CHAPTER 1

END OF THE SEVENTH GRADE

I sat in my chair, waiting for class to start, with the pit in my stomach growing by the second. Today was the big exam, and I felt like I was going to puke. I looked around the room: everyone was laughing and having a great time. And why not? We were waiting to take the last exam of the day, and even better, the last one of the seventh grade at Ben Franklin Junior High in Ridgewood. Nobody really cared that it was for math.

     Except for me, CJ "Lumpy" King. I couldn't have been more worried. I sucked at math.

     If I didn't get a good grade on the final, I'd end up in summer school. Can you think of anything worse than summer school? I was so stressed I didn't even eat my lunch. And I was a short, stocky, red-headed kid who never, ever missed lunch.

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