DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the characters here that I didn't make up myself. I don't own Lizzie McGuire, but she's not actually born yet at the time of this story, anyway.

The Latina girl who had just walked into the hallway helped extricate Sam and Jo from their trash cans. The two of them both thanked her.

"No problema," said the girl. "I'm a senior, but I'm not nasty like those others. I know what it's like to be discriminated against, because I got a lot of it myself… because I'm Mexican, and because I just moved into this town last year and was new here; I was never a freshman at this school, but some of the others treated me just as badly as they treat the freshmen. Hi, I'm Daniella."

"Hi, Daniella, I'm Sam," said Sam. "I'm Jo," added Jo.

"Some of those kids can be really mean, but you can survive it if you have friends who help you out," said Daniella. "I was lucky to find somebody when I came here, my boyfriend Eduardo. Without him, I never would have gotten through my first year in this place. Now he's off to college, but he comes home for weekends. We've got a date this Saturday at the roller disco place… perhaps you'd like to join us and make it a double date?"

"Uh, well," said Sam, "the two of us aren't actually, you know, dating… in fact, we just met right now."

"Really!", said Daniella. "Just looking at you, I was sure you were together. I've got kind of a sixth sense for that sort of thing, and I thought you two looked perfect for one another."

"I've actually wanted to try out that roller-disco stuff…", said Jo.

("Wait… did I just agree to a date with that nerd?", she thought.)

"I could use the exercise," said Sam.

("Hold on… am I getting myself into a date? I thought I was avoiding that stuff…", he thought.)

"So, is it a date?", said Daniella.

"Yes, I'll do it," said Sam.

"Sure… why not?", said Jo.

"All right… meet us at 7 PM Saturday in front of Disco On Wheels. Now, we'd better all hurry up and get to our classes… the bell rang about ten minutes ago! Let's hope we don't all get detention for being tardy!", said Daniella.

At lunch, Howie Gordon and Larry Tudgeman sat by Sam. Howie asked him, "I've been hearing these wild rumors… Is it actually true that you've got a date? We may have to kick you out of the Society of Nerds, Geeks, and Dorks!"

"I didn't think you ever accepted me as a member in the first place," said Sam.

"That's OK… no self-respecting nerd would be a member of any club that would have him for a member," said Larry.

"I thought it was Groucho Marx who said that… and I don't think he's a nerd," said Sam.

"Wasn't it Will Rogers?", said Larry.

"Well, somebody famous said something about not being in a club that would have him for a member," said Howie, "and whether he was a nerd or not, it applies. But you're changing the subject… do you or don't you have a date with a girl this weekend?"

"I might," said Sam. "What is it to you?"

"We've all got a nerdiness reputation to uphold," said Howie. "Nerds and dating just don't go together in the natural scheme of things. Anyway, if one of us is seen out with a girl, then before long everybody's going to expect all of us to be pairing up… and I don't think I'm ready for a girlfriend myself."

"I don't think the world is ready for you having a girlfriend," said Larry.

"And look who's talking, Mr. Computer Brain," said Howie. "You're projecting your own psychological complexes on others, I think."

"You read one textbook on psychology, and suddenly you're Freud," said Larry.

"Well, it's a fascinating subject," said Howie. "It might just be the profession I'm cut out for."

"So put up a booth outside school with a sign, 'Psychiatric Help 5 Cents… The Doctor Is In.' With all the nutcases around here, you'd make a fortune.", said Larry.

"Now you're getting your ideas from comic strips," said Howie. "There's got to be a psychological complex to that… maybe it's in the next textbook."

Jo was approached in the hall after school by Coco Newbury. "What's this about you having a date with McGeek? I guess you don't want to listen to any of my advice on staying away from those types?"

"I'll date whoever… um, or is that 'whomever'?... I want," said Jo. "What makes you think that I care about the shallow, superficial popularity clique that wants to control what everybody does around here?"

"Well, you'd better care if you know what's good for you," said Coco. "It's a shame… I had high hopes of your actually making it to at least the lower levels of the almost-popular crowd… but you had to blow it, as usual."

"I'll make my own crowd, thank you," said Jo. "I have no need for you."

"Suit yourself," said Coco. "But, since I'm in an exceedingly generous mood, one more bit of advice… Whatever you do, don't ask Sam I Am about his baseball card collection… not if you don't want to be bored silly with a long lecture about how Willie Whatshisname put chicken on the hill, or whatever."

"I'll try to remember that," said Jo.