21 After school, I scrunched down in the back corner of the school bus and tried to hide from Mick and Darryl. But they climbed onto the bus with big grins on their faces and made their way right to me. Mick pulled the backpack from my hands and tossed it across the bus. Then he leaned over me. He brought his big red face so close to mine, I could smell the chewing gum on his breath. “Are you going to stand on your head again, Jacko?” he said. “Come on, Jacko. Do it again,” Darryl said. “Come out in the aisle. Let’s see you do it again.” “Look. The bee sting made me a little crazy,” I said. “I was in pain, you know? So give me a break.” For some reason, that made them laugh really hard. “We want to hear you scream again,” Mick said. He snapped his finger against my nose. “OW.” I flinched and jerked my head back. “You can do better than that,” Mick said. “Go ahead,” Darryl echoed. “Scream like a girl. Just like you did in class.” I crossed my arms in front of me.
