Iva Honeysuckle Meets Her Match by Candice Ransom

Author:Candice Ransom
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction - Young Adult
Publisher: Disney Book Group

Best of all, she’d be a world-famous discoverer of sea serpents. London Howdyshell would beg to be Iva’s best friend. And maybe Iva would let her.

Arden posed wearing one old brown sandal and one new purple sandal. The toenails of her brown-sandaled foot were painted pink. The toenails of her other foot were red.

“Which looks the best?” she asked Iva. “Don’t rush. Think about it.”

Iva was trying to figure out how she’d get the extra five dollars for the boat ticket. But she pretended to ponder this vital question. “Red toenails.”

“Really? I think so, too.” Then Arden frowned. “What’s wrong with the other foot?”

Iva’s mother came into the living room. “No one leaves this house tonight until the sand is back outside where it belongs. Who left these wet towels on the sofa?”

“Iva!” Heaven replied at the same time that Iva said, “Heaven!”

Mrs. Honeycutt flashed her hard eyes and everyone got busy.

Hunter swept and Arden picked up beach toys, stray flip-flops, and bathing-suit bottoms. Heaven carried the wet towels outside to hang on the line in the backyard.

“If you see those old ladies, tell them to be quiet tonight,” Iva said.

She gathered Lily Pearl’s vast shell collection, shocked that there were any shells left on the beach. She wondered why the shells looked so pretty wet but were so drab and ordinary after they’d dried.

The dull shells reminded her of Heaven, who still clung to her souvenir money.

Maybe Iva could bargain with her. She was already making Heaven’s bed. What else could she do for her cousin?

“Where are Howard and Lily Pearl?” Aunt Sissy Two asked. “I asked them an hour ago to brush their teeth.”

“They’re out back, playing bride and groom,” said Hunter.

Hermy the hermit crab made scuttling sounds in his cage on the windowsill.

“The only one who listens around here is that crab,” Aunt Sissy Two declared.

At last the house was straight, everyone was reasonably clean, and both of Arden’s feet matched. Iva and Heaven each had three dollars to spend on snacks. They walked together to the boardwalk.

“I think I’ll buy my souvenir tonight,” Heaven said, going into Surfside Gifts. She picked up a box covered with whirly seashells.

Iva’s heart skipped a beat. Now tightwad Heaven wanted to spend her money!

“You don’t want that,” she advised. “The glue looks cheap. I bet the shells drop off before you get it home.”

Heaven set the box down and picked up a picture frame. Iva found something wrong with it, too. Getting her cousin’s five bucks wasn’t going to be easy.

“What about this?” Heaven held up a T-shirt with the words I HAD A BLAST AT STINGRAY POINT printed across the front.

“The words go under your armpits,” Iva said. “You’ll have to keep raising your arms so people can read it.” She flapped her own arms like a chicken.

Heaven refolded the shirt. “I know what you’re doing, Iva.”

“What?”

“You’re gonna tell me something ugly is perfect so I’ll buy it. Then you’ll go buy something really nice after I’ve wasted my money.

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.