Addie and the King of Hearts by Gail Rock

Chapter One
    We were milling around the seventh-grade classroom that morning, laughing and talking. For once, almost all of us had been early. It was the first day back in school after the Christmas-New Year’s holiday, and there was a lot of talk about what we all got for Christmas, and about the fantastic blizzards that had been smothering Nebraska that winter.
    The main topic of conversation, however, was speculation about the new teacher we would meet that morning. Miss Collins, who had started teaching our class that fall, had decided to get married over the holidays. All the other girls thought that was very romantic, but I just thought it was stupid. Lots of the kids in our class were starting to exchange rings and “go steady,” and I hated all that mush. The whole idea made me laugh. I planned to grow up and be an artist and never get married.
    I was sitting on top of my desk talking to my best friend, Carla Mae Carter. Carla Mae and her big family lived next door to my dad and grandmother and me, and we had been friends for years. My worst friend, Tanya Smithers, came hurrying through the door. Tanya had been my worst friend ever since I could remember. We annoyed each other a lot, but we continued to be a part of the same group. There were only 1,500 people in the town of Clear River, so sometimes you didn’t have a big choice of friends. Tanya planned to be a famous ballet dancer when she grew up, and she was always twirling around on her toes or striking some dramatic pose to remind us all of how talented she was.
    â€œHere comes Pavlova,” said Carla Mae when she saw Tanya coming toward us.
    â€œIf she tells me one more time that she got new ballet shoes for Christmas, I’ll scream!” I said.
    â€œAddie! Carla Mae!” Tanya said to us breathlessly. “Guess what I just heard when I went by the principal’s office?”
    â€œThe principal got new ballet shoes for Christmas?” I asked sarcastically.
    Carla Mae snickered.
    â€œNo, you idiots!” said Tanya. “Listen to me! We’re getting a man teacher to replace Miss Collins!”
    â€œWhat?” said Carla Mae. “You’ve gotta be kidding!”
    â€œA man!” I said. “Yuck! That’s awful!”
    â€œWe’ve never had a man teacher,” said Carla Mae. “There aren’t any in the whole school!”
    â€œI don’t believe it!” I said.
    â€œI’m telling you it’s true!” said Tanya, annoyed. “The principal says he’s going to be here in a few minutes.”
    The rumor spread around the room as others overheard our conversation.
    â€œOh, ugh!” I said. “He’ll probably be an old grouch.”
    â€œTanya, what does he look like?” Carla Mae asked.
    â€œI don’t know,” Tanya answered. “I didn’t see him. But I heard his name. It’s Davenport.”
    â€œLike the sofa?” asked Carla Mae.
    â€œHe’s probably covered with horsehair,” I said, laughing. “He’s probably a million years old with a beard and warts!”
    I got up and hobbled around as though I were an old man with a cane, and everybody laughed.
    Suddenly Jimmy Walsh shot a paper airplane across the room at us and I grabbed it in midflight, making a spectacular catch. I was good at that sort of thing.
    â€œThat’s Billy Wild’s New Year’s resolution!” Jimmy shouted to me.
    â€œIt is not!” shouted Billy from across the room. “He made it up! It’s his!”
    Everybody was always teasing me about liking Billy Wild, and I always insisted I didn’t. I had to admit he was tall and handsome—with dark curly hair and blue eyes—and that he was one of the smartest boys in the class, and good at sports. But that didn’t mean I liked him any more than anyone else. He was forever strutting around in his cowboy boots, showing off. We had known each other for years and