CHAPTER 2: CLUBS AND FLUBS

As the weeks went on and September morphed into October, the freshmen became more comfortable with their classes and their new routine. Lizzie and Miranda enjoyed being part of the Freshman Advisory Board to Student Government, where incidentally they made many new friends…and also met several very cute boys.

They also tried out for Cheerleading, where the dance skills, charm, grace and confidence they had perfected over the summer earned them a spot on the junior varsity team. Gordo came by with his video camera to document their practices for a short feature he was doing for the AV Club, which would be aired on the morning announcements.

Gordo was actually having a better time in high school than he had anticipated. The work in his advanced classes did not bore him, and the AV Club gave him an opportunity to express himself creatively. There were only two problems.

One: He seemed to have stopped growing any taller.

Two: He, Lizzie and Miranda could not find a club they were all interested in joining.

Gordo suggested Debate, because he wanted to improve his presentation skills. After all, someday he may have to convince a big movie producer to take on his latest film project. Lizzie and Miranda acquiesced for Gordo's sake, but at the first meeting, when Lizzie got up in front of the group, the worst possible thing happened.

As Lizzie stood behind the podium, some of the kids suddenly recognized her as that girl they had seen on the local news and Good Morning, America, tearing down the curtains at her middle school graduation. Embarrassed beyond belief, Lizzie ran from the room and never came back. In a show of support for her friend, Miranda also left.

Gordo stayed.

Miranda suggested the Spanish Club. Her family often spoke Spanish at home, so she figured this club would be easy and a lot of fun. So the three of them gave it a try. Mrs. Alejandro was so pleased to have such an able speaker in the club that she made Miranda her Assistant. But this essentially meant Miranda was required to spend hours tutoring other students, which was actually more work than fun.

Miranda was glad when Cheerleading practice moved to Wednesdays, making Spanish Club impossible for either her or Lizzie. Without his friends to keep him company, Gordo also abandoned ship.

Now it was Lizzie's turn to think of a club they could all enjoy. Weeks went by and she had no suggestion. Between her schoolwork, Student Government and Cheerleading, there was not much time for anything else.

Except Brett.

Miranda knew about Brett, but Gordo did not. Well…not exactly.

He should have known, because Lizzie tried several times to tell him, but every time she started talking about Brett, Gordo's brain would temporarily short circuit.

At first it was, "Oh, Gordo! I found the greatest math tutor!" To which Gordo simply replied, "That's good."

Then it was, "Brett is such a good teacher! And when we were having our lesson at the Bean, he even bought me a mocha!" To which Gordo simply replied, "That's nice. I guess."

Then the next day, without provocation, Lizzie suddenly decided to provide further details. "Hey, Gordo," she began. "Let me tell you a little more about my math tutor," she said. "I really want you to know him. His name is Brett, and he's so nice! And smart."

A small hinky feeling began to rise within Gordo, and he could not help defending himself with, "Well, I'm nice. And smart. And I know a lot about math. So actually, I'm starting to wonder, Lizzie…why didn't you ask me to tutor you?"

"Oh Gordo! Of course you're smart! You're smarter than anybody I know. But remember in middle school when you tried to tutor Ethan Craft and that just…didn't work out?"

"Of course it didn't!" Gordo replied. "Ethan Craft is a lot dumber than you are." Oh crap! he panicked, then instantly corrected with, "I mean—I mean—Ethan is so dumb, he was practically unteachable."

"But I was able to teach him," Lizzie reminded, now sounding a little hurt herself.

"Look. The problem was…Ethan and I were just not a good fit," Gordo reasoned. "It's just that simple."

"No, it's not," Lizzie insisted. "The problem is you are so freakin' smart that you…sort of…well, you don't always have a lot of patience for people who can't keep up with you. So, yeah, you're a whiz at math, and all other kinds of things, but really not so good as a tutor."

"I don't think that's true," Gordo replied, offended.

"No, it's true," Lizzie held her ground. "And you know that I love you, Gordo, you know that I always will, right? But we just have to accept the way things are. And the way things are is that I can tell you this for certain, I'm quite sure that Brett is nowhere near as smart as you are. Not even close! But...but he's so…patient. And understanding. And with him, I don't feel dumb when I make mistakes."

"Look, about that comment just now, about Ethan being dumber than you—"

"No, it's not that," Lizzie said, blowing it off with a wave of her hand. "I understood what you meant. But Brett…well, he's…he's…" she sighed as her eyes seemed to drift off into a dreamland.

Gordo looked at her suspiciously, that hinky feeling rising in his gut once again. "He's what?" he asked, finally.

Lizzie popped back into the moment and said, "He's a good teacher. That's all."

Still eyeing her suspiciously, Gordo stood up. He'd had enough of this conversation. Something was telling him to walk away, the sooner the better. Nervously he gathered up his books and said, "Well…that's good then. I guess."

Lizzie smiled at him as he walked away. But there was something about that smile that was almost…he didn't know…sad? It didn't seem like a good thing.

He had decided to walk home that day. It was a long walk, and it gave him time to think. By the time he reached his house he had convinced himself that nothing was wrong, except for he and Lizzie not having as much time together as they used to. He'd also convinced himself that the enigmatic Brett, if he was anywhere as good a tutor as Lizzie claimed, had to be some pimply-faced bespectacled nerd in a plaid shirt with a pocket protector full of mechanical pencils. Lizzie was just a kind soul appreciating his contribution to the world of education, and there was nothing for him to feel jealous about.

And then, the next day, he met Brett.