The Secret Language of Girls by Dowell Frances O'Roark

Author:Dowell, Frances O'Roark [Dowell, Frances O'Roark]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published: 2013-03-26T04:00:00+00:00

“Here,” Kate said on the bus the next morning, dropping a book onto Marylin’s lap before she took her usual seat behind Marylin and Flannery. It was a copy of A Tale of Two Cities.

“What are you giving me this for?” Marylin asked.

“Because it’s more important to care about your brain than to care about your hair,” Kate said. “That’s my new motto.”

Flannery rolled her eyes. “She is so weird,” she said to Marylin in a loud whisper. “I really think we should just ignore her.”

Marylin reached down and stuck the book in her backpack next to her nature studies binder and her math homework. “Why should we ignore her?” she whispered back without looking at Flannery. “It’s no big deal.”

“I can hear every word you’re saying,” Kate said from behind them.

“That’s why we should ignore her,” Flannery said.

Marylin really didn’t think ignoring Kate was necessary, but you had to be careful about rejecting Flannery’s ideas. “I’ll think about it, okay?” she said, smiling her most diplomatic smile.

Flannery turned away so that she was facing the aisle. “You can do whatever you want,” she said. “I couldn’t care less.”

It was going to be one of those days, Marylin could tell already.

She was sure of it when Mr. Kertzner assigned Marylin and Jason Frey to be partners for their gypsy moth project. Jason Frey was a toothpick of a boy who barely spoke above a raspy whisper when he was called on in class. Also he always had thin crescents of dirt beneath his fingernails. Marylin was very picky about fingernails. She thought they said a lot about a person.

Marylin scooted her desk next to Jason’s. “I guess we should start brainstorming for project ideas,” she told him, taking charge. The one nice thing about doing projects with people like Jason Frey was that Marylin got to boss someone else around for a change.

Jason nodded, red splotches blooming along his neck. He looked like he was coming down with an emergency case of the measles.

Suddenly Marylin’s left ear was attacked by a wadded-up piece of notebook paper. She looked around as she unfolded it, but no one looked back at her.

Dear Marylin, the note read. I think you and Jason make a very cute couple. How long have you two been an item? Signed, A Curious Person.

The writing looked suspiciously like Ashley Greer’s when she wrote with her left hand instead of her right.

“How about we brainstorm in silence for a few minutes,” Marylin said to Jason, taking a piece of paper out of her nature studies binder.

Jason nodded again. He looked relieved, as though brainstorming out loud with Marylin might have caused him to internally combust right there in the middle of the classroom.

Marylin picked up her pen and began to write. Dear Ashley, her note began, Good luck with cheerleading tryouts! I really mean it a lot!

Marylin underlined “really” four times. It was clear she needed to do something to get on Ashley’s good side, or else Ashley would

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