"That's why I told you to never go that way," I whispered to Ali, and he nodded.
The classroom buzz slowly died down as Mr. Soder entered.
"Alright, class, settle down," he said, repeating, "settle down."
Fiona turned to me, raising her middle finger with a smug look. "Beat you again," she whispered.
I sighed. I really needed to stop challenging her at Slonky—maybe it was just that one thing I was terrible at.
"Okay, we're starting our group project on ecosystems," Mr. Soder announced.
The whole class groaned in unison. I booed, personally.
"Oh, spare me the drama," he shot back. "Don’t pretend you didn’t know this was coming."
I always thought Mr. Soder lacked inspiration. He wasn’t like Ms. Jeanette, our bright, bubbly teacher who taught like her life depended on it. He was more... sad and lonely. Rumor had it that he still lived with his parents.