SHAKESPEARE’ SECRET by Elise Broach Page B

end of the driveway. “See you later, Netherfield. Let me know if you find out anything.”
    Hero watched him turn neatly onto the street. Danny Cordova might be a jerk, but he certainly kept things interesting.

CHAPTER
16
    When Hero walked into Mrs. Vanderley’s classroom the next morning, she saw a knot of girls gathered at the desk behind hers. They looked at her when she came through the door, a deliberate appraising look, and immediately stopped talking. It was the group from the cafeteria: Kendra, Megan, some others. The popular kids. Hero was so startled by their attention that she almost forgot where to sit. Now what?
    Kendra leaned forward as Hero unloaded her books from her backpack. “Hey. Didn’t I see you riding your bike with Danny Cordova on Saturday afternoon?”
    Hero didn’t know what to say. She considered denying it, but that seemed likely to provoke more questions. She swallowed and said quickly, “Probably.”
    Megan smirked. “How do you know him?” The others were watching her closely, clearly waiting for something.
    Hero hesitated. “He lives near me.”
    â€œBut what were you doing with him?” Kendra asked. “Where were you going?”
    â€œOh, nowhere. We were just hanging out.” Hero turned away nervously. She tried to busy herself with her homework, checking for her name at the top of each sheet.
    â€œHanging out?” Several of the girls giggled. “My sister says Danny Cordova wouldn’t be caught dead hanging out with a sixth-grader,” said Megan.
    Kendra persisted. “You have a sister in eighth grade, right? Is he her boyfriend or something?”
    Hero felt a flash of irritation. “No,” she said over her shoulder.
    â€œIs he your boyfriend, Hero?” someone asked. They were laughing openly now.
    â€œNo,” Hero started to protest, but in her heart she knew it was hopeless.
    â€œOoo, he’s Hero’s boyfriend.”
    â€œYeah, right.”
    â€œSo what were you doing together?” Kendra asked again. “What was he doing with you?”
    â€œNothing,” Hero repeated. She blinked back tears, her cheeks hot.
    At that moment, Mrs. Vanderley walked in. “What’s going on here?” she demanded. “Let me remind you that there will be a spelling test first thing this morning. If you’ve finished putting away your things, I suggest you review your vocabulary list. I want this room quiet. Now.”
    The laughter subsided. Hero took out her spelling notebook and tried to focus on the long list of words. She wished she’d never met Danny Cordova. What had she been thinking, letting herself become friends with him. How could she have thought nobody would notice?
    If the day stretched on interminably, the rest of the week only got worse. Soon Hero noticed that not just the girls but the boys were talking about her, laughing and then growing suddenly quiet when she passed by. She wasn’t really surprised—that was how it worked. Something happened, something small like the dog joke, and they made fun of you. Then, because they’d made fun of you, you became a target. Anything you did was fair game.
    There was no reason for it, not really. Or maybe there was. Maybe Kendra had a crush on Danny, or Megan’s sister had a crush on Danny. And Herohad crossed some forbidden line, violated an unwritten law of the social order. She was the new kid with the weird name, not the type of girl who should be hanging around with the cutest boy in the eighth grade.
    It wouldn’t do any good to tell anyone. Beatrice had no experience with this kind of thing. Danny was the cause of the teasing, so it was better to leave him out of it. And Hero hadn’t seen or talked to Mrs. Roth all week, not since their argument. She still had the heavy English history book in her backpack. She’d been lugging it to school every day, thinking about the initials on the