If I Ever Get Out of Here

It’s the end of summer and Lewis gets his new class schedule in the mail. He’s still in the “smarties” (183) group, but he’s in a class called Music. Lewis doesn’t recognize anything or anyone on his schedule, and so he asks his cousin Innis, who is older than him. Lewis finds out the music is just a general class for the students who didn’t make it into band or Choraliers. At school, Lewis talks to the music teacher, Miss Ward, hoping there is a mistake, but there isn’t. Unfortunately, for Lewis, Evan Reiniger the Wedgie King is also in the class. From day one, Evan proves how much of a trouble maker he is. Lewis hopes Evan doesn’t recognize him. But this, too, does not turn out in Lewis’ favor. What’s even worse is that Miss Ward has an idea to help Lewis feel better by letting him play some of his tribe’s music on the drums. Miss Ward might mean well, but it’s a terrible idea for many reasons, the most damning being that it will bring Lewis even more under Evan’s radar. The event in class has exactly this effect on Evan. After class Evan attacks Lewis.