After school, we went to look for Eric. Through the newspaper doors, I heard a girl say, "Ah, Eric, yes. That feels so good! Don't stop!"

"Okay, we found my brother," Cory said before opening the door.

Eric was just rubbing Molly's shoulders. "This personality profile of our new principal is superlative."

"Well, the man lives next door. Glad I could give some help," Eric replied.

"Yes. Well, you give a wonderful neck massage."

"You know, Molly, I'm more than just a pair of strong, masculine hands."

"Well, of course you are, my little cabana boy." Then, she stopped typing. "Well, fini!" she said. 

"No, no. It's Feeny," Eric tried to correct. "His name is Feeny."

Molly gave him an unimpressed look. "Fini is French for finished."

"Ha-ha, the French our neighbors to the north."

We decided to walk in. "Hello!" Cory greeted.

"Not now, I'm working."

"You said you'd drive us home," Cory said, placing our rats on the table causing Molly to scream and stand up.

"Hey, babe, you're wiggin' out the rats," Shawn said.

"Rats?" she questioned.

"Yeah. We're studying natural selection," I answer. 

"We're gonna see if rats know the difference between natural cheddar and 'I can't believe it's not cheese!'" Cory adds.

"Yep, our D-plus rests on furry little Betty, Shawn and Cory," Shawn said.

"B-plus at the least," I tell him.

"You named them after yourselves?" Eric asked.

"Yeah. Shawn's the one chewing the lock, Betty's the one running in circles and I'm the one with the skin disease," Cory answered.

"Shawn named my rat, I wanted to name her Jesse," I sigh.

"Betty's a great name to a great gal," Shawn replied.

"Keep your little vermin away from tomorrow's edition of the school paper," Molly said.

"Yeah. Come on, let's go, all six of you rats," Eric said.

I looked through the cage. "Um, make that all five of us rats," I say.

"Little Shawn broke out?" Cory asked before spotting him on the floor. "I got him, I got him." He picked up Little Shawn before he raised it to Molly. "He wants to kiss you! Please! He loves you!" Molly screamed before running out and slamming the door behind her while I held my stomach laughing. "Come on, you kiss my brother!"

"Hey, thank you. Thank you very much. I finally get a brainy girl interested in me, and you guys screw it up," Eric said before pushing the door, trying to open it."

"Pull, doofus," I tell him.

Eric smiled. "Oh, pull."

Once he was gone, Shawn said, "Well, I gotta get home. I promised Mom I'd crack her back before American Gladiators."

I noticed Cory at the computer. "What are you doing, Cor?" I ask. 

"Check it out!" he said.

Me and Shawn walk over as he said, "Oh! A screen full of Feen!"

"He's gonna be on the front page of the school paper?" I question.

"Won't it scare children?" Shawn asked.

"It won't scare 'em if he's..." Cory deleted Feeny and changed it to- "Teeny!"

"Oh! This has definite possibilities," Shawn said before moving Cory out of the chair. "Let me in there."

"What do you got, Shawny?" I ask.

"Okay, new principal is..." he began to type. "Beeny, Deeny, Geeny, Leeny..."

I began to grin, "Hey, Shawn," I say, before leaning over and whispering in his ear.

He laughed before changing the L to W. 

"Ha!" the boys laughed.

"'New Principal is Weeny'," Cory said. "Can you imagine 2,000 students reading this?"

"Power ultimate power," Shawn grinned.

"Yeah, but we would never-Would we?"

"Power! We'd be notorious! We would be legends!"

"What do you mean?" Cory asked.

"Well, what are we now?" I ask.

"We are lowly seventh-grade sewer scum who name rats after ourselves to feel important."

"And how do you feel about that?"

"Better than the guys with no rats!"

"Hey, Cor, wouldn't you rather be something special or would you rather be us?" Shawn asked.

"Shawn, power like that in the wrong hands it's dangerous." Cory changed it back to Feeny. "All right. Come on, let's go."

I began to follow Cory out the door, then I noticed Shawn. "Shawny, what are you doing?"

"Uh, nothing," he lied before grinning.

"Shawn Hunter," I call.

"I can't help it, I want power," he replied.

"No, not happening," I walked over to the computer before he got on both of his knees.

"Oh, come on, Betts, please. I'll even let you in on this. The whole school will know our names." I was hesitant, but then he took my hands. "Please...from your Prince Charming." 

I sigh. "Change the dang letter, Shawn," I answer.

He stood up, "Thank you." He changed the F to W. "There."

"Now, move," I tell him, saving the newspaper before printing out 2,000 copies. "You better love me for going with this."

"I do, Betts. Trust me."

***

The next day at school, I glance around to see others have gotten the newspaper from yesterday. Most of them were laughing at the front.

"Betts," Shawn called, grinning. "Do you see this? Do you see what we've done?"

"Yeah, it's great," I answer.

"And you came up with it."

"Sure, but you wanted to do this."

"Doesn't matter, you're a total genius, babe," I began to smile. "And I mean in everything."

"Hey, look at this," Harley Kiener's voice got my attention. "His name's Feeny. They wrote Weeny. I'm laughin'. You laughin'?"

"Oh, yeah. I was just thinkin' of laughin'," Joey said. "I would've been laughin' already but I was too busy listening to you, Harley. But I think I'm ready now." He and Frankie laughed.

"The guy who could cook up somethin' like that now, that's a guy I'd like to have hangin' with me," Harley said, getting my eyes to widen.

"Or a girl you would hopefully date," I mutter and smirk, but it faded when Shawn heard me.

"Oh, gross, Betty," Shawn said.

"He'd be a great addition to our organization," Frankie said.

"Well, yeah. He could stand right here," Joey points.

"I'm thinkin' he could stand right where you're standin'," Harley pointed to Joey.

"Well, then, where would Joey stand?" Frankie questioned before catching on. "Oh."

"Am I goin' for a ride?" Joey asked nervously..

Shawn walked forward, dragging me by the hand. "Excuse me, Harley. Sir, about that guy you wanted to meet-"

"Did I say you could eavesdrop on a senior conversation? Did your little seventh-grade ears hear something they shouldn't have heard?" Harley questioned him, very intimidating. "For your sake, I truly hope not."

"Yeah, 'cause Harley's got a whole locker full of ears from guys who've done the same thing. Their glasses hang crooked now 'cause they got no ears!" Joey adds.

"How much to keep the ears?" Shawn digs in his pocket. 

"A buck," Harley tells him.

"Thank you!" Shawn hands him the money before walking away to Cory.

"Shawn, are you farther gone than I ever would've imagined?" Cory questions, showing us the newspaper.

"No, no. I'm not gone. We've arrived! We are known! We rule this school! Our fame here will live forever," Shawn answers.

"What do you mean 'we'?" 

I began to grin. "I may or may not have came up with the idea in the first place or printed them out..."

Cory looked at me, shocked. "Betty!"

"I want fame. The way Shawny said sounded awesome," I say.

"Except nobody knows you guys did this."

"What, you think that bothers me? I know we did it, and that's good enough for me," Shawn replied.

"Me too," I say.

"I wonder who did this?" a girl asked, holding the newspaper. 

"If it was my boyfriend, I would do anything for him," she replied.

I gape at her. Go away and get someone more of your type!

"Oh, it's killing me," Shawn sighed.

***

In class, Mr. Turner wrote an A on the chalk board. "Okay, The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne has a red letter 'A' on her dress. Now, everybody knows what the 'A' stands for, right?"

"Boring?" Cory sassed, earning a few chuckles.

"Hey, everybody, don't laugh at Matthews, okay? He's never seen an A before." I raise my hand. "You got this one, Cooper?"

"I do, Mr. Turner. The A stands for adultery," I answer.

"Right on, Cooper," he told me. "Okay, the buzz is all over the Massachusetts Colony that Hester has taken the pure out of Puritan. It's scandal. It's gossip." He picked up today's newspaper, showing the cover. "It could've come right out of today's headlines." Everyone in the class laughed causing me and Shawn to secretly high five, but freeze when Mr. Feeny walked in. "Mr. Feeny, good morning."

"Actually, Mr. Turner, I've had better," Mr. Feeny walked forward. "You see, I have been forced on this particular morning to go from room to room," he grabbed the newspaper. "Asking anyone with information about this little journalistic prank to come forward." Me and Shawn shared a scared look. "I will go a lot easier on the perpetrator if he or she or they voluntarily confess." Out of nervousness, my hand reached across from Shawn's holding it as I looked anywhere, but the front of the room. "No? Very well. I will now return you to your lecture on," he looked at the chalkboard. "On the letter 'A.'" He looked to Mr. Turner with sarcasm. "Keep up the good work."

***

The next day at school, I told Shawn the rumors about the newspaper I heard from around. This morning, me and Shawn decided to fix those rumors.

"Okay, a rumor was going around school that the 'weeny' headline was just a typo that nobody did it," I explain to Cory.

"Like we don't exist," Shawn scoffed.

"We happened to change to that."

"Check it out. Now we exist." We pulled Cory in front of Feeny's office which we changed to Mr. George Weeny. "We are somebody!" Cory gasped, looking at it. "What a beauty, huh?" Cory gasped again.

"We snuck in early this morning and changed it," I giggled. "Wow, Shawn's really rubbing off on me."

"Looks like the real thing, doesn't it?" Shawn said.

"Except for this drip," Cory points to it. "Guys, Shawn, Betty, you're out of control!"

"Yeah, we are," I smile.

"Tell your friends," Shawn says before we both walk away.

***

The next day, me and Shawn walked to school together.

"Can you believe this?" I ask, holding today's paper. 

Someone stole our idea," Shawn said.

"The jerks," I mutter, then the both of us saw Cory talking to Mr. Feeny.

"Uh-oh," I say.

"You don't Cory told him anything, do you?" Shawn  asked.

"I hope not, that'd be such a mean thing to do."

Once Mr. Feeny was gone, me and Shawn went up to Cory. "Did you tell him?" he asked.

"What do you think?" Cory replied.

I smiled. "Thanks, Cor."

"You're welcome. 'Cause it was just a little prank, right? And nothing else is ever gonna happen again, right?"

"Right. It's never gonna happen again," Shawn answered as I nod, crossing my fingers behind my bag.

And I hold up today's newspaper. "So, have you seen this today?"

Cory grabbed it, reading it out loud. "'A typographical error in our last edition incorrectly named the new principal as Mr. George Weeny'. Good, it's over."

"Read on, little buddy," Shawn told him.

"'His true name is Weeny Weeny. Weeny, Weeny, Weeny, Weeny, Weeny, Weeny, Weeny, Weeny. Continued on page three, column one.'" he flipped to the next page. 'Weeny'!"
"Are you completely deranged?"

"Yes, I am. But I didn't do this."

"You didn't?"

"And neither did I," I add. "Somebody stole our idea."

"We'll never be legends now," Shawn complained.

***

After class, me and Shawn went up to Cory.

"So, you gonna be shootin' some hoops today after school?" Shawn asked.

"I can't. I got this little meeting with Mr. Feeny where he's gonna ask me some questions about something I didn't do. And if I don't tell him who did, I get suspended," Cory answered.

"And I totally appreciate you doing this for me. I mean, after I blew up that mailbox last year, Dad said one more screw up and he'd ship me off to military school," Shawn said.

I shake my head. "I ain't letting you go anywhere."

"You know, I can only cover for you for so long," Cory said

"How long?" Shawn asked.

Mr. Feeny came out, holding today's newspaper. "Weeny, Weeny, Weeny, Weeny, Weeny, Weeny and Weeny." He looked to Cory. "Don't be late, Mr. Matthews."

Mr. Turner saw him. "Go easy on 'em, George. They're at a new school."

"As am I, Mr. Turner, as am I."

***

In Mr. Turner's class, Cory looked so torn, probably about the meeting and Shawn was half asleep during the lecture, "So in the end, Hester Prynne is faced with a pretty tough decision, huh? Does she rat on the person who's responsible for her predicament, or does she keep his secret and face the scorn of society? Pretty relevant stuff. Eh, Matthews? Eh, Hunter?"

Shawn sat up quickly, wide awake. "Sir! It stood for adultery, sir!" I give him a look. "I was practicing for military school."

"You're not going anywhere, Shawny," I tell him as the bell rang.

Mr. Turner called Cory as me and Shawn left. "Matthews, hang for a minute, will you?"

"Hey, Betts, wanna...maybe continue one little prank?" Shawn asked.

I frown. "But-"

"Come on, just one little laugh and I won't do it again."

I sigh. "Lead the way, Hunter."

*** 

I held Shawn's marker as scrubbed at the F on Feeny's principal door that 

"Shawn, hurry."

"I'm trying," he replied.

The door opened causing both of us to freeze.

"So how long am I suspended for?" Cory asked as I quietly handed Shawn the marker.

"You're not," Mr. Feeny answered. "Detention for five days. One day for each letter in weeny. Which, in this instance," Mr. Feeny closed the door, revealing us causing the both of us to freeze again. "Should properly be spelled W-E-E-N-I-E. Shouldn't it, Mr. Hunter? Ms. Cooper?"

My jaw dropped in shock as Shawn looked to Cory. "You told him?"

"What do you think?" Cory asked.

"I think you wouldn't," I answer.

"I'm an idiot!" Shawn exclaimed.

"I'm an idiot for letting you talk me into this."

"He refused to rat either one of you out,  and he now faces a week of detention in your honor. But the punishment for not being caught, Mr. Hunter, Ms. Cooper, is far, far worse."

"I did it and I'm so sorry," I suck up.

"I'm sure you are, Ms. Cooper. It's not like you to do such an awful action. You're being let off with a warning."

I smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Feeny."

"I did it, Mr. Feeny. I confess!" Shawn spoke.

"I will be watching you every moment of your high school career. Which, in your case, could be decades," Mr. Feeny told him.

"But I just confessed."

"Too late, Mr. Hunter. You are my new special friend."

Once Mr. Feeny walked away, Shawn turned to Cory. "Why didn't you turn me in?"