How I Got a Life and a Dog by Art Corriveau

Author:Art Corriveau
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Amulet Books
Published: 2010-03-05T16:00:00+00:00

grab my lunch and head for the front doors. I can’t say that Timmy Burns and his Townie posse are being nice to me—they’re not exactly inviting me to join their kickball team—but they’ve definitely stopped punching my arm at the recess bell. I guess Timmy can’t stop laughing at me long enough to beat me up.

I pass Rita talking to that weird tall girl in the old-fashioned dress. Rita has this panicked look on her face. She’s standing with her back pressed against a locker and clutching a science book to her chest. The weird girl is hovering over her, talking a mile a minute. I slow down so I can eavesdrop.

“I told you I can’t,” Rita says. “I have to babysit Julio.”

“Why doesn’t your mother just get a real babysitter?”

“We can’t afford one,” Rita says.

“Well, what about now?” the weird girl says. “We could do it now.”

I stop. I turn around. I say, “Hi, Rita, sorry I’m late.”

“Oh, hi,” she says, a look of pure relief on her face. “I was wondering where you were.” She points to the weird girl. “Have you met Lulu McFadden? Lulu this is, um—” She draws a blank.

“Nicky,” I say. “Nicky Flynn.”

“Right. Nicky,” Rita says.

“You’re the new kid,” Lulu says. “I’ve been meaning to introduce myself.”

“You about ready to go, Rita?” I say.

“All set,” Rita says. “See you around, Lulu.”

Lulu darts a suspicious glance at both of us, then gives up. She says she’ll wait for Rita after the final bell, just in case she can get out of babysitting. She scuffles off down the hallway.

“I owed you one,” I say.

Rita turns to open her locker.

“Thanks,” she says. “Now take a hike.”

“How’s your baby brother?” I say.

“What’s it to you?” she says.

“I don’t have any brothers or sisters,” I say.

Rita whirls around to face me. “Correct me if I’m wrong,” she says. “But didn’t you totally blow me off the other day?”

“You were freaking me out. Everywhere I turned, there you were!”

She giggles then—something I’m not expecting.

“I can get pretty intense.”

“I’ll say.”

“Sorry, bro. You looked smart. I guess I just miss smart kids. Most of my friends are at Boston Latin, where I wanted to go. But the commute there would have killed my mom. And with the new baby, she just needs me around right now.”

“Oh,” I say.

“I promise I’ll stop stalking you. Adiós.”

“Listen. We may as well eat lunch together,” I say. “You don’t want that Lulu chick to go postal on you.”

She laughs. She pulls the Frisbee out of her locker. “We might even be able to squeeze in a quick game of Ultimate.”

I feel my face go red. “I completely suck at Frisbee,” I say.

“Not for long, dude,” Rita says, spinning the Frisbee on her finger. “All you need is a few pointers, and the doctor is in.”

“If it’s all the same to you,” I say, “I’d rather you show me after school one day. And not on this playground. I’m having a hard enough time fitting in around here.

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