Hiding From Us

8. robin

‘‘Okay, get ready. And—go go go go go!’’

     Shain and I bolted from the car and into the rain, sprinting across the parking lot at full speed and then dashing into the school. Shain, wearing nothing but her cameraman hoody, Chuck Taylors, jeans, and a blue toque, laughed insanely. She spun in a quick circle and said joyfully, ‘‘Dang, my shoes are soaking!’’

     ‘‘This is why I wear gumboots,’’ I replied. 

     Shain joked about Chuck Taylors being more attractive than gumboots until Erick joined us on our way to our lockers. He kissed her quickly—even though it was chaste, I felt the urge to look away. Their affection was so precious it seemed almost endangered—and, much to my irritation, sided with Shain in her case of Which is Prettier: Converse or Gumboots. 

     My brain was still debating over the case as I arrived at my locker, took off my jacket, and pulled out my Science homework to stuff in my locker. Gumboots are more practical, I thought as I entered my combo and pulled open the door. Converse are flashy, but gumboots are definitely—

     The door crashed against something. 

     A second later, I heard, ‘’Ow.’’

     I peeked around and saw a kid with yellow hair clutching his forehead. He had eyes the color of coffee and was about two inches shorter than me. 

     ‘’Oh, gosh,’’ I said, feeling nervous and, somehow, powerful. ‘‘I’m sorry.’’

     He grimaced. ‘‘It’s cool. Are you Robin Hardy?’’

     ‘’Um, yeah.’’

     ‘’Oh.’’ He frowned at me and cocked his head a bit. ‘‘Wait. You’re a girl?’’

     Offense shot through me. ‘’Oh, thanks. Yes, I’m a girl.’’ 

     The blond kid stood there for three seconds, staring at me like I was from another planet. He had perfect teeth. 

     He said, ‘’Oh. Okay. Well, I’m Parker.’’

     ‘‘Hi, Parker—wait, you’re a dude?’’ 

     Parker gave me a look. ‘‘Ha ha. Hilarious. You know, you don’t really seem like the pranking type.’’

     ‘‘Um, why?’’ I said. 

     He shrugged. It made him look taller for some reason. ‘‘Because Kim said you were a master pranker. But you don’t look like one.’’

     Kim. I would make sure to have a word with her after this. ‘’Oh, I’m sorry for failing your expectations,’’ I told Parker snidely. ‘‘What can I do to make it up for you?’’

     He replied, ‘‘Help me prank my brother.’’

     And I echoed, ‘‘Prank your brother.’’

     ‘‘Yes.’’

     ‘‘Why would I help you with a prank? I don’t even know if you can do pranks.’’

     At this, he grinned and scanned the hallway. He said, ‘‘Point out someone that you really don’t like.’’

     I followed his gaze through the crowd of ninth-graders. Most of the guys in my grade were dead annoying. Some of the girls were irritating, too. Honestly, I didn’t know what kind of prank he was going to play, so I just went for the worst. 

     ‘‘The redhead over there,’’ I said. ‘‘Hannah.’’

     ‘’Ah, yes.’’ He nodded. ‘‘All right. Lock and load and prepare to fire.’’

     Parker pulled out a deflated balloon from his pocket and filled it with air until it was about the size of my fist. Then he pulled out a rubber band and an eraser, and he tied the eraser onto the balloon with the elastic. He smirked at me once before launching it straight at Hannah. 

     I didn’t think it would work. But it did. It whirled at her with a gagging sound and smacked her on the neck, spraying her with air and spit. Kids around us laughed and inconspicuously high-fived Parker, who turned back to me with a triumphant grin. 

     ‘‘Houston, do we have a problem?’’ he said.

     I frowned at my gumboots for a second. Then I replied, ‘’No, I don’t think we do.’’