How to Outfox Your Friends When You Don't Have a Clue by Jess Keating Page A

if that’s what you want. Make sure not to leave anyone out at the party.”
    I nodded, but already the thought of having Liv and Ashley in the same room together was making my stomach twist up like a pretzel. That was definitely something I’d have to figure out later, without Mom staring at me.
    â€œIf Ana gets to have Liv over, can Kevin stay too?” Daz piped in. “It’s only fair!”
    I gulped. If there was one thing that I wasn’t ready for about being thirteen was the possibility of having Kevin stay over at our place during sleepovers with Daz. Sure, he’d stayed here a zillion times before, but that was before all the hand-holding and stuff. What if he saw me in my nightshirt or something? Or worse, walking around in one of those green face masks that Ashley was always hounding me to try?
    The potential for embarrassment was way too high.
    â€œHow about you stay over at his place?” Mom said, eyeing me. I shifted uncomfortably.
    I could tell by the look on his face that Daz had no idea what awkward thoughts were going through my head. But judging by the hard determination in Mom’s eyes, she had completely read my mind.
    Talk about terrifying.
    â€œDeal,” Daz said.
    â€œExcellent!” Mom announced, pulling her ponytail tighter. “I’ll let your father know we’ll be setting it up at the zoo, and what you guys can do to help us out is make a list of everyone you want invited, all right? I’ll also make sure Dad and Sugar know. I’m sure they’ll want to join us.” She pulled out the notepad in her jeans pocket and scribbled a message. “I can’t believe my babies are thirteen,” she added wistfully.
    I stepped back, causing Darwin to hop over to Mom’s shoulder in protest. “Hey! I’m not thirteen yet. I’ve got a few more days,” I pointed out. I could practically hear the ticking clock in my head, counting down the last hours of my twelve-year-old self.
    â€œEnjoy them,” Mom said, her eyes crinkling. “And by the way! I called Kate at the Safe Haven Wildlife Center, and you’re on for your first volunteer session tomorrow! Dad can drop you off, but make sure you bring the immunization card I left on your bed, okay? And you should also bring a change of coveralls, so you don’t drag home God knows what afterward, okay?”
    I gasped. “I totally forgot about the wildlife center!” I shrieked, turning to dash up the stairs. “I need to find something to wear!”
    Three Things That Suck about Sharing a Birthday with a Boy (Specifically, Your Brother)
    1. No matter what you do, he will always try to blow out all the candles. Even if you have two cakes, and only one of them is for him. That means gross boy spit all over your icing.
    2. For the rest of your life, you will have to endure extra-loud-in-your-ear singing when everyone sings “Happy Birthday” to you because he knows you hate that song.
    3. You’ll have to hear endlessly about how you’re an “old geezer,” simply because you happen to be born four minutes before him.

Chapter 11
    A bison’s hump is made of muscle, which allows it to push its way through snow with its head like a snowplow.
    â€”Animal Wisdom
    This would come in handy on those snowy January mornings when we’re late for school, but it would be impossible to find a coat to fit over it, wouldn’t it? I’d probably look like that Quasimodo guy, who lived in the castle. Or was it a clock tower?
    I’m fine.
    I’m fine. I am calm, cool, collected, and supersmart. I’m almost thirteen years old, and I can handle whatever happens today.
    The minute Dad dropped me off at the Safe Haven Wildlife Center, I couldn’t wait to get started. I could help rescue wolves! And release bald eagles! And ride moose!
    Okay, so I definitely knew that riding moose was out of the question, but that didn’t stop