Beth Vrabel - Super Dorks

Praise for Beth Vrabels Pack of Dorks

* Lucys perfectly feisty narration, emotionally resonant situations, and the importance of the topic all elevate this effort well above the pack.

Kirkus Reviews , starred review

Lucys growth and smart, funny observations entertain and empower in Vrabels debut, a story about the benefits of embracing ones true self and treating others with respect.

Publishers Weekly

Vrabel displays a canny understanding of middle-school vulnerability.

Booklist

Lucys confident first-person narration keeps pages turning as she transitions from totally popular to complete dorkdom in the space of one quick kiss. Humorous and honest.

VOYA

A fresh look at what it means to embrace what makes you and the ones you love different. Pack of Dorks is the pack I want to join.

Amanda Flower, author of Agatha Award nominee Andi Unexpected

You wont want to stop reading about Lucy and her pack a heartwarming story to which everyone can relate.

Elizabeth Atkinson, author of I, Emma Freke

A book about all kinds of differences, with all kinds of heart. Lucy and her pack of dorks are hilarious and lovable.

Kristen Chandler, author of Wolves, Boys, and Other Things That Might Kill Me

A powerful story of friendship and hardship. Vrabels debut novel speaks to those struggling for acceptance and inspires them to look within themselves for the strength and courage to battle real-life issues.

Buffy Andrews, author of The Lion Awakens and Freaky Frank

Beth Vrabel weaves an authentic, emotional journey that makes her a standout among debut authors.

Kerry OMalley Cerra, author of Just a Drop of Water

Praise for Beth Vrabels Camp Dork

Vrabel has a rare talent for expressing the tenderness, frustration, awkwardness, confusion, and fun of growing up. VERDICT: In Vrabels capable hands, the ups and downs of adolescence shine through with authenticity and humor.

School Library Journal

With good humor, Vrabel explores the pitfalls of emerging preteenhood. This quick read nonetheless effectively delves into interpersonal pitfalls that will be familiar to most older grade schoolers, and Lucys developing insight may even provide a few hints for staying on the right path. Honest, funny, and entertaining.

Kirkus Reviews

Also by Beth Vrabel

Pack of Dorks
Camp Dork

A Blind Guide to Stinkville
A Blind Guide to Normal
Caleb and Kit
Bringing Me Back

Copyright 2018 by Beth Vrabel

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

First Edition

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are from the authors imagination and used fictitiously.

Sky Pony Press books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Sky Pony Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Sky Pony is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

www.skyponypress.com

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Brian Peterson

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-3144-8

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-3146-2

Printed in the United States of America

For Ben

Contents

Chapter One

This was going to be the worst year of my life.

I crumpled my fifth-grade schedule and the letter from my new teacher in my fist and blinked away the stinging in my eyes. Not a single friend in my homeroom.

Of course, that sounded less dramatic when you figure I only had four friends. Sam, April, Sheldon, Amanda, and I perched on the top of the monkey bars with our legs swinging down below us. Together, we were a pack, ready to take on bullies and frenemies.

I had once been one of the cool kids. I shuddered thinking about those dark, pack-less days that I spent fake laughing at jerkface Toms bad jokes and whispering mean things about other people to my only-when-I-was-popular best friend Becky. But then Tom said he hated me, which made Becky stop being my friend at school, and suddenly I had become a solo eater in the cafeteria. And in life.

Luckily, Sam and I were paired to work on a project about wolves. We realized we were like the scapegoatsthe wolves that all the other wolves in the pack loved to pick on. And we decided to stop being in packs like that and make a new one of our own, even though jerkface Tom called it a Pack of Dorks.

Sheldon, with his dinosaur obsession, and April, who had once suffered from a nose-picking addiction, also had been solo eaters in the cafeteria. Amanda had eaten with whoever she wanted to but only because most kids were afraid of her potential to slap off their faces if she got too mad. (It had never actually happened, but we all knew it was possible.) Once Sam and I formed our pack, the three of them joined in, too. And together, we laughed when people (ahem, ahem, Tom) called us names. Soon the name-calling just sort of stopped. Or maybe we just stopped noticing. Either way, were better together.

Or at least, we would be better together. I shook the schedule in my fist.

This year, April had enrolled in a magnet school in the city. Sam and Sheldon each had Mr. Grayson, known for his love of argyle socks and yoga. Amanda had Mrs. Mason, who had an unnatural affection for sunflowers and bumblebees. (Seriously. Her walls were decorated with sunflower posters. She signed her teacher letter with a little bumblebee over the n .)

I tried to picture Amanda, whose natural state of anger was just barely contained with daily meditation, surrounded by all that happy dcor. I think she was also picturing that, because her face turned a little green. Bumblebees make me angry! she grumbled. Sheldon patted her back.

As for me? I was stuck with the newbie teacher who no one knew anything about and who probably didnt know anything. Miss Parker. Puke. Her letter was on plain white paper with typewriting font. Boring.

Want to ride bikes to school tomorrow? Sheldon asked Amanda.

I cant. Someone stole my bike last week. She cracked her knuckles. Dad said I shouldnt have left it in the front yard, but if I catch the guy who nabbed it

A lot of people are looking for that guy, Sam said. Mom told me last night that about a dozen bikes have been stolen from front yards in the last month.

No one said anything for a moment while Amanda muttered kumbaya under her breath and cracked each finger, her wrist, and then her neck. The kumbaya is supposed to be like a mantra that helps her calm down when she gets really angry. It doesnt always work.

Sheldon scooted to the edge of the monkey bars, preparing to jump down. Mr. Graysons letter has something in it about the election for the fifth-grade student government.