Dameon was in love with one of the girls in his class. Can you guess which one?

He thought about her all the time.

Myron threw a red ball to Dameon. It bounced off his face.

"Huh?" said Dameon.

"Why didn\'t you catch the ball?" asked Myron.

"What ball?" asked Dameon.

"The one that hit you in the face," said Myron.

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"Did a ball hit me in the face?" asked Dameon.

"Yes," said Myron.

"Oh, good," said Dameon. "I was wondering why my nose hurt."

He had been thinking about the girl he loved.

He was in love with Mrs. Jewls.

That was why he was always doing things for her, like passing out papers. He thought she was very pretty and nice. He thought she was smart, too. In fact, he thought she was one of the smartest people in the class.

After recess he hurried back up the stairs.

"Hello, Dameon," said Mrs. Jewls.

"Hello, Mrs. Jewls," he said.

"You\'re always the first one here, aren\'t you?" asked Mrs. Jewls.

Dameon blushed and shrugged his shoulders. "Do you need any papers passed out or anything?" he asked.

"It\'s so nice of you to ask," said Mrs. Jewls.

"I think you\'re nice too," said Dameon.

Mrs. Jewls gave him a stack of workbooks to hand out. Then she gave him a Tootsie Roll Pop from the coffee can on her desk for being so helpful. "But don\'t eat it until after lunch," she said.

"I won\'t," he assured her.

He ate lunch with Myron and D.J. He saved his Tootsie Roll Pop for last.

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Joy and Maurecia came up behind him.

"Hi, Dameon," said Joy. "How\'s your girlfriend?"

"What?" asked Dameon. He turned red. "Who are you talking about? I don\'t have a girlfriend!"

"You\'re in love with Mrs. Jewls!" accused Maurecia.

"You better watch out," said Joy. "Mister Jewls might come after you."

The two girls laughed.

"I don\'t know what you\'re talking about," said Dameon. "I\'m not in love with Mrs. Jewls!" He looked to his friends for support.

Myron shrugged.

D.J. smiled.

"Prove it!" said Joy. "Prove you\'re not in love with her."

"That\'s stupid," said Dameon. "How can I prove I\'m not in love with Mrs. Jewls?"

"Give her this," said Joy. She handed Dameon a paper bag.

"Your lunch?" asked Dameon.

"Look inside," said Maurecia.

Inside the paper bag was a dead rat.

Dameon knew Mrs. Jewls hated dead rats more than anything in the world.

"Put it in her desk," said Joy.

"If you don\'t, it means you love her," said Maurecia.

"I\'m not in love with her," said Dameon.

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"Prove it," said Joy.

"Okay, I will!" said Dameon.

The girls left.

"You don\'t have to put the dead rat in her desk," said D. J.

"We don\'t care," said Myron.

"You think I\'m in love with her too, don\'t you?&qu............