Told Nick he’d get hives if he ate our dried apricots. He ate our dried apricots. Then Monica and I told him to put butter on his arms so he wouldn’t get hives.

  Terrible Consequence #2: Nick is a brat, but he’s only seven, so he believed us. He buttered his arms, hugged his mom, and ruined her favorite silk shirt. We were grounded for a week.

  Crazy Idea #3: Ordered 10 “free” magazines on the Internet.

  Terrible Consequence #3: I didn’t read the rules carefully. Only the first month was free. I got a bill for $263.00, and Monica’s bill was even bigger! Dad told the magazine people Monica and I were kids.

  We didn’t have to pay for the magazines, but my dad and Monica’s mom made us read the free magazines. Even the boring parts. Even the ads. Every single Word!

  I couldn’t remember all the crazy ideas I ever had. The complete list was huge, but Monica always went along with them.

  Becca didn’t. If she thought we’d get into trouble, she headed home.

  “I want to be a great leader,” I said. “From now on I’ll only think up good stuff that won’t get us in trouble.”

  Becca smiled. “Works for me,” she said.

  “Not me,” Monica said. “I’m not going to follow anyone anywhere anymore.”

  CHAPTER 3

  Shocking News

  After lunch, it was time for gym class. I loved gym class, but some girls didn’t.

  Some girls don’t like gym because:

  1. Gym clothes are kind of ugly.

  2. Working out messes up your hair and makes you sweat.

  3. Some girls aren’t good at sports.

  Girls who aren’t good at sports usually don’t like sports. Anna isn’t good at sports, for example. So she always says she doesn’t like sports.

  Except one.

  “There is room on the eighth-grade cheerleading squad for some seventh graders. The seventh-grade girls will have to try out. The tryouts will be held next week,” said Ms. Campbell, our gym teacher.

  Almost everyone cheered. Anna and Carly yelled happily and jumped for joy. I Wasn’t excited. I didn’t jump.

  “How many new girls does the squad need? Anna asked sweetly. She smiled and bounced with enthusiasm.

  Becca whispered, “What a FAKE!”

  I nodded and rolled my eyes. Anna is not sweet or adorable. She’s MEAN and SELFISH.

  “She’s trying to impress Ms. Campbell,” I whispered back.

  “Why?” Becca asked. “That won’t help her get on the squad.”

  Ms. Campbell taught gym and coached some of the sports teams. But she didn’t pick the new cheerleaders. The eighth graders on the cheerleading squad were going to choose the new seventh graders.

  “Four girls left the team when they moved this year,” Ms. Campbell said. “So we need four new seventh-grade girls to replace them.”

  Everyone CHEERED again. Except Becca and me.

  “I’ve always wanted to be a cheerleader,” Carly said.

  “Me too,” Karen said. She was another one of Anna’s friends. “I just have to make the squad.”

  “Don’t worry,” Anna said. “We will.” She spoke softly so Ms. Campbell wouldn’t hear.

  “I’ve never wanted to be a cheerleader,” Becca said.

  I already knew that. Monica, Becca, and I told each other everything. I knew their deepest, darkest secrets, and they knew mine. We never talked about cheerleading.

  “Cheerleaders are conceited,” Becca continued. “Just like Anna and her friends.”

  I was impulsive and curious, and I talked too much. Sometimes Becca was so careful that she wasn’t any fun. Monica didn’t always THINK before she did things. Like going along with my CRAZY ideas. But we’re not stuck up.

  “I’m going to try out,” Monica said.

  Becca and I gasped. We were both shocked speechless. Monica couldn’t have said anything that shocked me more ’ even if she had said she wanted to train elephants to rollerskate.

  CHAPTER 4

  Discouraging Words

  Becca and I walked home with Monica. We tried to change her mind about being a cheerleader.

  A Real Friend

  … tells a friend when she’s making a mistake.

  “Cheerleading is hard work,” I told Monica. “You’ll have to practice for tryouts every day.”

  “And practice harder for the games,” Becca said.

  “If you make the squad,” I added.

  “I don’t mind hard work,” Monica said.

  She was right about that. There was no way that I could accuse Monica of being LAZY. I tried something else.

  “Cheerleading takes up too much time,” I said. “If I were a cheerleader, I couldn’t hang out with you guys or play baseball or go to the movies or watch Nick.”

  I stopped talking. My seven-year-old neighbor, Nick, was the Menace of Market Street! (That’s where we lived.) It would’ve been great to not have to watch him!

  “All the games are on Saturday,” Becca reminded Monica.

  “Right,” I said. “You’ll have to quit taking your horseback-riding lessons.”

  I thought that would get her. Horses were #1 through #10 on Monica’s Top Ten list of favorite things. She absolutely loved horses. She collected glass horses and horse movies, and her bedroom walls were covered with posters of horses.

  “I wouldn’t give up my art lessons for anything,” Becca said.

  “I don’t have to give up horseback riding,” Monica said. “I can change my riding times. That’s not a big deal.”

  I was STUNNED. Once, Monica missed Tommy’s birthday party because she wouldn’t cancel her riding lesson. She HATED missing lessons.

  “Cheerleaders have to look PERFECT,” Becca said. “Like fashion models.”

  “No flyaway hair allowed,” I added. “You’ll have to use your allowance to pay for hairspray.”

  “And you have to be PERKY!” Becca said. She held up her hands. Then she made a big, fake smile and waved her hands around.

  I copied Becca’s dorky dance. “Happy, happy all the time,” I squealed.

  “If I’m picked to be a cheerleader, I will be happy,” Monica said. “All the time.” She sounded kind of annoyed.

  I should have shut up, but I didn’t. I kept talking.

  “If Gina doesn’t like you, she won’t pick you,” I said.

  Gina is the eighth-grade version of Anna. She’s also the captain of the cheerleading squad.

  “The whole squad gets to vote,” Monica said.

  “The other cheerleaders will do what Gina wants,” Becca said.

  “And being popular counts more than being good,” I said.

  “Anna, Carly, and Karen will make the squad for sure,” Becca told Monica.

  4 cheerleaders needed - 3 popular girls = 1 spot open

  “So your chances probably aren’t very good,” I said. I wasn’t trying to insult Monica. I was just being honest. The cool kids always got picked. That was just a fact of middle-school life.

  “I’m going to try out anyway,” Monica said.

  “Why?” I asked. “I just don’t get it.”

  “I want to do something cool,” Monica explained. “And I want to be a leader. That’s what cheerleaders are. They stand in front of big crowds and get them to cheer.”

  “That’s not the kind of leader Ms. Stark meant,” I said.

  “You’re just mad because I want to do something on my own,” Monica muttered. She glared at me.

  “I’m not mad, I said.

  I didn’t want to argue. I hated arguing with Monica. Once, in fourth grade, we had a big fight. We both wanted to take the class rat home for winter break. Our teacher settled the argument. She let someone else rat-sit Toby.

  Monica and I didn’t talk for two weeks. It was a horrible vacation. We made up the first day back at school. And we promised not to fight about anything silly ever again.

  Three years later, we hadn’t had a single fight since.

  Mon
ica didn’t think cheerleading was silly.

  I shut up.

  CHAPTER 5

  Good Ideas, No Takers

  Great leaders fight for great causes.

  I couldn’t make a new country, like George Washington did.

  Or start the Red Cross to help people, like Clara Barton did.

  There just weren’t any big causes for seventh graders. Not at Pine Tree Middle School, anyway.

  So I decided to fight for a little cause.

  “I have a great idea,” I said at lunch the next day. “Let’s put all the Wrappers from our straws in the paper recycling bin instead of throwing them away.’

  “Why?” Adam asked. He ripped the end off his straw wrapper. Then he blew the wrapper right at Peter.

  Peter ducked. The wrapper hit Tommy in the face.

  “Wrapper war!” Tommy yelled. He aimed his straw at Peter.

  Peter’s wrapper hit Tommy first. “I win!” Peter yelled, smiling.

  “Come on, guys,” I said. “This is serious.”

  “What is?” Monica asked.

  “Recycling straw wrappers,” I explained. “The paper company can use old straw wrappers to make new ones. We can save a tree.”

  Tommy wadded up his wrapper and threw it at Adam. He missed, and the wrapper landed on the floor.

  Ms. Stark was watching. “Did you drop something, Tommy?” she asked, folding her arms.

  “Oops!” Tommy said. He ran over to pick up the wrapper. He made a jump shot. The wrapper went into a trashcan. “Two points!” he yelled.

  “Why didn’t you put it in the recycle bin?” I asked.

  “I forgot,” Tommy said. He shrugged. “Sorry.”

  ” Recycling is a good idea. Right, Peter?” I asked.