Laugh Till You Cry by Joan Lowery Nixon

Author:Joan Lowery Nixon [Nixon, Joan Lowery]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-53697-6
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2012-10-31T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

On Wednesday Cody did as Jake had cautioned. He made sure that while he was at school, he was never alone. Now and then he thought he saw some of the kids watching him with suspicion, but he pretended not to notice.

Lunchtime was the hardest. He bought the cafeteria lunch and balanced a tray containing dishes of something brown, something yellow, and something green, not paying much attention to what they were. Stopping by a table with two empty places, he began to put down his tray.

“Okay if I sit here?” he asked Emily, who sat across from Jennifer.

Emily looked up, flipping the end of her long ponytail back from her shoulder. “Those seats are saved,” she said.

“No, they’re …,” Jennifer began in surprise, but she stopped short as she glanced up, over her shoulder, at Cody. “Oh,” she said. “Sorry. I forgot. They’re saved.”

Cody felt his face turn red with embarrassment. Without a word he walked to the far end of the cafeteria, away from Emily’s loud whispers.

Plopping down his tray at the end of one of the tables, Cody kept his eyes on his food and began to eat.

A few minutes later Hayden slid onto the bench opposite him. Brad sat next to Cody, elbowing him to the end of their bench, and Eddie crowded in beside Brad.

“Made any more interesting phone calls lately?” Hayden asked Cody in a voice loud enough so that the kids around them could hear.

Cody put down his fork. With his tongue, he pried away the gluey macaroni and cheese that was stuck to the back of his front teeth, then said, “You know I didn’t make that call.”

Hayden leaned close, and Brad did, too. Eddie just grinned. “What call?” Hayden asked, his eyes wide with faked innocence.

“You’re my cousin, you know. We have the same grandmother. Why don’t you just leave me alone?” Cody asked.

“That’s no fun,” Hayden said, really annoyed.

Cody polished off the milk that was left in his carton. “Let’s talk about something else,” he said.

“Like what? Like your Hamlet project? You couldn’t find anyone to work with, could you?”

“It doesn’t make any difference.”

“Sure it does.” Hayden grinned and added, “It does make a difference. So we’re cousins, and I have to look out for you. I even have to babysit you this afternoon while your mama’s not home.”

Cody heard a snicker behind him. He didn’t know who was enjoying Hayden’s big mouth. He said suddenly, “I’d better confess about making a phone call.”

The kids seated nearby became silent. Cody went on in a louder voice, “The call I made was to Channel Two’s news hotline to tell them Houston has a new bus. It’s called the Hayden. It used to run on gas from eating too many burritos, but it was polluting the city, so now it runs on hot air. The news people told me I had the wrong channel. Anything that concerns Hayden belongs on Animal Planet.”

A couple of people laughed. Eddie tried to smother a giggle as Hayden scowled.

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