11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass

Author:Wendy Mass [Mass, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi, epub
ISBN: 0545052408
Google: HQc8mQEACAAJ
Amazon: B0058DVSR8
Publisher: Scholastic Paperbacks
Published: 2009-07-15T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

I switch off my alarm and stare up at the dark ceiling. I can barely make out the flowers painted on it. I can’t wait to tell Leo what happened last night — Mom still got fired! Even though I had given her the right poster! I couldn’t believe it when she told me. When I asked why they were firing her, she just shrugged and said her boss didn’t think she was “a good fit” for the company anymore.

Mom comes in to see why I’m not up, and I give my story about being sick. Everything is going according to plan until she sighs and says, “Mrs. Grayson down the street will have to take you to the doctor.”

Ugh! How could I have forgotten about this part? My mind races for some way to get out of it, but nothing comes. I nod weakly. Once she leaves, I wait a little while until I hear her car start in the driveway, followed quickly by Kylie slamming the back door. The less I have to talk to anyone, the less chance I have for messing up. It feels weird letting them go without telling them about the poster switcheroo, but since it didn’t do any good — Mom’s still gonna get fired, and Kylie’s still not gonna get the guy — I might as well not bother.

So what to do about the doctor? Maybe Leo can call my dad, pretending to be from the doctor’s office. He can say the doctor had an emergency and can I come in tomorrow? Or maybe I’ll call Mrs. Grayson and pretend to be Mom and tell her I don’t have to go after all. I really hate lying. Consequences or no, it doesn’t make me feel good.

When I don’t go downstairs for breakfast, Dad knocks on my door. “Come in,” I call out weakly.

The door opens and he walks in with a tall glass of orange juice and a muffin. He places them on my night table. “Happy birthday, sweetie! You must really not be feeling well if you’re still in bed.”

I nod and glance out the window. “I’m going to be in bed a lot today.”

When I look back, I see him sizing me up with his eyes. Then he says, “I know this is a hard day for you. But you didn’t cancel your party tonight so you don’t have to compete with Leo’s, right?”

Normally I would argue that this isn’t about Leo, but what do you know? It actually IS! But I shake my head and cough a few times. “I just don’t feel well, Dad.”

“Okay,” he says, backing away and sneezing. “I’ll be on the couch downstairs if you need anything. I’ll come get you when Mrs. Grayson gets here.”

As he closes the door it occurs to me that I might not have to go to such elaborate lengths to get out of going to the doctor. Maybe all I have to do is appeal to Dad’s soft-hearted nature.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.