Jane wondered exactly how the others had found out that Lucy liked her. Mary had probably told them. She was the kind of girl who loved to know a secret about somebody that she could sell to somebody else for free. Now Mary had Jane's secret. She only hoped that no one would buy it.Jane remembered how Mary had snatched back the poem she had shown her the other week, most likely so she could have the pleasure of showing it around. Not that Lucy ever tried to hide any of her poems. She scribbled in her Moleskine notebook in full view of the whole world. More than once, Jane had seen Mary standing right behind Lucy, reading over her shoulder.One thing was clear, though. If Lucy's crush had been a secret before, it was a secret no longer. It seemed everywhere she turned, people looked at Jane weirdly. And when Jane walked into science cla

Jane had collected ten different balls to test, and she had found a library book on balls in the children's section at the public library. It was actually a book for little kids, full of pictures, but it had lots of information on balls.After A Tale of Two Cities, it was a relief to be reading a book with only 64 pages and a lot of pictures. She was still reading her daily quota of Dickens. She would be finished easily by the time she had to give her book report on Monday, though she still had to come up with something to say in front of the class. Jane didn't feel comfortable to stand up there and speak, but Ms. Reeds would expect more than just reading books, she wanted people to talk about them, and she would not accept just, "I read this whole book. It has 422 pages."Somewhere in her report, Jane w

Friday would be Valentine's Day. Jane spent the rest of the week dreading its arrival. In elementary school, Valentine's Day had been no big deal. Everybody gave valentines to everybody else because all the mothers made sure they did. There was a party at school, with pink-frosted cupcakes and red punch. Jane threw away her valentines as soon as she got home, first taking off any candy that was glued to them. Then she ate the candy. End of Valentine's Day.Jane didn't know what to expect from Valentine's Day now. There wouldn't be a party this year. She knew that much. But this year there would be Lucy. Jane had never before had someone in love with her on Valentine's Day. The day was bound to call forth from her some loveress-like impulses.And this year there was Grace. Jane had never before been in love on Valentine's Day, either. Sh

"How was school, girls?" Jane's mother asked at dinner."Fine," Caroline said."Fine," Jane said, but today the lie was too much for her. "Except that, it was Valentine's Day," she added.Her father looked over at her sympathetically. Jane had never seen her father give her mother a valentine. But it was clear that they loved each other. They showed it in other ways – like looking proud when the other one was dressed up or holding hands when they took a walk."Did you both get some valentines from any boy...or girl?" her mother asked, hopefully.Caroline nodded but didn't volunteer any more information. Jane knew that a couple of guys at school liked Caroline because they calle

On the morning of the science fair, Jane's father loaded both girls' project displays into the back of his van, and Jane hunted frantically on the floor of her closet for a blazer. She definitely owned at least one. She hated having to ask her mom to find it, but her dad was already in the van, honking his horn."Mom! Have you seen my blazer anywhere?"Jane's mother didn't show any expression on her face as she took the blazer off the hanger at the rear of her closet and handed it to her. But once she had put it on, her mom gave her a hug."I can't help it," she said. "You and Caroline both look so gorgeous today. I'm so proud of both of you."The blazer idea had been Caroline's idea. "That's another thing," she had told Jane the nigh