“Ick,” Jewel Chu called out, wrinkling her nose. Valerie slid open a window to let in some fresh air. Georgie and Pierre had used their lighters to melt the plastic bell cord. Part of the plastic had melted right off. In a couple of spots, you could see right down to the wire. The bus driver coughed so hard I thought he might let go of the wheel. Burning the cord was Georgie’s idea. I think he came up with it because he and Kelly were in a fight—something about him forgetting to phone her—and he wanted to take his mind off of her. In the meantime, Kelly was cozying up to Jake. “Hey,” we heard her ask him, “did you get a haircut?” “Uh-huh. Actually, I got them all cut.” That cracked Kelly up. “You look really good,” she told Jake. From the way Jake laughed, you could tell he was embarrassed. “My back’s killing me from gymnastics. D’you think you could rub it for me?” Jake shot a look at Georgie, but Georgie was busy with the bell cord, burning another spot.
