Penelope "Peppi" Torres has two cardinal rules for surviving middle school--do not draw the attention of mean kids, and seek out friends with similar interests. She breaks the first one when she trips into nerdy Jaime Thompson, and the mean kids see it. Recoiling, Peppi shoves Jaime away, but feels guilty about it later. Complicating things is the fact that Jaime is part of the science club, Peppi's art club's rival club in the school.