Bingo Summer by Dawn Malone

Author:Dawn Malone [Malone, Dawn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dawn Malone
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 18

As soon as Mom got me home from school, she took my temperature.

“It’s not my head. It’s my stomach,” I said when the thermometer didn’t register a fever. “Up to bed with you, Sugar Pie. The flu season is just starting. You can’t afford to miss school so soon.”

In my room, I tried writing Dana a letter, but my growling stomach interrupted my thoughts. No sooner had I snuck out of the kitchen with a handful of pretzels when Mom caught me.

“Stomach better so soon?”

I didn’t bother with an excuse; I just nodded. She didn’t say a word.

Later, Mom herded J.C. and me outside to do yard work. Raking and burning leaves sounded good to me, so I didn’t complain. I was in the mood to torch something.

“So.” Mom said.

I glanced at her, expecting more, but she kept her eyes on the leaves smoldering at our feet. J.C. looked from her to me. For once, she kept her mouth shut.

I let that ‘so’ hang in the air. If Mom wanted to talk about playing sick or lost elections, I wasn’t going to make it easy.

Finally, Mom nudged me with the end of her rake. “Are you okay, Sugar Pie? You want to talk about anything?”

“Nope.”

“Everything okay at school?”

“Yep.”

“Did anyone say anything to you about…well, you know…the election?”

“Nope.”

J.C. kicked a rotten apple into the fire. “Nope, yep, nope. Say something else, for gosh sakes. Mom just wants to help.”

I pushed her pile of leaves with my rake. “You just want me to say something because you’re nosy, and it’s killing you that I won’t.”

“Stop it, you two.” Mom said, pinching the skin between her eyebrows. “And yes, I would like more than one-word answers. Let’s figure this out together.”

I shrugged. “There’s nothing to figure out. I lost the election. No one is talking to me. Well, except Suri, but that’s not a surprise.” I scooped more leaves onto the burning pile, and they caught fire instantly. The blast of heat felt good on my icy hands.

“So you’re just going to sit around and pout?”

“Basically.”

“You can’t skip school every time you have a bad day.”

I kept my eyes on the burning leaves.

Mom sighed. We raked in silence.

The sun melted over the trees and turned everything pink. The yard looked real pretty, dressed in its fall-colored quilt of leaves. I wished we could bring the yard and house back to Stanton. It’d be the best of both worlds.

Mom cleared her throat. “I’ve been thinking about something. And don’t say ‘no’ right away. Promise you’ll think about it for a few seconds before you nix it.”

I glanced at her. I knew I wouldn’t like whatever she had cooked up. J.C. grinned, eyes darting from me to Mom. If she was in on it, too, I definitely wouldn’t like it.

“How about we have a Halloween party and invite some of your —”

“No.”

“Summer —”

“I don’t want anyone here.”

J.C. stomped her foot at that, clearly in the mood for a party.

“It’d be good to get to know your classmates better.

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