When Rumors Fly by Ann Francis

For use with Vocabulary Pack #17 , copyright 2007

Tony was having a rather mundane day until he spotted Ryan Rogers charging toward him in the main hallway of Central High. Ryan's countenance carried a look of determination as his giant body plowed down students who were too slow to get out of his way. One poor girl, who was somnolent from a sleepless night of studying, never even noticed the linebacker until he was a foot away from her. At that point his proximity gave her no other option than to respond with fallowness.  She fell to the hard floor as Ryan accidentally bumped into her shoulder, leaving her sitting on the cold tiles with a sullen look on her face. 

Tony’s face turned sallow and his heart began to race as Ryan neared him. The terrified teenager struggled to make a decision with little time to think--fight or flight, fight or flight? Ryan was not usually pugilistic, but evidently the rumor was true—someone had spread the word that Tony wanted to fight the foreboding football player.

In a fortuitous turn of events, as the two boys came face-to-face, the mischievous student who had started the rumor shouted out, “April Fools!” before Ryan threw a punch. Tony’s heartbeat slowed to the tempo of a slow waltz, and he noticed Mr. Edwards, the principal, moving in a sinuous path as he weaved his way through the crowd of students who had gathered. When Mr. Edwards reached the boys they were laughing together at the practical joke—which was a poignant ending to a potentially harmful situation.