Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick

Author:Heather Vogel Frederick
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

CHAPTER 19

“I can’t believe Hatcher did that to you!” Mackenzie’s shocked face looked out at me from my laptop screen.

Disaster had struck after the wrestling meet.

As we were heading to the lobby, Hatcher came bounding over and slung a sweaty arm around my shoulders. He knows I hate this, which of course makes him do it even more.

“Eew, get off!” I cried, shoving him away. “Go take a shower!”

“What’s the matter?” he teased. “Just trying to share the love.” He hoisted his elbow in the air and fanned his armpit in my direction.

“Mom, make him stop!” I protested.

My mother shot him a look.

Hatcher dropped his arm. “Jeez, Drooly, can’t you take a joke?”

I froze. Scooter Sanchez was standing directly behind him. At first I thought maybe I was in the clear, but then I saw a slow smile slide across Scooter’s face, and I knew he’d heard my brother, and that I’d be hearing about it too, for as long as I lived in Pumpkin Falls.

I ran up to my room when we got home and slammed the door. Miss Marple whined to be let in, but I ignored her. Flinging myself on the bed, I shoved my head under my pillow to muffle the noise as I let out a howl of rage and humiliation. Angry tears spilled over, and I let them.

“Go away!” I hollered a little while later when someone knocked on my door. It was probably Hatcher. He’d tried to apologize in the car on the way home, but I wouldn’t listen. I didn’t plan on ever speaking to him again. Scooter would never let this go.

“I don’t know what to do,” I wailed to Mackenzie.

“Maybe your parents will let you come live here with us,” she replied. “You know, like the witness protection program or something.”

“Fat chance.”

“Well, you’re going to have to deal with it, then.”

She was right. I needed a plan. The problem was, I couldn’t think of one.

The next day at school I tried to keep my distance from Scooter, but, of course, that didn’t work. Somehow he managed to pop up at every turn, with the same stupid grin on his face that had been there at the gym last night.

“Truly Drooly,” he sang to me softly in math class.

“Could you pass me that beaker, Truly Drooly?” he asked in science class.

“Pardon me, Truly Drooly,” he said when he bumped into me on purpose in the lunch line.

Things took a turn for the worse during our ballroom dance class, when he started calling me “Drooly Gigantic.”

I stomped on his foot then, hard. Unfortunately, Cha Cha’s father saw me. He frowned. “Miss Lovejoy? Pumpkin Falls manners, please.”

The heck with Pumpkin Falls manners, I thought bitterly and stomped again the second Mr. Abramowitz’s back was turned.

“What’s your problem?” Scooter whispered angrily.

“You know exactly what my problem is!” I whispered back.

Somehow, I managed to make it through the day. At least I had the Pumpkin Falls Private Eyes to look forward to.

Nearly twenty-four hours had passed since we’d all met at the college library.

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.