29| SPIKE'S GOT TALENT

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Harper never cared much about being recognized

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Harper never cared much about being recognized. She wasn't one to seek attention or try to stand out—she preferred a quiet life, focused on school, getting good grades, and spending time with her friends.

The idea of everyone liking her never even crossed her mind. Harper often kept to herself, skipping down the hallways with a smile, her head filled with thoughts of assignments and friendships instead of popularity.

That's why, when Leo and Adam were talking about the school yearbook, Harper wasn't all that concerned. She'd never expected to be featured in it, nor did she care much about the 'Most Likely To' categories that everyone else seemed so fixated on.

Curious about the buzz around the yearbook, Harper peered over Leo's shoulder as he flipped through the pages.

"Did you guys see the yearbook?" Chase asked as he sprinted over to them, holding another yearbook in his hands. "Everybody but me got a 'Most Likely to' even Leo!"

"What? Let me see that." Leo said, snatching the book from Chase's hands and looked at the page. "'Most likely never to get a most likely.' I'm on the board!"

Harper glanced at her own entry at the bottom of the page. "'Most likely to get straight As on all her assignments."

Chase pouted dramatically. "Well, that proves it. I'm completely invisible at this school."

"Chase, that's not true." Adam assured. "If you were invisible, I couldn't do this."

Adam then playfully punched him on the arm, sending Chase stumbling into Harper, who barely caught herself before bumping into Leo. Chase rubbed his shoulder as his older brother walked away.

"Chase, just because you weren't nominated doesn't mean you're invisible." Bree chimed in from the side, sitting on the hallway's center circle bench with Owen beside her.

"Oh, really? Yeah? What's this?" Chase demanded, shoving the yearbook in front of Bree's face. "'Chip Davenport'. I'm a misnamed question mark!"

"Listen up, snot-buckets!" Principal Perry called as she entered the hallway, holding a sign-up sheet. "Don't forget to sign up for the annual Mission Creek High talent show. Auditions are after school, and we'll be judged by moi. Chances are that if I don't like you, you won't get through, and I don't like any of you, so good luck."

"Talent shows are wrong!" Owen protested dramatically, standing up from the bench and walking towards Principal Perry as she posted the sign-up sheet on the wall. "There are no winners or losers in creative expression."

Perry scoffed at him. "Stick a paintbrush in it, Emo Sabe!"

Owen, wide-eyed, turned around and faced Bree, Chase, Leo and Harper. "I refuse to stand by while that woman crushes the artistic souls of our student body. I'm gonna go sketch my feelings."

With that, Owen marched off, leaving the group of teenagers in a shared silence as they watched him go.

Bree sighed dreamily. "He is so tortured. Isn't it great?"

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