Here Comes Trouble by Kate Hattemer

Author:Kate Hattemer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2018-05-02T00:00:00+00:00

“ALL THE WAY UP,” I told the triplets on the stairs. “We’ll use Flynn’s room.” The room Ruth and Ivan and I share was filled with dirty laundry and Duplo, and if you step on Duplo barefoot you basically die, it hurts so much.

“Where is Flynn?” said Olivia.

“He’s at Goldie’s. They’re working on their science presentations.”

Tabitha clapped her hands over her ears. “LA LA LA SCIENCE PRESENTATIONS ARE NOT A THING LA LA LA—”

“It only counts as procrastination if you feel anxious and terrible,” Lila explained. “So we have this new strategy where we convince ourselves that major projects don’t exist.”

Olivia, tearfully twisting a lock of hair, said, “Yeah! It’s great!”

“We’ll get it done,” Lila assured her. “We always do.”

“Get what done?” said Tabitha.

“Nothing!” said Lila. “Nothing at all! No deadlines! No projects! We’re free!”

Personally, I preferred feeling anxious and terrible. I opened Flynn’s bedroom door. “Whoa,” I said.

The room was totally different from when it’d been mine. He’d covered one of the slanted attic walls with a sheet of butcher paper, and it looked like he was in the middle of coloring and drawing and doodling all over it. It was like the cave paintings we’d learned about in social studies, except Flynn is way better at art than cavemen.

“This is super cool,” said Lila.

“Flynn is amazing,” moaned Olivia.

“Hey, look, Soren,” said Tabitha. “There’s you.”

I looked. It was a cartoon of Ivan tricking me into sitting on play dough. There was me, yeah, and there was a clod of brown stuff on the butt of my pants. “Great,” I said flatly.

Now that I was looking closely, I saw one familiar scene after another. There was Flynn steeping me that poisonous green tea. There was Flynn at the block party, holding his phone and surrounded by girls. There he was, grinning at his desk, as Ms. Hutchins read aloud the anonymous tip that’d ruined my prank. There he was walking to the bus stop with Ruth, and, yeah, if you followed the road like ten inches back, there was me, walking alone.

“I don’t get how he’s good at science and soccer and banjo and art,” said Tabitha.

“And drawing every time I’ve ever looked stupid!” I said in a chipper voice.

“He’s so amazing,” said Olivia.

I sat on the floor so I’d have to crane way up to see the mural or whatever you wanted to call it. Those dumb pictures had made me crabby. “Moving on,” I said. “Let’s plan.”

“What are we planning?” said Ruth, lingering by the door.

“We?” said Lila.

“I can stay, right, Soren?” said Ruth.

I shrugged. “If they’re okay with it.”

“Of course we are,” said Olivia. “We wouldn’t even be in here without Ruth.”

“But can she keep a secret?” said Lila.

“I can!” said Ruth. Her back was ruler straight and her eyes were wide. “I’m good at secrets!”

“Prove it,” said Tabitha. “Tell us something you’ve never told anyone else.”

“Trick question,” said Ruth. “I won’t.”

Lila and Tabitha nodded. “She can stay.”

“I’ll ask Dad if we can borrow his laptop,” Ruth said, and shot down the stairs.

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