Bessica Lefter Bites Back (23 page)

“How many crickets are in there?” Pierre asked.

“We buy them by the dozen,” I said.

My friends looked horrified. Then I opened Bianca’s cage and dumped the white crickets inside.

“I’ve never seen one animal eat another animal,” Pierre said.

“Even on television?” Sylvie asked.

Pierre didn’t have time to answer. Because Bianca leaped from her plastic tree and landed on the cage’s bottom and snapped up a cricket in one quick bite.

Everybody screamed.

“Look! Duke said. “Its legs are still moving. It’s not dead yet.”

But then Bianca swallowed the rest of the bug whole.

“It’s dead now,” I said.

Hanging out watching Noll Beck’s lizard eat bugs with my friends was a pretty good way to spend the day. “Noll is so lucky to have you as a neighbor,” Lola said. “Because I could never do that.”

“That thing looks like a dinosaur,” Pierre said.

“No it doesn’t,” Lola said.

“If that thing doesn’t look like a dinosaur, then what does it look like?” Pierre asked.

“A lizard,” Lola said.

I sensed a little friction between those two, but in a good way.

“I can’t watch more crickets get snapped in two,” Sylvie said. “What should we do next?”

“Ooh,” I said. “I know. Have you guys ever seen a narwhal?”

Sylvie, Lola, Pierre, and Duke all just stared at me. “It’s a whale with a nine-foot horn tooth. Willy bought me
a DVD of one. And there’s also polar bears. It’s a little bloody.”

After I liked the one he rented so much, he had bought a copy for me. It was a pretty nice thing to do.

“That sounds cool,” Duke said.

“Let’s watch it,” Pierre said.

“How much blood?” Sylvie asked.

I put my arm around her. “There’s only two blood-gushing scenes.”

Lola kept staring at Bianca. “Have you sent Noll a picture of her lately?”

I shook my head.

“You should hold Bianca and I’ll send him a picture of that. It’s a good idea to send people you like your picture.”

“Shhh,” I said. I didn’t want Pierre and Duke to know that I liked Noll.

“Isn’t Noll Beck in high school?” Duke asked.

“We’re just really good friends. I watch his lizard when he’s out of town. And he does stuff for me.”

“Like what?” Duke asked.

What did Noll Beck do for me?

“He’s an awesome listener,” I said. Because when I spoke he usually remembered what I said.

“Okay,” Lola said. “I’m ready.”

I reached into the aquarium and grabbed Bianca behind
the head so she couldn’t bite me. I didn’t use the yellow gloves, because I thought that might look weird.

“Can I touch it?” Duke asked.

“After the picture,” I said.

I held Bianca up to my cheek and she licked me. “So gross. I have lizard spit on my face.”

“So cool,” Pierre said.

Right as Lola snapped the picture, the lizard clamped her mouth shut on my nose.

“Ack!” I said.

“The lizard facebombed you,” Duke said, laughing.

“That’s actually a funny subject line,” I said. “Noll appreciates my sense of humor.”

So while I was surrounded by my middle school friends, I sent Noll Beck a picture of me and his lizard.

I hope you’re feeling better. FYI your lizard facebombed me!

And Noll Beck wrote back right away. He said:

I’m getting there. Thanks for the update!

“Ooh. He gave me an exclamation point. And he just sent me a picture,” I said.

I clicked to enlarge it and saw something very sad:
Noll Beck in what looked like a hospital bed, wearing what looked like a sling, next to what looked like his ex-girlfriend.

“Cute nurse,” Pierre said.

But Sylvie understood that we were not looking at Noll’s nurse.

“Life is long,” Sylvie said. “That picture doesn’t mean anything.”

But it meant something to me. Because Noll Beck’s ex-girlfriend was hugging him.

“Let’s start the DVD,” Lola said. “Follow me.”

Lola led Pierre and Duke out to my living room. I kept looking at the picture. I wasn’t crushed. Just surprised. And a little bit sad.

“You’re still the mascot. And people at your school think you’re awesome. They can’t wait to watch you cheer at the next game,” Sylvie said. “You did it. You wanted to be popular and now you are.”

I nodded. Then I closed the picture.

“Are you sad?” Sylvie asked.

“Not really,” I said. “I have a pretty good life. Great friends. Grandma is back. According to Vicki Docker I possess a very powerful inner cheer beast.”

“You’re forgetting the most important thing,” Sylvie said.

“I’m getting good grades in all my classes?” I asked.

“No.”

“I’m not grounded?”

“No.”

“My birthday is coming up?”

“No.”

“What?” I asked. I was tired of guessing.

“You’re awesome!” Sylvie yelled.

I didn’t think Sylvie had ever told me that I was awesome before. It made me smile.

“Come watch the movie and be awesome in the living room!” Lola called.

I walked down the hallway, feeling better and better with each step. Maybe middle school was going to be a lot more fun than I’d thought. Now that I’d defeated T.J. and become popular, maybe things were going to be amazing for me. Maybe Grandma had been right all along.

Happiness isn’t something you chase. It’s just the way you feel.

KRISTEN TRACY
grew up in a small town in Idaho, where she learned a lot about bears. She now lives in San Francisco, where she volunteers as a gardener on Alcatraz. She has written many books for teens and tweens and people younger than that, including Lost It, Crimes of the Sarahs, A Field Guide for Heartbreakers, Sharks & Boys, Camille McPhee Fell Under the Bus, and The Reinvention of Bessica Lefter.