It's the end of summer, and for incoming sixth grader Nathan, his life couldn't be more pathetic that it already is. For one thing, the name of his new teacher, Mrs. Swindle, sounds ominous enough; then there's the fact that he would be sitting close to the official school bully while his two closest friends are going to be in the other class. To top it all, we would be consigned to wearing those despicable clothes from the thrift store-again. It...