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desk, ending the conversation.
    “Hey, wait a minute. Where’s Debbie’s class? She’s in seventh grade,” Ryder asked concerned.
    “We have seventh and eighth grade together here.” Miss Li smiled as she sat on the end of her desk.
    Ryder caught the sound of the bell in the distance. It sounded almost muffled in the classroom. Three students walked into the class together, laughing about basketball and who was going to win March Madness. The two boys were as tall as Miss Li. The third member of the group was a girl, not as rangy, but looking just as athletic. A few moments later another girl walked in alone, carrying the largest stack of books Ryder could imagine being carried by a single person. In his mind he pictured a forklift being a more applicable tool for transporting the small library.
    The two boys sat down at the far table, still laughing and arguing over who would win this game and that game in the series. It was hard to miss as they were using what mom would refer to as “your outside voice”. The athletic looking girl sat near the boys at the second table. She had dark hair that was clipped short in what almost looked like a bowl cut. The walking library sat down at the same table as the other girl. So far, Walking Library hadn’t said a word, as far as Ryder could tell. She was also tall and slender, wore round wire-rimmed glasses, and had strawberry blond hair tied back in a ponytail.
    The second bell rang, and the room was suddenly silent. Miss Li stood up from her desk and glided toward the center of the classroom. “As you know, three of our class members moved over the weekend, and we will sorely miss them. However, we are fortunate to have some new class members join us. William and Deborah Ryder will be with us for the remainder of the school year, and may be joining us in Europe this summer for our year abroad.”
    This was news to Ryder. Europe? Cool, he thought. Did Mom and Dad know anything about this? he wondered.
    “When do we leave?” Debbie piped up.
    “We have not yet worked out the schedule, but it will actually be before the end of the term,” Miss Li replied in a kindly voice.
    “Will we travel much while we’re there?” Debbie continued in an excited voice.
    “We’ll actually discuss that later. Wouldn’t you like to meet the other students in the class first?” Miss Li interjected.
    “Oh, yes please.”
    Ryder smiled at how easily Debbie could be distracted.
    Miss Li introduced the boys with a twinkle in her eye. “Randall and Joel Porter are brothers. Randall prefers to be called Randy. They are particularly interested in sports, I’ve noticed. I wish I could get them as interested in writing.”
    Ryder wasn’t sure which was Randy and which was Joel, but he was sure he would find out soon enough, although it seemed unlikely they would have much to talk about. Both were taller than Ryder and somewhat muscular. It was obvious they were brothers, and could be twins, but one looked distinctly older than the other, with a scruff of facial hair starting.
    “Athena Swenson is our other sports enthusiast.” Ryder was sure he knew which of the two girls was Athena. “And Rebecca Creer is our avid reader.”
    Randy, Joel, Athena, Rebecca, Ryder thought. I think I can remember that.
    “Who’s the other new member of the class?” Athena asked.
    Just at that moment the door swung open and Mrs. Prescott reappeared with a dark haired girl, whom Ryder immediately recognized. “Cynthia Flores,” he whispered just loud enough that everyone could hear. He wanted to crawl under the table as Cynthia turned in his direction and gave a knowing grin.
    Miss Li eventually got everyone settled into their seats. Ryder sat at the far end of table five, with Debbie next to him. Next to Debbie at the adjoining table sat Cynthia. Debbie and Cynthia started chattering right away. Meanwhile he edged closer and closer to the end of the table, eventually bumping into the far wall.
    Miss Li