The day we decided to scare Courtney was the<br > day of our class field trip.<br > Mr. Melvin， our teacher， and Ms. Prince， the<br > other sixth-grade teacher， stood counting us as<br > we boarded the yellow school bus.<br > Courtney was first in line， of course. Courtney<br > makes sure she is always first in line. Her friend<br > Denise boarded right behind her.<br > It was a gray day. Dark storm clouds rolled<br > overhead， blocking the sun. The guy on the radio<br > said there was a ninety percent chance of rain.<br > I didn t care. I was happy to be getting out of<br > school.<br > I pushed my friend Hat into the kid in front of<br >him. His real name is Herbie， but everyone calls<br >him Hat. That s because no one has ever seen him<br >without a baseball cap on his head. I ve known<br >Hat since fourth grade， and I don t think I ve ever<br >seen his hair.<br > The kid in front spun around and shoved Hat<br >back at me.<br ><br >