OK, so what I have done is nothing less than pretty dumb.

Or was it?

Well, the inevitable backlash that would result from the school's new rule regarding how people should interact with each other has yet to happen, but I know for sure it's going to happen. How do I know this?

It all began last year when a parent complained that her daughter was seen dating another girl from a picture in the Lochland High School newsletter, or the Discriminator, as we kids called it. (That newsletter appeared to discriminate against anyone not following the school code, which was to study and get good grades. Those who didn't do those two things, tried to be popular, or engaged in other unsavory behaviors were named and shamed in the newspaper. Most of us middle schoolers thought this was insane.)

Anyway, after the mother complained about her daughter's dating, the student council decided to ban dating. (And that too had some backlash, but the council didn't care. They had already banned Disney cartoons and wearing blue jeans while on school campus, so I wouldn't be surprised if they banned skateboards as well.)

I can't wait for the next issue of the Discriminator, which will talk about the students that isolated Claire and how she was forced to talk to her imaginary friends for their own amusement. Those students will be named and shamed for sure. I can't wait to see what the student council will do about that. Maybe enact a new law banning imaginary friends? Who knows?

Anyway, I learned that far from being "crazy" as everyone thinks she is, Claire Evans is one of the snarkiest girls in Lochland Middle School. She doesn't take crap from anyone, she wears what she wants and does whatever she wants, and isn't afraid to express her opinions about anything. I don't see how someone could keep her away from the other students, not with what I'm seeing from Claire.

Such is life, I guess.

Of course, Jem doesn't like her, as she doesn't like people who prefer to talk to me and not her. Remember when I told you that dad wanted us to have our own friends and our own separate lives? Jem wasn't too happy with that and she put up the mother of all hissy fits, but I was relieved. I didn't have to deal with being a matched pair and I didn't have to deal with Krista Bradley, Tracy Maxwell, Karah Harper, Samara Barlow, and Emma Day, the friends I had since kindergarten. They preferred to hang out with Jem instead of with me, which was dumb as Jem and I had to share those friends during that short time in our lives.

Plus, I already have my friends Milton and Clayton, so I didn't need to bother with those silly girls.

Like I said, Jem's angry because I chose to hang out with Claire (as she hates Claire), but what else is new?

Oh yeah.

Adrian and Dorian Johansson soon found about Clayton and my little stunt regarding Claire. Apparently, Claire had posted a message inside their lockers while they weren't looking. (Better yet, yesterday, while everyone else was debating the new school rule that kids are already calling discriminatory against loners and introverts, Claire was sitting in a corner writing a message to the twins. The message read, "Dear Adrian and Dorian, nobody likes it when you smoke, drink, or use foul language. Also, nobody likes it when you call them bad names or make fun of them. Please stop doing that or else you'll be in big trouble. Sincerely, everyone.")

Of course, the trick worked because the next day (I mean today), I noticed that the boys weren't smelling of smoke or alcohol. They were also wearing nicer clothes, the kind of clothes I never liked to wear. Plus, their hair was washed clean and their shoes shined. (Mayhaps the boys had asked their nanny to help them get ready for the day.)

Well, the twins were walking down the hall to the tune of some rather obscure 70s tune. It was like they had stepped from the disco era and into the new millennium. Or that's what you want to call it. Needless to say, everyone stopped and stared at the twins as they came down the hall.

"Uh-oh, here they come!" said Rachel Murray.

"Let's not bother them," said Aaron Baker. "We don't want them to bother us, don't we?"

It was hard for me to ignore the twins, as Dorian saw me standing next to Claire. They came to me and Dorian said, "I heard that your friend Milton is in the hospital, again. Did his crazy-assed bitch of a sister beat him up?"

"That's none of your business," I snapped at them. "Also, would you consider leaving him alone? He's already having a tough time at home, he doesn't need it here."

"Yeah," said Clayton as he approached us. "What's so wrong with him that you guys have to beat him up every chance you get?"

"Well, first off, we don't like the name Milton and we would appreciate it if he doesn't use it," said Adrian. "Two, he needs to stop wearing those piece of crap clothes; they're hideous! Also, he needs to stop wearing those plain white shoes, as they make him look like he's needy and homeless living on the street. I mean, he may be adopted, but that doesn't mean he has to act like it."

"Now you know that's a lie," said Claire as she glared at the twins. "Milton is not adopted from another family."

"And how would you know that's the truth?" said Dorian.

"I make it my business to know," said Claire. "Now, would you please stop being such stupid immature jerks and just admit that you hate your parents for not giving you attention because your father spends too much time at work and your mother neglects you in favor of taking care of Lucy. Plus, you're much too old for a nanny, so why is she still here?"

The twins could say nothing to her as she continued, "Plus, you guys need some friends. Don't deny it, I know you do. Yet you assume that nobody wants to be your friends because you think they would judge you based on your sister's mental disability, or am I wrong?"

Ouch, that hurts!

The whole place is so quiet, you could hear a piece of paper fall onto the floor. I frowned, knowing that once again, Claire had shamed someone; I never thought she could get the twins to yield.

Then again, I didn't think anyone could get the twins to yield. When last I checked, the twins were such troublemakers that no one could get through to them.

Of course, that fact stayed with me all day and through lessons, when the rabbi had Jem and I recite our stories. That also stayed with me as I went to the hospital later that evening to see Milton.

When I got to the hospital, I saw Milton's brother Michael and sister Janeen standing next to their parents, Robert and Nadine in the waiting area; they had apparently been in that place all day. Alex and Barbara were nowhere to be seen. When I asked where they were, Mr. Holt said, "Alex is with her grandmother and Barbara was ordered to spend six months in juvenile hall. I don't know what happened to her to make her act this way, but we can't have her behavior ruining our family name. That's not how it's done."

"Well, you do know everyone in the neighborhood thinks you're not worth knowing because of Barbara," I said. "In fact, I've had people begging me to stop hanging out with Milton. Do you know the community considers your family the worse family in Lochland?"

"I wouldn't say that, but it's not exactly true," said Mrs. Holt. "In fact, I would go so far as to say that Claire's adoptive parents are certainly the worst sort of people you'll ever meet. Not that you don't know that, of course."

"No I don't," I said. "I haven't met her parents. In fact, no one has met her parents."

"Well, you don't have to meet them, as they're not worth knowing," said Mr. Holt. "In fact, maybe you should go see Milton before he complains that we're hogging his visitor."

I nodded as I went to Milton's hospital room. There, I repeated everything I had seen so far, from the principal's new school rules to Claire shutting down the twins. Milton laughed as he said, "Are you sure you're not some kind of police officer?"

"What are you talking about?" I said.

"Because you got a bunch of people arrested for messing with Claire a few days ago and now they're sitting in juvenile hall," said Milton. "Are you sure you're not a legit police officer?"

"Nope," I said. "I'm not a police officer. Plus, my mom doesn't want me to be a police officer, not when she wants me to work at the store dad works at. Got to stay in the family, I guess."

"I wonder why," said Milton.

OK, so while I told him about what happened at the school, but he never told me that he had a terrible head injury that would prevent him from returning to school for two and a half weeks, plus another two weeks of missing school to recover at home. I don't see how any sane person could survive in such a violent household with Barbara Holt in the picture. Why would she beat up Milton instead of her other siblings? What did Milton do to her to warrant such mistreatment? All I knew was I had to know the truth about Barbara to help stop her reign of terror.

But in all of that, I knew she knew about me. I've already seen the people she chased away from Milton, either through beatings and threats; in fact, she forced a teacher to quit her job after she threatened to spread an untrue rumor about her and Milton. (That's how bat-shit crazy she was.)

Of course, I'm having a hard time concentrating on my upcoming bar mitzvah; with so much happening around me, how was I able to concentrate on one thing? And guess what? The bar mitzvah is tomorrow!

Crap.

Better start studying.