he　clear；　brilliant　blue　of　his　eyes。

“I'm　sorry；　Juli；”　he　whispered。

I　stumbled　home；　embarrassed　and　confused；　my　heart　pletely　cracked　open。

Get　a　Grip；　Man

It　didn't　take　long　for　me　to　realize　that　I'd　traded　in　my　old　problems　with　Juli　Baker　for　a

whole　new　set　of　problems　with　Juli　Baker。　I　could　feel　her

anger　a　mile　away。

It　was　actually　worse　having　her　mad　at　me　than　having　her　harass　me。　Why？　Because　I'd

screwed　up；　that's　why。　I　had　egg　all　over　my　face；　and

blaming　it　on　her　yard　had　done　nothing　to　wash　it　off。　The　way　she　ignored　me；　or　so

obviously　avoided　me；　was　a　screaming　loud　reminder　to　me

that　I'd　been　a　jerk。　A　royal　cluck…faced　jerk。

Then　one　day　I'm　ing　home　from　hanging　out　with　Garrett　after　school；　and　there's　Juli　in

her　front　yard；　hacking　at　a　shrub。　She　is　thrashing

on　the　thing。　Branches　are　flying　over　her　shoulder；　and　clear　across　the　street　I　can　hear　her

grunting　and　growling　and　saying　stuff　like；　“No…

you…　don't！　You　are　ing…　off…　whether　you　like　it　or　…not！”

Did　I　feel　good　about　this？　No；　my　friend；　I　did　not。　Yeah；　their　yard　was　a　mess；　and　it　was

about　time　someone　did　something　about　it；　but

c'mon　—　where's　the　dad？　What　about　Matt　and　Mike？　Why　Juli？

Because　I'd　embarrassed　her　into　it；　that's　why。　I　felt　worse　than　ever。

So　I　snuck　inside　and　tried　to　ignore　the　fact　that　here's