Rachel studied the map in her hands, trying to figure out which way to hold it. Her new school was huge. She used to live in a small town, but her dad got transferred to the city for work. It was halfway through the school year, so Rachel didn’t get a choice in her schedule. The guidance counselor stuck her in any classes that had room, and unfortunately, they were scattered across the two-story building.

The bell rang and kids rushed into the hallways. Rachel ducked into the restroom to avoid being trampled. She walked over to the mirror and stared at her reflection. She looked as scared as she felt. She noticed her hands had ink on them from the schedule the counselor had just printed. She tried to wash it off in the sink but there were still traces of black on her fingertips.

She heard footsteps behind her, and she took a deep breath. This was her opportunity to make a friend—maybe someone who would help her find her way around. Rachel turned, hoping to see a friendly face. But she didn’t.

“Do you always use the boys’ room?” asked a tall kid with shaggy hair.

“The what?” Rachel felt her cheeks grow hot. She wanted to run and hide. She’d only been in her new school for twenty minutes and she’d already completely embarrassed herself. She looked past the boy, planning her escape when a blonde-haired girl walked by the door. She did a double take, first staring at Rachel and then at the boy.

Just great! Someone else to witness my humiliation! Rachel thought.

“Go to class, Trevor,” the girl said, as she pushed by the boy and pulled Rachel into the hallway.

“The girls’ room is over there,” she said, pointing to another door about fifteen feet down. “The floors are color coded. Boys have blue tile, and the girls have pink.”

Rachel looked away, too embarrassed to make eye contact.

“I’m Jamie. You’re new, right? I mean you’ve got a map, so you must be new. I can help you find your next class if you want.”

Rachel still couldn’t speak so she handed her schedule to Jamie.

“Rachel Jacobson,” Jamie said, reading the name on the schedule. “Oh, no,” she added with a sigh.

“What?” Rachel couldn’t imagine how her day could get worse. She’d already managed to make a fool of herself.

“You have Science with Mr. Treeblo.”

“Is that bad?”

“Mr. Treeblo’s all right, and I’m in that class. But so is Trevor,” Jamie said.

At first all Rachel comprehended was that Jamie was in the class. A familiar face sounded great. But then it registered. Trevor. He was the boy from the bathroom. The one who’d witnessed Rachel’s embarrassment.

“You don’t think he’ll tell people what happened, do you?” Rachel asked in a shaky voice.

Jamie didn’t answer. She just tugged on Rachel’s sleeve and led the way to room 215. Class had already started, which meant that Rachel could add tardiness to her list of first day slip-ups.

“Ms. Sharkey, you know better than to be late to my class,” Mr. Treeblo said, looking over the rim of his glasses.

“Sorry, Mr. Treeblo, but I found Rachel in the—” Jamie turned and glared in Trevor’s direction. “In the hallway. She needed help finding her way around. She’s a new student.”

“I see. Very well then, I guess I’ll let it slide this time. You both may be seated.” Mr. Treeblo picked right up with his lecture.

Unfortunately, the only available seat was behind Trevor. He smirked as Rachel walked past him.

The boy sitting next to Trevor leaned over and whispered, “Is that her?”

Trevor nodded and they both started laughing. Rachel slouched in her seat. She wondered what would happen next period in lunch. Trevor could tell the entire eighth grade about her mishap.

The bell rang and everyone hurried to the cafeteria. Everyone except Rachel.

“Hey, you can sit with me if you want,” Jamie said.

“Thanks. I’m just going to run to the bathroom first. I’ll meet you there.”

“You sure you know where it is?” Jamie asked, giving Rachel a teasing smile.

“Pink tile. I got it.” Rachel put her books in her locker and then headed to the girls’ room. She looked at the floor before entering. Sure enough, pink tile.

She went to the sink to wash her hands, and she heard a familiar voice behind her. Trevor. Oh, no! Not again. Did she imagine the pink tile? She clutched the sides of the sink in panic. She forced herself to look in the mirror. Trevor was on his cell phone. Rachel knew there was a rule against cell phone use during school hours. The guidance counselor had warned her about it.

Trevor turned off his phone and met Rachel’s stare in the mirror. “You screwed up again? Seriously how hard is it to remember blue is for boys and pink is for girls? Wait until I tell everyone in the cafeteria. They’re going to die laughing.”

Rachel turned around to face Trevor. She smiled. “Maybe you’re the one who needs to remember your colors.” She pointed to the floor tile.

Trevor looked down and his jaw dropped. “But—” He held up his phone. “I was talking, and I guess I didn’t pay attention to which door I went in.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. And I won’t tell the principal that you were on your cell phone during school either.”

“You won’t? But why not?” Trevor looked away. “It’s not like I was nice to you. I told Jeff about you going in the boys’ room.”

“I know. You laughed at me, too. But I’m not a mean person.”

“I’m not mean,” Trevor said, looking Rachel in the eyes. “I just thought it was funny.”

“Well, now you know it’s not.” Rachel walked toward the door.

“Hey, wait. I’ll make sure Jeff doesn’t tell anyone.”

“Thanks,” Rachel said. She walked into the hallway, nearly bumping right into Jamie.

“I came to check on you. I was worried you’d gotten lost or something,” Jamie said. Then she looked past Rachel into the girls’ room. “Trevor?”

“Yeah, turns out I’m not the only one who wishes they’d put signs on the bathroom doors.”

“Oh, this is great. I can’t wait to tell everyone about this,” Jamie said with a huge smile.

Rachel looked at Trevor. He was staring at Jamie with a worried look on his face.

“No. Don’t tell anyone,” Rachel said.

Jamie wrinkled her forehead. “But he totally embarrassed you. You could get back at him. Show him how it feels.”

Rachel smiled at Trevor. “He knows how it feels now. We’re all good here. Let’s go eat.”