Middle School: My Brother Is a Big, Fat Liar by James Patterson

tambourine to hold in front of her underpants, but Missy just batted it away. Then she let out a shriek and ran off the stage.
    Rhonda looked down at me. “SHOULD WE DO ANOTHER SONG?” she asked.
    “Definitely!”
    Rhonda held out a hand and hauled me up onstage. I strapped on my electric guitar as the crowd let out a huge cheer. We tore up the next song, and two more after that. Then we had to bow for, like, five full minutes. Rhonda was eating it up—blowing kisses to the crowd and winking at the cutest boys.
    As we headed offstage, I gave Rhonda a high five. Nanci, Mari, and Patti were squealing with excitement.
    “I can’t wait for us to play at Airbrook Arts!” Mari said.
    Oh, boy. I wasn’t sure what Rafe would think of that. He’d probably spend the whole performance in the bathroom, barfing, with his hands over his ears.
    “WE WERE GREAT! RIGHT, GEORGIA?” Rhonda asked.
    “You were fantastic, Rhonda,” I told her. Then I gave her a hug as she blushed and smiled.
    “Georgia?” asked a soft voice behind me. I don’t know how I heard it over the cheers of the crowd, but I did.
    “Um, Georgia, I just wanted to say that I thought you were really good. I’m sorry Missy was so mean out there.”
    “Thanks, Bethany,” I said.
    “I’m Brittany.”
    “Oh. Okay. Well, anyway, thanks.”
    “She’s really awful, isn’t she?” Brittany asked. She looked like she was about to cry.
    I felt sort of bad. It must have been hard to have Missy as a friend. I squeezed her shoulder. “Yeah, she’s horrible.”
    Brittany burst into tears.
    Just then Sam shouted, “Georgia!” I saw him waving, hurrying over to join me. My performancewas over. My band had rocked. The best part? Now I could spend the rest of the evening dancing with Sam.
    I grinned and waved back.
    Best.
    Dance.
    Ever!

My Mom Is… My Mom
    H ow was it?” Mom asked when I climbed into the car later that night.
    My mind was whirling with all the things I wanted to tell her about.
    “We won the Battle of the Bands!” I said. “And I danced with Sam! It was, like, the best night of my life!”
    “I’m so glad! You and your band worked very hard.” Mom smiled warmly. “You deserved it, Georgia.”
    Suddenly, I felt like a heel. Mom had bought me this great dress and encouraged me to perform… and I hadn’t even told her the truth about mydetention. If I’d told her, she probably would’ve grounded me, and the best night of my life never would’ve happened….
    I felt ill, like I’d accidentally stolen something.
    Mom deserved to know the truth.
    I took a deep breath. “Mom, I poured pudding on Missy Trillin’s head and I got a week of detention plus I had to talk to the school psychologist but I swear that’s it and I’ll never do anything bad again and I’m reallyreallyreallyreally sorry.”

    “Oh, Georgia,” Mom said. She shook her head.
    “I know.”
    “I wish you had told me.”
    “I know. I meant to tell you before the dance, but—”
    “No, Georgia,” Mom shook her head and reached for my hand. “I wish you had told me you were having so much trouble with Missy. I could’ve helped you.”
    I sighed. “I kind of think it’s solved now.”
    “That’s good. And Georgia—about being adopted. I’m sorry. I should’ve told you earlier. I guess… I guess I hoped it wouldn’t matter.”
    We sat there in the dark parking lot for a while. Did being adopted matter? In some ways, it did. Somewhere out in the world, I had a biological mother and father. We shared genes. That was important.
    But right here, in this dark car, I had a mother who’d raised me.
    We shared love. And, honestly, that’s the most important thing of all.
    “I’m sorry I’ve been kind of a lousy daughter lately,” I said after a moment.
    Mom turned in her seat to look me in the face. “Georgia,” she said, “I wish you hadn’t gotten into trouble at school. But you’re not a lousy daughter. You’re wonderful. And even if you were