Alex's Challenge (18 page)

Looking around the room, Alex was surprised that the school's cheerleaders and sports teams had already started to work on school spirit—the walls were plastered with GO ROCKETS! LAUNCH! THREE TWO ONE BLASTOFF! and other signs supporting the football, volleyball, and, Alex realized, soccer teams. She was about to point that out to Ellen when the principal, Mr. Delaney, walked to a podium in the middle of the gym floor and began to speak.

“Welcome back, kids,” his voice droned. “We hope you had a fun, safe, and educational summer.” He winked as if to show that he knew the
educational
part was a stretch.

At this, some of the older boys laughed, and a boy behind Alex said to his friend, “Well . . . fun, anyway!”

“A few reminders: First tryouts for the girls' soccer team are tonight, on the main field, at three P.M. Those who make it past cuts will meet tomorrow after school. . . .”

He went on talking, but Alex had stopped listening. First
tryouts
? she thought frantically.
Since when is there more than one round?

Suddenly, she was very, very nervous. She tuned back in to the assembly just in time to hear Mr. Delaney finish talking. “Please go to homeroom, where you will receive your schedules and locker assignments.”

Luckily, Alex knew where her homeroom was—during the previous year, her class had come to the middle school to take a tour and learn their way around. She and Ellen stood up and headed in the direction of the science wing, where their rooms were. Because Ellen's last name was in the end of the alphabet, she'd been placed into a different room—but Alex figured she'd still have some classes with her friend. She also had expected to know at least a few kids in her homeroom, but she didn't. Everyone was either older or from a different elementary school. She sat down near the front of the classroom and smiled tentatively at the girl sitting next to her, but the girl just looked at her and then looked away.

Alex sighed and looked away again. Soccer tryouts—
first
tryouts, she corrected herself—weren't until the end of the day. And it was going to be a very long day, indeed.